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“Yes.”
“And then he drove away.”
“Yes.”
“In a food truck.”
“Yes.”
Potts and Lula were next to me.
“He was laughing, and he gave us the finger,” Potts said. “I think he wanted to squish us.”
“He’s evil,” Lula said. “He’s a evil person and he can’t cook neither.”
Ranger looked at me.
“Yes,” I said.
“Would you like me to take charge here so you might have a word with Arnold?” Tank asked Ranger.
“It’s all yours,” Ranger said. “Make sure Lula and Potts have a ride home. I’m taking your SUV. Call for another car.”
Ranger turned to me. “Does this guy have an address?”
“He gave 43 South Clinton Street as his address on his bond application, but that turned out to be bogus. He had to give an address when he got the loan and registered his truck, so maybe Connie can pull that for us. I knew where he was hanging with the food truck so that’s where I went.”
“Where was the food truck.”
“A couple blocks down, across from the government buildings.”
“Hard to believe he’d go back there. Have Connie get a home address.”
I called Connie while Ranger drove down State Street. We passed several food trucks but not Arnold’s. We got to the end of the government complex and Connie texted me an address.
“North Trenton,” I said to Ranger. “Lester Street.”
Ranger turned off State, and I called Morelli.
“I’m going to have to cancel dinner,” I said. “Business.”
“Treasure business?” Morelli asked.
“Arnold Rugalowski business. He’s the Cluck-in-a-Bucket cook who fed fried roaches to his ex-wife. He’s FTA.”
“Do you have someone watching your back? Word on the street is that Shine brought in more reinforcements and they aren’t nice guys.”
“I’m covered. I’ll call later to reschedule.”
I disconnected and Ranger glanced over at me. “I don’t care about the Honda or my Porsche,” he said, “but I’m starting to worry about your car karma.”
“My bad car karma is the tip of the iceberg.”
* * *
Lester Street is a slightly shabby street in a perfectly respectable section of North Trenton. The tiny front lawns are neglected. The paint has faded and has begun to peel on many of the houses. The cars in front of the houses are splotched with Bondo and rust patches. With the exception of the car in front of 207 Lester. The car in front of 207 Lester was a grossly ugly food truck.
“This is it,” I said to Ranger.
