'You learn anything interesting?'
I repeated the conversation for Morelli.
'I know Bucky and Biggy,' he said. 'They wouldn't get mixed up in something like this.'
'Maybe we've jumped to the wrong conclusion about the furniture truck.'
'I don't think so. I stopped by the Exxon station first thing this morning and took some pictures. Roberta says she thinks it's the same truck.'
'I thought you were supposed to be following me! What if I was attacked? What if Kenny came after me with the ice pick?'
'I followed you part of the time. Anyway, Kenny likes to sleep in.'
'That's no excuse! The least you could have done was let me know I was on my own!'
'What's the plan here?' Morelli wanted to know.
'Grandma will be done in an hour. I promised I'd take her shopping. And sometime today I have to stop in to see Vinnie.'
'He going to yank you off the case?'
'No. I'll take Grandma Mazur with me. She'll straighten him out.'
'I've been thinking about Sandeman . . .'
'Yeah,' I said. 'I've been thinking about Sandeman, too. Initially I thought he might be hiding Kenny. Maybe it's just the opposite. Maybe he screwed Kenny over.'
'You think Moogey threw in with Sandeman?'
I shrugged. 'It makes some sense. Whoever stole the guns had street contacts.'
'You said Sandeman didn't show any signs of sudden wealth.'
'I think Sandeman's wealth goes up his nose.'
Chapter Thirteen
'I feel much better now that my hair's back in shape,' Grandma said, hoisting herself up onto the front seat of the Buick. 'I even had her put a rinse in it. Can you tell the difference?'
She'd gone from gunmetal gray to apricot.
'It's more of a strawberry blond now,' I said.
'Yeah, that's it. Strawberry blond. I always wanted to be one of those.' Vinnie's office was just down the street. I parked at the curb and pulled Grandma in after me.
'I've never been here before,' Grandma said, taking it all in. 'Isn't this something?'
'Vinnie's on the phone,' Connie said. 'He'll be with you in a minute.' Lula came over to get a closer look at Grandma. 'So you're Stephanie's grandma,' Lula said. 'I've heard a lot about you.'
Grandma's eyes brightened. 'Oh yeah? What'd you hear?'
'For starters I heard you got stuck with an ice pick.'
Grandma held her bandaged hand out for Lula to see. 'It was this here hand, and it got stuck just about clean through.'
Lula and Connie looked at the hand.
'And that isn't all that's happened,' Grandma said. 'The other night Stephanie got a man's part in Express Mail. Opened it up right in front of me. I saw the whole thing. It was stuck to a piece of foam with a hatpin.'
