'No!' Last time I went out with Tank he broke his leg. Then his substitute got a concussion. I was hell on Ranger's Merry Men. Bad enough I was squatting in his apartment, I didn't want to compound the damage by wiping out his workforce. And if I was being totally honest, I'd have to admit that time spent with Tank was uncomfortable. Tank was Ranger's right-hand man. He was the guy who watched Ranger's back. He was entirely trustworthy, but he rarely spoke, and he never shared his thoughts. I'd reached a sort of telepathic state with Ranger. I hadn't a clue what was in Tank's mind. Maybe nothing at all.
'I'm a lot more worried about Junkman than I am about Rodriguez,' I said to Connie.
'Have you seen Junkman?'
'No.'
'Do you know what he looks like?'
'No.'
'Do you know why you're on his list?'
'Does there have to be a reason?'
'There's usually a reason,' Connie said.
'I can identify Ward as the Red Devil, and I bounced Eugene Brown off my Buick.'
'That could be it,' Connie said. 'Or it could be something else.'
'Like what?'
Connie shrugged. 'I don't know gangs, but I know something about the mob. Usually when someone's targeted for takeout, it's about power… keeping it or getting it.'
'How does that relate to me?'
'If it's an entire gang that's out to get you, you move far away. If it's only one member, you can eliminate the problem by eliminating the member.'
'Are you suggesting I kill Junkman?'
'I'm suggesting you try to find out why Junkman has you on his list.'
'I'd have to penetrate the Slayers.'
'You'd have to catch one and make him talk to you,' Connie said.
Catch a Slayer. It sounded like a kid's game.
'You could hide out until Ranger gets back,' Connie said.
What she meant was, I could hide out until Ranger gets back and eliminates Junkman for me. Ranger was good at solving problems like that. And it was tempting to let him solve mine, but that's not the sort of thing you do to someone you like. That's not even the sort of thing you do to someone you hate. Not when the problem is solved by murder.
I'd already been there, and it didn't feel great. I was pretty sure Ranger had once killed a man to protect me. The man had been insane and determined to end my life. His death had been ruled a suicide, but in my heart, I knew Ranger had stepped in and done the job. And I knew there'd been an unspoken agreement between Ranger and Morelli. Don't ask, don't tell.
Morelli was a cop, sworn to uphold the law. Ranger had his own set of laws. There were things that fell in the gray zone between Morelli and Ranger. Things Ranger was willing to do if he felt it necessary. Things Morelli could never justify.
'I'll think about it,' I told Connie. 'Let me know if you hear from Ranger.'
I'd parked in the small lot behind the bonds office. I left through the back door, got into the Lincoln, and I called Morelli.
'What's happening with Anton?' I asked. 'Did he make bail?'
'It's set high. I don't think anybody's going to step forward for him.'
'Have you talked to him? Did he tell you anything interesting? Like about Junkman?'
'He's not talking,' Morelli said.
'Can't you make him?'
'I could, but I misplaced my rubber hose.'
'You said Junkman was a hired gun, right? That he was from LA.'
'We're not sure if that information is right anymore. The source hasn't turned out as reliable as we'd hoped. We know there's a guy out there who uses the tag Junkman. And we know he's working his way through a list. That's really all we're sure of.'
'And I'm on the list.'
'That's what we were told.'
'And that's what Anton confirmed. It would be helpful to know why I'm on the list.'
'Whatever the reason, it would help your cause if you'd quit your job and look like a non threatening housewife. Or maybe go away for a couple months. These guys have a short attention span.'
'Would you miss me if I went away?'
There was a long silence.
'Well?' I asked.
'I'm thinking.'
I called Lula next.
'Carol's up in about ten minutes,' Lula said. 'How are we supposed to get home?'
'I'm on my way. Parkings a pain. Call me when you're on the sidewalk in front of the building, and I'll swing by and pick you up.'
I reached the courthouse and drove around the block. My phone rang on the second pass.
'We're out,' Lula yelled. 'We got Carol with us, too. And we all need a bar!'
'How did she do?'
'Probation and counseling. It was her first offense, and she'd already paid for all the Fritos she ate. We had a lady judge who weighed about two hundred pounds and was real sympathetic.'
I turned the corner and saw them at the curb. Lula and Cindy were smiling. Carol looked shell-shocked. She was ghostly white, clutching a bag of Cheez Doodles to her chest, and she was visibly shaking.
They all piled into the backseat, with Carol sitting between Cindy and Lula.
'Carol doesn't know the court session is over,' Lula said, grinning. 'Carol's in a state. We gotta get Carol a big- ass margarita.'
I drove over to the Burg, and I parked in front of Marsillio's. It was a nice safe place to get a drink. If anybody messed with you at Marsillio's, Bobby V would kick their butt. Or even worse, he'd make sure they didn't get a table.
We guided Carol into Marsillio's, sat her at a table, and used the napkin to brush some of the doodle dust off her.
'Am I going to jail?' Carol asked.
'No,' Cindy said. 'You're not going to jail.'
'I was afraid I was going to jail. Who would take care of my kids?'
'I'd take care of your kids,' Cindy said. 'But you don't have to worry about it, because you're not going to jail.'
Alan, the owner, rushed over with a margarita for Carol.
'Am I going to jail?' she asked.
Three margaritas later, we poured Carol into the Lincoln, and I dumped her at Cindy's house.
'Boy,' Lula said. 'She was really hammered.'
With any luck she'd throw up a bag or two of Doodles. Don't get me wrong, I love Doodles, but they aren't exactly diet food when you snarf them by the truckload.
It was late afternoon, so I took Lula to the office. I parked in the rear lot, and we went in through the back door.
Connie was on her feet when she saw us. I've got a bunch of files,' she said. 'Everyone take a couple and put them away. I don't want another file mess.'
I took my stack of files and arranged them alphabetically. 'Joe tells me no one bonded out Anton Ward this time.'
'He's being held on a big bucks bond, and no one has the collateral to cover it. His brother called, but Vinnie wouldn't take the bond. The only way Ward's going to get out is with a signature bond, and no one's going to write
