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Connie called the Trenton police and reported her brother’s car stolen.
“I parked it at Quakerbridge Mall,” she said. “And I just came out of Macy’s, and it’s not here.”
She gave all the necessary information and said she had a ride coming and needed to get home.
“That was quick thinking,” Lula said. “It wouldn’t be good if Bobby Sunflower found out we were parked here. He’d think we were the fire bombers. The police probably would think that, too.”
“Unfortunately, we can’t use the car to get home,” Connie said. “We’re going to have to leave it here.”
“I bet your brother’s gonna be pissed,” Lula said.
Connie shrugged. “He’ll understand.”
Connie’s family took crime in stride. It was a family activity.
“So how we gonna get home?” Lula wanted to know. “It’s getting late, and I got television shows I want to watch.”
“My brother Tony would pick us up but his car’s on the side of the road,” Connie said.
“I got no one,” Lula said. “I don’t got a special someone in my life right now.”
I shoved my hand into my pocket and came up with Mooner’s card.
______
THE RV CREAKED to a stop behind Connie’s SUV and Mooner leaned out the driver’s side window. “Have no fear, Mooner’s here,” he said.
“What the heck is this?” Lula said, taking in the hand-painted peace signs, swirly wind, and stars symbols on the side of the bus.
“It’s a motor home,” Mooner said. “It’s a quality recreational vehicle.”
Connie sniffed the air drifting out the open window. “It smells like dog.”
“Yep,” Mooner said. “And it comes by it honest.”
We scrambled inside and looked for a place to sit. The walls were covered in velvet-like leopard-print fabric. The couches and chairs were upholstered in fuzzy faux zebra. The tabletop and kitchen counter were red Formica. Even in the dark of night, it was a migraine.
“This here’s real nice,” Lula said. “Surprisingly plush. ’Course, I’m a animal-print person, myself, so I appreciate the decor.”
“I did it myself,” Mooner said. “I was going for retro animal kingdom.” Mooner ground the RV into gear, performed a U-turn at the dirt road, and headed back to Trenton. “Were you ladies attending the bonfire?” he asked. “It has to be mega. I could see the glow from the bridge.”
“We didn’t go to the bonfire,” I told him. “We were just riding around and the car broke down.”
“I could turn this bus around and take you to the fire if you want,” Mooner said.
“Not necessary,” I told him. “You’ve seen one fire, you’ve seen them all.”
“So true,” Mooner said. “Personally, I’m more a wind man. Wind rocks.”
Mooner dropped Connie off at her brother’s house, so she could retrieve her car, and he took Lula and me back to the bonds office. Lula got into her Firebird and drove away, and I walked back to the Jeep, where Morelli was waiting for me. He was lounging against the Jeep, arms crossed over his chest.
“Hey,” I said. “What’s up?”
“You were asking about Bobby Sunflower, so I thought you’d want to know one of his properties burned to the ground tonight.”
“Which one burned?”
“His Pennyslvania house.”
