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“How do you have fun?” Lula asked her.
“I drink and I smoke. I like weed,” Bella said.
“Fuckin’ A,” Lula said.
“You got dirty mouth,” Bella said. “I give you the eye.”
“I think giving people the eye is how you have fun,” Lula said.
“It my job,” Bella said.
I parked in the Morelli driveway and got Bella out of the car. I took the cuffs off her and walked her to the door.
“This is good,” Bella said. “Go away.”
I tried the door. Not locked. A red RAV4 was parked at the curb. Probably the sister-in-law was here. I opened the door and followed Bella inside.
“Go away or I give you the eye,” Bella said.
Lula was behind me. “There’s something wrong in this house,” Lula said. “I hear something thumping.”
“Water heater,” Bella said. “No good.”
I stopped and listened. “I hear it too,” I said.
“I get it fixed tomorrow,” Bella said.
I followed the thumping to the kitchen. “It’s louder here. It’s coming from the door next to the refrigerator. What’s behind the door?” I asked Bella.
“Nothing,” Bella said. “Closet with mop.”
“Help!” someone yelled behind the door.Thump, thump, thump.“Let me out!”
An old-fashioned skeleton key was stuck in the lock. I unlocked the door and Marylou crashed the door open and lunged out into the kitchen. She was red-faced and sweating.
“Thank God you showed up,” she said to me. “This crazy old hag locked me in the cellar. She said there was something wrong with the water heater and when I went down to look, she locked me in. It’s just a crawl space down there with about a million spiders.”
“We heard you banging on the door,” Lula said.
Marylou shoved some hair off her face and turned to me wild-eyed. “Donotmarry into this family. They’re all nuts.” She whirled around and jabbed her finger at Bella. “You area horrible, evil person. You aren’t even a person. You’re a… fruitcake!” Marylou snatched her purse off the kitchen counter and stomped off to the front door. “I’m out of here. I’m done. I don’t care if she burns the house down.”
“Good riddance,” Bella said. “She knows nothing.”
I called Morelli. “I brought Bella home,” I said.
“Is Marylou there?”
“No. Bella locked her in the cellar. We heard her banging on the door, and when we let her out, she left.”
“If you could just stay with her until four o’clock, I can take over. And then my mom will be home.”
“Have you tried taking her to a doctor?”
“We did that. Bella gave him the eye and he got shingles. I have to go. I’m treading water here.”
Maybe Marylou was right. Marriage to Morelli might not be a good idea.
“I’m supposed to stay with you until Joe gets off work,” I said to Bella.”
