“It’s my job,” Ranger said. “Rangeman manages security on the bonds office.”
Morelli ambled over. He nodded to Ranger as Ranger walked off to find the fire marshall, and he gave me a tight smile. “Are you okay?” he asked me.
“Yes,” I said. “The fire trucks were already here when I arrived.”
“That’s a relief,” Morelli said. “I was half afraid you and Lula started the fire.” He looked around. “It wasn’t Lula, was it?”
“No,” I said. “I checked.”
Morelli looked me over. “That’s your viewing uniform.”
“Yes, and the heels are killing me. I’m ready to go home. Would you mind following me? Ranger thinks I need an escort.”
I DE
TOURED AROUND the fire, and twenty minutes later, I rolled into my apartment parking lot with Morelli on my bumper. We got out of our cars, and Morelli walked me into the building.
I took my shoes off and pushed the elevator button.
“Probably, I should walk you all the way to your door,” Morelli said. “Maybe I should even go inside and check under your bed for monsters.”
The elevator doors opened, and Vinnie was standing there wearing my panties.
“Going up?” he asked.
Morelli’s jaw dropped. “What the hell?”
“I got locked out,” Vinnie said. “I went downstairs to do my laundry, and when I got back to the apartment, the door was closed shut.”
“Those are my panties,” I said.
Vinnie looked down at himself. “I figured you wouldn’t want me running around naked. All my clothes are in the washer.”
“And you decided panties were the way to go?” I asked.
“It was the only thing that fit. They got elastic.”
“Lucille kicked him out, and he didn’t have any place to stay,” I told Morelli.
Morelli grinned at me. “I’ve seen you in those panties, and they look a lot better when you wear them.”
“How’s the bonds office?” Vinnie wanted to know.
“Burned to the ground,” I said.
“Oh jeez!” Vinnie said. “Crap. Shit. Damn.” He punched the elevator wall and stamped his foot.
“This isn’t a good picture,” Morelli said.
“Yeah, and I don’t want the underwear back, either,” I said.
“Maybe you should come home with me, and let Vinnie have the apartment to himself,” Morelli said.
I bit into my lower lip. I left Vinnie alone in my apartment for a few hours, and he was wearing my panties when I came home. I got stomach cramps thinking about what might happen if I left him overnight.
“That’s probably not a good idea,” I said to Morelli. “I can’t afford to throw away any more underwear.”
“Understood. I hate to leave you, on a sinking ship, but I don’t know what more I can do here, unless you want me to arrest him for indecent exposure,” Morelli said. He grabbed me and kissed me, moved me back two steps into the elevator, and pushed the button for the second floor. “Let me know when he leaves. We can go shopping and replace the underwear with something really skimpy.”