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“Holy crap,” Lula said. “Holy hell. Holy moly.”
I saw car lights flash in front of the deli. I hit the real-time button on the remote and saw two Rangeman cars pull up and pa
rk in the back alley.
Ranger was the first one through the front door. He was followed by two more Rangeman patrolmen.
“Is anyone missing other than Hal?” Ranger asked. “We saw him go off the screen and he’s not responding.”
“No,” I said. “Just Hal. No one was watching the monitor when it happened. We realized he was missing, and I hit rewind. We saw the shoe come over, and then you arrived.”
I followed Ranger to the back lot. Kan Kleen Dry Cleaners was next door to the deli. It was a storefront operation that sent clothes off-site for cleaning. Doors were shuttered at seven o’clock. The lot was used for pickup and delivery and employee parking. It was currently empty of vehicles. A small dumpster sat to one side. A private home was next in the lineup. It had a high brick wall enclosing its small backyard. Narrow alleys ran between all the buildings on the street.
Ranger’s men were setting up extra lights and crime scene tape.
“Did you call the police?” I asked Ranger.
“No. I want to comb the scene before they contaminate it. I’ll bring them in when we’re done here. Keep everyone inside until I talk to them, and put the CLOSED sign on the door.”
“This is getting old,” Dalia said. “Bad enough all the managers disappeared, now it’s anyone who goes out the back door. And every time someone goes missing we have to hang around until the police dismiss us. I’m done. I’m out of here. I quit.”
“I would quit as well,” Raymond said, “but I am unfortunately needing my paycheck. I have debts that will be painful to my person if I fall behind.”
I looked over at Stretch. He was slumped in a corner booth, nodding off.
“He will stay,” Raymond said. “He gets nicky-nacky from the lady who works in the cleaning establishment next door. It’s not so easy to get good nicky-nacky on a regular basis.”
I was afraid to ask what constituted good nicky-nacky, so I just nodded my head in agreement. At least neither of them were quitting.
“I’m feeling stressed,” Lula said. “I’m worried about Hal. I’m beginning to doubt my theory about space aliens. It’s one thing to beam people up for experimental probing and then return them to earth. This feels different. This feels more like there’s a maniac out there. And I’m not in favor of maniacs.”
I wasn’t in favor of maniacs either, and I had a sick stomach. Three people associated with me were missing. I felt like two were directly my bad. Wayne Kulicki and Hal wouldn’t have been in harm’s way if it wasn’t for me. I felt especially sick over Hal. He was a good person, and he’d been abducted while trying to protect me.
“The worst part is now that it might not be aliens, we don’t know what’s happening to these people,” Lula said. “I don’t even want to think about it. They could be . . . you know.”
“Dead,” Raymond said. “I fear someone is doing a very bad thing.”
I went to the back door and stood next to Ranger. His men were systematically inching along the blacktopped parking area next to the deli, looking for clues.
“Did you find anything?” I asked him.
“No. The cameras scan to the dry cleaner’s dumpster. Hal walked past the dumpster and out of camera range. He obviously thought the situation was benign. He didn’t have his gun drawn. He didn’t look concerned. We haven’t found any signs of struggle. No blood. No torn clothing.”
“Have you seen the latest medical report on Vinnie?”
“The one that suggested he might have been shot with a tranq dart? Yes, I have that report. It would explain the lack of evidence showing there was a struggle.”
“What about Hal’s shoe?”
“We haven’t touched the shoe. CSI will test the shoe, but I’d be surprised if they find anything. Shoes from previous victims haven’t been helpful.”
I told him about my conversation with Wulf.
“I heard he was in town,” Ranger said. “Hard to believe he’s investigating the disappearances. I’d be more inclined to believe he’s responsible for them.”
“Where do you go from here?”
“I use my resources to find the missing people. And I go proactive.”
