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My mother had the fried chicken on the table, along with biscuits and red cabbage and broccoli. No one would touch the broccoli, but my mother put it out anyway, because it was healthy.
Joe let himself in and took his seat, next to me.
“How'd it go today?” Grandma asked Joe. “Catch any murderers?”
“Not today, but I have hopes for tomorrow.”
“Really?” I said.
“Well no, not really.”
“How'd it go with Ranger?”
Morelli spooned red cabbage onto his plate. “As expected.”
“He told me to butt out. Is that what you want me to do, too?”
“Yeah, but I'm smart enough not to tell you to do it. That's like waving a red flag in front of you.” He took a piece of chicken. “Did you declare war?”
“Sort of. I refused his offer of a safe house.”
“Are you in enough danger to need a safe house?”
“I don't know. It feels extreme.”
Morelli slid his hand along the back of my chair. “My house is safe. You could move in with Bob and me. And besides, you do owe me a favor, you know.”
“You want to call in the marker already?”
“The sooner, the better.”
The phone rang in the kitchen and Grandma went to answer it. “It's for Stephanie,” she yelled. “It's Lula.”
“I've been trying to get in touch with you all afternoon,” Lula said. “You don't answer nothing. You don't have your cell phone working. And you never answer your pager. What's wrong with the pager?”
“I can't afford both the pager and the cell phone, so I chose the cell phone. What's up?”
“They found Cynthia Lotte sitting in that Porsche, and she was dead as a doorknob. I tell you, you wouldn't get me to sit in that car. You sit in that car, and you end up dead.”
“When did this happen? How do you know?”
“They found her this afternoon, in the parking garage on Third Street. Connie and me heard it over the police band. And on top of that, I got a skip for you. Vinnie was total postal on account of you were out of touch, and there's no one else to take this skip.”
“What about Joyce? What about Frankie Defrances?”
“We can't raise Joyce either. She's not answering her page. And Frankie just had a hernia operation.”
“I'll come in to the office first thing in the morning.”
“No way. Vinnie says you gotta get this guy tonight, before he flies. Vinnie knows right where he is. He gave me the papers.”
“How much is it worth?”
“It's a hundred-thousand-dollar bond. Vinnie's cutting you ten percent.”
Be still, my heart. “I'll pick you up in about twenty minutes.”
I went back to the table, wrapped two pieces of chicken in my napkin, and dropped the napkin into my shoulder bag. I gave Bob a hug and Morelli a peck on the cheek. “I've got to go,” I said. “I have to pick up a skip.”
