"Many times."
"And?"
"And I didn't." He used my phone to dial Morelli. "I'm at Steph's apartment. We've got Homer Ramos bagged and waiting for you. And we could use a blue-and-white. Stephanie caught a bullet in the arm. It just sliced through some flesh, but she should have it looked at."
He slid an arm around me and pulled me to him. I rested my head on his chest, and he nuzzled my hair and kissed me just above the ear. "Are you okay?" he asked.
No way was I okay. I was as unokay as I could get. I was in a state. "Sure," I said. "I'm fine."
I could feel him smile. "Liar."
MORELLI CAUGHT UP with me at the hospital. "Are you okay?"
"Ranger asked me that same question fifteen minutes ago and the answer was no. But I'm feeling better now."
"How's the arm?"
"I don't think it's too bad. I'm waiting to see the doctor."
Morelli took my hand and pressed a kiss to the palm. "I think my heart stopped twice on the way over."
The kiss fluttered in my stomach. "I'm fine. Really."
"I had to see for myself."
"You love me," I said.
His smile tightened, and he gave a small nod. "I love you."
Ranger loved me too, but not quite in the same way. Ranger was at a different place in his life.
The doors to the waiting room crashed open, and Connie and Lula barged in.
"We heard you got shot," Lula said. "What's going on?"
"Omigod, it's true," Connie said. "Look at your arm! How did this happen?"
Morelli stood. "I want to be there when they bring Ramos in. And I think I'm excess baggage now that the troops have arrived. Call me as soon as you're done with the doctor."
I DECIDED TO go from the hospital to my parents' house. Morelli was still busy interrogating Homer Ramos, and I didn't feel like being alone. I had Lula stop at Dougie's first so I could get a flannel shirt to wear over the T-shirt.
Dougie and Mooner were in the living room, watching a new big-screen TV.
"Hey, dude," Mooner said, "check this television out. Is this excellent, or what?"
"I thought you were done with the hijacking."
"That's the astonishing thing," Mooner said. "This is a newly purchased television. We didn't even steal it, dude. I tell you, God works in mysterious ways. One minute we're thinking our future is in the crapper, and then next thing you know, we come into an inheritance."
"Congratulations," I said. "Who died?"
"That's the miracle," Mooner said. "Our inheritance isn't tainted by tragedy. It was given to us, dude. A present. Can you dig it?
"Dougie and me had the good fortune to make a car sale on Sunday, so we took the car to the car wash to get it all spiffed up for the buyer. And while we're there this blonde comes streaking in, in a silver Porsche. And she, like, cleaned this car to within an inch of its life. We were, like, just watching. And then she took this bag out of the trunk and threw it in the garbage. It was a real genuine bag, so Dougie and me asked if she minded if we took it. And she said it was just a disgusting gym bag, and we could freaking do whatever we wanted with it. So we took the bag home and, like, forgot about it until this morning."
"And when you opened it up and looked inside this morning, the bag turned out to be filled with money," I said.
"Wow. How did you know that?"
"Just a guess."
MY MOTHER WAS in the kitchen when I got to the house. She was making toltott kaposzta, which is stuffed cabbage. Not my favorite thing in the world. But then my favorite thing in the world is probably pineapple upside-down cake with lots of whipped cream, so I guess it's not a fair comparison.
She stopped working and looked at me. "Is something wrong with your arm? You're holding it funny."
"I got shot, but-"
My mother fainted. Crash, onto the floor with the big wooden spoon still in her hand.
Shit.
I soaked a dish towel and put it on her forehead until she came around.
"What happened?" she asked.
"You fainted."
"I never faint. You must be mistaken." She sat up and mopped her face with the wet towel. "Oh yeah, now I remember."
I helped her to a kitchen chair and put the water on for tea.
"How bad is it?" she asked.
"It's just a nick. And the guy's in jail now, so everything's fine."
Except I felt a little nauseated, my heart was skipping a beat once in a while, and I didn't want to go back to my apartment. Otherwise, everything was fine.
I put the cookie jar on the table and gave my mother a cup of tea. I sat opposite her and helped myself to a cookie. Chocolate chip. Very healthy, since she'd put some chopped walnuts in, and walnuts are filled with protein, right?