Twelve Sharp

  'I didn't want you to miss anything.'

  'Such as… oh God, give me a break. What time is it? It's still dark out.'

  'There's this thing that happens when I wake up next to you,' Morelli said. 'It's very uncomfortable… in a good way.'

  'What about the cake you promised?'

  'It's baking.'

  That was obvious.

  'Can't you go back to sleep and pick this up in an hour or two?' I asked Morelli.

  'I have to be at my desk in an hour or two. And my body doesn't work like that. Once the cake's in the oven, it keeps baking until it's done.'

  'I'm tired. Maybe this is one of those times when you can have your cake and eat it too. You know, all by yourself.'

  'Do you want to watch?'

  'No! I want to sleep.'

  Morelli nibbled on my neck, and his hand snaked around to my breast. 'Okay,' he said with his voice all soft and old-whiskey smooth. 'Go back to sleep. We'll do this some other time.'

  I blew out a sigh. 'What kind of cake is it?' I asked. 'Coffee cake? Birthday cake?'

  We were lying spoon fashion, and I could feel Morelli laughing behind me.

  'It's a cannoli,' he said.

  'Oh boy,' Lula said when I swung into the office. 'Only one thing puts that kind of smile on your face.'

  'I had cake for breakfast.'

  'Must have been damn good cake.'

  Melvin Pickle was working at filing. 'I can't eat cake for breakfast,' he said. 'It's bad for my blood sugar level.'

  'She didn't mean cake cake,' Lula said. 'That was one of them double entendre things. Boy you're awful slow on the pickup for a pervert.'

  'Did you hear about Ranger?' I asked Connie and Lula.

  'It came up on my news service this morning,' Connie said.

  'What did the service say? Have they found him or his daughter?'

  'No. It just said she was picked up after school by a man who met Ranger's description and not seen since. I tried paging him but he's not answering.'

  I glanced out the front window. 'I see Carmen is back at the curb.'

  'This just gets weirder and weirder,' Lula said. 'This is like Twilight Zone shit.'

  Connie gave me a clipboard and then gave one to Lula. 'I don't have time to think about it this morning. We have people coming in for the BEA job. I cut the group of applicants in half by eliminating everyone with a criminal record,' she said. 'The rest have been divided into three groups. I'm calling those groups Best, Okay, and God Help Us. Hopefully we'll find someone before we get to God Help Us. The Best group is coming in this morning. We're going to give everyone a fifteen-minute interview, so this shouldn't take all day. I know you're anxious to go out there and round up some bad guys.'

  'Yeah, I can't wait,' Lula said. 'I need to look like an idiot at least twice a day to keep myself humble.'

  My clipboard had seven bios on it. Connie had run simple background checks on today's group and gotten the basics. First up was George Panko. He was scheduled for a nine o'clock interview. At nine-fifteen we ripped his sheet off the clipboard.

  'Guess he changed his mind,' Lula said. 'Probably decided to get a good job… like feeding lions or cleaning kennel cages.'

  Becky Willard strolled in at nine-twenty-five. 'I figured you'd be running late,' she said. 'So I stopped for a latte, and the moron behind the counter took so long. And then he didn't put the right kind of milk in it. I asked for a skim milk latte, and I know he gave me regular milk. I mean, do I look stupid? So he had to make it over. And he took so long again.' She looked around. 'This office is so dreary. Would I have to spend much time here? And I get a company car, right? I mean, you don't expect me to use my own car to apprehend fugitives, do you?'

  When Willard left, Connie ripped Willard's sheet off the clipboard. 'Two down.'

  The nine-thirty interview was precisely on time. He was dressed in head-to-toe black leather and had a six-shooter strapped to his leg.

  That gun looks vintage,' Lula said. 'Is it real?'

  'You bet your ass,' he said. And he pulled the gun, twirled it around on his finger, and shot a hole in the front panel of Connie's desk. 'Oops,' he said. 'Sorry about that. Slipsies.'

  Another sheet got ripped off the board. Four to go.

  Anton Rudder was next in the hot seat. 'I can do this job,' he said. 'I'll go out there and get those motherfuckers. They won't even know what hit them. I'll have their law-breakin' ass in the trunk of my car

  'Actually, we almost never transport someone in the trunk,' I said.

  'Yeah, but that's because you're pussy,' Anton said. 'This whole office is pussy. I figure that's why I got the callback. You need a real man here.'

  'If we needed a real man we wouldn't have called your runt ass,' Lula said.

  'No offense,' Anton said. 'I like pussy. I especially like fat black pussy. But it's not like pussy can do the same job a man can do. Everybody knows that. That's a scientific fact.'

  Lula was on her feet, rooting through her shoulder bag. 'Excuse me? Did you just imply I was fat? Is that what I heard?'

  'Probably you should leave before Lula finds her gun,' I said to Anton.

  Lula had her head in her bag. 'It's in here somewhere.'

  Anton hustled out the door, and Connie ripped his sheet off her clipboard.

