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“Maybe she took a cab. Hell, maybe she flew on a broom.”
“Why?”
“She’s stalking me! Everybody is stalking me!”
“Okay, let me talk to her.”
I opened the door and Bella was gone. No sign of her anywhere.
“She’s gone,” I said to Morelli.
“Thank God for small favors. Are you wearing another pair of those giant underpants?”
“No. I’m wearing a red lace thong.”
“Are you sure that’s the best thing for a bladder infection?”
“I feel okay this morning. I think the infection went away.”
“One less thing to worry about,” Morelli said.
“How’s Bob?”
“He’s fine. He gakked the pants up at 2 a.m. Do you want them back?”
• • •
I hurried out to my car, drove to the bonds office empty lot, and parked behind Mooner’s bus. Connie, Lula, and Vinnie were already there, parked farther up the street. There were no crime scene vans, no cop cars, no coroner’s meat wagon, no satellite television trucks. Woohoo, a day without a murder. I was hugely relieved.
The door to the bus was open, shades were up, and light poured out. I stuck my head in and looked around. “What’s going on?”
“I’m taking charge,” Connie said. “The womb decor isn’t working. I’ve got Uncle Jimmy and two cousins coming today. We’re going to rip out everything black and replace it with something that doesn’t make me want to kill myself.”
Mooner was texting on his phone.
“Hey,” I said to him.
“Peace,” Mooner said.
Vinnie was in a chair, hunched over his computer. “This business is crappin’ out. Nobody’s calling. We’re not getting any bonds. It’s like we don’t exist anymore.”
“Maybe you gotta move away from this lot,” Lula said. “It’s probably leaking death cooties and ruining our usual good juju.”
“Harry wants us here. He doesn’t want to have to change our address in his iPhone. So I got an idea. I figure it’s that we have to advertise. People see the empty lot they think we closed up shop.”
“What kind of advertising you gonna do?” Lula asked.
“Signs and stuff. Last week I got in touch with a company that specializes in promoting brands. They’re making me a jingle so I can advertise on the radio. And they’re going to put a sign on the bus today.”
“A sign for the bus is a good idea,” Lula said. “That’s a step in the right direction.”
“Yeah, and I had some flyers made up. You girls can put them up all over town. Especially in the high-crime areas, like Stark Street.”
“Who all’s included in you girls?” Lula asked. “Because I don’t get paid for littering public property with shit.” She took one of the flyers from him and looked at it. “Wait, this here’s a picture of me.”
“Yeah, the branding company made them up. They thought we needed the personal touch, so they used pictures of you and Stephanie in the ad.”
“That’s a whole different thing then,” Lula said. “This is a real flattering picture. I’m wearing one of my favorite outfits. I’d be happy to staple myself around town. I might even get some modeling jobs from this. This is a good showcase for my talents.”
