"Don't go anywhere," Morelli said. "I need to talk to both of you."
"Yessir, boss," Lula said.
Morelli squatted next to me and lowered his voice. "You weren't in this house illegally, were you?"
"No." I shook my head for emphasis. "The door was open. I was invited in. The wind blew the door . . ."
Morelli narrowed his eyes. "You want to pick one?"
"Which one do you like?"
"Christ," Morelli said.
He went back into the house, which was now filled with cops. An EMS truck had arrived. No need for that. No one had been hurt, and the body in the basement would go home with the coroner in his body snatcher truck. Neighbors had collected on the sidewalk by the EMS truck. Others stood on porches across the street. Betty and Leo were sitting in two separate blue-and-whites. They'd be kept apart from now on and questioned independently.
"Thanks for coming to my rescue," I said to Lula. "Boy, you really nailed that pot holder."
"Yeah, only I was aiming for Leo. Sorry I didn't call you in time. I kept getting interference. Lucky I got through to Morelli right away."
At the end of the block a black Jeep screeched to a halt and a naked man jumped out.
"Goddamn!" Lula said. "I know that naked motherfucker."
I was on my feet and running. The naked motherfucker was Eddie Kuntz! Eddie saw the crowd in front of his house and immediately scurried behind some shrubbery. I skidded to a stop directly in front of the shrub and stared. Kuntz was tattooed head to toe with colorful messages like "pencil dick" and "woman beater" and "I like to be buttfucked."
"Ommigod," I said, trying hard not to be obvious about comparing messages with equipment displayed.
Kuntz was rabid. "They've been holding me hostage. They tattooed my entire body!"
Lula was next to me. "Think they been generous with the pencil dick," she said. "Think you're more a stubby eraser."
"I'm going to kill her," Kuntz said. "I'm going to find her and kill her."
"Maxine?"
"And don't think you're getting your thousand dollars, either."
"About the car you just got out of . . ."
"It was that other bounty hunter. The one with the knockers. Said she'd picked up a police call on her scanner and was heading over here. She picked me up on Olden. That's where Maxine dumped me off. Olden! In front of the Seven-Eleven!"
"Do you know where Maxine was going?"
"The airport. All three of them. They're in a blue Honda Civic. And I take that back about the thousand. You bring that cunt to me, and I'll make you goddamn rich."
I whirled around and ran for the Firebird.
Lula was pounding pavement behind me. "I'm on it," she was saying. "I'm on it!"
We both jumped in the car, and Lula rocketed away before I even had my door closed.
"They'll take Route One," she said. "That's why they dropped him off on Olden. They were heading for One." She cornered Olden with two wheels touching pavement, took the turnoff and hit Route I north.
I'd been so excited I'd forgotten to ask which airport. Like Lula, I'd just assumed it was Newark. I looked over at the speedometer and saw it hovering at ninety. Lula put her foot to the floor, and I braced myself and turned my face away.
"They got that little prick good," Lula said. "I almost hate to pick Maxine up. You gotta admire her style."
"Creative," I said.
"Damn skippy."
Actually, I thought the tattooing might be a little excessive. I didn't like Eddie Kuntz but I had to wince at the thought of Maxine needling him head to foot.
I was looking for the blue Honda, and I was also looking for Joyce. Wouldn't you know, Joyce would happen on Eddie Kuntz. If there was a naked man anywhere near Joyce, she'd find him.
"There they are!" I yelled. "On the side of the road."
"I see 'em," Lula said. "Looks like Maxine got stopped by the cops."
Not the cops. They got stopped by Joyce Barnhardt, who'd stuck a portable red flasher on the roof of her Jeep. We pulled in behind Joyce and ran to see what was happening.
Joyce was standing on the shoulder of the road, holding a gun on Maxine, Mrs. Nowicki and Margie. The three women were spreadeagled on the ground by Joyce with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
Joyce smiled when she saw me. "You're a little late, sweetiepie. I've already made the apprehension. Too bad you're such a loser."