CHAPTER ELEVEN

Lula was waiting on the sidewalk in front of her house.

“What’s going on? ” she asked, getting in and buckling up. “Is that the pooper in the backseat? ”

I looked at Potts and he made a zipper motion across his mouth.

“It’s George Potts, ” I said. “He’s riding with us. It’s a long story, not worth telling. Are we going to Stark Street? ”

“I’m thinking we start at the train station. A couple of the girls hang out for the late commuters. They’re usually on Grimly Street. ”

I crossed the railroad tracks, drove past the train station, and turned left onto Grimly. A plus-sized hooker wearing pink sweats and black patent leather platform stilettos was standing on the corner.

“Do you know her? ” I asked Lula.

“No, ” Lula said. “I never got in with the train station girls. ”

I pulled over and lowered my window. Pink Sweatsuit walked over and looked in at Lula and me.

“I don’t usually do girls, ” Sweatsuit said. “They take too long. I make exceptions if you want to pay by the hour or go electric. ”

I waved a twenty at her. “I’m looking for a friend. Maybe you’ve seen him. ” I replaced the twenty with Shine’s photo.

“Nope. Never seen him, ” she said. “Not for a twenty anyways. ” She looked into the backseat. “Is that Georgy Potts back there? Hey, Georgy, how’s it going? ”

Potts looked at me and I pretended to unzip my lips.

“Hey, Leticia, ” Potts said.

“All the girls been missing you, honey. Where you been? How’s your asthma? ” Leticia turned her attention to me. “He has PTSD. I hope you’re taking good care of him. ”

“The best, ” I said. “He’s special. ”

“You bet your ass he’s special, ” Leticia said.

Potts leaned forward. “So, have you seen this guy? We’d really like to get in touch with him. ”

“Sure, just for you, Sweetums. He’s got a thing for Patches. She’s good with the older folks. She usually hung on the corner here with Jody and me, but I haven’t seen her in a while. You might try Lizzy on Stark. Lizzy and Patches were tight. ”

“Thanks, ” Potts said. “You’re the best. ”

“Don’t be a stranger, ” Leticia said, taking my twenty, stuffing it into her pocket.

“That girl has no curbside manners, ” Lula said when I drove away. “I would never have approached a prospective client like that. ”

“She’s nice when you get to know her, ” Potts said. “She has a cat named Kiki. ”

Lula turned in her seat and looked at Potts. “Are you a regular or something? ”

“No, ” Potts said. “I mostly only have sex with myself. Before the bakery pooping incident, I had a job delivering pizza and the ladies were big pizza eaters. Sometimes I would run errands for them when they had an emergency or a special request… like chocolate syrup or a package of frozen hot dogs. That was a tough one because hot dogs aren’t usually frozen. And once Samantha forgot her paddle and I had to buy her a spatula at the grocery store. ”

“That Samantha is a trip, ” Lula said. “She’s been around for a long time. That’s on account of she’s a specialist. Specialists like her got a longer shelf life than an ordinary service provider. ”

“Do you know Patches? ” I asked Potts.

“No, but I know Lizzy. She used to work the train station. ”

“Do you know Lizzy’s corner on Stark? ”

“No, ” he said. “I would never deliver on Stark Street. It’s too scary. I went there once, and I accidentally ran over a big rat. It was so big I thought it was a cat, so I got out to see if I could help. And while I was looking at the squished rat, someone stole my car. ”

“Yeah, you gotta give it to the Stark Street boys, ” Lula said. “They’re fast. Did you get your car back? ”

“No. The police said it probably got taken apart right away. ”

Lula added, “There’s good money to be made on auto body parts. ”

I drove through town and turned onto Stark Street. The first two blocks of Stark are okay, with small businesses on the ground floor and apartments above them. After that it deteriorates.

“I’m not comfortable, ” Potts said. “I’m feeling anxious. I might have a panic attack coming on. ”

“Keep a watch out for Lizzy, ” I said.

“I can’t see. My vision is blurry, ” Potts said. “I’m pretty sure I’m having an ocular migraine. ”

“Maybe we should take him to the hospital, ” Lula said.

“What does Lizzy look like? ” I asked Potts.

“She’s black. I think she said that she’s from Haiti. And she had dreads with beads in them. ”

“There she is, ” Lula said, pointing to three women clustered on a corner. “And I know the other two hookers. ”

I pulled over and Lula stuck her head out the window. “Hey, ladies, ” she said. “How’s business? ”

They trotted over and Lula introduced us. “This is Lucy, and this is Sharon, ” Lula said. “We shared a corner together just before I retired from the profession. ”

“We heard you got hurt real bad, ” Lucy said. “Are you okay? ”

“I’m good, ” Lula said. “I’m working in bail bonds now. We’re looking for a guy. Charlie Shine. Any of you know him? ”

“Patches was spending time with him, ” Lizzy said. “She talked about him a lot. I got the idea he was an older gentleman with a lot of money, but I never got to see him. ”

“Do you know where we can find Patches? ” I asked.

