“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.”

Vinnie and I got off at the second floor, and I let us into my apartment.

“You can’t walk around like that,” I said to Vinnie. “You’re freaking me out.” I rummaged through my closet and came up with an old robe.

“I saw that,” Vinnie said, “but I didn’t think I’d look good in it.”

“Have you seen yourself in the panties? It’s why people go blind. Not only don’t they fit, but you’re all lumpy. It’s a hideous sight.”

“Cripes,” Vinnie said. “Just tell me how you feel.”

I held the robe out to him.

Vinnie put the robe on and got a beer out of the fridge. “I bet that fire was arson.”

“Without a doubt.”

“Drager is going to be pissed. Has anybody called him? Do you think I should call?”

I went dead still for a moment, thinking about Drager’s lifeless body lying on his office floor. And then the explosion that had to have obliterated not only all evidence of The Wellington Company, but also of Drager.

“I imagine Rangeman will get in touch with Wellington,” I said. “I don’t think it’s necessary for you to call.”

“I feel like an orphan,” Vinnie said. “I haven’t got Lucille, and I haven’t got my office. I haven’t even got my own underwear.”

I know he made all his own problems, but I felt sorry for him anyway. “Get another beer and we’ll see if we can find a movie to watch.”

By the time I went to bed, Vinnie had retrieved his clothes from the dryer downstairs and was out of my bathrobe. I put the robe in my hamper and told him he could keep the panties. I think he was pleased.