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I couldn’t argue with either of them.
“I’m looking for someone who lives on Karnery Street,” I said. “His name is Marcus Smulet.”
“I don’t know anybody named Smulet,” Grandma said, “but Grace Lucarello lives on Karnery Street. She’s lived there forever. What’s this Marcus guy done?”
“He might be associated with the kidnapping,” I said. “He’s more of a person of interest right now than a suspect.”
“I can ask Grace if she knows him. Karnery Street isn’t that big. It’s only a couple blocks.”
“Call her and ask if we can come over. I want to ride by Smulet’s house anyway.”
Ten minutes later we were in the Discovery, heading for Karnery Street with Rangeman following us.
“This is a beauty of a car,” Grandma said. “I guess I know where you got it. I know your mother thinks Ranger is dangerous, but there’s lots of good things to say about him, too. Did you ever find out where he gets all his new cars?”
“No. That’s one of the mysteries of Ranger.”
“Probably better that way,” Grandma said.
A while ago, Ranger had said they were part of a business arrangement. I thought that was sufficiently vague to still qualify as a mystery.
I did a slow pass by Smulet’s house first. No action there. No lights on. No car in the driveway. Grace lived on the corner, three houses away from Smulet. Lights were on and a VW Taos was in the driveway.
“Grace’s husband passed a couple years ago,” Grandma said. “She’s fixed pretty good, so she was able to keep her house, but she still watches what she spends. She only plays two cards at bingo.”
Grace came to the door before we rang the bell. “Come in,” she said. “Such a rainy day. Do you want tea?”
“Tea would be wonderful,” Grandma said.
I placed Grace as in her seventies. She was wearing slacks and sneakers and a lightweight flannel shirt. Her hair was gray and cut short. Her house was stuffed with furniture. We followed her into the kitchen, and Grandma and I sat at the kitchen table while Grace put the kettle on.
“It’s interesting that you want to know about Marcus Smulet,” Grace said. “Nobody knows what to make of him. Even his next-door neighbors don’t really know him. He lives alone mostly. His brother comes to visit sometimes. The brother stays for a couple days and leaves. Word is that they’re both truck drivers and they’re on the road all the time. A couple times there was a gigantic truck parked in front of the Smulet house. Nobody raised a fuss because the truck never stayed long.”
“Have you seen him lately?” I asked.
She brought three mugs of tea to the table and sat with us. “No,” she said, “but that’s not unusual. He’s a real loner.”
“Does he have a girlfriend?” Grandma asked.
“Not that I know about.” Grace leaned forward over thetable and lowered her voice. “Why do you want to know about Marcus? I know you’re a bounty hunter. Is he a fugitive? Is there a reward on his head?”
“No,” I said. “Nothing like that.”
Grandma leaned forward and lowered her voice like Grace. “He’s a person of interest. We can’t say more. It’s very hush-hush.”
Grace looked overjoyed to hear this. “I knew it!” she said. “Don’t worry, I won’t say a word to anyone.”
We finished our tea and said goodbye to Grace. She promised to keep an eye out for Marcus and his brother and call us if she saw anything.
“Do you think she’ll keep this quiet?” I asked Grandma when we were in the car.
“Not a chance,” Grandma said.
I took Grandma home and drove to the office. The insurance adjuster was poking around in the debris when I parked at the curb. It was raining buckets and he was holding a big black umbrella in one hand and a cell phone in the other. It looked like he was taking photos and videos with his cell phone. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I parked and walked around the block.
Connie’s car was parked behind the bus, and Lula and Connie were next to it, standing under a single umbrella. Connie was holding her tote and a black garbage bag. Lula was holding her huge purse and Thor.
“It’s raining inside the bus,” Connie said to me. “We moved everything we could to the dry side, and we’re closing up shop. I’m going to work from home. I’ll call you if I hear from the kidnappers.”
