"Yeah. Deal with it."
"Who's the woman?" I asked Diesel.
"Annie Hart."
"You've gotta be kidding. Vinnie's on a rant over her. I spent all day yesterday looking for her. She's wanted for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon."
"It's all bogus… not that either of us gives a rats ass." Diesel was systematically going through my cupboards looking for food, and Bob was sticking close. "Anyway, bottom line is I've got her tucked away until I can sort things out with crazy Bernie."
"Bernie is the… um, Unmentionable who's after Annie?"
"Yeah. Problem is, Annie's one of those crusader types. Takes her job real serious. Says it's her calling. So, the only way I could get Annie to stay hidden was to promise her I'd take over her caseload. I suck at the kind of stuff she does, so I'm passing it off to you."
"And what do I get out of this?"
"You get Annie. As soon as I take care of Bernie, I'll turn Annie over to you."
"I don't see where this is a big favor to me. If I don't help you, Annie will come out of hiding, I'll snag her, and my job will be done."
Diesel had his thumbs hooked into his jeans pockets; his eyes were locked onto mine, his expression was serious. "What'll it take? I need help with this, and everyone has a price. What's yours? How about twenty bucks when you close a case?"
"A hundred, and nothing illegal or life-threatening."
"Deal," Diesel said.
Here's the sad truth, I had nothing better to do. And I needed money. The bonds office was beyond slow. I had one FTA to hunt down, and Diesel had her locked away.
"Just exactly what am I supposed to do?" I asked him. "Annie's bond aGREement lists her occupation as a relationship expert."
Diesel gave a bark of laughter. "Relationship expert. I guess that could cover it."
"I don't even know what that means! What the heck is a relationship expert?"
Diesel had dropped a battered leather knapsack onto my counter when he popped into my kitchen. He went.to the knapsack, removed a large yellow envelope, and handed it over to me. "It's all in this envelope."
I opened the envelope and pulled out a bunch of folders crammed with photographs and handwritten pages.
"She's got a condensed version for you clipped to the top folder," Diesel said. "Got everything prioritized. Says you better hustle because Valentine's Day is coming up fast."
"And?"
"Personally, I don't get turned on by Valentine's Day, with the sappy cards and creepy cupids and the hearts-and-flowers routine. But Annie is to Valentine's Day what Santa Claus is to Christma
