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“Dillan’s going to board it up as soon as he gets rid of some of the water. I thought you’d want to get some clothes. Probably everything’s going to have to be cleaned and aired to get rid of the smoke smell.”
I filled my laundry basket and two garbage bags with clothes. I added food for Rex and some basic toiletries, grabbed the things that belonged to Briggs, and we left the apartment.
Morelli stuffed everything into the Buick. “Where are you going now? Are you moving in with your parents?”
“Probably, but I don’t know what to do with Briggs. They won’t take Briggs.”
“He’s an adult,” Morelli said. “He can take care of himself.”
“Everything in his apartment was destroyed. And Poletti is trying to kill him.”
“It’s not like he’s blameless. He helped Poletti cheat on his taxes, and he boinked his wife.”
“You know about the wife?”
“Everybody knows about the wife.”
“And he saved Rex.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Morelli said.
“I can’t just walk away from him.”
Morelli looked like he was trying not to grimace. “You’re such a cupcake.”
My eyes filled with tears again.
“Oh crap,” Morelli said, cuddling me into him. “You can stay with me. And you can bring Briggs with you.”
I brought my clothes to my parents’ house and filled the washer with the first load.
“I’ll take your black suit and hang it outside to air,” Grandma said. “You’ll need it for the funeral tomorrow.”
Oh joy, the funeral. The only thing I hate more than a viewing is a funeral. I grabbed some chocolate chip cookies from my mom’s cookie jar, told Grandma I’d be back, and chugged off to the office in the Buick.
“I’m surprised you haven’t gotten a new car by now,” Lula said when I walked in.
“No time to look, and no money to buy,” I said. “I need to capture Poletti.” I handed Briggs the duffel bag filled with his clothes. “It was lucky you were keeping your clothes in this heavy-duty bag. They might not smell too smoky, and they shouldn’t have any water or foam damage.”
Briggs took his clothes bag to the bathroom to change, and Connie sprayed the office with air freshener.
“You have to get him out of here,” she said. “Even with clean clothes he’s still going to smell like charbroiled goat.”
“Have you heard any news about the Rangeman building?” I asked Connie. “Is it still under quarantine?”
“So far as I know,” Connie said. “My cousin Loretta called about a half hour ago. She’s a nurse at St. Francis, and she said Emilio Gardi isn’t doing well. He’s in kidney failure.”
A sick feeling swirled through my stomach.
“What about Ranger’s man McCready?”
“I haven’t heard anything about him.”
I called Ranger. “How’s McCready doing?”
“He’s managing. They’re trying something new with him.”
“And you?”