  Three interviews left, and I was having a hard time concentrating. I was in a state over Ranger.

  Martin Dorn arrived for his interview looking relatively normal with the exception of a mustache drawn onto his upper lip with a black Magic Marker.

  'It's always been my lifelong dream to be a bounty hunter,' Dorn said. 'I watch all the television shows. And I went to bounty hunter school on the Internet. You could ask me anything about being a bounty hunter, and I bet I know the answer.'

  'That's promising,' Connie said. 'Do you know you have a Magic Marker mustache on your upper lip?'

  'I tried to grow a real one, but I didn't have any luck at it,' he said. 'I'm good with a Magic Marker. I used one to draw a lightening bolt on my penis. Would you like to see it?'

  Melvin Pickle was filing reports on the other side of the bank of cabinets. He popped his head up to take a look at Dorn, and Connie ripped Dorn's sheet off her clipboard.

  The sixth applicant was a no-show.

  The seventh was Brendan Yalenowski.

  'I need to know my rights,' Brendan said. 'Am I allowed to shoot people? Suppose I shot someone while I was in the act of making an apprehension. Only suppose that person wasn't actually the guy I was looking for. Suppose it was someone who looked a little like the guy. And suppose he wasn't armed. And this is just theoretical, but suppose it turned out that I knew him and owed him money

  Connie slouched in her seat when Brendan left. 'Is it too early in the day to start drinking?'

  'This was a big bust,' Lula said. 'Who'd think this would be so hard? It's not like we were gonna be picky. I mean, look what you got doing this job, a former 'ho and someone who used to sell cheap ladies' panties.'

  'I was a buyer,' I said. 'The job wasn't that bad.'

  'Yeah, but you got fired.'

  'Laid off. It wasn't my fault.'

  Vinnie's office door was closed. 'Where's Vinnie?' I asked Connie. 'I haven't seen him all week.'

  'He's in Biloxi. Bail bonds conference. And I hate to bring this up, but you need to bring in a couple of the high bonds. We need Lonnie Johnson and Leon James.'

  'I made some phone calls last night, and I couldn't get anything on Johnson. Someone a lot scarier than I am is after him, and he's on the run. I'll try Leon James today.'

  'I'll go with you,' Lula said. 'Only I gotta be careful because I just got my nails done, and I don't want to ruin them. This is my big night. I'm making my debut with the What tonight. We're gonna be at that bar on Third Street. The Hole.'

  'That's a pretty rough bar. I didn't know they had bands,' I said to Lula.

  'We're the first. They're trying something new. They said they wanted to e
xpand their clientele.'

  'I hope Sally isn't going in drag to that bar.'

  'He's got a dress that's like mine only his is in red on account of he don't look good in gold. People be disappointed if Sally wasn't in drag. That's his thing. He's famous for his accessorizing.'

  Salvatore Sweet is a good friend in a constant state of reinvention. He's played lead guitar with a bunch of bands. The Funky Butts, the Pitts, Beggar Boys, and Howling Dogs. When I met him he was playing in drag for the first time with the Lovelies, and that was where he hit the jackpot. Actually, it was just a local jackpot, but it was more success than he'd ever seen. When the band broke up Sally continued to perform in drag. He's currently driving a school bus days and playing guitar nights. His bands are always a collection of misfits. Good musicians most of the time who for one reason or another don't fit in anywhere else. In a bizarre way, Lula would be a perfect addition.

  'If he goes in drag to the Hole he's going to be accessorizing in the hospital,' Connie said.

  'Something to think about,' Lula said.

  I glanced out the front window at the SUV. 'Does she ever get out?' I asked Connie. 'Just to stretch? Walk around?'

  'I haven't seen her out since that first time when she came into the office looking for you.'

  'I have a sick stomach over this Ranger thing,' I told Connie. 'I think we should get some background on Julie Martine's mother and stepfather. And maybe you could poke around in Arlington. I'd like to know more about Ranger's business there.'

  Ten minutes later, we were in Lula's car, on the way to Leon James's last known address, and I was on the phone with Morelli.

  'I need some help,' I told him. 'I'd like to know the captures Ranger made through his Virginia office. And it would be helpful if I could get a photograph of the Virginia Ranger.'

  'The captures I should be able to get for you. The photo will only happen if he has a mug shot or a Virginia driver's license.'

  'Good enough. And remember, it's Friday, and we're expected for dinner at my parents' house.'

  'I'll be there,' Morelli said.

  Lula parked in front of a two-story brick row house in a neighborhood adjacent to the Burg. 'Here it is,' she said. 'This is the address on the file.'

  Leon James had listed the house as his residence and had also used it to secure the bond. He was a penny-ante hitman, selling his services to anyone with a grudge. Usually evidence is scarce against him. And witnesses have been known to recant stories and occasionally to disappear. He was wanted for arson and attempted murder. He was a third-time offender, and this was going to be an ugly capture.

