“You make me uncomfortable.”
He got the cutting board out and chopped onion, ham, and red pepper. “You have to be more specific than that.”
“I already have a boyfriend, and I don’t want another one.”
“Morelli? You’ve been fooling around with him since you were in kindergarten, and your mother says it’s not going anywhere. We think you need someone new.”
“Maybe, but it’s not you.”
He dumped the chopped stuff into the hot oil and stirred it around. “Why isn’t it me? I’m very likable. I’m attractive. I’m really good in bed. You wouldn’t know because you’ve never given me a chance, but I know what I’m doing.”
What is it with men? They all think they’re great in bed and women want to see them naked. It’s like some genetic chromosome thing.
“You’re a nice guy. And you’re right … you’re likable and attractive. You should look around. I’m sure you won’t have any problem finding a girlfriend.”
He cracked a bunch of eggs into a bowl and whipped them up. “I was voted Mr. Popularity in high school.”
“I remember.”
How the heck was I going to get him out of my apartment? It seemed excessively mean to break his nose a second time.
“And I was captain of the football team.”
“Yeah.” Stun gun, I thought. I could stun gun him.
He stirred the sizzling ham and onion around, poured the egg in, and grated some cheddar cheese. The whole kitchen smelled fabulous. I sipped my coffee and thought it wouldn’t hurt to eat first and then stun gun him.
He took two plates from the cupboard and put a croissant on each plate. He fussed with his omelet, added the cheese, and folded the omelet over. “If I’d had more time I could have made bacon or breakfast sausages,” he said, taking the pan off the stove, dividing the omelet in half. “This is healthier anyway. I don’t want a fat girlfriend.”
“I’m not your girlfriend.”
“Not yet.”
I was definitely going to stun gun him. And I was going to enjoy it. He slid half the omelet onto my plate, and we took our breakfast to the dining room table. I gobbled everything down and drained my coffee cup.
“Delicious,” I said.
“If you let me stay overnight I could make waffles in the morning. I have a killer waffle recipe.”
“Excuse me,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”
I found my stun gun, walked behind Dave, and gave him a double dose of volts. He slumped off the chair, and I grabbed him before he fell on his face. I didn’t care a lot if he broke his nose again, but I didn’t want more blood on the carpet. I dragged him out to the hall, grabbed my bag and sweatshirt, locked my apartment door, and took the stairs to the lobby.
I searched the parking lot for a black Lexus. None in sight, so I ran to the Shelby and took off. I called Dillon and asked him to check for a body laid out in front of my door.
“He should be okay in a few minutes,” I said to Dillon. “He had a dizzy spell. Maybe you can help him get to his car. Just make sure he doesn’t talk you into letting him into my apartment.”
“Okeydokey,” Dillon said. “No problemo.”
I hung up with Dillon and called Morelli.
“I have some information on Nick Alpha,” I said to Morelli. “He’s living in an apartment over his dry-cleaning business on Stark, and he has a safe in his second bedroom, and I’m pretty sure the safe is filled with bags of money. I don’t think it came from dry cleaning.”
“I’ll pass the information on,” Morelli said. “Don’t ever tell me how you found this out.”
I drove down Hamilton to the bonds office lot. Mooner’s bus and Connie’s car were parked curbside. No Vinnie. No Lula. I parked behind Connie, and let myself into the bus. The walls and the ceiling were upholstered in cream microfiber. The floor was tan Berber carpet. Countertops were pale green faux marble Formica. No more Death Star. Mooner was watching television with his sunglasses on. Connie was working at her computer.
“This is great,” I said, sitting in a club chair. “Uncle Jimmy did a good job.”
“What is butter!” Mooner yelled at the television.
Connie looked at me. “The bus is better, but it isn’t perfect. It’s still got Mooner.”
“That’s because he owns it,” I told her. “Where is everyone?”
“Vinnie is downtown bonding someone out, and Lula is at the dentist.”
“Did she say what was wrong?”
“No. She left a message on my cell. I have a vision of her getting her fangs ground down.”
That dragged a grimace out of both of us.
“What did you do over the weekend?” Connie asked. “Anything interesting?”
“I took Grandma to Lou Dugan’s viewing Saturday night, and Nick Alpha was there.”
“I’m not surprised. They were business partners before Nick got sent to prison. Dugan was part owner of the gym on Stark Street where Benito Ramirez trained.”
I told her about the conversation at the viewing.
Connie’s eyes got wide. “He said he was going to kill you?”
“Yeah. And he said he’d killed before.”
“Did you tell Morelli?”
“He’s going to talk to Nick, but I’m not sure how effective that’ll be.”
“Do you think Nick was serious about killing you?”
I nodded my head. “Yeah, I think he was serious. He had a lot of time in prison to work himself up over Jimmy’s death. Morelli will do what he can as a cop, but I need to go proactive. It occurred to me that Nick could have killed Dugan, Lucarelli, Beck, and Kulicki. If I can prove it, I can have him sent away forever, and I won’t have to worry about him killing me.”
“He knew Dugan, Lucarelli, and Kulicki,” Connie said. “He could have had something against them. Timing is right. Alpha got out of prison just before the killings started.”
“I broke into his apartment last night, but I couldn’t find any evidence.”
“That doesn’t mean Alpha didn’t kill those people.”
I helped myself to coffee and returned to my chair. “True, but Ranger doesn’t think Alpha feels right. He thinks Alpha is a shooter, and all the victims were strangled with their neck’s broken. So if Ranger’s right, I have to get something else on Nick Alpha. I’m sure he’s dirty. I just have to find out what he’s into right now.”
“I’m sure I can get answers for you,” Connie said. “The difficulty will be proving it.”
“If I can tell the police exactly where to look, they can set something up. After I get things in motion I can lock myself in my apartment and not go out until Alpha’s put away.”
“What about Ranger? I’m sure he’d take care of Alpha for you.”
“Ranger is working off enough bad karma. I don’t want to add to the burden.”
Connie put her headset on. “Let me make some phone calls.”
THIRTY-FIVE
I WENT TO THE BACK of the bus and watched
“I could like
I abandoned
“I have a couple leads,” Connie said. “Alpha was sent away for running numbers and extortion. Apparently
