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“Do I look okay?” Ranger asked.
“No. You have a lot of blood on your face. I think it’s dripping out of your nose.”
I reached into my messenger bag and found some tissues.
“Bob thought you were playing with him,” I said. “He loves to chase things.”
“He’s not sleeping on the bed tonight,” Ranger said. “And you aren’t wearing pajamas.”
I helped him up. “You almost caught Marcus.”
“Almost doesn’t count.”
I drove back to Rangeman, and by the time I parked in the garage, the blood had stopped dripping from Ranger’s nose.
“You’re kind of scary looking,” I said. “Your shirt is splattered with blood.”
“I’ve looked a lot worse,” Ranger said. “I’m fine. Everyone in my building is either retired military, police, or has been incarcerated. This won’t be the first time they’ve seen a bloody shirt.”
“Do you want me to help you get upstairs?”
“Not necessary, but I’d like you to come back tonight. We need to talk.”
“You keep saying that, but we never talk.”
“Life keeps interfering,” Ranger said.
“Can Bob sleep on the bed?”
“Yes. But I don’t want to see you in pajamas.”
Fair enough. I could sleep in sweats or jeans or a suit of armor.
Nutsy was watching television when Bob and I entered the apartment. He was surrounded by chips bags, dirty dishes, and empty soda cans. Lula was in the kitchen, drinking wine out of the bottle.
“I just had a fright,” Lula said. “Grendel almost got me. After I left the office, I went to my apartment to check things out. The tape is gone from the building, and nobody is living there yet, but you could see that people had been working to clean things up. I stepped inside to look around, and there was this horrible growl sound and Grendel jumped out at me. And then he said my name, and he reached for me, but I was already running out of the house.”
“You actually saw Grendel?”
Lula took another hit from the bottle of wine. “Yeah. It was dark in the house, but I could see that it was Grendel.”
“What did you do? Did you call the police?”
“No. I was in a state. I got in my car and took off, and when I drove away, I could see the outline of him standing in the doorway. He had a big bag in one hand, like a black garbage bag. I figured it was a sack that he was gonna use to kidnap me. And he was shaking his fist at me with the other hand. I tell you, my heart was racing, and all I could think of was getting back here in one piece. And here I am.” She looked around the kitchen. “I need food. I used up all my calories. I don’t suppose you broughtpizza home with you? Maybe a meatball hoagie or a pork roll sandwich?”
“Nope. No takeout,” I said, “but there should be sandwich stuff in the fridge.”
Lula looked in the fridge. “It’s bare in here. I think Nutsy got hungry.”
“Not my problem,” I said. “I did my hostess thing and now you guys are on your own.”
“I don’t think Nutsy has any money,” Lula said. “And I spent all my money on beautification of our apartment.”
I looked into the living room. There were a lot of green plants positioned around the room and a bunch of colorful pillows on the couch.
“Hey, Nutsy,” Lula yelled. “Get away from my pillows with those chips. If I see chip crumbs on my new pillows, I won’t be happy. And for God’s sake clean up your mess. It’s like you’re a farm animal. And put some pants on. I don’t give a rat’s ass even if you are a clown. I don’t have men sitting around in my house in their undershorts. Have some class.”
“I need information on Stump,” I said to Nutsy. “What was he wearing the night he was shot? Did he have a belt with a buckle? Was he wearing jewelry? A watch?”
