'How do you know there was a note?' I asked.
'Just another one of those feelings.'
I took the note from my pocket and handed it over.
'Do you think this has something to do with the rat?' Grandma asked me.
'Remember how Bella had that vision about the fire and the rat? And she said the rat was gonna get you. Well, I bet it was the rat that wrote the note and started the fire.'
'Rats can't write,' I said.
'What about human rats?' Grandma wanted to know. 'What about big mutant human rats?'
Morelli cut his eyes to me. 'Do I want to know about this vision?'
'No,' I told him. 'And you also don't want to know about the fight in the funeral home between Bella and Grandma Mazur when Grandma tried to stop Bella from putting a curse on me for breaking your heart.'
Morelli smiled. 'I've always been her favorite.'
'I didn't break your heart.'
'Cupcake, you've been breaking my heart for as long as I've known you.'
'How did you know about the fire?' I asked Morelli.
'Dispatch called me. They always call me when your car explodes or goes up in flames.'
'I'm surprised Ranger isn't here.'
'He got me on my cell. I told him you were okay.'
I moved closer to the Saturn and peered inside. Most of the water and fire damage was confined to the backseat.
Morelli had his hand at the nape of my neck. 'You're not thinking of driving this, are you?'
'It doesn't look so bad. It probably runs fine.'
'The backseat is completely gutted and there's a big hole in the floorboard.'
'Yeah, but other than that it's okay, right?'
Morelli looked at me for a couple beats. Probably trying to decide if this was worth a fight.
'It's too dark to get a really good assessment of the damage,' he finally said. 'Why don't we go home and come back in the morning and take another look. You don't want to drive it tonight anyway. You want to open the windows and let it air out.'
He was right about the airing out part. The car reeked. And I knew he was also right about looking at the car when the light was better. Problem was, this was the only car I had. The only thing worse than driving this car would be borrowing the '53 Buick Grandma Mazur inherited from my Great Uncle Sandor.
Been there, done that, don't want to do it again.
And the danger involved in driving this car seemed to me to be hardly worth mentioning compared to the threat I was facing from the criminally insane stalker who set the fire.
'I'm more worried about the arsonist than I am about the car,' I said to Morelli.
'I haven't got a grip on the arsonist,' Morelli said. 'I don't know what to do about him. The car I have some control over. Let me give you a ride home.'
Five minutes later we were parked in front of Morelli's house.
'Let me guess,' I said to Morelli. 'Bob still misses me.'
Morelli ran a finger along the line of my jaw. 'Bob could care less. I'm the one who misses you. And I miss you bad.'
'How bad?'
Morelli kissed me. 'Painfully bad.'
At six-fifteen I dragged myself out of Morelli's bed and into the shower.
I'd thrown my clothes in the washer and dryer the night before, and Morelli had them in the bathroom, waiting for me. I did a half-assed job of drying my hair, swiped some mascara on my lashes, and followed my nose to the kitchen, where Morelli had coffee brewing.
Both of the men in my life looked great in the morning. They woke up clear-eyed and alert, ready to save the world. I was a befuddled mess in the morning, stumbling around until I got my caffeine fix.
'We're running late,' Morelli said, handing me a travel mug of coffee and a toasted bagel. 'I'll drop you off at the cleaner. You can check the car out after work.'
'No. I have time. This will only take a minute. I'm sure the car is fine.'
'I'm sure the car isn't fine,' Morelli said, nudging me out of the kitchen and down the hall to the front door. He locked the door behind us and beeped his SUV open with the remote.
Minutes later we were at my parents' house, arguing on the front lawn.
'You're not driving this car,' Morelli said.
'Excuse me? Did I hear you give me an order?'
