"Yeah," said Homer. "And tell 'em Papa down in Philly is anxious about him too. Papa wants to take him fishing." Both of them laughed as Alfred started the car. Dean stepped back further, the smile fading from his face as the two men drove away at a very sedate pace.
It was mid afternoon when Dean returned home.
"Where the heck did you go?" Fred asked, looking up from his notebook-a now familiar accessory. "I thought you were out on your bicycle."
"Not at 4:00 in the morning. I was babysitting 'yellow 42'." He capsulized his session with Vinnie as he turned on the ball game.
"I told Mrs. Byrne you were bicycling. I said she could come by about 6:00 and pick up her husband's stuff. I already wrote up an inventory. She was going to headquarters for the belongings but I told her Saturday is your day off and the things were still here." Dean heaved a deep sigh and plodded out to the kitchen for coffee.
"I've been working since 4:00," he called over his shoulder, "I really wish she'd wait until Monday. There's always a scene when relatives view what the victim left behind. Besides," he added, looking around, "the place is a mess."
Dean was sure Fred simply wanted to meet Jeffrey Byrne's wife and had suggested Cynthia Byrne come by the house for her husband's belongings. While Dean wanted the opportunity to speak with her in person after his Norfolk trip, he didn't feel in the best mood to do it after spending half the night and day coping with Vinnie Baratto and his sleazy friends.
Fred knew he'd overstepped his bounds and commenced to make amends. "You go up and take a little nap. You've got to keep your strength up. I'll just pick up around here, spruce it up like the preacher's coming to call. Mrs. Byrne will probably just come to the door anyway."
There were four phone messages in Dean's absence. Ethel Rosewater called to confirm Thursday night. Leland Anderson wanted Dean to spend Sunday with Vinnie at the motel. Andy Sackler was checking on clothes for Vinnie. A lady from Visa had called, probably to tell him he was overextended. He called all but Visa. Reluctantly, he agreed to waste his Sunday with Vinnie and learned from Sackler that a uniformed officer had delivered Vinnie's clothes earlier. Dean passed along the information on the two hoods staking out Vinnie's apartment. Sackler sounded ready to look them up and hand them Vinnie with a red bow around his neck. Ol' Vinnie was being, as usual, a pain in the butt. Finally Dean stumbled up the stairs for a short nap.