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I got a chill and had to take a beat to steady my voice. I’d anticipated this call and I’d decided to play it dumb and straight.
“You must have the wrong number,” I said.
“I have the right number. I want the money. Where is it?”
“Are you talking about the coin? You didn’t want it. If you changed your mind, I can leave it at the cemetery gate.”
“We’re coming for you, and you better have the money ready to turn over to us. Is that clear?”
“Yes, but—” I looked over at Lula. “He hung up.”
“Rude,” Lula said. “No manners.”
I called Morelli and told him Connie was back home.
“And?” Morelli said.
“And the kidnappers are unhappy with me.”
“How unhappy?”
“Very unhappy. They want their money. The money I don’t have.”
“Are you reconsidering Costa Rica?”
“No, but I’m considering putting bullets in my gun.”
“That’s serious.”
“I suppose it is, but right now I’m just happy Connie is in one piece and has all her fingernails. I feel like celebrating.”
“I’m good at celebrating,” Morelli said. “Do you have plans for tonight?”
“I don’t know. Do you have any ideas that didn’t get road tested last night?”
“No. Tonight will have to be oldies-but-goodies night.”
“Works for me. Your place at six o’clock. I’ll bring pizza.”
I hung up and wondered if Ranger was listening in. Probably not. He had software that looked for certain numbers and blocked others. He was picking up calls that had been transferred to my phone from the office number.
“Now what?” Lula asked. “Are you going home to rest up for tonight?”
“No. I need an activity to get my mind off Connie and her burn scars.”
“And we should be thinking about how we’re gonna keep you safe,” Lula said.
“I’m going to be careful,” I said.
“Maybe you should lay low for a while. Make it hard for the bad guys to find you.”
“You can’t win a war by hiding in the castle,” I said.
“Wow, that’s profound,” Lula said. “Who said that? Yoda? Galadriel? Tom Cruise? I bet it was Thor!”
“I think I read it in a fortune cookie. Who are we going to find today?”
“We could go after the moron who stole the fire truck. That could be fun.”
