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I checked my personal email, surfed a couple news sites, tried my hand at a crossword puzzle book I found in Connie’s top drawer. Time dragged on. No phone call about Connie. I took two calls from men who needed a bail bondsman and I referred them to an office downtown. Without Vinnie or Connie, I was unable to help them. I looked at my watch for the zillionth time. It was still too early to call Vinnie.
Lula swung through the front door at eight o’clock.
“What’s with the sign?” she asked. “Is that for the kidnappers?”
“Yes. I found the coin. I made the twenty-four-hour time limit. I’m waiting to get a call about Connie.”
“Thank the Lord. I couldn’t hardly sleep last night.” She looked at the bakery box on my desk. “Is that doughnuts?”
I flipped the lid and Lula took a Boston cream.
“How’d you get the coin?” Lula asked.
“Ranger got me into Sparks’s apartment last night.”
“Hold the phone. I forgot about the Ranger-helping-you part. That’s the best part. I gotta know about that part. What happened with the man of mystery?”
“Nothing happened.”
“I know that’s not true. It’s Ranger. Something always happens. He’s Mr. Dangerous. He’s Mr. Tall, Dark, and Freakin’ Sexy. Let’s start with the basics. Did he kiss you?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it! I knew it!”
“It was no big deal.”
“Girlfriend, it’s always a big deal with Ranger. If he touches you with his fingertip, it’s a big deal. Was there tongue?”
“What?”
“Tongue,” Lula said. “Was there tongue?”
“Maybe a little.”
“Just a little? I bet there was a lot. Not that it matters. Tongue is tongue. What else?”
“Nothing else.”
“He didn’t cop a feel?”
“No.”
“Not even a little brush with his thumb?”
“No. At least I don’t think so. I don’t remember feeling anything.”
“That’s ’cause you were concentrating on the tongue. That happens sometimes. I bet he snuck a feel in. It would be disappointing if he didn’t at least sneak a feel.”
“He understands that I’m in a relationship with Morelli.”
“I’m pretty sure Ranger don’t care about details like that. He gave you the tongue. That’s cheating right there. Tongue counts as a cheat. Especially if it’s Ranger’s tongue. That’s definitely a cheat.”
“Okay, but I didn’t start it.”
“Did you finish it?”
It took me a couple beats to review the kiss. “No. He finished it.”
