Джанет Иванович - Twisted Twenty-Six

“I’ve been thinking about our job,” Lula said. “And how you don’t like it anymore. And I think it’s that we aren’t badass like Ranger and Tank. You know what the difference is between them and us?”

“How much time do I have to answer?”

“The difference is we haven’t got a badass uniform. We’re just as good as them, but they got the uniform, you see what I’m saying? Even Dog got a badass uniform. Okay, so his hair needs some help, but he’s got the black leather thing working for him.”

“I can’t see you wearing a uniform every day.”

“I would have to personalize it. Like I could bedazzle it.”

“I have a uniform,” I said. “I’m wearing it.”

“See that’s your problem. You need some enthusiasm, and there’s no enthusiasm to those clothes. Only thing on you that’s got enthusiasm is your hair extensions, and they’re starting to fall out. We got to get you new extensions. I’m thinking fire red next time. That’s a power color.”

“It’s not the clothes or the lack of extensions,” I said. “It’s what we see. It’s Oliver Turkel.”

“Oliver Turkel was great,” Lula said. “You got him square on his ass, and he peed himself like a big dog. Sometimes when I need a laugh, I replay that video.”

“It isn’t funny. It’s disgusting and horrible.”

“Yeah, but it’s funny in a disgusting and horrible way. You got to put things into perspective.”

I got to Quaker Bridge Mall and drove up and down the aisles. No Escalade with Carol’s plate number. So far, my luck was holding. I left the lot and returned to Route One, and my mother called.

“She’s gone,” she said, and the shaky note of hysteria in her voice sent an instant chill through me.

“Where are you?”

“I’m home. We were at the bake sale at the church and she disappeared. She went to use the restroom and never came back. I tried calling her, but she wasn’t answering. Then I thought maybe we got our signals crossed, and she thought she was supposed to walk home.”

“How long has she been gone?”

“I don’t know. I can’t think. Thirty minutes, maybe. Ranger’s got everyone looking for her. The young men in the car felt terrible, but it wasn’t their fault. She must have gone out through the side door.”

“Are you sure she’s not in the church? There are lots of rooms.”

“I don’t know why she would be someplace other than the restroom, but I guess it’s possible.”

“I’m on Route One. I’ll be home soon.”

I hung up and called Morelli.

He answered on the first ring. “I just heard,” he said. “Ranger called. I’m sending some guys over to help them sweep the church. I’m heading there now.”

“Is anyone with my mom?”

“Ranger has two men with her.”

I’d taken the call on speakerphone, and Lula had been listening in.

“What can I do?” she asked.

“I’m going to drop you at the office. Tell Connie to start making phone calls. And then you can ride around the streets.”

—

Morelli and Ranger were huddled in the vestibule when I walked into the church.

“Anything?” I asked.

“We’re questioning everyone who was here to see if they saw or heard anything,” Morelli said. “We have a team going room to room. So far, the church is clean. We haven’t been able to find any signs to indicate struggle.”

I looked around. “Are there security cameras?”

“No,” Morelli said. “They have an alarm system that they use at night, but there are no cameras.”

One of Ranger’s men came up to him.

“We found this behind a trash receptacle by the side door,” he said.

It was Grandma’s big black patent leather purse. I looked inside, and her gun was still there. Her cellphone was tucked into a side compartment.

I had to take a couple breaths to steady myself. This wasn’t a time to disintegrate into an emotional basket case.

“Are you okay?” Morelli asked.

I nodded. “I needed a moment.”

“Understood,” Morelli said.

“Where do we go from here?” I asked.

“I’m going to talk to the La-Z-Boys and explain the realities of life to them,” Morelli said. “You and Ranger can work the Lucca angle.”

“I need to check in with my mom,” I said to Ranger.

“I’ll meet you at the house. I want to give some instructions to my men.”

It was a short drive, and I took it slow, scanning yards, taking notice of car occupants. I parked in the driveway behind my mom’s car. The Rangeman SUV was at the curb. My dad was pacing in the living room.

“All these years I wanted to kill her, and now someone might do the job for me and I don’t like it,” he said. “Go figure that.”

My mom was in the kitchen, sitting at the table.

“You aren’t ironing,” I said.

“I can’t find the energy to iron. I’m heartsick. My chest aches with it.”

I made coffee for us, and I laced my mom’s with whiskey. “She’s strong,” I said. “She’ll come out okay. We’ll find her.”

My mom nodded and sipped her coffee. “This is good,” she said. “Thank you. I feel like I should be doing something, but I don’t know what it is.”

“Stay here in the house in case she tries to contact you or manages to get home. I’m working with Ranger to find her, and Morelli is doing his cop thing.”

I finished my coffee, rinsed my mug, and went outside to wait for Ranger. I had my messenger bag with me, stuffed full of all the information Connie had printed out for me on the Lucca case.

Ranger cruised down the street and idled behind the Rangeman SUV. He was driving a new black Porsche Cayenne Turbo, the big brother to my Macan. I slid in next to him and saw that the instrument panel had been tricked out so he could communicate with his control room.

“I don’t think your passion is fighting crime,” I said. “I think you have a passion for expensive James Bond toys.”

“Success has its rewards. Where would you like to begin?”

“Someone hired Lucca and Velez to kidnap Grandma. We need to find that person. I have two potentials, but I’m only lukewarm about them. Barbara Rosolli and Sidney DeSalle.”

“I know DeSalle,” Ranger said. “He’s a bad guy.”

“He owns Miracle Fitness, and Lucca was a trainer there.”

“Motivation?”

“Greed? Or maybe they have something on him and he’s afraid of a document dump. Barbara Rosolli was Jimmy’s first wife. She lives on Chambers Street next to her daughter Jeanine. Her motivation is clear. She wants the money. She also has a lot of anger, and she knew Lucca from Miracle Fitness.”

“What about the sisters?” Ranger asked.

“I couldn’t find a connection to Lucca, and they have a different agenda. I think they’re just enjoying the feud. It’s like the Hatfields and McCoys for them.”

“Let’s do the ex-wife first,” Ranger said.

Barbara Rosolli lived in small two-story house that had a postage stamp front yard and a narrow front porch that ran the width of the house. The house was painted white with black window trim, and some of the trim was beginning to peel. Jeanine’s house, next door, was similar. The two were separated by a driveway that led to a single-car detached garage that sat at the back end of the lot.

Ranger parked on the opposite side of the street from Barbara’s house, and we watched for activity. Shades were up on the front windows. A car was in the driveway. I saw no flicker from a television. No one peering out a window at us.

“Let’s do it,” Ranger said.

We crossed the street, I rang the bell, and Barbara answered.

“Stephanie,” she said, “I just heard about Edna.” Her attention turned to Ranger, and her eyes got wide. “Well, hello ! Who do we have here?”