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“I’ll take Sweetie Pie back to the house,” Francine said. “Sorry about your dress.”
“Sweetie Pie?” Lula said.
Francine bent over and made a smooshie face at Sweetie Pie. “He’s Mommy’s dumpy lumpkin.”
We helped Brown hobble to my car, and we stuffed him into the backseat. The gray Rangeman car was idling behind me. The driver gave me a smile and a thumbs-up, and the guy next to him looked like he was about to explode from trying not to laugh.
It was a short ride to the police station. I turned Brown over to the cop at the desk, got my receipt, and took Lula back to the office so she could get her car.
“I’ll see you Monday,” Lula said. “Or sooner if you need me.”
I wasn’t planning on needing anyone. Okay, maybe Morelli. I was going to head home and take a shower. At six o’clock I’d bring a couple pizzas to Morelli’s house, and I’d spend the weekend there. If the weather was nice, I’d talk him into going to the shore. With any luck the kidnappers would realize the money was a lost cause and get on with their lives.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It was Monday morning, and I woke up in Morelli’s bed thinking life was good. It had been days since anyone tried to stun gun me. Connie was back home. And so far, none of Bella’s threats about boils and incontinence had come true. Morelli had left for work a couple hours ago, but his big goofy dog Bob had taken Morelli’s place next to me.
“This is going to be a perfect day,” I said to Bob. “It feels like all my stars are finally in alignment.”
I didn’t want to say it out loud to Bob, but I was having serious thoughts about Morelli. It had been a really good weekend. Comfortably intimate. Pleasantly relaxing. Especially nice not to have a lot of drama after the chaos of last week. I thought I would like to have more weekends like this. Maybe I wanted it full-time. Maybe I wanted to get married.
“That’s sort of a scary thought,” I said to Bob. “What do you think?”
Bob didn’t look like he thought much about marriage. Bob was chill this morning. If Bob thought about anything it would be breakfast.
Connie was at her desk when I got to the office. The box of doughnuts was on the desk, and the office smelled like fresh brewed coffee. Never underestimate the joy of normal, I thought. And never take normal for granted.
A single Boston cream was still in the box, but I was in a magnanimous mood, so I left it for Lula. An hour later, Lula bustled in.
“I wanted to get here early but I overslept,” Lula said. “Did I miss anything? What’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on,” I said.
“I didn’t see the Rangeman car out front,” Lula said.
“It was a quiet weekend, so Ranger switched to electronic surveillance.”
Morelli called. “I have a problem,” he said. “Bella is supposed to be confined to the house, but a neighbor called and said Bella just got picked up by an airport limo service. I called the service and Bella told them she was going to Italy.”
“Can she do that?”
“Maybe. She has a credit card. I don’t know about a passport.”
“Didn’t your mom stop her?”
“My mom isn’t home. She’s at the hospital with my Aunt Bitsy.”
“What’s wrong with Bitsy?”
“I don’t know. There’s always something wrong with Bitsy. I can’t keep up with it. My sister-in-law was supposed to be keeping an eye on Bella, but I can’t reach her. She’s not picking up when I call her.”
“Which sister-in-law?”
“Marylou.”
I was getting a queasy feeling in my stomach. “Why are you calling me?”
“I was hoping you’d go to the airport and get Bella.”
