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“I don’t suppose I could talk you into tracking down Bella?” she said.
“Not today.”
I wound my way out of the Burg to State Street, took State for two blocks, and turned onto Connie’s street. I drove to her house and idled at the curb. Her car wasn’t in the driveway. I called Lula and asked if she’d heard from Connie.
“No,” Lula said. “Nothing from Connie. Only person called was some loser who wanted Vinnie. Said he had to talk to him. So, I told him I was the only one here, and he could talk to me or no one. So, he hangs up and then ten minutes later he calls back. He tells me that Vinnie is gonna want to talk to him on account of he has something that belongs to Vinnie. So, I ask him what it is, and he says it’s none of my business and that it’s between him and Vinnie. He said Vinnie has something of his, and he’s gonna keep this thing of Vinnie’s until he gets his own thing back. So, I tell him I don’t give a rat’s ass about any of this. Honest to goodness, as if I haven’t got anything better to do than to waste my time on someone who doesn’t listen to what I’m saying. Vinnie isn’t here to talk to you. How hard is that to understand?”
An alarm went off in my brain. What if the something this person has is Connie?
“Did you get a phone number?” I asked Lula.
“Hell no. It was probably one of those scam calls that turns out to be for phony car insurance.”
The thought stuck with me. The storeroom looked like it had been searched. And Connie was missing.Vinnie has something that’s mine and now I have something that belongs to him, the caller had said. Yes, but somethingis different from someone, I told myself. Too early to panic. And even if Connie had been snatched, it wasn’t death and destruction. Vinnie would simply have to return whatever it was that the man wanted. Most likely something that had been posted for bail.
“If he calls again hand him over to me,” I said to Lula.
“Whatever,” Lula said. “Lord knows I got more important things to do. I gotta pick out fabric for the new couch. And I need a new desk chair. This chair I’m in has no personality, you see what I’m saying?”
“You should run all this by Vinnie before you order,” I said to Lula.
“Like heck,” Lula said. “He’ll say no. He’s a big cheapskate and he has no taste.”
This is true. He’s also a sexual deviant who cheats on his wife, cheats at cards, and is a compulsive gambler, and his pants are too tight. As Grandma puts it, he’s a festering pimple on our family’s behind. Setting all this aside, he’s a good bail bondsman. And our boss.
“What was that phone call all about with Lula?” Grandma asked.
“She hasn’t heard from Connie and she’s busy redecorating the office. She also had a phone call from someone who said Vinniehas something that belongs to him, and now he has something that belongs to Vinnie.”
“Probably one of those scam calls about phony car insurance,” Grandma said. “They’ve got all kinds of gimmicks to suck you into signing up.”
“I thought it might have been about Connie.”
“That would have been my second guess,” Grandma said. “Now what?”
“We wait for him to call back.”
“That’s uncomfortable. Don’t you think we should go proactive?”
“I have no starting point. I ran down the few leads I had. And I have no real proof that Connie is in trouble.”
I dialed Vinnie.
“Now what?” Vinnie said.
“Connie is still missing.”
“Maybe she’s having a hot flash somewhere.”
“Lula is taking her place in the office and—”
“Hold on. Are you shitting me?”
“Someone has to take phone calls, so Lula is in the office.”
“Okay, now you have my attention. Get her out of the office and lock the door so she can’t get back in.”
“I can’t do that. It’s important that someone answers the phone. A man called in asking to talk to you. He said you have something that belongs to him and now he has something that belongs to you. Lula told him you weren’t there and to call back.”
