'Probably it's not a good idea to shoot Morelli,' Ranger said. 'Cops are real touchy about that sort of thing.'
I wrenched myself out of the car, straightened my skirt, and huffed into the building.
Morelli was sitting in the hall when I got upstairs. He was dressed in black jeans, black motorcycle boots, a black T-shirt, and a black leather motorcycle jacket. He had a two-day beard and his hair was long, even by Morelli standards. If I hadn't been mad at him I'd have had my clothes off before I got to my door. Now, I realize I'd just had the same thought about Ranger, but there it was. What can I say? Pretty soon Bunchy and Briggs would be looking good to me.
'Boy, you have a lot of nerve coming here,' I said to Morelli, fumbling for my key.
He took his key ring from his pocket and opened my door.
'Since when do you have a key to my apartment?' I asked him.
'Since you gave it to me back when we were friendlier.' He looked down at me and amusement softened the set of his mouth. 'Have you been drinking?'
'Occupational hazard. I had this job to do for Ranger, and drinking seemed like the right thing to do at the time.'
'You want some coffee?'
'No way, that would ruin everything. Anyway, I wouldn't drink your coffee. And you can leave now, thank you.'
'I don't think so.' Morelli opened the refrigerator, searched around and discovered the bag of Mocha Java I'd bought at Grand Union. He measured out water and coffee and tripped the switch on my coffeemaker. 'Let me take a winger here. You're mad at me, right?'
I rolled my eyes so far into the back of my head I saw myself thinking. And while my eyes were all the way back there, I looked for Briggs. Where was the little devil?
'You want to give me a clue?' Morelli said.
'You don't deserve a clue.'
'That's probably true, but how about giving me one anyway.'
'Terry Gilman.'
'Yeah?'
'That's it. That's your entire clue, you creep.'
Morelli got two mugs from the over-the-counter cabinet and filled the mugs with coffee. He added milk and handed one of the mugs to me. 'I need more to go on than a name.'
'No you don't. You know exactly what I'm talking about.'
His pager went off, and he did some creative swearing. He looked at the read-out and made a call on my phone. 'I have to leave,' he said. 'I'd like to stay and settle this, but something's come up.'
He got to the door and turned and came back. 'I almost forgot. Have you seen Ramirez?'
'Yes. And I want to get a restraining order and have his parole revoked.'
'His parole has already been revoked. He picked up a hooker on
'Is she going to be okay?'
'Looks like it. She's still on critical, but she's holding her own. When did you see him?'
'About a half hour ago.'
I told him about the repo and the incident with Ramirez.
I could see emotion bubbling inside Morelli. Frustration, mostly. And some anger. 'I don't suppose you'd consider moving back in with me?' he asked. 'Just until Ramirez is found.'
Be a little crowded what with Terry there, too. 'Don't suppose I would,' I said.
'How about if I marry you?'
'Now you want to marry me? What happens after they catch Ramirez? We get a divorce?'
'There's no divorce in my family. Grandma Bella wouldn't hear of it. You have to die to get out of a marriage in my family.'
'Gosh, that's cheery.' And true. I understood some of Joe's attitude about marriage. The Morelli men had a bad track record. They drank too much. They cheated on their wives. They beat their kids. And the misery lasts 'til death do them part. Fortunately for many of the Morelli wives, death visited the Morelli men early. They were shot in bar brawls, killed themselves in DUI car crashes, and exploded their livers. 'We'll talk some other time,' I said. 'You'd better get moving. And don't worry, I'll be careful. I've been keeping my doors and windows locked, and I'm carrying a gun.'
'You have a permit to carry concealed?'
'Got it yesterday.'
'I didn't hear any of this,' Morelli said. He bent his head and kissed me lightly on the lips. 'Make sure the gun's loaded.'
He was actually a very nice guy. Some of the less desirable Morelli genes had passed him by. He had the Morelli
