His engine caught, and he retraced his route down Hamilton.
“He's not going to Terry's,” I said. “He's going home.”
“What a rip. I thought I was going to see some action.”
I didn't actually want to see a whole lot of action. I just wanted to find Uncle Fred and get on with my life. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to learn anything new if Morelli sat in front of his television eating ice cream all night.
Mary Lou dropped a block behind Morelli, keeping him in sight. He parked in front of his house, and Mary Lou and I parked on the cross street again. We got out of the mom car, skulked back down the alley, and stopped short at the edge of Morelli's yard. The light was on in his kitchen, and Morelli was moving in front of the window.
“What's he doing?” Mary Lou asked. “What's he doing?”
“Getting a spoon. I was right—he went out to buy ice cream.”
The light blinked out, and Morelli disappeared. Mary Lou and I scuttled across Morelli's backyard and squinted into his window.
“Do you see him?” Mary Lou asked.
“No. He's disappeared.”
“I didn't hear the front door open.”
“No, and he's got the television on. He's just out of sight somewhere.”
Mary Lou crept closer. “Too bad he's got the shades pulled on his front windows.”
“I'll try to be more considerate next time,” Morelli said, standing inches behind us.
Mary Lou and I yelped and instinctively sprang away, but Morelli had both of us by the back of our jackets.
“Look who we have here,” Morelli said. “Lucy and Ethel. Is this the girls' night out?”
“We were looking for my cat,” Mary Lou said. “It's been lost, and we thought we saw it run through your yard.”
Morelli grinned at Mary Lou. “Nice to see you, Mary Lou. It's been a while.”
“The kids keep me busy,” Mary Lou said. “Soccer and preschool and Kenny keeps getting these ear infections—”
“How's Lenny doing?”
“He's great. He's thinking about hiring someone else. His father's going to retire, you know.”
Lenny had graduated from high school and had gone directly into the family business, Stankovik and Sons, Plumbing and Heating. He made a good living at it, but he frequently smelled like stagnant water and metal piping.
“I need to talk to Stephanie,” Morelli said.
Mary Lou started backing up. “Hey, don't let me get in the way. I was just leaving. I've got my car parked around the corner.”
Morelli opened his back door. “You,” he said, releasing my jacket. “Go in the house. I'll be right back. I'm going to walk Mary Lou to her car.”
“Not necessary,” Mary Lou said, looking nervous, like she was going to run like hell at any moment. “I can find my own way.”
“It's dark back here,” Morelli said to Mary Lou. “And you've just been contaminated by Calamity Jane. You're not getting out of my sight until you're safely locked in your car.”
I did as I was told. I scurried into the house while Morelli walked Mary Lou to her car. And as soon as they cleared his yard I scrolled back through his caller ID. I scribbled the numbers on a pad by the phone, ripped the page off, and stuffed it into my pocket. The last number to come in had an identification block on it. No number available. If I'd known the number hadn't registered I might not have been so fast to jump to Morelli's command.
The ice cream was still sitting on the counter. And it was melting. Probably I should eat it, so it didn't get totally melted and have to get thrown away.
I was savoring the last spoonful when Morelli returned. He closed and locked the door behind him and pulled the shades.