Page 111 of Now or Never

“Is there anyone else we should worry about?” Ranger asked me.

“No,” I said. “Just Zoran. I yelled ‘kill’ and Mr. Big attackedZoran, and I hit Zoran in the face with the chair, and then I shot him. Twice.”

Zoran was moaning and making weird hissing sounds.

Tank and another Rangeman came into the room. Tank looked at me, still holding the gun, and then he looked at Zoran, bleeding from his face and both legs.

“Did you shoot him in the face?” Tank asked.

“No,” I said. “I hit him in the face with the chair.”

Tank smiled. “Nice.”

Tank’s partner ran to get the med kit, and Tank started triage on Zoran.

Ranger was talking to his control room, telling them that there were multiple victims needing medical assistance, and asking them to get Morelli on the phone. Bruno and Lou were looking on from the kitchen area. Bruno was holding Mr. Big. Lula was with Julie. I dragged my chain into the bathroom, splashed cold water on my face, and dried off with a paper towel. I looked at myself in the mirror. My face was pale, and I could have used some lip gloss, but other than that, I looked almost okay.

Ranger was waiting by the door when I came out. “Babe,” he said. “Feel better?”

“Yeah.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. “I had some bad moments on this one. This one really scared me,” he said.

I nodded against him. “Me too.”

“Can you walk me through it?”

I gave him the short version that ended with getting stunned and drugged. “Where are we?”

“Third block of Freemont,” Ranger said. “Probably the three-story tenement you entered. It’s used by druggies. Half-empty.We’re in the basement. I imagine this was the manager’s apartment. Maybe Zoran is the manager.”

“How did you find me?”

“Lula called. She saw your phone and food on the bench and couldn’t find you, and she went into panic mode. Control room said she was screaming on the phone, so they broke into my conference call. When I got to the deli she was with Bruno and Lou. They came to get lunch and check on the Jug Produce display. I guess it’s new.”

“Zoran took my AirTag.”

“He didn’t take it. It must have fallen out of your pocket when he was moving you. I was able to track it to the van behind the building. It was lying on the ground. The dog found it. We were organizing a search when Bruno realized the dog was missing. Bruno and Lou walked around to the street to look for the dog, and Tank and I went to the back door to get into the building. The door was locked but the whole door is rotting away. I’m sure that’s how the dog got in. There was a gap on the bottom of the door that he was able to squeeze through. We kicked the door open, and we were standing in the back hallway when we heard gunshots coming from the basement.”

Now that the doors were open, I could hear street sounds. Sirens. People talking. Paramedics came in. A couple of cops walked in with them. One of Ranger’s men came with a key for the ankle iron and went to work setting me free.

“I called Morelli,” Ranger said. “He’s on his way.”

Tank came over. “Do you want me to have the cars moved so the first responders can get closer?” he asked Ranger.

“Yes. Everyone can be dismissed back to standard.”

“What cars?” I asked him.

“I have half of Rangeman on the street. I didn’t know whatI was going to find here or how extensive the search was going to be.”

A couple of paramedics and Lula had Julie Werly on her feet. Bruno and Lou were still in the little kitchenette, taking it all in. And Morelli’s partner, Jimmy, was standing in the hall, talking to a uniform.

“Fill Jimmy in,” I said to Ranger. “I need to talk to Bruno and Lou.”

I walked over and gave Mr. Big some ear scratches. “This is the hero of the day,” I said to Bruno and Lou. “He distracted Zoran so I could take him down.”

“So, you hit the vampire in the face with the chair and then you shot him… twice,” Lou said.

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