'I don't believe this,' Morelli yelled. 'I don't fucking believe this. What do you do, sit in bed at night and think about ways to fuck up my life?'
'Don't flatter yourself.'
'You almost killed me!'
'You're overreacting. And it wasn't personal. I didn't even know that was your car.' If I'd known I wouldn't have hung around. 'Besides, you don't hear me whining and complaining because you got in my way. I would have caught him if it hadn't been for you.' Morelli passed a hand over his eyes. 'I should have moved out of state when I had the chance. I should have stayed in the navy.'
I looked over at his car. Part of the rear quarter panel had been ripped away, and the back bumper lay on the ground. 'It's not so bad,' I said. 'Probably you can still drive it.' We both turned our attention to Big Blue. There wasn't so much as a scratch on it.
'It's a Buick,' I said, by way of apology. 'It's a loaner.' Morelli looked off into space. 'Shit.'
A patrol car pulled up behind Morelli. 'You okay?'
'Yeah. Wonderful.' Morelli said. 'I'm fucking fine.' The patrol car left.
'A Buick,' Morelli said. 'Just like old times.' When I was eighteen I'd sort of run over Morelli with a similar car. Morelli looked beyond me. 'I suppose that's Ranger in the black Bronco.' I cut my eyes to the alley. Ranger was still there, doubled over the steering wheel, shaking with laughter.
'You want me to file an accident report?' I asked Morelli.
'I wouldn't dignify this with an accident report.'
'Did you get a look at the guy in the van? Do you think it was Kenny?'
'Same height as Kenny, but he seemed slimmer.'
'Kenny could have lost weight.'
'I don't know,' Morelli said. 'It didn't feel like Kenny to me.' Ranger's lights flashed on, and the Bronco eased around the back of the Buick.
'Guess I'l be leaving now,' Ranger said. 'I know how three's a crowd.' I helped Morelli load his bumper into his backseat and kick the rest of the debris to the side of the road. Around the corner, I could hear the police packing up.
'I have to go back to the station,' Morelli said. 'I want to be there when they talk to these guys.'
'And you're going to run the plates on the van.'
'The van was probably stolen.'
I returned to the Buick and backed down the alley to avoid the broken glass in the road. I took the first driveway to Jackson and headed for home. After several blocks I swung around and drove to the police station. I parked deep in shadow, a car length back from the corner, across from the bar with the RC Cola sign. I'd been there for less than five minutes when two blue-and-whites rolled into the station parking lot, followed by Morelli in his bumperless Fairlane, followed by one of the big blue-and-white Suburbans. The Fairlane fit right in with the blue-and-whites. Trenton doesn't waste money on cosmetic surgery. If a cop car gets a dent, it's there for life. There wasn't a car in the lot that didn't look like it'd been used for demolition derby.
At this time of night the side lot was relatively empty. Morelli parked the Fairlane next to his truck and walked into the building. The blue-and-whites lined up at the cage to unload prisoners. I put the Buick into drive, slid into the lot, and parked next to Morelli's truck. After an hour the chil had begun to creep into the Buick, so I ran the heater until everything was toasty. I ate half the KitKat and stretched out on the bench seat. A second hour passed, and I repeated the procedure. I'd just finished the last morsel of chocolate when the side door to the station opened and the silhouette of a man appeared backlit through the door frame. Even in silhouette I knew it was Morelli. The door closed behind him, and Morelli headed for his truck. Halfway across the lot he spotted me in the Buick. I saw his lips move, and it didn't take a genius to figure out the single word. I got out of the car so it'd be more difficult to ignore me. 'Well,' I said, all little Miss Cheerful. 'How'd it go?'
'The stuff was from Braddock. That's about it.' He took a step closer and sniffed. 'I smell chocolate.'
'I had half a KitKat.'
'I don't suppose you still have the other half?'
