Джанет Иванович - Fortune and Glory

“I’m pretty sure I’m being followed,” I told him. “It’s not like they’re being subtle about it. They’re right on my bumper.”

“I can see you on my screen,” he said. “You’re about a half mile away. Go straight into the garage.”

The car disappeared a block before Rangeman. The gate was already open for me. A Rangeman car was idling nearby. I slipped into the garage and parked in one of Ranger’s spaces. I took the elevator to the seventh floor and let myself into Ranger’s apartment. He was waiting for me in the kitchen.

“Calvin said you didn’t have a tail when you pulled in,” Ranger said.

“They cut away at Monroe Street.”

“Any idea who they were?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m here.”

“I thought you were here for my sheets and my shower.”

I smiled. “I’ve been found out.”

“I’m having a late dinner. Ella left me a salad that would feed four people, if you want to join me.”

“Thanks, but I had dinner with my parents.”

“Wine?”

“Yes.”

I sat across from him at his dining room table and sipped my wine while he ate.

“Talk to me,” Ranger said.

“Charlie Shine’s brought in some muscle from Florida. I ran across some of the new goons today. Apparently, I’m on their to-snatch list. Two of them had Grandma and me at gunpoint but Potts bumbled in and we were able to escape. I imagine they were the ones following me.”

“Potts?”

“Long story short, he’s sort of a sad sack that I captured and then bailed out. It was a small bond and I put it on my credit card. Anyway, he’s latched on to me. Says it’s his job to be my lifelong protector.”

Ranger had stopped eating, with the fork halfway to his mouth.

“Is that a grimace I just saw on your face?” I asked him. “I’ve never seen you grimace before. This is a first.”

“Why was he arrested?”

“It’s not important.”

“I think it’s important.”

“He had an accident in front of Tasty Bakery.”

“What kind of accident?”

“It was personal.”

Ranger leaned forward a little. “And?”

“He pooped ! He pooped in front of Tasty Bakery. He’s the pooper .”

Ranger pressed his lips together and looked down at his plate.

“Now you’re trying not to laugh,” I said. “Go ahead and laugh. I know it’s absurd. I’m stuck with the pooper.”

Ranger grinned. “You said you needed help. Do you need me to get rid of Potts?”

“No. I have bigger problems than Potts. I was told the goons have orders to bring Grandma and me to Shine. The only way we’ll be safe is if the treasure is found, Shine and Salgusta are dead or behind bars, and the hired help goes back to Florida.”

Ranger nodded. “I agree. Are you making progress with the treasure hunt?”

“Grandma thinks the treasure is in one of the tunnels, and we should check them all out.”

“I can send someone into the tunnels to make sure we aren’t missing something, but I would be surprised to find the treasure there. There were four tunnel entrances years ago, and I don’t know if the system has been enlarged since then. From what I saw when we were underground, the maintenance has been minimal.”

“Where’s the fourth entrance?”

“Cannon Street. The building used to be owned by Bobby Ragucci. He sold it and I’m not sure who took it over, but it’s always been a deli on the ground floor and an apartment above it.”

“Could the deli or the apartment contain a safe?”

Ranger took his plate into the kitchen, rinsed it, and put it in the dishwasher. “We can take a look.”

“Now?”

“No. I want to send Rodriguez into the tunnel first. And I’ll find out who bought the building from Ragucci.”

“That leaves Shine, Salgusta, and Benny the Skootch. I need their clues. I can handle Benny but Shine and Salgusta are a problem. With Grandma’s life on the line, I don’t have time for dogged perseverance to get the job done. I could use some help taking them down and persuading them to hand over their clues. And I know you can be very persuasive.”

“Babe,” Ranger said.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ranger was standing alongside the bed when I opened my eyes.

“You’ve got ten minutes in the bathroom and ten minutes to eat,” Ranger said. “I want to be on the road in half an hour.”

“Where are we going? What time is it?”

“It’s seven o’clock. I’ve got Rodriguez in the tunnel. He went in at the Margo site and that’s where he’s supposed to exit. I have Tank waiting for him there. We’re going to Ewing Township. Shine brought four guys in from Miami. Two are cheap labor and two are seasoned soldiers. They’re staying in a house in Ewing. My source thinks Shine might be there, too. I want to take a look. I’ll meet you in the garage.”

I dragged myself out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. By the time I stepped out of the shower I’d lost fifteen minutes. I towel-dried my hair, got dressed in the clothes I’d dropped on the floor the night before, and went to the kitchen. I shoved a bagel into my messenger bag, found a to-go mug and filled it with coffee, black, and took off for the garage.

Ranger was waiting by his Porsche Cayenne SUV. “I’m guessing from the wet hair that you needed more time.”

“It doesn’t dry in three minutes.”

“Did you get breakfast?”

I pulled the bagel out of my bag and took a bite.

We got into his Cayenne and rolled out of the garage.

“I didn’t see the Buick in your garage just now,” I said.

“I had it returned to your parents’ house. I’ll give you a less conspicuous car. You’re too easy to spot in the Buick. I could also run some security on your parents’ house, but last time your father declined.”

“And he would probably decline again, so let’s concentrate on finding the treasure.”

I ate my bagel and drank my coffee while Ranger drove. It was a beautiful fall day with the promise of blue skies and a warm afternoon. Not a lot of traffic on the road yet, but in fifteen minutes, there would be an explosion of people heading off to work and kids going to school.

We entered a neighborhood of moderately priced homes. Some older single-level ranches and some larger colonials. Ranger idled in front of a single-level ranch. Two vehicles were in the driveway. A blue pickup and a black Escalade. Shades were drawn in the house. Ranger drove to the end of the block, made a U-turn, and parked on the opposite side of the street, two houses down.

Ranger can go into a surveillance mode where I swear his heart rate drops to 20 beats per minute but he’s still alert and focused. My heart rate was considerably higher, and I had a problem with focus. I was watching the house, but I was wishing I was wearing clean clothes. That led me to wishing I was wearing new clothes. And from that point I went to wondering what sort of clothes I should buy. I had no clue.

After a half hour of mind-numbing surveillance, the front door opened, and the two suits came out and got into the Escalade. No sign of the lesser wise guys.

Ranger let them get a sizable lead before following. They cruised through town, turned just before the train station, and continued on to the Mole Hole. They parked in the lot and went inside. There were no other cars in the lot.

We watched from a distance for a while. No one went in or out. No other cars entered the lot. I pulled the visor mirror down and checked out my hair. I was freak girl. I found a brush and a scrunchie in my bag and pulled my hair back into a ponytail.

“What do you think they’re doing in there?” I asked.

“Playing cards, watching reruns of Friends, checking in with their wives back in Miami.”