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only own one pot.”
    â€œI own several pots and a fry pan.”
    Diesel grinned. “You’re going to give him that frozen mac and cheese, aren’t you?”
    â€œThe mac and cheese is for me. Morelli is bringing dinner.”
    â€œOkay, I’m in.”
    â€œYou aren’t in. There’s no
in
for you. He’s bringing dinner, and he’s spending the night.”
    â€œYou need to change that plan. I’m not crazy about sharing a bed with Morelli.”
    I’d been down this road before with Diesel. He was an immovable object. Too big and strong to push around. Too intelligent to out-psych. He was inexplicably likable, and he smelled like fresh-out-of-the-oven gingerbread. He also left as abruptly and as easily as he appeared. He was an okay guy to know, but a romantic attachment would be a disaster.
    â€œOkay. Great. You can have my apartment, and I’ll temporarily move in with Morelli,” I said.
    â€œNot gonna happen,” Diesel said.
    â€œHow do you know?”
    â€œSpidey sense.”
    I put my groceries away, gave Rex a small piece of Pop-Tart, and went into my bedroom, where I found Diesel sprawled across my bed.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” I asked him.
    â€œThinking. Want to join me?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œAfraid you might like it?”
    â€œYes.”
    That got another grin out of him. He reached for me and I ran away, back to the kitchen. I ate what was left of the Pop-Tart, and I called Morelli.
    â€œYo,” he said. “I was just about to call you. I’m going to have to cancel dinner tonight. We’ve got a situation here.”
    â€œI’ve got a situation too. What’s your situation?”
    â€œWe found some heads.”
    â€œThe ones without bodies?”
    â€œYeah. Problem is we’ve got more heads than bodies now.”
    â€œHow many heads do you have?”
    â€œI’m not authorized to say, but it’s more than three and less than ten.”
    â€œThat could be a lot of heads.”
    â€œActually, it’s less than five,” Morelli said.
    â€œHave they been identified?”
    â€œThree have been identified.”
    â€œWhat about the headless guy found behind the hardware store?”
    â€œIt looks like one of the heads might belong to him, but thecircumstances are odd. The autopsy has him dying from a heart attack several hours before his head was removed.”
    â€œEeuuww.”
    â€œExactly. It’s like someone has a head fetish. I’m really tied up here. It would be great if you could walk Bob for me, and maybe we could have a late dinner.”
    â€œNo problem.”
    I disconnected and marched back to the bedroom.
    â€œSo much for Spidey sense,” I said to Diesel.
    â€œHoneypot, you don’t ever want to underestimate my Spidey sense.”
    â€œHere’s the plan. I’m leaving. I’m going to look for a snake and an FTA. Then I’m going to Morelli’s house. I’d appreciate it if you’d talk to Rex once in a while. Make sure he has fresh water. And don’t eat all the mac and cheese.”
    I threw some clothes and a package of hot dogs into a small duffel bag, said goodbye to Rex, and told him I’d be back. I left the apartment and headed for my car. Truth is I wasn’t crazy about the whole leaving thing, but I didn’t know what else to do. I was involved in a relationship with Morelli, and he wouldn’t be happy to hear I was cohabitating with Diesel.
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    I drove to Diggery’s double-wide, parked, and peeked inside. No cats. No raccoons. No rats. No snake. Horrible smell. I didn’t spend a lot of time peeking. I jumped into my car and looked for Ethel as I inched my way along the road and out of the neighborhood. No luck.
    Next stop was Morelli’s house. I opened the front door and heard Bob galloping at me from the kitchen. I braced myself, but he still knocked me back