“You didn’t believe in my nipple radar, either, and look where that got us,” Lula said.
I left Lula in the car, found the entrance gate, and meandered around, following paths, listening for activity. I walked up a small hill and saw a solitary figure on the other side. It was a slim woman dressed in black. She was very still, staring at a headstone on a relatively new grave. It was Gabriela. She turned as I crested the hill and glanced my way. She did a small nod of acknowledgment and returned her attention to the simple granite marker.
I walked downhill and joined her. The name on the headstone was Julius Roman. He’d been one of the six La-Z-Boys. He’d recently been killed execution-style and one of the clues in the Mole Hole safe had been his.
“A relative?” I asked Gabriela.
“No,” she said. “And you?”
“No.”
“But you knew him.”
“We met shortly before he died,” I said.
“I understand he was killed. Gunshot. Deliberate.”
I nodded. “Yes. Was he a close friend?”
“No,” she said.
“Are you here looking for someone who knew Julius or are you looking for something else?”
“Just looking.”
She turned and walked away, following a path that led in the opposite direction from where my car was parked.
After ten more minutes of wandering around, looking for Rugalowski, I was back behind the wheel.
“How did that go?” Lula asked.
“I didn’t find Rugalowski, but I ran into Gabriela.”
“Who?”
“The woman in black with the Fendi bag. More and more I’m thinking she’s after the treasure. She was at Julius Roman’s grave.”
“What was she doing there?”
“Nothing. Looking at the gravestone.”
“Did she have a shovel?”
“No,” I said. “This time she had a Hermès purse.”
“I always wanted a Hermès purse. They’re real classy.”
“I didn’t know you were into classy.”
“You bet your ass,” Lula said. “I’m all about it.”
I backtracked down Clinton to Hamilton and drove past Cluck-in-a-Bucket. An aging Chevy Nova was parked in the lot.
“Looks like he’s got the breakfast shift,” Lula said. “Probably people coming in for their morning nuts.”
I made a U-turn, swung into the lot, and idled next to the Nova.
“Now what?” Lula asked.