  'How are we going to do this?' Lula wanted to know. 'This isn't a nice guy. He kills people and burns down houses.'

  'I think we'll have to be tricky.'

  'Yeah, tricky. I like the sound of that.'

  'First thing, we need to get him out of his house and into someplace public. Then we need to distract him until we can get him cuffed.'

  'Okay,' Lula said. 'I'm with you.'

  'That's it. That's all I've got.'

  'That's not much,' Lula said.

  'Suppose one of us calls him and says she wants to hire him to do a job. And then she could set up a meeting.'

  'Good thinking. That's going to be you doing the calling, right? You're a way better liar than I am.'

  I cut my eyes to Lula. 'You're an excellent liar.'

  'Maybe, but I gotta be saving myself for tonight. I can't afford to use my voice too much.'

  'That is so lame,' I said to Lula.

  'It's the best I could come up with.'

  I punched Leon's number into my cell phone. 'I'd like to speak to Leon James,' I said to the guy who answered.

  'Speaking.'

  'I think I might need some help in solving a problem.'

  'Un hunh.'

  'You were recommended.'

  'Oh yeah. Who recommended me?'

  'Butchy.'

  'I don't know any Butchy.'

  'Well, he knows you. And he recommended you.'

  'What sort of problem we talking about?'

  'I don't want to say on the phone.'

  'That sounds promising already,' James said.

  'I was hoping we could meet somewhere. I need to solve this problem fast.'

  'It'll cost you.'

  'I don't care. Just solve my friggin' problem, okay?'

  I'd agreed to meet Leon James in a small park in the Burg. The park wasn't much more than a patch of grass half a block in size. It had a couple trees and a couple benches and that was it. Once in a while an old guy would sit on a bench and soak up sun. And once in a while a couple kids would sit on a bench and smoke some weed. And once in a while someone would walk his dog in the park.

  Lula and I had driven to Morelli's house and commandeered Bob. The plan was that I'd meet Leon James at the bench, and while we were talking, Lula would mosey by with Bob. Then when James was distracted, one of us would zap him with a stun gun.

  I dropped Lula and Bob off on a side street, turned a corner, and parked not far from the bench. I walked to the bench and sat down with my purse in my lap. After five minutes a car pulled up behind Lula's Firebird, and James got out. He looked around, straightened his jacket, and walked toward me. It was eighty degrees out, and there was only one reason to be wearing a jacket.

  James was five-foot-nine and stocky. The fact that he'd been caught numerous times for arson put him in the not-too-bright category. Arson is a respected profession among certain subcultures in Jersey, and the good ones don't get caught. The good ones channel lightning and mysterious acts of spontaneous combustion.

  I fought stage fright as I watched James cut across the grass. My heart was racing, and I could feel panic sticking in my throat. Deep breath, I told myself. Be calm. Be cool.

  'You looking for a problem solver?' James said, coming up to the bench.

  'I might be.'

  He sat down. 'What kind of problem you got?'

  'A cheating husband.'

  'And?'

  'I'm told it would be cheaper to pay you to take care of the bastard than it would be to divorce him and lose half of everything.'

  'Works for me.'

  James was turned toward me, and I could see Lula and Bob coming up behind him. Bob was straining at the leash, wanting to run, but with Lula at the other end it was like pulling a refrigerator.

  'Are you interested, or what?'

  'Sure. I'm a professional. I don't need to know why. I just need to know you'll pay.'

  'Good. Then it's settled. We just have to agree on a price.'

  'I don't negotiate price. My price is fixed. Ten big ones. Five now and five when the job is completed.'

  'Nobody told me that part,' I said. 'I don't have a lot of money on me.'

  'Then you have a problem.'

  'Do you take credit cards?'

  'Lady, I'm not the Gap.'

  'How about a check?'

  'How about cash,' he said.

  'Wait a minute, let me think. I just have to go to the bank. Can you wait while I go to the bank?'

  'Sorry, no can do. I have a visibility problem.'

  Lula was about twenty feet away, and Bob was chugging like a freight train, pulling against his collar, trying to get to me.

  James turned to see what was making all that noise behind him, I slipped the stun gun out of my bag, pushed the button, and the little on light didn't go on.

  James turned back to me and saw the stun gun. 'What the fuck?'

  I looked at Lula in utter panic.

  Lula let go of Bob's leash. Bob bounded over and took a flying leap for me, knocking me off the bench. James reached for his gun. And Lula roundhoused James on the side of the head with her purse. I still had the stun gun in my hand and suddenly the light blinked on. I shoved Bob out of the way, scrambled to grabbing distance of James, and caught him in the ankle with the prongs of the stun gun. James squeaked, slumped over, and slid to the ground.

  I flopped
over and lay spread-eagle on my back, hand to my heart for a moment. I was breathing hard, and I was leaking nervous fear, sweating in places I didn't think had sweat glands.

  'What the heck was that?' Lula wanted to know. 'You had a expression on your face like you just had an irritable bowel experience.'