When I got to Ranger he was on his back with Bob looking all happy at his side.
“Omigod,” I said. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
“Do I look okay?” Ranger asked.
“No. You have a lot of blood on your face. I think it’s dripping out of your nose.”
I reached into my messenger bag and found some tissues.
“Bob thought you were playing with him,” I said. “He loves to chase things.”
“He’s not sleeping on the bed tonight,” Ranger said. “And you aren’t wearing pajamas.”
I helped him up. “You almost caught Marcus.”
“Almost doesn’t count.”
I drove back to Rangeman, and by the time I parked in the garage, the blood had stopped dripping from Ranger’s nose.
“You’re kind of scary looking,” I said. “Your shirt is splattered with blood.”
“I’ve looked a lot worse,” Ranger said. “I’m fine. Everyone in my building is either retired military, police, or has been incarcerated. This won’t be the first time they’ve seen a bloody shirt.”
“Do you want me to help you get upstairs?”
“Not necessary, but I’d like you to come back tonight. We need to talk.”
“You keep saying that, but we never talk.”
“Life keeps interfering,” Ranger said.
“Can Bob sleep on the bed?”
“Yes. But I don’t want to see you in pajamas.”
Fair enough. I could sleep in sweats or jeans or a suit of armor.
* * *
Nutsy was watching television when Bob and I entered the apartment. He was surrounded by chips bags, dirty dishes, and empty soda cans. Lula was in the kitchen, drinking wine out of the bottle.
“I just had a fright,” Lula said. “Grendel almost got me. After I left the office, I went to my apartment to check things out. The tape is gone from the building, and nobody is living there yet, but you could see that people had been working to clean things up. I stepped inside to look around, and there was this horrible growl sound and Grendel jumped out at me. And then he said my name, and he reached for me, but I was already running out of the house.”
“You actually saw Grendel?”
Lula took another hit from the bottle of wine. “Yeah. It was dark in the house, but I could see that it was Grendel.”
“What did you do? Did you call the police?”
“No. I was in a state. I got in my car and took off, and when I drove away, I could see the outline of him standing in the doorway. He had a big bag in one hand, like a black garbage bag. I figured it was a sack that he was gonna use to kidnap me. And he was shaking his fist at me with the other hand. I tell you, my heart was racing, and all I could think of was getting back here in one piece. And here I am.” She looked around the kitchen. “I need food. I used up all my calories. I don’t suppose you brought pizza home with you? Maybe a meatball hoagie or a pork roll sandwich?”
“Nope. No takeout,” I said, “but there should be sandwich stuff in the fridge.”
Lula looked in the fridge. “It’s bare in here. I think Nutsy got hungry.”
“Not my problem,” I said. “I did my hostess thing and now you guys are on your own.”
“I don’t think Nutsy has any money,” Lula said. “And I spent all my money on beautification of our apartment.”
I looked into the living room. There were a lot of green plants positioned around the room and a bunch of colorful pillows on the couch.
“Hey, Nutsy,” Lula yelled. “Get away from my pillows with those chips. If I see chip crumbs on my new pillows, I won’t be happy. And for God’s sake clean up your mess. It’s like you’re a farm animal. And put some pants on. I don’t give a rat’s ass even if you are a clown. I don’t have men sitting around in my house in their undershorts. Have some class.”
“I need information on Stump,” I said to Nutsy. “What was he wearing the night he was shot? Did he have a belt with a buckle? Was he wearing jewelry? A watch?”
“Who’s Stump?” Lula asked. “Why was he shot?”
I brought Lula up to speed on Marcus and Stump.
“That’s too bad about Ranger’s nose,” Lula said. “He had a perfect nose. I hope he’s not disfigured. And it explains the bloodstains on your T-shirt.”
“I didn’t get to see much of Stump,” Nutsy said. “He had his back to me. And I never paid a lot of attention to what he was wearing.”
“Seems to me we need to find Marcus,” Lula said. “We should go to the train station and see if he’s still there. And we could order something from Pino’s as long as we’re out.”
“I’m game,” Nutsy said. “I’m tired of sitting here.”
I changed my shirt, Nutsy put pants on, and we piled into the Explorer.
“This is good,” Lula said. “It helps me to get my mind off Grendel.”
“I’d like to see Grendel,” Nutsy said. “It’s not every day that a character out of a video game comes to life.”
“According to Stephanie, he was real before the video game,” Lula said. “And you only want to see him because he isn’t after your body.”
“I’m thinking he must fall into the zombie category,” Nutsy said.
“I don’t like that thinking,” Lula said. “I’m not in favor of zombies. Bad enough he’s a demon.”
“You don’t really think he’s come alive from a video game, do you?” Nutsy asked.
“I guess not,” Lula said. “It’s like when you see a clown and he’s all done up so that you don’t really know what’s under the makeup and funny clothes. All I know is that this thing is scary, and he looks like Grendel.”
I drove around the train station and headed for the Catholic church on French Street. After an hour of searching with no results, Lula took matters into her own hands and ordered takeout for all of us from Pino’s.
“We should find out where the free food is being handed out,” Lula said, tucking into her meatball sub. “It looks like Marcus got spooked off the street today, but he might come out for soup and a sandwich.”
I’d had the same thought. He’d frequented the food truck that fed the hungry in the King Street area. That was no longer convenient to him, but I suspected there was food given out by the Catholic church. I finished my chicken Parm and headed back to French Street.
I was a block from the church when I saw a small group of men huddled around a van.
“That’s one of the vans that gives out food,” Lula said.
“And I see Marcus,” Nutsy said. “He’s off to the side with a drink and a sandwich.”
I drove past the van and parked around the corner, out of sight. I wanted to sneak up on Marcus, but there was the risk that he’d recognize Nutsy or me. And he’d definitely remember Bob.
“You go in first,” I said to Lula. “Keep him occupied so Nutsy and I can get close to him.”
We walked around the corner and didn’t see Marcus.
“Maybe someone knows him,” I said. “He must be crashing somewhere nearby.”
“I’ll go mingle,” Lula said. “I’ll use my finesse to fish out information.”