AllFreeNovel
Share Us
'I've got her purse and jacket,' Cindy said.
I've got a towel so she don't get doodle crumbs on herself on the way to the courthouse,' Lula said.
1 can't do it!' Carol sobbed.
'Yes, you can,' we all said. 'You can do it.'
'Hit me,' Carol said. 'I need a hit.'
I gave her a new bag of Cheez Doodles. She tore the bag open and scarfed a handful of doodles.
'You gotta pace yourself,' Lula said to Carol. 'You got a long day ahead of you, and you don't want to run out of doodles.'
Carol clutched the bag to her chest and we nudged her forward, down the stairs, out to the car.
I got Carol Cantell settled in at the courthouse and then I left. Lula and Cindy were with Cantell. Cindy had four unopened bags of doodles. Lula had cuffs and a stun gun. They promised to call me if a problem developed.
I would have stayed with Cantell to see how things turned out but I was feeling grungy. I needed a shower. And I needed to put distance between me and the Cheez Doodles. Ten more minutes with Cantell and I would have wrestled her for the remaining bags.
I drove past Ranger's building, but there was too much activity to chance a run for the elevator. So, what are the alternative shower and lunch possibilities? Morelli's house was one alternative. I had a key to the house, and I still had some clothes there. Convenient but not smart, I thought. Not a good time to return. Too many unresolved issues. And Junkman could be watching the house.
Better to go to my parents' house. It was easier to sneak in through the back, and I could feel relatively confident that I wasn't seen.
Eleven
It was close to noon when I cruised into the Burg. Sallys bus was parked in front of my parents' house, and my father's car was missing from the driveway. Probably there was a big wedding discussion going on, and my father was hiding out at the Elks
Lodge.
On first pass I didn't see any Slayers with boom boxes or automatic weapons. Of course, if someone was skinny enough he could be crouched behind Mrs Ciak's hydrangea bush. I thought better safe than sorry, and I did my Saturday night routine, driving halfway around the block to park. I had the sweatshirt on again with the hood up. I locked the Lincoln, and once again, I cut through the Krezwickis' yard.
I didn't want my mother to do another freak-out, so I took the sweatshirt off before I opened the back door.
Sally, Valerie with the baby, my mother, and Grandma Mazur were at the kitchen table.
'You're hiding from someone, aren't you?' my mother said to me.
'That's why you keep sneaking in the back.'
'She's hiding from them gang members who want to kill her,'
Grandma said. 'Does anyone want that last piece of cake?'
That's ridiculous,' my mother said. 'We don't have gangs in
Trenton.'
'Wake up and smell the coffee,' Grandma said. 'We got Bloods and Craps and Latin Queens. And that's just to name a few.'
'I was in a rush this morning, and I didn't have time to take a shower,' I said to my mother. 'Is it okay if I shower here?'
'Of course it's okay,' my mother said. 'Did you really break up with Joseph again?'
'I moved out of his house. I'm not sure how broken up we are.'
My mother went still, radar humming. 'If you're not living with
Joseph, where are you living?'
