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“I understand Cubbin was Craig Fish’s patient.”
“Almost everyone is Dr. Fish’s patient. He keeps busy.”
“Is he a good doctor?”
“He hasn’t personally operated on me, but I’m told he’s excellent.”
I gave Norma my card. “If you think of anything that might be helpful I’d appreciate a call.”
“Sure.”
I returned to the Buick and rolled out of the condo complex.
“That was supremely unhelpful,” I said to Tiki. “She told me nothing new. And I didn’t get any special vibes from her on Craig Fish. This is getting discouraging.”
Tiki had no words of wisdom, so I thought I might find inspiration in a bottle of wine. Or even better I could stop at Mexicana Grill on the way home and have a margarita. Free up the old brain cells, right?
Halfway through the margarita I was thinking a second margarita would be great. And I actually was feeling a little amorous, so I called Morelli.
“Hi there, hot stuff,” I said. “I’m in a bar and I want to get you naked.”
“Exactly how many drinks have you had?”
“One. And one more on the way. And I’m going to order nachos, which I’ll share if you let me see your underwear.”
“How could I pass up a deal like that? Where are you?”
“Mexicana Grill.”
Ten minutes later Morelli pulled up next to me and snitched some of my nachos.
“Hey,” I said, “you can’t have any of those until I get a look.”
Morelli grinned at me. “You’re trashed.”
“It’s all Tiki’s fault. He told me to do this.”
“Who’s Tiki?”
“He’s a sacred carving from Hawaii. It’s a long story.”
“And Tiki told you to stop at a bar and get trashed?”
“Yes! He made it sound like a good idea.”
Morelli paid my tab, wrapped an arm around me, and hauled me off my bar stool. “Where’s Tiki now?”
“In my car. He wanted to come into the bar with me but I thought that was too weird.”
Morelli walked me to my car and looked in at Tiki. “This is the guy who suggested the bar?”
“I know he looks innocent enough, but he’s diabolical.”
“He’s a chunk of wood.”
I unlocked the Buick, unbuckled Tiki, and handed him to Morelli. “He’s also my ticket to Brody Logan. Logan wants Tiki back. So instead of trying to chase down Logan, all I have to do is wait for him to come for Tiki.”
“Clever. Did Tiki tell you that?”
