My mom unplugged the iron.
“You still have a shirt left in the ironing basket,” Grandma said. “And you only ironed the one on the board seven times.”
“I’m out of steam,” my mom said. “I’m switching to my new hobby. I’ve taken up knitting.”
“Since when?” Grandma asked.
“Since this afternoon. I got some yarn and needles and a knitting book. There was a woman on television who said knitting was like yoga for your mind.”
“I might try that, too,” Grandma said. “I always wanted to take up yoga, but it seemed like a lot of fuss. You have to carry a mat around with you and you have to get into all those awkward positions. All you have to do is move your fingers with this knitting yoga. And I can see where carrying knitting needles in your purse would come in handy. I imagine you could do some damage with a knitting needle. If a man attacks you, you could give him a poke in his one-eyed snake.”
Diesel winced and Melvin looked confused.
“Gotta go,” I said. “I need to pick my car up at the bail bonds office.”
My mom pulled a plastic container from the fridge. “I put some spaghetti aside for you. And there’s some grated cheese with it.” She put it in a paper grocery bag with half a loaf of Italian bread. “The bread is from the bakery. Fresh today.” My mother gave me a kiss and shook her finger at Diesel. “Make sure she gets home safe.”
Diesel was back on his heels, smiling. “Yes, ma’am.”
“And thank you for not letting her die on the train tracks.”
* * *
Diesel drove to Hamilton Avenue and idled behind my car. “I’m going to follow you home, not only because my motor home is parked in your lot, but because I promised your mother that I’d keep you safe. And honestly, your mother and grandmother can be a little scary.”
This was fine by me. I wasn’t so liberated that I didn’t appreciate a man protecting me from spiders and maniacs. Diesel’s headlights in my rearview mirror were comforting. The comfort started to fade when I got closer to my neighborhood and saw an ominous red glow in the direction of my building. I turned onto the side street that led to my parking lot and was relieved to see that my building wasn’t on fire. The fire was in the parking lot. Probably the dumpster, I thought. Again. Impossible to see past the fire trucks and EMTs.
I parked on the street, and Diesel and I walked into the lot and stared at the drenched but still smoldering remains of his motor home.
His phone buzzed; he looked at the screen and muttered, “Oswald.” He did a fast scan of the area. He went to speakerphone mode and answered.
“Where are you?” he asked. “It’s hard to spot you sneaking around in the dark.”
“It’s quite easy to spot you,” Oswald said. “What do you think of my handiwork?”
“It’s disappointingly boring. Mundane, actually.”
“Perhaps, but I liked the symbolism. Your rescue this morning robbed me of the pleasure of seeing Ms. Plum get turned into train smash. Now I’ve robbed you of your home away from home.”
“It was a rental,” Diesel said. “Not enough hot water. Do you have anything else to tell me?”
“Don’t underestimate me. I’m having some fun playing with you and Ms. Plum right now, but that will soon end. I’m sure that you and the organization that employs you are aware of the extent of my power. I don’t make frivolous threats. When I send a ransom request I’m always capable of carrying out my threat. In this case the threat is significant. You can relay this message to your organization. It’s only begun. As Sherlock would say, ‘the game is afoot.’？”
“Yeah,” Diesel said. “Game on.”
Diesel hung up and put his phone away. “The guy is seriously sick. He’s gone from genius hacker and closet psychopath to complete nut job.”
“He sounded serious.”
Diesel nodded agreement. “He was right about his threat being significant, but he’s still a complete nut job.”
“Sorry about your motor home. Did you lose a lot of stuff in there?”
“Nothing that can’t be easily replaced. I travel light. My backpack is in the Bronco. Everything I need is in the backpack.”
“Where are you going to stay tonight? Can your fixer get you another motor home?”
“Another motor home isn’t necessary. I can stay with you.”
“Oh no. No, no, no. That won’t work.”