We all glared at Connie.
'I gave her three impossible files. I didn't think we'd ever see her again. I thought I was getting rid of her. And anyway, you were the one who suggested giving her the impossibles!' Connie said to me, glaring back. 'I'm not taking the fall for this all by myself.'
Joyce Barnhardt shoved through the front door and stood in the middle of the floor looking like something fresh out of an S&M movie. She'd improved on the black leather outfit by adding a black leather utility belt that carried a can of Mace, a stun gun, a Glock, and cuffs. Only the whip was missing.
'These two files you gave me are impossible,' she said, tossing the files onto Connie's desk.
'And?' Connie said.
'There are no leads. Everything hits a wall. These assholes aren't even dead. I want something else.'
'Everything else is assigned,' Connie said.
'Then reassign someone.' Joyce looked at the Lonnie Johnson file open on Connie's desk. 'I want this one. I saw this guy on the wall in the post office. This is worth something. Armed robbery. I could get my teeth into this one.'
'Yeah, but you're supposed to bring them in to get re-booked, not gnaw on them,' Lula said.
'Shut up, fatso.'
Lula was out of her seat, and Connie and I jumped between her and Joyce.
'Take it,' Connie said to Joyce. 'Just get out of here!'
Joyce snatched the file and swished out of the office.
'Never mind finding the make of the car and the license number,' I said to Meri.
'Boy, too bad,' Lula said. 'I was looking forward to going after Lonnie Johnson.'
'Me too,' I said. 'I'm real disappointed.'
Lula's phone rang. She looked at the readout, pumped her fist in the air, did a victory dance, and bustled outside to have some privacy.
'Is she really going out with Tank?' Connie wanted to know.
'Looks that way,' I said.
'How did that happen?'
'I think it was fate.' And Caroline Scarzolli.
'I guess we're left with Charles Chin,' Meri said.
I looked at Chin's file. White-collar crime. He'd embezzled close to $15,000 while working at one of the local banks. He had a house in a nice neighborhood in north Trenton. And he hadn't shown up for his court appearance.
'He answered the phone sounding very drunk,' Meri said.
'When did you call?'
'About an hour ago.'
I grabbed my bag and stuffed the file in it. 'Let's roll.'
Meri looked hopeful. 'Me too?'
'Yes. We shouldn't have a problem with this. We'll let Lula do her shopping.'
I took the Mini and didn't bother to check for a tail. Best not to know, I thought. Meri, on the other hand, kept checking her mirror.