“It's a nightmare. There's no way to even put a decent spin on it. Big bad Diesel is out to shut down a poor slob whose only claim to fame is his ability to give people hives.”
I burst out laughing. “I like it.”
I went to the kitchen and brought a bag of cookies back to Diesel. I opened the bag, and we each took a cookie and Bob got two.
“How does he do it?” I asked Diesel. “Is this some kind of contact skin disease?”
“I don't know how he does it. I've never actually seen it happen firsthand, but I know he can spread the rash without contact.”
“Maybe Beaner would give Annie a rash, and be done with it. Maybe he just needs to get it out of his system,” I said to Diesel.
Diesel shook his head. “He's nutso. He was stalking her, reinfecting her every chance he got. It was ugly. Annie had hives on top of hives.”
“Tell me more about Beaner.”
“He has some minor skills. He's good with mechanical things. Used to own a garage. Sold it last year and is sort of retired. Probably was driving his wife nuts hanging around the house. He's pretty much a normal guy with the exception of this rash thing. And until a week ago, it was completely undercover. People would break out in unexplained hives, and that was the end of it. When his wife left, and he decided Annie was responsible, he went public. For the first couple days it was just directed at Annie, but then he lost control and started lashing out at random people whenever he got angry.”
“Bummer.”
“Yeah, big whoopitydo. Anyway, I was told to shut him down.”
“You don't mean shut him down as in… permanently?”
“Shut him down as in pull the plug on his power.”
“You can do that?”
“I have ways.”
I was curious about those ways, but I didn't think he'd tell me. And probably it was better not to know, so I ate two more cookies and shoved off the couch. “I'm going to bed. See you in the morning.”
I woke up to the sun shining through the vertical crack in my bedroom curtain and a heavy arm draped across my chest. Diesel was sprawled next to me, looking more disreputable than ever with a four-day-old beard. Like I don't have enough problems with the men in my life, now I have a third guy crawling into my bed. Too much of a good thing. At least I was still wearing my pajamas. That was comforting.
I eased away from Diesel, slithered from under the arm, and rolled out of bed. I grabbed some clean clothes, locked myself in the bathroom, and hopped into the shower. I had a full day ahead of me. Talk to Mrs. Beaner and check on Gary Martin, Charlene Klinger, and Larry Burlew. I had the Pleasure Treasure bag to take to Jeanine. And then there was Annie Hart. I was hoping Annie was back in her apartment, but I thought it was unlikely.
By the time I emerged from the bathroom, Diesel was out of bed, standing at my kitchen counter, eating a bowl of cereal.
“I fed and walked the dog,” Diesel said. “I didn't know what to do about the rat.”
“Hamster.”
“Whatever.”
I gave Rex fresh water, filled his bowl with hamster crunchies, and poured out some cereal for myself. “Have you heard from Annie?” I asked Diesel.
“No. She didn't answer when I called this morning, so I had Flash check on her apartment again. Still empty.” He put his cereal bowl in the dishwasher. “I need to go solo this morning and try to get a fix on Annie. I'm going to jump in the shower and take off. I wrote Beaners wife's address on the pad on the counter. Her name is Betty. She's expecting you. I don't know how helpful she'll be, but you can give it a shot. I'll be on my cell. The number's also on the pad.”
“Do you have a car?”
“I can get one.”
Okay, I wasn't going to ask questions about that either.
I was standing at the counter, enjoying a second cup of coffee, when Diesel walked into the kitchen. His hair was still damp, and he smelled like my shower gel. He had his jacket on, and his scarf wound around his neck. “Catch up with you later,” he said.
I blinked, and he was gone. Not magically. Out the door, down the hall, to the elevator.
I rinsed my cup and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I turned to leave the bathroom and bumped into Ranger. I shrieked and jumped away.