'Most women would be happy to have me follow them.'
'I'm not most women.'
'Tell me about it.' He gestured at the empty bay. 'What's the deal?'
'If you must know . . . I'm looking for caskets.'
This drew a smile.
'I'm serious! Spiro had twenty-four caskets stored here, and they've disappeared.'
'Disappeared? As in stolen? Has he reported the theft to the police?' I shook my head. 'He didn't want to bring the police in. Didn't want word to get out that he'd bulk-bought a bunch of caskets and then lost them.'
'I hate to rain on your parade, but I think this smells bad. People who lose things worth lots of money file police reports so they can collect their insurance.' I closed the door and dropped the key into my pocketbook. 'I'm getting paid one thousand dollars to find lost caskets. I'm not going to try to identify the odor. I have no reason to believe there's anything bogus going on.'
'What about Kenny? I thought you were looking for Kenny.'
'Kenny's a dead end right now.'
'Giving up?'
'Dropping back.'
I opened the door to the Jeep, slid behind the wheel, and shoved the key into the ignition. By the time the engine cranked over, Morelli had seated himself next to me.
'Where are we going?' Morelli asked.
'I'm going to the office to talk to the manager.'
Morelli was smiling again. 'This could be the start of a whole new career. You do good on this one and maybe you can advance to catching grave robbers and headstone vandals.'
'Very funny. Get out of my car.'
'I thought we were partners.'
Yeah, right. I put the Jeep into reverse and K-turned. I parked at the office and swung out of the Jeep, with Morelli following close on my heels.
I stopped and turned, facing him, hand to his chest to keep him at arm's length. 'Halt. This is not a group project.'
'I could be helpful,' Morelli said. 'I could lend authority and credibility to your questions.'
'Why would you want to do that?'
'I'm a nice guy.'
I felt my fingers begin to clutch at his shirt and made an effort to relax. 'Try again.'
'Kenny, Moogey, and Spiro were practically joined at the hip in high school. Moogey's dead. I've got a feeling Julia, the girlfriend, is out of the picture. Maybe Kenny's turned to Spiro.'
'And I'm working for Spiro, and you're not sure you believe the coffin story.'
'I don't know what to think of the coffin story. You have any more information on these coffins? Where they were originally purchased? What they look like?'
'They're made of wood. About six foot long . . .'
'If there's one thing I hate, it's a wise-ass bounty hunter.' I showed him the picture.
'You're right,' he said. 'They're made of wood, and they're about six foot long.'
