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I tapped Ranger’s number into my phone.
“What happened at Rangeman last night?” I asked him.
“There was an incident with Gardi.”
“Was it anthrax?”
“No. It wasn’t anthrax. I’ll catch you later.” And he disconnected.
“It wasn’t anthrax,” I told everyone.
“He’s supposed to be a real hotshot in bed,” Lula said, “but he sure don’t waste any time explaining things.”
I made an effort not to smile too wide. “He has his moments.”
Lula fanned herself with her copy of Star magazine, and Connie did an eye roll.
“Jeez,” Briggs said. “Does anybody know I’m standing here? This is an embarrassing conversation. And just to set the record straight, there are some ladies who think I’m hot.”
“That’s a disturbing announcement,” Lula said. “I don’t want to meet those ladies.”
I stepped outside and called Morelli.
“What happened at Rangeman last night?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. I haven’t been briefed on it, but it must be serious because the building is sealed and the feds are in charge. And Gardi is in St. Francis in isolation with a security guard in front of his door.”
“Ranger said it wasn’t anthrax.”
“Ranger should know.”
“Anything new on the two murders? Did Buster ever turn up?”
“Buster came home at ten o’clock. He said he’d been in Atlantic City all day. One of those package deals with a bus trip included. He went with his girlfriend. It checked out.”
“How did Jimmy get into his apartment?”
“Jimmy had a key. Buster gave it to him years ago when he first bought the building. He said they were using the apartment like a storeroom, but I’m guessing it was used to house the girls they imported.”
“Did you find the murder weapon?”
“No. Not yet.”
I’ve seen enough violent death to know that Bernie hadn’t been dead long and that he’d been killed in the bedroom. So it bothered me that the police couldn’t find the gun and that Poletti didn’t have it on him when he rushed out of the apartment. Of course he might have killed Bernie earlier, left the apartment, and then returned without the gun for some reason. Still, it felt off.
“Have you talked to the remaining poker players?”
“Kreider questioned Silvio Pepper. He said Pepper was nervous. We can’t find Ron Siglowski. Kreider interviewed his neighbors and got nothing. Ditto his relatives.”
“I get that Pepper is nervous. I’d be nervous too. Poletti is cleaning house. Most likely Siglowski is already dead, and just hasn’t turned up yet. That leaves Pepper and Briggs.”
“Is Briggs still hiding out in your apartment?”
“Yes. And it’s not fun.”
“Maybe we should tie him to a parking meter downtown and see if Poletti takes the bait.”
“Tempting, but I can’t see Poletti being that stupid.”
