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'One of these days we should probably grow up,' Morelli said.
'Yeah,' I said, 'but I don't think we should feel rushed into it.'
I'm thinking I might ask Joyce Earnhardt out on a date.'
Joyce Earnhardt was a total skank and my arch enemy. That would be a definite detour off the road to maturity,' I told him.
Morelli gave a snort of laughter and hung up.
Half an hour later, I was in the office, and Connie and Lula were standing noses pressed to the front window.
That vehicle sitting at the curb looks like Ranger's personal truck,' Lula said.
'It's a loaner,' I told her.
'Yeah, but it's Ranger's, right?'
'Yep. It's Ranger's.'
'Oh boy,' Connie said.
'No strings attached,' I told them.
Lula and Connie smiled. There were always strings attached.
They'd plotz if they knew about the Bat Cave. For that matter, I was having a hard time not plotzing when I thought about the Bat
Cave.
Today is Harold Pancek Day,' I said.
'He's a no-brainer,' Connie said. 'I've been checking on him. He works at the multiplex. Shows up every day at two and works until ten. If you can't get him at home, you can get him at work.'
'Have you tried calling him?'
'I reached him once, and he told me he'd come in for rescheduling. He was a no-show on that. And now I get a machine when I call.'
1 vote we get him tonight at the multiplex,' Lula said. There's a movie I wan
t to see. It's that one where the world gets blown up and there's only mutants left. I saw the ad on television, and one of those mutants is really fine. We could go to the movie and then snag ol' Harold on the way out.' She was thumbing through the paper on Connie's desk, searching for the entertainment page.
'Here it is. That movie starts at seven thirty.'
The plan had a lot going for it. It would give me the entire day to try to find a place for Valerie. And it would take up some of my night. I didn't want to go back to Ranger's apartment until the building was in low-to-no traffic mode. Plus I'd seen those ads Lula was talking about and the mutant was extremely fine.
'Okey dokey,' I said. 'We'll go tonight. I'll pick you up at six thirty.'
'You're gonna be in the Bat Truck, right?'
It's all I've got.'
'I bet you get a tingle when you sit in it,' Lula said. 'I can't wait.
I want to try behind the wheel. I bet you feel like a real badass behind the wheel.'
Mostly I felt like I was wearing someone else's underpants.
Considering it was Ranger's underpants (figuratively speaking), the feeling wasn't entirely unpleasant.
