Eleven on Top (Stephanie Plum 11)

“I have a bike set aside for you downstairs. If you park it exposed, be sure to look it over before getting on. It's hard to hide a bomb on a bike, but you still need to be careful. The key is on your keychain.”

“As far as Rangeman is concerned, Gorman is found, and the file is closed,”

Ranger said. “If you still think there's a connection between the murdered men and your stalker and you want to use this office to continue searching, you have permission to do that.”

I looked at my in-box and stifled a groan. It was packed with search requests.

Ranger followed my eyes. “You're going to have to divide your time and get through some of those files. They're not just from Rodriguez. You do the searches for everyone here, including me.”

He stood and brushed against me, and I had a wave of desire rush into my chest and shoot south.

“What?” Ranger said.

“I didn't say anything.”

“You moaned.”

“I was thinking of Butterscotch Krimpets.”

Our eyes locked for a long

moment. “I'll be in my office the rest of the morning,” Ranger said. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Oh boy.

I sorted through the requests that had come in over the weekend. Three were from Ranger. I'd do them first. He was the boss. And he was hot. One was from someone named Alvirez. The rest were Rodriguez. Ranger's files were all standard searches. Nothing unusual. I had them done by noon. My plan was to get a quick lunch, run the Alvirez and two for Rodriguez, and then see what I could turn up at Fort Dix . I prowled through the kitchen, not finding anything inspiring to eat.

I settled on the turkey again and took it back to my cubicle with a bottle of water. I finished lunch, finished Alvirez and Rodriguez, and started surfing Fort Dix .

I called my mother, Morelli, Lula, and Valerie and told them I had a new cell phone. Valerie was in the Magic Kingdom and said she'd be home at the end of the week. They liked Florida , but the girls missed their friends, and Albert had broken out in hives when he was approached by a six-foot-tall, four-foot-wide Pooh Bear. Lula wasn't answering. I left a message. Morelli wasn't answering. I left a message. My mother invited me for dinner, and I declined.

It was midafternoon when Ranger returned to my cubby. I was pacing, unable to focus on anything beyond my need for a cupcake.

“Babe,” Ranger said. “You're looking a little strung out. Is there anything I should know?”

“I'm in sugar withdrawal. I've given up dessert, and it's all I can think about.” That had been true five minutes ago. Now that Ranger was standing in front of me I was thinking a cupcake wasn't what I actually wanted.

“Maybe I can help get your mind off doughnuts,” Ranger said.

My mouth dropped open, and I think some drool might have dribbled out.

“Did Silvio show you how to search the newspapers?” Ranger asked. No.

“Sit down and I'll show you how to get into the programs. It's tedious work, but it accesses a lot of information. You want to go to the local paper and look for something bad that happened when the four men were at Dix. An unsolved murder, a high-stakes robbery, unsolved serial crimes like multiple burglaries.”

"Morelli thinks there were five men involved. Originally, I thought Anthony

Barroni was the fifth guy, but now I'm not sure. Is there a way to get a list of men who were in that unit at Dix?"

“I don't have access to those records. I could get someone to hack in but I'd rather not. It would be safer to have Morelli do it.”

I was hearing the words, but they weren't sticking. My brain was clogged with naked and sweaty Ranger thoughts.

“Babe,” Ranger said, smiling. “You just looked me up and down like I was lunch.”

“I need a doughnut,” I told him. “I really need a doughnut.”

“That would have been my second guess.”