AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This was today?”
“Yes. This afternoon. So Vinnie and I went to Wellington. The offices are in the Meagan Building. And the offices were empty. The president, Roger Drager, was there, and a couple guys in suits playing online solitaire, and a kid working a giant paper shredder. Drager said the company was on flex hours, but the cubicles and offices didn’t look used to me. No clutter, nothing in wastebaskets. And Drager was nervous. His hands were sweaty.”
“What did he want?”
“Money. He knew about the phony bonds, and he wanted his money back.”
“He didn’t shut Vinnie down? Didn’t go to the police?”
“No. Vinnie said the setup looked fishy. Like it was a shell company. He was worried he was scamming someone who was an even bigger scammer.”
“That’s not good,” Ranger said.
“It gets worse. We got back to the office and three goons came in and tried to snatch Vinnie at gunpoint. One of them shot Lula, but it just knicked her, and then Connie shot one of them in the knee and they left.”
Ranger smiled. “Connie’s probably been shooting men in the knee since she was twelve.”
“So what do you think about Wellington?”
“I think I wouldn’t want to work for them.”
“Should I go to Morelli?”
“Only if you want second best,” Ranger said.
“I’m talking about police action.”
Ranger took my wine from me, tasted it, and set it on the counter. “Let’s look in on Wellington.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
I followed him through his living room into his bedroom.
“The building will be empty,” Ranger said, moving into his dressing room. “The cleaning crew should be gone by now.”
“What about the alarm?”
“Rangeman installed the security system in the Meagan Building.”
TWENTY-FOUR
RANGER’S BEDROOM WAS masculine luxury. Dark woods, ivory walls, tans and browns, king-size bed with expensive Italian linens. There was a large bath en suite and a walk-in dressing room as big as my bedroom. He opened a drawer in the built-in dresser, removed a utility belt, and buckled it on. He selected a gun from another drawer. Handcuffs, stun gun, defense spray. He handed me a penlight and took one for himself. He shrugged into a windbreaker with the Rangeman logo clearly visible. He selected a second Rangeman jacket and handed it to me. “Swap your sweater out for this. If someone sees us, I can say we’re doing a security check.”
We rode the elevator to the garage, where Ranger chose a fleet SUV. The Meagan Building was only blocks away. Easy to find on-street parking at this time of the night. We parked directly in front of the door. Ranger used his fob to enter the building and to diffuse the alarm. No need for the penlight. The lobby was dimly lit, as were the halls and elevator.
“Fifth floor,” I told Ranger.
We entered the elevator, he pushed the button, and he looked over at me. “You’re very calm,” he said.
“It’s easy to be calm when I’m with you. I feel protected.”
“I try,” Ranger said. “You don’t always cooperate.”
The doors opened, and we walked the hall to Wellington’s door. Ranger fobbed it open, we stepped inside and closed the door behind us. The interior room was pitch-black. No path lighting. The outside offices showed ambient light but not enough to guide me. Ranger clicked his penlight on.
“Let’s try to use just the one light,” he said. “Hang on to me if you can’t see.”
