Four to Score (Stephanie Plum 4)

“No. He's on one of his cleaning, cooking, interior decorating benders. He got up this morning and made scratch waffles, sausage patties, fresh squeezed orange juice, a mushroom omelet, put a coffee cake in the oven, scoured the kitchen to within an inch of its life and took off to buy new throw cushions for the couch.”

“Dang. I was afraid he might be upset because I borrowed the wig.”

“Nope. He was all Mr. Congeniality this morning. Said you could borrow the wig anytime you wanted.”

“What a guy.”

“Yeah, and he makes a bitchin' waffle. I have rehearsal at ten in Hamilton Township. I can stop on my way and give you the clue.”

I poured a mug of coffee and called Eddie Kuntz.

“She was here,” he said. “The bitch was spying on me last night. I was on the phone, and I heard someone talking outside, so I ran out to look, but she got away. There were two of them. Maxine and someone else. Probably one of her wacky girlfriends.”

“You sure it was Maxine?”

“Who else would it be?”

Me, that's who, you big dumb jerk. “I got the pie clue worked out. The next clue is coming in a box with a big red X on it. You have any boxes like that sitting on your lawn?”

“No. I'm looking out my front window, and I don't see any boxes.”

“How about in back?”

“This is stupid. Clues and boxes and . . . Shit, I found the box. It's on my back stoop. What should I do?”

“Open the box.”

“No way. I'm not opening this box. There could be a bomb in it.”

“There's no bomb.”

“How do you know?”

“It's not Maxine's style.”

“Let me tell you about Maxine. Maxine has no style. Maxine's a nut case. You feel so confident about this box, you come over and open it.”

“Fine. I'll come over and open it. Just leave it where it is, and I'll be there as soon as I can.”

I finished my coffee and gave Rex some Cheerios for breakfast. “Plan for the day,” I said to Rex. “Wait for Sally to drop off the note. Next thing I drive over to Kuntz's house to open the box. Then I spend the rest of the day in Point Pleasant looking for Maxine. Is that a plan, or what?”

Rex rushed out of his soup can, stuffed all the Cheerios into his cheeks and rushed back into the soup can. So much for Rex.

I was debating if a second cup of coffee would give me heart palpitations when someone knocked on my door. I answered the knock and stared out at a flower delivery person, just about hidden behind a huge flower spray.

“Stephanie Plum?”

“Yes!”

“For you.”

Wow. Flowers. I love getting flowers. I took the flowers and stepped back. And the flower person stepped forward into my apartment and leveled a gun at me. It was Maxine.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” she said. “Fell for the old flower delivery routine. What'd you just get off the banana boat?”

“I knew it was you. I just wanted to talk to you, so I didn't let on.”