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Bob had his nose pressed against the window when we returned to the car. I gave him his treat and backed out of the parking space.
“I’m going to drop you and Bob at the office, and then I’m going to Rangeman. I want to talk to Ranger about Nutsy Manley,” I said.
“Are you gonna do a nooner with Ranger?”
“No! I’m going to talk to him.”
“Just sayin’ on account of if it was me, and my boyfriend was out of town, and I had the opportunity, I’d definitely squeeze in a nooner.”
CHAPTER THREE
Rangeman is located on a quiet side street in downtown Trenton. On the outside it’s an inconspicuous seven-story building with a gated underground garage.
On the inside it’s pleasantly slick, intimidatingly secure, filled with cutting-edge technology and a highly skilled workforce. Ranger has a private one-bedroom apartment on the top floor. The fifth floor is dedicated to offices, a café, and the control room. The other floors serve various purposes. A gym, a shooting range, dorm rooms, conference rooms, and more offices.
I flashed my key card at the garage gate and found a parking space by the elevator. This key card is priceless. Ranger’s mother doesn’t have one. Only trusted Rangeman employees have key cards… and me. I’m not sure why I’ve got one, but I suspect it has something to do with Ranger’s deciding it was easier to giveme the keys to the candy store than it was to stop me from trying to break in when I needed help.
There’s constant audio and video surveillance throughout the building, with the exception of Ranger’s lair on the top floor. I waved at the camera in front of the elevator, and the doors opened. I stepped inside and punched the button for the fifth floor.
I walked past the control room and the café and followed the hallway to the end, where Ranger has an office suite. I found him relaxed back in his desk chair, waiting for me. He was in the black everyday fatigues that all Rangemen wore.
“I guess you saw me on the monitor,” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “Plus, the front desk alerted me, and so did the control room.”
There are no secrets at Rangeman.
I sat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. “Do you have time to talk?”
“Will it be a long conversation?”
“Word on the street is that you’re looking for Nutsy Manley.”
“And?”
“And I am too. Plover hired me to find him.”
“You have my attention,” Ranger said.
“Plover thinks Manley stole a tray of diamonds.”
“This isn’t breaking news.”
“Do you think he took the diamonds?”
“I don’t know,” Ranger said. “There’s something that feels off about the robbery.”
“Which robbery? The Duncan Dugan robbery in the afternoon? Or the safe robbery that Plover accused Nutsy of executing?”
“Both of them.”
“Morelli’s advice was that I don’t get involved.”
“But you are involved?”
“Yep. Plover hired me to find Nutsy, and Vinnie needs me to find Dugan, who skipped.”
“Babe.”
