Fearless Fourteen - Janet Evanovich [87]
I used the phone in Morelli’s office to call him.
“What,” he whispered into his phone.
“I’ve got it.”
“I’m in a meeting,” he said. “Is this important?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I’ve got it. I know how the fourth partner saw the scarf and the sign, and I know how he saw us leave the house to take Grandma home. There’s a camera on the roof of the house across from you.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m looking at it through binoculars. Do you know the people who live across from you? Would they put a camera on their roof?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Geary live across from me. They’re nice, but they’re about a hundred and ten. I can’t imagine why they’d have a camera on their roof. I’m stuck in this meeting, but I’ll send Spanner over with a tech.”
I was cracking my knuckles now because in a couple hours Loretta would lose her hand. I was calling Alma Rizzi’s phone every fifteen minutes and no one was answering. The sign was in Morelli’s window. Nothing happening with that. The red scarf was on Morelli’s desk. I had no reason to hang it in the window.
I looked up, and Mooner was in the doorway.
“The door was unlocked, so I figured you were open for business,” Mooner said.
I had my hand over my heart. “You took me by surprise. Next time, yell when you come into the house.”
“I was projecting my aura, but you might have been too distracted to catch it. Probably you were struggling with the feng shui in this room. Major bummer on that one.” He looked across the hall. “Where’s Zookamundo?”
“School.”
“Again?”
“Five days a week.”
“Whoa. He must be serious about it.”
“Have you had breakfast?”
“No. We were all out of Cap’n Crunch. I have my standards, you know. I was hoping the dude had some.”
We trekked downstairs, I pawed through Morelli’s cupboard, found a half-empty box of Cap’n Crunch, and gave it to Mooner. I brewed a new pot of coffee and turned to see Gary at the back door. I opened the door and Gary came in.
“How long have you been standing there?” I asked him.
“I just got here. I had a dream you were making coffee.”
“You dreamed correct,” I told him. “Help yourself.”
I went to the living room and looked out the window, and Mooner and Gary followed me.
“What are we looking at?” Mooner wanted to know.
“I’m waiting for one of Morelli’s partners to show up.”
“Cool,” Mooner said, sharing the box of Crunch with Gary.
Spanner finally arrived in a blue Fairlane.
“Bummer,” Mooner said. “No lights.”
“He’s not a uniform,” I told Mooner. “I have to talk to him. You stay here.”
“Homegrown Security on the job,” Mooner said. “You can count on Gary and me.”
If you knew where to look, you could see the camera from the street. I positioned Spanner as far back as he could go in Morelli’s small yard and handed him my binoculars.
“I see it,” Spanner said. “It looks like a camera all right.”
We walked across the street and Spanner knocked on the Gearys’ front door. The door was answered by a little old man still in his pajamas. Spanner introduced himself and asked about the camera.
“You have a camera on your roof,” Spanner said.
“What?” Mr. Geary asked.
“A camera.”
“Where?”
“On your roof.”
Mr. Geary looked confused. “Where’s the camera?”
“I’d like permission to take a look at it,” Spanner said.
“What do you want to look at?” Mr. Geary asked.
“The camera.”
I looked at my watch. This could take a while.
Spanner had it figured out, too. He jumped in with the bottom line. “Okay, thanks,” Spanner said to Geary. “Appreciate you letting us take a look at the camera. I’m going to send a tech up there.”
“Sure,” Mr. Geary said. “Always happy to help the police.”
“I need to run,” Spanner said to me. “I’m going to send someone to get the camera. In the meantime, you might want to close your curtains when you get undressed.”
Getting caught undressing was the least of my problems. I was counting down to dismemberment. I watched Spanner drive away, and I spotted the news van parked at the end of the block. Brenda was hovering. I couldn’t blame her. I understood her problem, and I might