Hot Six

'You wish,' Mitchell said. 'Mr. Stolle wants to talk to you.'

'Guess what. I'm not in the mood to talk to Mr. Stolle. I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone, you included. So I hope you don't take this personally, but get out of my car.'

Mitchell drew his gun. 'You should change your mood.'

'You'd shoot me?'

'Don't take it personally,' Mitchell said.

Art's Carpets is in Hamilton Township, the land of the strip mall. It's on Route 33, not far from Five Points, and is indistinguishable from every other business on that road, save for its glowing chartreuse sign, which can be seen clearly from Rhode Island. The building is a single-story cinder-block with large storefront windows, heralding a year-round sale. I'd been to Art's Carpets many times, along with every other man, woman, and child in New Jersey. I'd never purchased anything, but I'd been tempted. Art's has good prices.

I parked the Buick in front of the store. Habib pulled the Lincoln in alongside the Buick. And Joyce parked beside the Lincoln.

'What does Stolle want?' I asked. 'He doesn't want to kill me or anything, does he?'

'Mr. Stolle don't kill people. He hires people to do that stuff. He just wants to talk to you. That's all he told me.'

There were a couple women browsing in the store. Looked like mother and daughter. A salesman hovered over them. Mitchell and I walked in together, and Mitchell guided me through the stacks of carpet and displays of broadloom to the office at the back.

Stolle was in his mid-fifties and built solid. He was barrel-chested and had begun to jowl. He was dressed in a flashy sweater and dress slacks. He extended his hand and smiled his best rug-merchant smile.

'I'll be right outside,' Mitchell said, and closed the door, leaving me alone with Stolle.

'You're supposed to be a pretty smart girl,' Stolle said. 'I've heard some things about you.'

'Uh-huh.'

'So how come you're not having any luck delivering Manoso?'

'I'm not that smart. And Ranger's not going to come near me when Habib and Mitchell are around.'

Stolle smiled. 'To tell you the truth, I never expected you to hand us Manoso. But hell, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?'

I didn't say anything.

'Unfortunately, since we couldn't do this the easy way, we're going to have to try something else. We're sending a message to your boyfriend. He doesn't want to talk to me? Fine. He wants to be in the wind? That's okay. You know why? Because we got you. When I run out of patience, and I'm just about there, we're gonna hurt you. And Manoso's gonna know he could have prevented it.'

All of a sudden I didn't have any air in my lungs. I hadn't thought of this angle. 'He's not my boyfriend,' I said. 'You're overestimating my importance to him.'

'Maybe, but he has a sense of chivalry. Latin temperament, you know.' Stolle sat in the chair behind his desk and rocked back. 'You should encourage Manoso to talk to us. Mitchell and Habib look like nice guys, but they'll do whatever I tell them. In fact, in the past, they've done some very mean things. You have a dog, don't you?' Stolle leaned forward, hands on desk. 'Mitchell's real good at killing dogs. Not that he'd kill your dog…'

'He's not my dog. I'm baby-sitting.'

'I was just giving an example.'

'You're wasting your time,' I said. 'Ranger is a mercenary. You can't get to him through me. We don't have that kind of relationship. Maybe no one has that kind of relationship with him.'

Stolle smiled and shrugged. 'Like I said before, nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's worth a try, right?'

I looked at him for a beat, giving him my inscrutable Plum glare, and then I turned and left.

Mitchell and Habib and Joyce were idling when I walked out of the store.

I got in the Buick and discreetly felt my crotch to make sure I hadn't wet my pants. I took a deep breath and put my hands on the wheel. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. I wanted to put the key in the ignition, but I couldn't get my hands to unclench the wheel. I did some more breathing. I told myself Arturo Stolle was a big bag of wind. But I didn't believe it. What I believed was that Arturo Stolle was a real piece of crapola. And it didn't look like Habib and Mitchell were all that great, either.

Everyone was watching, waiting to see what I'd do next. I didn't want anyone to know I was scared, so I forced myself to release the wheel and start the car. I very carefully backed out of the parking place, put the car in gear, and drove away. I concentrated on my driving, slow and steady.

While I drove I dialed every number I had for Ranger, leaving a terse message: Call me. Now. After I ran through Ranger's numbers I called Carol Zabo.

'I need a favor,' I said.

'Anything.'

'I'm being followed by Joyce Barnhardt-'

'Evil bitch,' Carol said.

'And I'm also being followed by two guys in a Lincoln.'

'Hmm.'

'Not to worry-they've been following me for days, and so far they haven't shot anybody.' So far. 'Anyway, I need to discourage them from following me, and I have a plan.'

I was about five minutes away from Carol. She lived in the Burg, not far from my parents. She and Lubie had bought a house with their wedding money and had immediately set to work building a family. They'd decided to call it quits after two boys. Good thing for the world. Carol's kids were the scourge of the neighborhood. When they grew up they'd probably be cops.

Burg backyards are long and narrow. Many are enclosed in fencing of some sort. Most back up to an alley. All alleys are one lane wide. The alley servicing the houses on Reed Street, between Beal and Cedar, was especially long. I asked Carol to idle at the juncture of Cedar and the Reed Street alley. The plan was that I'd lead Joyce and the Boobie Boys down the alley, and then as soon as I turned onto Cedar, Carol would ease up and block the alley, feigning car trouble.

I got to the Burg and wandered around for another five minutes, giving Carol some extra time to get into position. Then I turned into the Reed Street alley, sucking Joyce and the goons right along with me. I got to Cedar and sure enough, there was Carol. I wheeled around her, she moved forward and stopped, and everyone was trapped. I glanced back to see what was happening and saw Carol and three other women get out of Carol's car. Monica Kajewski, Gail Wojohowitz, and Angie Bono. Every one of them hated Joyce Barnhardt. Rumble in the Burg!

I went straight to Broad and headed for the shore. I wasn't going to sit around and wait for Mitchell to kill Bob to make a point. Bob today… me tomorrow.

I rolled into Deal and slowly drove past the Ramos compound. I tried again to reach Ranger by cell phone. No response. I continued to cruise the street. Come on, Ranger. Look out the window, wherever the hell you are. I was a block past the pink house, getting ready to make a U-turn, when the passenger door was yanked open and Alexander Ramos jumped in.

'Hey, cutie,' he said. 'Just can't stay away, huh?'

Shit! I didn't want him in my car now!

'Good thing I saw you. I was going nuts in there,' he said.

'Jesus,' I said. 'Why don't you get a patch?'

'I don't want a goddamn patch. I want a cigarette. Drive me to the store. And hurry up, I'm dying.'

'There are cigarettes in the glove compartment. You left them here last time.'

He pulled the pack out and stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

'Not in the car!'

'Christ, this is like being married without the sex. Go to Sal's.'

I didn't want to go to Sal's. I wanted to talk to Ranger. 'Aren't you afraid you'll be missed at the house? Are you sure it's safe to go to Sal's?'