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Depending on the inflection,babecan mean many things in Ranger-speak. Thisbabewas said with a smile. So, here’s another possible reason why I have a key card. Ranger finds me amusing.
“Why are you looking for Nutsy?” I asked him.
“Rangeman installed and maintains the security system for Plover’s Jewelry. The robbery wasn’t the result of a system failure, but I still feel a certain responsibility. And I’m curious. Neither the stolen jewelry nor the tray of diamonds has been recovered. Duncan Dugan said he panicked and dropped the garbage bag with the stolen jewelry on the street, but the bag hasn’t been found.”
“And then Nutsy disappeared, much like the garbage bag, and the tray of diamonds,” I said.
“Yes.”
“Are you having any luck finding him?” I asked Ranger.
“No, but I haven’t made a serious effort. It hasn’t been a priority.”
“I went to school with Nutsy. He was sort of a misfit in an interesting kind of way. He’d do anything on a dare.”
Ella brought a tray of sandwiches into Ranger’s office and set them on his desk. “Nice to see you,” she said to me. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Ella and her husband managed the Rangeman building, andElla managed Ranger. She prepared many of his meals and made sure his clothes were perfectly laundered and folded, his apartment was immaculate, his toiletries were always in place, and his towels were fluffy.
Ranger chose turkey on wheat, and I took egg salad. Ella made amazing egg salad.
“I can run some searches on Manley,” Ranger said.
“That would be great. And speaking of searches, I have another favor to ask.”
“I’m running a tab,” Ranger said. “You don’t want to owe me more than you’re willing to pay.”
This prompted a short stare-down. We both knew what Ranger wanted in payment. This was a game we’d been playing for a while, and truth is, we both enjoyed it.
“I could use some help accessing video on Duncan Dugan,” I said.
“I heard he jumped off a ledge.”
“More like he slipped and fell. I thought he was safe in the medical center, but he’s disappeared.”
“When did this happen?” Ranger asked.
“This morning between seven and nine. No one saw him leave. I just came from his house. He wasn’t there. He has a compound fracture of the tibia and two cracked ribs for starters. He wasn’t in shape to walk out on his own. I’d like to know who helped him.”
Ranger called his control room and asked one of his technicians to get a video of Dugan’s hospital floor between the hours of seven and nine this morning.
“Plover told me he refused to install security cameras in thefront of his store. I’m sure he regrets it now,” I said to Ranger. “Are there city or private cameras that you can tap into on that street?”
“It’s in a one-block dead zone. I can tap into the feeds on both cross streets, but there are no security or surveillance cameras on the seven hundred block of King Street. Not even a Ring doorbell.”
“And Plover only had a camera on his rear exit?”
“He was adamant about not having a front camera. Didn’t want the expense. Didn’t feel it was necessary. Didn’t have any interior cameras. He thought it would be uncomfortable for his customers.”
“I’m surprised his insurance company didn’t demand cameras.”
“He would have gotten a better rate with cameras,” Ranger said. “He complained about it all the time. He said he was being penalized for being old-school. He said it was generational discrimination. He compromised by hiring Manley as a security guard.”
“I did a fast check on Nutsy. I didn’t see anything that would qualify him to be a security guard.”
“He was working as a bagger at one of the box stores. He helped Plover to his car with his groceries, struck up a conversation, and Plover hired him to do security. He doesn’t have a license to carry and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t own a gun. At least not legally.”
“That sounds like Nutsy. He had a gift for convincing people he could do anything. And mostly he could. He’d jump off a bridge, seduce the librarian, eat cat food, streak the length of a football field during halftime in thirty-degree weather.”
