The very next day, Morelli picked up Lula early that morning since the flight began at ten – forty – five. Lula talked him into coming along, so he let her. Morelli didn't bother telling Stephanie quite yet that he let Lula come along, but he'll let her figure it out.
On the entire flight to Milwaukee, Lula and Morelli hardly said a word. He'd brought along Clayton's picture with him so he would be sure he spotted Clayton and handcuff him and everyone would fly back home.
"Is that the guy who robbed that local garage?" Lula asked, taking a look at Clayton's description.
"Yes," he answered.
"Wow. He's going to be sorry," Lula remarked.
He didn't say another word after that. He had an aisle seat, which meant Lula sat by the window. The airplane began to play a movie. The movie was called The Parent Trap. It was something he and Lula had never seen the film. Halfway through the film, the airplane's pilot announced they were now in Milwaukee and would be landing very shortly.
When the pilot announced their arrival, Morelli figured it was too late to take a nap, even if it meant a short one. He glanced in Lula's direction. He bent over so he could see where they were. Sure enough, he saw the town of Milwaukee. Just like Ranger, he'd never been to Milwaukee, so this time both men finally got to have that chance.
He put Clayton's picture back in its proper place in the folder he'd brought along and quickly put the closed file in his duffel bag. He helped Lula collect her things without saying a word. Lula decided to let him lead the way and she would follow behind. So they did just that.
"Have you been here before?" Lula asked.
"No. We'd need a rental car that has GPS," he answered.
"Oh. I've never been here before either. Think we'll have time to do any sight – seeing?" she asked.
"It doesn't look like it to me. We're only here to pick up Clayton and go back home and put him behind bars," he answered.
"At least there's always time to eat," Lula replied.
Morelli didn't reply back, so all he did was shrug his shoulders.
Lula offered to drive the rental. He let her do so. There was a Comfort Inn hotel near them, so Lula pulled in the parking lot. Both of them walked in. The desk clerk took Morelli's name and handed them separate keys. Then both he and Lula still didn't say a word when he opened the trunk so they could carry their luggage to the third floor.
"If we're going to share the car, we'll have to take turns driving it," he told her.
"Well, duh! You should've thought I'm not smart enough to know that!" Lula said as she stuck her tongue out.
Without saying a word, Morelli shrugged his shoulders for the second time that day.
Both of them watched as the elevator opened so they could get to their rooms and unpack. He took his time unpacking. He had the car keys and he wanted to be in charge of them. He figured by now Ranger and Stephanie were still searching for Clayton. He'd wondered if he and Stephanie had met the Fonz yet, but his guess was sounding like it was positive they'd already met up with the Fonz.
In the meantime, Stephanie and Ranger were in their rental car listening to the GPS give them directions. They both had caught Clayton and were ready to pack up and take him back to Trenton and then she'd be able to get her paycheck. Clayton hardly said a word during the car ride. Ranger was behind the wheel. Clayton watched as Ranger turned left on the southwest direction.
Even the woman in the passenger's seat didn't open her mouth to start a conversation. He began to open his mouth, but he closed it again. Within five or ten minutes later, Clayton watched as Ranger take the keys out of the ignition and let the woman passenger out. He had handcuffs on, so he couldn't let himself out of the vehicle.
Clayton saw a car parked right next to them and the doors opened and a couple of people stepped out. It looked like the female recognized the driver and his passenger. He still couldn't let his mouth say a word to start talking. He had a hard time with his hands in the handcuffs. He felt an itch or two in the back of his left leg, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Clayton watched as the black woman said, "Girl, at least I'm finally here so I wouldn't miss out on all of the fun."
Stephanie looked at Morelli and asked, "Did she talk you into bringing her along with you?"
"Yes," was Morelli's answer.
"Cupcake, I came down here so I could help you both take Clayton back to Trenton," he said.
"We already have him handcuffed, Joe. All we're doing now is start packing our things and return home. I'd like to earn that paycheck."
Clayton watched as Joe studied him.
"Cupcake, if you don't mind, I'd be happy to be in charge of Mr. Morgan on the flight home."
Morelli watched as Stephanie look in Ranger's direction.
"Sure you can sit with him," Ranger answered.
"And I missed out on all of the fun on meeting the person who called this assignment in," Lula said.
'Fat chance, lady. There wasn't anything you missed. I do have one question: Who would want to call a woman Cupcake? What a stupid name,' Clayton thought to himself.
"Girl, Joe and I just got here from our flight an hour ago. I should've gone with you and meet that local citizen in person," Lula said with disappointment.
"I guess we wasted our precious time coming all the way to Milwaukee and find out you ended the adventure without me! I guess I wasted my time packing a lot of clothes just to turn around and go home," Lula complained.
Clayton watched Lula this entire time and thought Lula sounded like the type of person who complained almost all the time. He wasn't surprised, either. He'd been around complainers long enough to notice Lula was doing it. After Lula stopped complaining, everyone split up once again. Clayton went with Ranger and Stephanie.
Clayton would remember Lula was the only one who did the complaining so if he ever ran into these characters in near future.
"Let's check out and take that plane ride home. I'm looking forward to that paycheck you promised," Stephanie told Ranger.
"I haven't forgotten about that paycheck, Babe. This was quite an adventure," Ranger said.
"True," Stephanie agreed.
Clayton watched as she turned to face him.
"And as for you, you'd better not start thinking about stealing that paycheck he promised me. If you ever take hat check, you'll be sorry. I worked hard on finding you, so I deserve it," Stephanie told him.
Still Clayton didn't respond.
"I'm sorry to say that you and I came out here for nothing. All we have to do is pack up, return the keys and collect the bill for the rooms we never touched, return the car and turn around back home," Lula complained.
Morelli didn't bother answering her, so all he did ignore Lula's complaining.
Ranger and Stephanie returned to their hotel to pack up and head to the airport for the flight home. Of course Lula might sound upset about not meeting Fonzie, but it wasn't her fault Lula felt left out. Clayton followed Ranger to his room, but still said nothing. Clayton watched as Ranger opened his suitcase and began packing.
Clayton was watching Ranger take out his checkbook and write the check he promised Stephanie. Since Vinnie didn't pay her for her last job, Ranger felt it made sense to make up for it by doubling the amount. That's when Clayton watched as Ranger took the handcuffs off so he could make a trip to the bathroom.
While in the restroom, Clayton's hands felt better after Ranger took them off. He'd had those cuffs on for a long time. Of course Ranger would handcuff him again and would ride the airplane home. That he wasn't surprised about much at all.
When Ranger zipped up his suitcase, he opened the door and Clayton walked out of the door first. Stephanie's paycheck was still on his mind. No matter how much Ranger paid her, he wanted the money for himself. He and Ranger found Stephanie waiting for them.
On the way down in the elevator, Ranger said, "Babe, I wrote that check for you, but I'll give it to you at home."
"Thank you," was all she said.
When the three of them arrived at the airport, he saw Lula and Morelli were already there. The one thing Clayton hadn't yet figured out was Morelli was a police officer. Hours later, they were about to land in New Jersey. The only time Clayton didn't have handcuffs on was to stop for a bathroom break.
At the airport after everyone collected their luggage, Morelli offered to take Clayton with him. Everyone separated after that. Stephanie saw that there really wasn't much to share with Connie on this adventure. Before walking out of the airport, she walked to the nearest pay phone and called Vinnie to let him know she and Ranger brought Clayton back and he was with Joe. Vinnie was happy to hear Clayton was finally caught. After she put the phone back in its place, Ranger handed her the paycheck.
"Thank you," she said.