hot fudge sundae I'd had with Mary Lou).
I washed my hands with a lot of soap and hot water and crept back to the kitchen. The finger was lying in the middle of the floor. It looked very embalmed. I snatched at the phone, staying as far away from the finger as was humanly possible, and dialed Morelli.
"Get over here," I said.
"Something wrong?"
"JUST GET OVER HERE!"
Ten minutes later the elevator doors opened and Morelli stepped out.
"Uh-oh," he said, "the fact that you're waiting for me in the hall is probably not a good sign." He looked at my apartment door. "You don't have a dead body in there, do you?"
"Not entirely."
"You want to enlarge on that?"
"I have a dead finger on my kitchen floor."
"Is the finger attached to anything? Like a hand or an arm?"
"It's just a finger. I think it belongs to George Mayer."
"You recognized it?"
"No. It's just that I know George is missing one. You see, Mrs. Mayer was going on about George's lodge, and how he wanted to be buried with his ring, and so Grandma had to check the ring out, and in the process broke off one of George's fingers. Turns out the finger was wax. Somehow Kenny got into the mortuary this morning, left Spiro a note, and chopped off George's finger. And then while I was at the mall tonight with Mary Lou, Kenny threatened me in the shoe department. That must have been when he put the finger in my pocket."
"Have you been drinking?"
I gave him a don't-be-stupid look and pointed to my kitchen.
Morelli moved past me and stood hands on hips, staring down at the finger on the floor. "You're right. It's a finger."
"When I came in tonight the phone was ringing. It was Kenny, telling me he left a message in my jacket pocket."
"And the message was the finger."
"Yeah."
"How did it get on the floor?"
"It sort of dropped there when I went to the bathroom to throw up."
Morelli helped himself to a paper towel and used it to pick up the finger. I gave him a plastic bag, he dropped the finger in, sealed the bag, and slipped the bag into his jacket pocket. He leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's start from the beginning."
I gave him all the details except for the part about Joyce Barnhardt. I told him about the silver-lettered note I'd received, and about the silver K on my bedroom wall, and about the screwdriver, and about how it would seem they'd come from Kenny.
He was quiet when I finished. After several seconds he asked me if I bought the shoes.
"Yeah," I said.
"Let's see."
I showed him the shoes.
"Very sexy," he said. "I think I'm getting excited."
I quickly put the shoes back in the box. "You have any idea what Kenny meant when he said Spiro had something of his?"
"No. Do you?"
"No."
"Would you tell me if you did?"
"I might."
Morelli opened the refrigerator and stared at the shelves. "You're out of beer."
"I had to choose between food and the shoes."
"You made the right choice."
"I bet this all has to do with the stolen guns. I bet Spiro was in on it. Maybe that's why Moogey got killed. Maybe Moogey found out about Spiro and Kenny stealing guns from the army. Or maybe all three of them did the job, and Moogey got cold feet."
"You should encourage Spiro," Morelli said. "You know, go to the movies with him. Let him hold your hand."
"Oh, ugh! Gross. Yuk!"
"I wouldn't let him see you in the shoes, though. He might go berserk. I think you should save the shoes for me. Wear something slinky with them. And a garter belt. They're definitely garter belt shoes."
Next time I find a finger in my pocket I'll flush it down the toilet. "It bothers me that we haven't been able to spot Kenny, but he doesn't seem to be having any trouble tailing me."
"How did he look? He grow a beard? Dye his hair?"
"He looked just like himself. Didn't look like he was living in dark alleys. He was clean, fresh shaven. Didn't look hungry. Had on clean clothes. Seemed to be alone. Was a little, um, upset. Said I was a pain in the ass."
"No! You? A pain in the ass? I can't imagine why anyone would think that."
"Anyway, he's not living hand to mouth. If he's selling guns, maybe he has money. Maybe he's staying in motels out of the area. Maybe in New Brunswick or