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“He liked being married.”
Morelli smiled. “He liked being married too much.”
“I have a hypothetical question for you. If Bobby Sunflower was mixed up with someone more scary than him, who would it be?”
“A couple people come to mind. Can you be more specific?”
“Suppose Vinnie was also mixed up in it.”
“That doesn’t narrow it down a lot. Vinnie was into a lot of illegal stuff. Prostitution, gambling, recreational drugs. In his defense, I have to say to my knowledge he always only bought and never sold.”
“Let’s narrow it down to gambling.”
“That’s tough. I’d think Sunflower kept that to himself.” Morelli picked a breadstick out of the basket. “I’m guessing this isn’t all that hypothetical. Do you want to tell me about it?”
“You’d have police issues.”
Morelli leaned back in his chair and locked eyes with me. Serious. “If you were in danger, I’d expect you to tell me.”
“I’m okay. Aside from an alligator encounter this morning, everything’s under control.”
“Were you at the zoo?”
“Cotter Street.”
“I imagine you’re talking about Chopper’s alligator. How big is he now?”
“Has to be six foot.”
“I’ve never seen him, but I’ve heard stories.”
I buttered a piece of bread. “He’s prehistoric. Scared the bejeezus out of me. He came out from behind Chopper’s couch and snapped at Lula. Lula and I took off and fell halfway down the stairs, and then screamed all the way to the car. Now that I think about it, it was sort of embarrassing.”
“Did you apprehend Chopper?”
“No. He wasn’t home.”
“But he left his door open and unlocked?”
“Something like that,” I said.
Morelli looked around for the waitress. “Maybe I should have ordered a drink.”
“Feeling the need for alcohol?”
“Yeah, you have that effect on me. My biggest fear is that someday I’m going to show up to arrest someone and it’s going to be you.”
“Would you do that?”
Morelli gave up on the waitress and slouched down a little. “I’d put the cuffs on you.”
“And then what?” I asked.
His mouth curved into a small smile, and his eyes darkened. “Do you want to know the details?”
My turn to smile. “Not here.”
“You’re teasing me,” Morelli said. “I like it.”