“Usually she’s across the street, ” Lizzy said, “but she hasn’t been showing up. ”

“It’s been a week since we’ve seen her, ” Sharon said. “We’re a little worried. ”

“Have you tried to get in touch with her? ” I asked.

“She isn’t answering her cell phone, and Lizzy went to see her, but no one answered the door. ”

Lizzy looked into the car. “Is that Georgy in the backseat? Hi, honey, are you doing okay? ”

“I’m a little light-headed, ” Potts said.

“No doubt from that PTSD you got, ” Lizzy said.

“If you give us Patches’s address, we’ll look in on her, ” I said.

“Sure, ” Lizzy said. “She got a room on Parker Street. Second floor. You can’t miss the building. It’s got a big red peace sign painted on it still from the seventies. ”

“I’ll let you know if we see her, ” Lula said.

“Appreciate it, honey. You stay well. ”

I drove away and Potts started humming.

“What’s he doing? ” Lula asked.

“Humming, ” I said. “He hums when he has anxiety. It keeps him calm. ”

“It’s annoying, ” Lula said. “He’s not humming a song or anything. He’s just freaking humming. ”

“The alternative might be diarrhea, ” I said.

“How about the alternative be we chuck him out of the car and let him call Uber. ”

“I can hear you, ” Potts said. “You’re making me more panicky. My heart is racing. I think I have tachycardia. I’ve got spots in front of my eyes and I might see an angel. There’s something floating in front of the car. ”

Lula sat forward in her seat. “I don’t see anything. ”

“It went away, ” Potts said. “It was there for a minute. It might have been one of those escort angels that take you to heaven. ”

“As long as it’s not coming for me, ” Lula said. “I’m not ready. I got a hair appointment tomorrow. ”

Parker Street was two blocks away. The neighborhood wasn’t the best, but it also wasn’t Stark Street. It was mostly residential row houses that were two and three stories. Occasionally there would be a small bar on a corner or a small grocer in the middle of a block. There was the usual gang graffiti on the buildings, but the buildings weren’t pockmarked with bullet holes. I found the peace sign building and parked at the curb.

“Are we going in this building? ” Potts asked.

“Yes, ” I said. “Do you want to wait in the car? ”

“By myself? ”

“Yes. ”

“I guess I can’t protect you if I wait in the car. ”

Lula cut her eyes to me. “He’s protecting you? ”

“He took an oath, ” I said.

“Oh boy, ” Lula said. “Hah! ”

“It’s true, ” Potts said. “I would give my life for her. She’s been nice to me. ”

Lula went serious. “That’s heavy, ” she said. “Sort of stupid, but heavy. ”

Potts nodded. “Exactly. ”

“Okay then, ” Lula said. “Let’s do it. ”

We all got out of the car and walked to the building. The door was unlocked and led to a tiny lobby with some mailboxes. There were two names for the second floor. Tim Windrow in 2A and Alice Smuther in 2B. We took the stairs to the second floor, and I knocked on 2B. No answer. I knocked again. Still no answer.

“I don’t like the way it smells here, ” Lula said. “I’ve smelled this smell before. ”

“I’ve never smelled it, but I don’t like it, ” Potts said. “It’s unpleasant. ”

I tried the doorknob and it clicked open. “Not locked, ” I said.

I pushed the door open and we all stepped inside. One medium-size room with a door leading to the bathroom. Kitchenette lining one side. Small table with two chairs. Queen-size bed against the far wall. Slept in and unmade. Dead woman sprawled on the floor. Probably been dead for a couple of days.

Potts looked at the corpse, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he crashed to the floor.

“He handled that pretty good, ” Lula said. “At least he didn’t poop himself. Not yet anyways. ”

I called 911 and reported a possible homicide. It looked like the woman had been shot in the chest and the head, so I was pretty sure it wasn’t self-inflicted. We grabbed Potts by his ankles, dragged him into the hall, and shut the door.

“I guess we gotta wait for the police, ” Lula said. “I hope this all doesn’t take too long. I’ve got some stuff lined up on my TV. I’ve been binge-watching Game of Thrones. This is my second time around, but I still like it. Not to mention if I stay here much longer, I’m going to throw up. ”

Potts opened his eyes. “What? ” he said.

“Stay down and relax for a couple of minutes, ” I told him. “You fainted. ”

“I had the craziest dream while I was out. I thought I saw a dead woman with blood all over. It was horrible. ”

I gave Lula the keys to my car. “I’ll stay here, and you can go home. I’ll pick my car up tomorrow. Take Potts with you and drop him at his parents’ house on Porter Street. ”

“How will you get home? ”

“I have options. ”

“I bet, ” Lula said. “Probably involve a happy hour. Or at least twenty minutes. ” She pulled Potts to his feet and pointed him at the door. “Time to go, ” she said. “Auntie Lula is driving. ”

I moved from the second floor to the lobby, where the air was better. Two uniforms arrived and I sent them upstairs. I knew plainclothes would follow. I was hoping it wasn’t Morelli. I gave up a sigh of relief when Tom Schmidt walked in. I went to high school with Tom. He graduated into plainclothes a year after Morelli. He was a good cop. Not as talented as Morelli, but he was honest, and he cared about the law.

