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Ranger picked a pen out of the mess. “This is mine.”
I took it from him and put it into my pocket.
“This lipstick is another one,” I said, handing him the tube.
“I'm guessing this is from Joyce,” Ranger said. “You can buy these in The Spy Store.”
“And the third.” I gave him what looked like a menthol cough drop in a paper wrapper.
“This is good,” Ranger said, examining the cough drop. “Super small. Well disguised. How did you discover it?”
“I tried to eat it.”
“That's the flaw. You can write with my pen.”
“This is so creepy. Three people planted a transmitter on me, and I never knew they were doing it. What else am I missing? We know one of the transmitters belongs to you, and you planted it on me to protect me. We suspect the second belongs to Joyce, and she wanted me to lead her to Dickie. So what does this third one represent?”
“It could be as simple as one more person with the same agenda as Joyce. One of the partners who thought you might lead him to Dickie and the money. Maybe someone was casting a wide net. Maybe Joyce is walking around with a transmitter in her bag too.”
“You don't want me to freak over this.”
“I don't want you to get bogged down in negative emotion. And the truth is, we aren't sure what these toys do. I'm going to take them downstairs and give them to one of my tech guys.”
“Omigod, I just had a thought. I killed Rufus Caine! If the cough drop is a transmitter, the owner would have known we visited Rufus. He would have known we were at the club. And he would have known we followed Rufus to the apartment.”
“You didn't kill Rufus. And even if you did, it wouldn't be much of a loss.”
“Death by flamethrower is gruesome.”
“That's the appeal. The threat is demoralizing. It instills fear. And fear can be a controlling, paralyzing emotion. There are paramilitary groups that make good use of flamethrowers. It's not an especially effective way to kill a man, but it sends a message.”
“You think someone is sending a message here?”
“No. I think this killer is a freak. He has a reason for killing these people, but he's also getting off on the experience. He torches them, and then he sets a fire to hide his thrill kill. Problem is, both times you screwed things up. You saw the torched bodies before the fire. His secret is out.”
“He might not know that.”
“If he's the owner of the cough drop, he knows.”
“What about not wanting to scare me?”
“You asked,” Ranger said. “Are you scared?”
“Big time.”
“You're safe here.”
“Yes, but I can't stay here forever. In fact, I can't stay here tonight. I think my free pass has expired.”
“I don't want to force you to leave and put you in harm's way,” Ranger said, “but I have limits.”
“You need a larger apartment,” I told him. “You need a guest room.”
“I don't know why I put up with you,” Ranger said. “You're a real pain in the ass.”
“You put up with me because I'm amusing, and you love me, and I pose no threat to your lifestyle because I'm involved with Morelli.”
“That's all true,” Ranger said. “But it doesn't make you any less of a pain in the ass.”
