The third was from Ranger with an update on Sophia and Christina. Christina had turned up at the hospital with every bone in her hand broken. Her sister had smashed it with a meat mallet to get it out of the cuff. Unable to stand the pain, Christina turned herself in, but Sophia was still at large.
The fourth message was from Vinnie. The charges had been dropped against Melvin Baylor, and Melvin had bought himself a one-way ticket to Arizona. Apparently his ex-wife had witnessed Melvin's berserk attack on his car and had gotten frightened. If Melvin would do that to his car, there was no telling what Melvin might do next. So she had her mother drop the charges, and she made a cash settlement with Melvin. Sometimes crazy is good.
Those were the messages. None from Morelli. Funny thing how a woman's mind works. Now I was bummed because Morelli hadn't called.
I told my mother I'd be there for dinner. And then I told Tina I'd decided not to take the gown. I hung up from Tina and felt twenty pounds lighter. Mooner and Dougie were okay. Grandma was okay. I was a blonde and I didn't have a wedding gown. Overlooking my problems with Morelli, life couldn't get much better.
I took a short nap before heading for my parents' house. When I woke up my hair was doing strange things so I took a shower. After washing and drying my hair I looked like Art Garfunkel. But more. It was as if my hair had exploded.
“I don't care,” I said to my reflection in the mirror. “I'm the new and improved Stephanie.” It was a lie, of course. Jersey girls care.
I put on a pair of new black jeans, black boots, and a short-sleeved ribbed red sweater. I walked into the living room and found Benny and Ziggy sitting on the couch.
“We heard the shower going so we didn't want to disturb you,” Benny said.
“Yeah,” Ziggy said, “and you should get your security chain fixed. No telling who might come in.”
“We just came back from Louie D's funeral and we heard all about how you found the fruity little guy and his friend. That was a terrible thing Sophia did.”
“Even when Louie was alive she was crazy,” Ziggy said. “You'd never want to turn your back on her. She doesn't think right.”
“And you should tell Ranger he has our best wishes. We hope his arm isn't too bad.”
“Was Louie D buried with his heart?”
“Ronald took it straight to the undertaker and they put it in and sewed him up good as new. And then Ronald followed the hearse back here to Trenton for burial today.”
“No Sophia?”
“There were flowers on the grave, but she didn't come to the ceremony.” He shook his head. “Lots of police in attendance. It ruined the privacy.”
“I guess you're still looking for Choochy,” Benny said. “You should be careful of him. He's a little . . .” Benny made a circling motion against his head with his index finger to denote screw loose. “Not like Sophia, though. Chooch is an okay person at heart.”
“It's the stroke and the stress,” Ziggy said. “Stress shouldn't be underestimated. If you need help with Choochy you should call us. Maybe we could do something.”
Benny nodded his head. I should call them.
“Your hair looks nice,” Ziggy said. “You got a perm, right?”
They stood and Benny gave me a box. “I got some peanut brittle for you. Estelle brought it back from Virginia.”
“You can't buy peanut brittle up here like they got in Virginia,” Ziggy said.
I thanked them for the peanut brittle and closed the door behind them. I gave them five minutes to clear the building, and then I grabbed my black leather jacket and bag and locked up.
MY MOTHER LOOKED past me when she came to the door. “Where's Joe? Where's your car?”
“I traded my car in for the bike.”
“That bike at the curb?”
I nodded.
“It looks like one of those Hell's Angels bikes.”
“It's a Harley.”
That's when it hit her. The hair. Her eyes opened wide and her mouth dropped open. “Your hair,” she whispered.