“We heard it was an older guy,” Lula said.
“I didn’t get a good look at him,” I said, “but he had gray hair and he was a little paunchy.”
“Police report says his name is Gerard Gouge,” Connie said. “Single. Self-employed computer repair.”
“He was a hacker,” I said.
“Yeah,” Lula said. “We figured. How’s Melvin doing? Does he still have his tongue?”
“He’s okay. He’s staying at my parents’ house. I’m going over there to check on him.”
“I guess the duck roaster didn’t work out,” Lula said.
“He ate a squirrel and had to be hospitalized,” I said. “I couldn’t leave Melvin in the park alone. Worst part is the roaster snuck out of the hospital last night and took his books with him.”
“Are you sure the roaster skipped?” Lula asked. “Maybe he made it look like he left, but he’s really hiding out in the park, behind a tree or something.”
It was possible. Homeless people tended to return to comfort spots. He could have gone from the hospital back to the park.
“I’ll tag along with you,” Lula said. “I haven’t got much else to do today. I couldn’t get a hair appointment until four o’clock. I wouldn’t mind saying hello to Grandma.”
Lula was wearing a fluffy white angora knit cap over her hair. Her scoop-necked sweater was also white angora, and when she moved, she shed wisps of angora. She looked like a giant rabbit squished into a short black leather skirt and over-the-knee black leather boots with five-inch spike heels.
My father was making his morning cab runs when Lula and I got to my parents’ house. Grandma and Melvin had their computers set up on the dining room table.
“We moved in here because we needed more room with all the equipment we got now,” Grandma said. “I’m taking notes for Melvin, so he doesn’t forget important things.”
“Have there been any eureka moments?” Lula asked.
“There were a couple,” Grandma said, “but we still haven’t got answers like we want. At least we know the name of the second murder victim.”
“Melvin was able to get it off the computer?” I asked.
“No,” Grandma said. “I got it from Mary Jane Kuleski at the deli this morning. Her daughter lives in the same apartment building as the victim, Gerard Gouge. She said he was nice but kind of a loner. He helped get her computer straightened out once. She said the dog that ate the tongue was real nice, too. He wasn’t usually running around loose but he broke away from the owner when he saw the open door. I guess Gerard used to give him treats.”
“Have you heard from Andy?” I asked Melvin.
“No,” he said. “I haven’t heard from anyone. I don’t know where my phone is.”
“I got it charging in the kitchen,” Grandma said.
I went to the kitchen to say hello to my mom. She was at the counter, making meatballs.
“There wasn’t enough chicken for leftovers,” she said. “So, I thought I’d make some spaghetti for dinner.”
The marinara sauce was simmering on the stove and the kitchen smelled like sautéed garlic and onions mingling with assorted herbs and tomatoes.
“You’re starting early,” I said.
“I like when the meatballs get to soak in the sauce for a while.”
“How is it going with Melvin?”
My mom rolled a glob of meat mixture around in her hand and placed the meatball onto a cookie sheet. “He’s no trouble. He’s a little eccentric but that’s not a problem. If your father and I could learn to live with your grandmother, we can learn to live with anyone.”
I went back to the dining room and looked over Melvin’s shoulder for a couple of minutes. There were numbers flashing on his screen. They would stop and Melvin would type something, and the numbers would resume scrolling. I had no clue what he was doing.
“I’m heading out,” I said to Grandma. “Call me if anything important happens.”
“You bet,” Grandma said. “You’ll know as soon as we do.”
“And don’t let him out of the house or out of your sight.”
“No worries,” Grandma said. “I’m on it.”
Lula and I got into the Focus, and I headed for the park.
“I could never be a hacker,” Lula said. “Melvin just sits in front of a computer all day and night with nothing but numbers to look at. I’d go nuts doing that job. Truth is the most stimulating job I had was when I was a pleasure facilitator. I met a lot of interesting people. Every night it was something different trying to figure out how to get the job done.”