I put the car in gear and drove out of the lot. “I think it’s time to visit Merlin Brown again.”
“That’s a good idea on account of I haven’t been knocked on my ass yet today. It wouldn’t be right for a day to go by without him knocking me on my ass.” She looked over at me. “Do we have a plan?”
“No.”
“Probably you still don’t want me to shoot him or run over him with your car.”
“Right.”
“I got a new idea. How about we bring him a poison pizza. I’m not saying we want to kill him or anything. I’m thinkin’ we could just slip him some pepperoni roofies.”
“That’s illegal.”
“Only a little. People eat roofies all the time. At least in my neighborhood.”
“You need to move into a new neighborhood.”
“Yeah, but I got real cheap rent.”
“I bet.”
“And my apartment got a big closet.”
“It also hasn’t got a kitchen.”
“A girl’s gotta have priorities,” Lula said. “I happen to be a stylish person. And I have my whole professional wardrobe from my previous vocation.”
“I used to be a stylish person. And now I’m wearing granny panties.”
“First off, you never been a stylish person. You don’t own a bustier or a single thing in leopard. And second you be out of those panties in no time. You just need to give your lady parts a rest.”
TWENTY-TWO
MERLIN’S CAR WAS PARKED in the lot to his apartment building.
“We got some good news, and we got some bad news, and it’s all the same news,” Lula said. “Looks like Merlin’s home. Now what?”
“We go talk to him.”
“Say what?”
I cut the engine and grabbed my shoulder bag. “We aren’t having any luck wrestling him to the ground, so I thought I’d talk to him.”
I crossed the lot with Lula trailing after me. We took the stairs to Merlin’s apartment, and I knocked on the door.
Merlin answered on the second knock. He was naked again, and he had a boner.
Lula checked Merlin out. “Must be that time of day.”
“I was hoping we could talk,” I said to Merlin.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
He gestured to his wanger. “I don’t suppose you could help me out with this.”
“No,” I said. “Not even a little.”