Takedown Twenty(41)

“He’s not spending much time there, if any,” Ranger said. “No food in the refrigerator, hardly any clothes in his closet, no razor in the bathroom.”

“He owns the entire block plus scattered properties in the area, but this was the address he listed as his residence. He rents out a three-story brownstone on Freeman next to the Chestnut Social Club. He uses the third floor as a counting room. It’s got a big safe in it. I know he spends time there, but I can’t see him making it home.”

Ranger looked down the street. “Let’s take a walk.”

We ambled along, looking in windows and doorways, listening to sounds of television and conversation that escaped from the buildings. We turned the corner, walked half a block, and entered the alley. It was dark and narrow, a place where trashcans and recycling bins were kept. Some of the houses had parking spaces, and some had outdoor backstairs. Windows overlooking the alley were small, and the lights behind them were dim.

I stopped and pointed to a redbrick building. “This is the back of the Chestnut Social Club. I broke my finger falling down these stairs.” Lights were shining from every window. “The light you see is from an interior rear stairwell.”

“Stay here in the shadows,” Ranger said. “I’ll look inside.”

“There might be an alarm,” I told him, as I moved under the outside stairs and pressed myself against the brick wall. Ranger bumped the lock on the back door, slipped inside, and the door clicked closed. No alarm rang out.

After what seemed like hours, Ranger reappeared and motioned me away from the building. “Sunny isn’t in there,” he said. “Do you have any other possibilities?”

“I have too many possibilities. There are all these row houses, plus he’s related to half the Burg.”

“Your call,” Ranger said. “Where do we go from here?”

“How about a beer and onion rings?”

“I like it.”

He was very close. I saw his eyes focus on my mouth, and I knew he was going to kiss me. I leaned into him, and his attention went from my mouth to something at the end of the block.

“I just saw a giraffe,” Ranger said. “He was walking down Freeman.”

“That’s Kevin.”

Ranger grinned. “You know him?”

“I’ve seen him around.”

There was shouting from the front side of the building, and car doors slamming. An engine caught and tires chirped. Kevin skittered around the corner at full gallop, charged past us, and disappeared into the darkness. A black SUV with tinted windows rounded the corner, obviously chasing Kevin. It blew past us, screeching to a stop at the cross street.

“They’ve lost him,” I said.

“Hard to believe you could lose a giraffe.”

“Kevin is wily. And the guys in the SUV might not be exceptionally smart.”

The SUV moved into the intersection and made a U-turn.

“Smart enough to come back to run over us,” Ranger said.

He grabbed my hand, tugging me through the back door and into the social club’s back stairwell. We ran flat-out through the club, past four old men playing cards. One of the men was Joe’s Uncle Chooch.

“Hey, Stephanie,” Uncle Chooch said. “Long time no see.”

I looked over at him and stumbled, crashing into a rickety table holding a cappuccino machine. The machine fell off the table, and coffee and cups went flying in all directions.

Ranger grabbed me and shoved me out the front door. We sprinted to the Porsche, jumped in, and Ranger drove off. I turned in my seat in time to see several men standing in front of the social club with guns drawn. Hard to identify them in the dark, but I imagined they were the usual players. Maybe Uncle Chooch.

“So that went pretty smooth,” I said to Ranger.

He glanced over at me. “If you ever tell anyone about this, I’ll have to kill you.”

I was almost positive he was kidding.

“You could buy me off with the onion rings,” I told him.

“Deal.”



We went to a downtown pub that was so dark we were almost invisible to each other as we slid into a corner booth. We ordered cheese fries, onion rings, and beer.

“Are you actually going to eat cheese fries and onion rings?” I asked him.

“That was my plan.”

“What about the healthy food thing? Wouldn’t you rather have a salad? Tree bark? A chunk of salmon?”

“I didn’t see tree bark on the menu. Have you made any progress with the Gillian murder?”

“Melvina Gillian belonged to a senior discount club. All the murdered women belonged. So they all shopped at the same grocery store, liquor store, and bakery, because they were given a discount. I thought I’d get a list of the stores tomorrow and check them out. Also, Rose Walchek is being buried on Sunday, and there’s going to be a viewing for her tomorrow night. I thought you would want to attend one or both.”