Hot Six (Stephanie Plum 6)

“Has it occurred to you that some people sleep at this time of night?”

“It smells like a pine forest in here,” Ranger said.

“It's me. I was in the pine tree behind Hannibal's house, and I can't get the sap off. It's all stuck in my hair.”

I saw Ranger smile in the darkness. Heard him laugh softly.

I sat up. “Hannibal has a lady friend. She drove up at ten o'clock in a black BMW. She was with Hannibal for about ten minutes, gave him a letter, and left.”

“What's she look like?”

“Short blond hair. Slim. Nicely dressed.”

“Did you get the license plate?”

“Yeah. I wrote it down. Didn't get a chance to check it out yet.”

He sipped his coffee. “Anything else?”

“He sort of saw me.”

“So

rt of?”

“I fell out of the tree into his backyard.”

The smile disappeared. “And?”

“And I told him I was looking for my cat, but I'm not sure he bought it.”

“If he knew you better . . .” Ranger said.

“Then the second time he caught me in the tree, he pulled a gun, so I jumped down and ran away.”

“Quick thinking.”

“Hey,” I said, tapping my finger to my head, “no grass growing here.”

Ranger was smiling again.

Stephanie Plum 6 - Hot Six

5

“I THOUGHT YOU didn't drink coffee,” I said to Ranger. “What about your body being a temple?”

He sipped at the coffee. “It's my disguise. It goes with the haircut.”

“Will you let your hair grow back?”

“Probably.”

“And then will you stop drinking coffee?”

“You ask a lot of questions,” Ranger said.

“Just trying to figure this out.”