“Looks like you’re pulling the night shift, ” I said to him.

“Yeah, lucky me. What do we have here? ”

“A very dead body in 2B. The name on the mailbox is Alice Smuther. I was looking for a hooker going by Patches. I don’t know what Patches looked like but I’m guessing she’s lying on the floor upstairs. ”

“Do you have anything else that’s interesting to tell me? ”

“She was servicing Charlie Shine. Do you have anything interesting to tell me? ”

“No, but I saw your picture online and you looked real cute jumping out of the hotel window. ”

“I didn’t jump. I dropped. Big difference. Huge difference. ”

“Did you remove anything from the crime scene? Are your fingerprints all over everything? ”

“No. And no. I can leave now, right? ”

“Yeah. I know where to find you. ”

I went outside and called Ranger. “I need a ride, ” I told him. “I’m on Parker Street. Just look for all the squad cars and EMT trucks. ”

“This is the homicide that just got called in? ”

“Yep. Dead hooker. Close friend of Charlie Shine. ”

The line went dead. I hoped that meant he was on his way.

Seven minutes later, Ranger snaked his way through the cluster of cars and trucks in front of the peace symbol building and picked me up.

“Thanks, ” I said. “Lula didn’t want to wait for the police, so I loaned her my car. ”

“I’m guessing this has something to do with the treasure hunt. Were you able to look around before the police arrived? ”

“No. She’d been dead awhile. The smell was really bad. I’m surprised her neighbor didn’t investigate. ”

“You don’t go looking for trouble in this neighborhood, ” Ranger said. “Tell me about her. ”

“I knew Shine liked the ladies, so Lula and I talked to a couple of her hooker friends earlier tonight on Stark Street. They gave us the address. ”

Ranger left Parker Street, turning toward the center of the city. “Is it important that you get home tonight? ”

“No. Rex has lots of food and fresh water. ”

Ranger owned a stealth office building that was located on a quiet side street in the middle of downtown Trenton. The faç ade was brick and low-key. A small gold plaque by the impact glass front door had a single word on it. Rangeman. The man at the desk in the modest lobby was armed and dressed in Rangeman black. The interior of the building was high-tech and more secure than the White House. The heart of the operation, the control room, was located on the fifth floor. Ranger’s lair was on the seventh floor. His clients were for the most part wealthy businessmen who for one reason or another needed personalized security services that went beyond the norm.

Ranger drove into the underground garage that housed the fleet cars and Ranger’s personal cars. He parked in his slot next to the elevator and reminded me that until we were in his apartment, we were on an audio and video security feed. I’d been in the building many times before. Sometimes with Ranger and sometimes without Ranger when he’d been off-site and I needed a safe haven.

We went directly to Ranger’s apartment, which occupied the entire floor. When he bought the building, he’d turned it over to a design firm. He was probably sleeping with the designer at the time, because the color palette and furnishings were perfect. Simple, modern, comfortable. White walls. Furnishings in black, gray, brown, and cream. Elegantly masculine. Small state-of-the-art kitchen. Everything kept immaculate by his housekeeper, Ella.

I followed him to the kitchen.

“What would you like? ” he said. “Wine? ”

“Red. ”

He took a bottle of Pinot Noir from the wine cooler and selected two glasses from the above-counter display. “Prowl through the fridge if you’re hungry, ” he said. “Ella usually has some late-night food in there. ”

I pulled out a tray with dried fruit and nuts and cheese, and I set it on the counter. Ranger lived well. This hadn’t always been the case. When I first met him, his address was a vacant lot.

“Let’s move this into my office, ” he said. “I’ll do a search on Alice Smuther. ”

I took the cheese tray and my wine and followed Ranger.

The apartment consisted of a hallway leading to the kitchen, a small eating area off the kitchen, and a living room with comfy couches. Ranger’s office was in the master bedroom area off the living room.

I set the cheese tray on his desk and pulled a chair up next to him. He typed Alice Smuther into his search program, and we sat back and waited for the information.

She was relatively clean for a hooker. A few arrests for solicitation. That was it. She was twenty-six years old. Grew up in Atlanta. Migrated north when she graduated from high school. Had a bunch of short-term minimum wage jobs and then turned to prostitution. Ranger pulled her driver’s license up and I was pretty sure it was the woman on the floor.

“She owned a ten-year-old Range Rover, ” Ranger said. “Here’s her plate. If it’s not parked on the street close to her building, Shine might be driving it. ”

“Do you have any other ideas? ”

“Yes. Let’s move this into the bedroom. ”

Oh boy.

When I spend a night in Ranger’s bed the sex is always great, but honestly, his sheets are equally orgasmic. They’re gloriously soft and as smooth as glass because Ella irons them. His pillows are perfect. His comforter is perfect. When he turns the light off, the room is dark and quiet and cool. The cool never lasts very long. Ranger is hot in bed.

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