Page 61 of Now or Never

“I’m not going to last until nine,” Herbert said. “I’m hungry. I had doughnuts for lunch and nothing since.”

I was having the same thought. I was hungry. I was tired of driving. My ass was falling asleep. I had a leg cramp. I needed a potty break. And it wasn’t as if I had to get to Trenton by a certain time. Connie hadn’t been able to find a judge who would do us a favor and set bail after court hours. That meant I would have to turn Bruno over to the police and he’d be held until Monday. I would do it, but I wouldn’t feel good about it. So bottom line was, I might as well stop for coffee and a burger.

“There’s a service area just ahead,” I told Herbert. “I’ll pull in there. We can get something to eat and use the restroom.”

Five minutes later, I took the turnoff and cruised into the rest stop. There weren’t a lot of cars in the massive lot. Rush hour had come and gone, and day-tripping tourists were locked away in budget hotels.

“We can take turns going into the building,” I said to Herbert. “I don’t want to leave Lula and Bruno asleep all by themselves in the car. You go in first.”

I watched him walk to the building, he disappeared inside, and Morelli called.

“Sorry not to have phoned sooner,” he said. “I’m on call and I got tapped to check out a bloodbath on Bendle Street. I’m going to be stuck here for at least another hour. Where are you? There’s a lot of background noise.”

“I’m at a rest stop on the Jersey Turnpike. I hear the noise too. I don’t know what it is.”

“What are you doing on the turnpike?”

“I went to Long Island to pick up Jug.”

“And?”

“I have him in the back seat with Lula. Is there anything new on Zoran Djordjevic?”

“Nothing good. He’s sitting tight somewhere.”

“I know the neighborhood was canvassed. Did anything come of that?”

“People remember him moving in. And it sounds like he was friendly at first and then it was almost as if he didn’t live there anymore.”

“How about the Werly family? Was he friendly with Julie?”

“Not in a way that seemed to deserve further attention. Just the normal wave and hello to her and her family. I have to go. The ME just arrived. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Be careful driving.”

The noise from outside was a lot louder. It was the distinctivewop, wop, wopof a helicopter. A spotlight swept over my car and scanned the surrounding area. My immediate thought was that police were searching for someone. The helicopter touched down in the lot at some distance from me and I froze. It was a Sikorsky. I was thinking, no way, give me a break, while my brain was racing through my options. I could try to get Lula’s gun out of her tote bag and bluff my way into keeping Jug. That would involve climbing into the back seat and searching through her bag. I didn’t think I had time for that. Lou and another very large man were out of the helicopter, headed in my direction. Second option was to stomp on the gas and roar out of the lot and onto the road. That would involve abandoning Herbert. This had a lot of appeal, but I couldn’t do it. No man left behind.

I stayed at the wheel and lowered my window when Lou approached. “Did you just drop in for a burger and fries?” I asked him.

“Yeah,” he said. “We were in the neighborhood.” He looked over my shoulder at Lula and Jug in the back seat. “Dead or alive?” he asked.

“Sleeping it off,” I told him. “They ate a dozen doughnuts and chugged a bottle of wine. How did you find me?”

“We plant AirTags on him. Every now and then he forgets to take his meds and he wanders away.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll let me keep him.”

“The family wouldn’t like it. He’s on ice for a while.”

I popped the door locks and Lou dragged Jug out of the car and stood him up.

Jug half opened his eyes and leaned into Lou. “Hey, Lou, how’s it hanging?”

“Do I get a receipt for merchandise returned?” I asked Lou.

“Stop by the office and I’ll give you another fruit basket,” Lou said.

Lou and the big guy got on either side of Jug and walked him to the helicopter. They went up the stairs, the door closed, and the helicopter lifted off and disappeared into the night.

Lula woke up. “What’s going on? Where is everybody? I was dreaming that I was being chased by a helicopter.”

---