Lean Mean Thirteen

I glanced back at Ranger. 'You aren't going to shoot her, are you?'

'Thinking about it.'

'Was Peter involved in anything shady at work?' I asked her.

'Sure. He was a lawyer.'

'I mean really shady. Like illegal. Trafficking in drugs, for instance.'

She set the bag on the kitchen counter. 'I don't think so. Why would he do something like that? He was making a fortune just being a lawyer.'

'Did he have another office somewhere? I noticed he doesn't have a home office here.'

'He works at the law office. What's the deal, anyway? I'm calling the cops. You jerk-offs broke into my apartment. Hey, wait a minute. You aren't going to kidnap me, are you? Omigod, you've got Peter, right? That's why he hasn't come home. You've got Peter! Help!' she yelled. 'Help! Police!'

'Go ahead,' I said to Ranger. 'Shoot her.'

'We aren't going to kidnap you,' Ranger said. 'And we didn't kidnap Peter Smullen. In fact, we have some very bad news for you.'

'Help!' she yelled. 'Help! Help!'

Ranger looked at me. 'You have any ideas besides shoot her?'

'I love your boots,' I said to her. 'Vuitton, right?'

She looked down at the boots. Knee-high, black leather, stacked heel. 'Yeah,' she said. 'They cost a fortune, but I had to have them. I got a bag to match. You want to see the bag?'

'Sure.'

She went into the bedroom and came back with the bag. 'This is the shit, right?' she said.

'It looks great on you. You can carry a big bag like that,' I told her. 'It's a to-die-for bag. And speaking of dying… Peter Smullen is dead.'

'Waddaya mean, he's dead?'

'He was caught in a fire in a warehouse last night and he died. I'm so sorry,' I told her.

'Plow do you know?'

'It was made public this morning.'

She was deer-in-the-headlights for a moment. 'Are you sure?'

'He was identified by his wedding band and his key ring.'

'Sonovabitch. All that money and I was so close to getting my hands on it, and the jackass had to get himself toasted in a fucking warehouse. Life is so unfair.' Her eyes darted around the room. 'This apartment belongs to the law firm,' she said. 'I need a truck! Do you have a truck?'

'No.'

'We'll have to rent one.'

'Uh, actually, we have to be moving along,' I said. 'Like to stay, but…'

Ranger was at the door.

'Uncle Mickey lives across the hall,' I told her. 'He can get you a truck.'

I followed Ranger down the stairs and out of the building. I was about to get into the Porsche when I spotted Joyce half a block away.

'Be right back,' I said to Ranger.

I jogged down to Joyce and leaned in her car window.

'Peter Smullen is dead,' I said. 'He was killed in a warehouse fire last night. His girlfriend lives in that building we just left. She's on the top floor. We couldn't get any information out of her, but you might want to try.'

'Are you shitting me?'

'No. Swear to God.' I jogged back to Ranger and slid into the passenger seat. 'I think I got rid of Joyce for a while.'

TWELVE

Ranger and I were in his den watching a basketball game.

'How's your leg?' he asked.

'It's a little sore.'

'I need to leave for Domino's. Do you want to come with me or would you rather stay here?'

'I'll go with you.'

He looked at my V-neck sweater with the RangeMan logo embroidered in purple. 'Do you have something to wear that doesn't say RangeMan?'

'No. Even my underwear has your name on it.'

'It's Ella. She got a machine that stitches the logo, and she can't control herself. She puts it on everything.' He stood. 'I'm going to change. I'll be ready to go in a minute.'

I'd been to Domino's once before. Lula and I made an apprehension there last spring. It was a typical titty bar with a raised stage and pole dancers. I was told it had a back room for lap dances, but Lula and I didn't get back there. Our man was at the bar, stuffing money into G-strings.

Ranger had changed into black jeans and a long-sleeved, collared black shirt that he wore out to hide his gun.

'Do you have money for the girls?' I asked him.

'I try not to hand money out at strip bars. It's like feeding stray cats. Once you feed them, they never go away.'

'Yes, but I'll be there to protect you this time.'

Ranger held my jacket for me. 'I usually rely on Tank, but tonight the job is yours.'

We took the elevator to the garage, and Ranger chose a black Explorer over one of his private cars. Easier to blend. Domino's was just ten minutes away from RangeMan. For that matter, everything was ten minutes from RangeMan. Ranger had placed his security company in a good location. If an alarm went off anywhere in Trenton, Range Man was there in ten minutes or less.

On weekends, Domino's rocked. It was filled to capacity with bachelor parties and couples out for fun. On a Monday night, it was half empty, and there was no problem getting a table. Ranger steered us to a dark corner where he could put his back to the wall. Most of the men were at the bar that surrounded the dance platform. A bunch of sad regulars and some out-of-town businessmen who'd straggled in from the hotels on Route One. Tonight, I was the only woman.

The music was loud. Disco. The two women onstage were in four-inch stilettos and dental floss. They looked like they wouldn't mind getting out of the shoes.

A waitress stopped by, all smiley face. 'Hey handsome,' she said to Ranger. 'What'll it be?'

'Vodka rocks,' Ranger said. 'Two of them.'

I raised an eyebrow at him when the waitress left. 'You drink vodka rocks?'

'Less to dump on the floor,' he said.

We didn't want to make an entrance and have Gorvich spot us, so we'd arrived early. The disadvantage to this soon became apparent. Ranger was a bimbo magnet.

The dancers finished their set, and one immediately strolled over to our table and straddled Ranger.

'Want a private party?' she asked.

'Not tonight,' Ranger said. He handed her a twenty, and she left.

'What about the cat-feeding theory?' I asked him.

'Out the window.'

Our drinks were delivered and a new dancer popped up in front of Ranger. 'Hey sweetie,' she said. 'How's it going?' And before Ranger had a chance to answer, she had her huge breasts in his face and her leg over his lap.

'Not tonight,' Ranger said. He handed her a twenty, and she left.

'I'm seeing a pattern here,' I said to Ranger. 'How often do you come here?'