Look Alive Twenty-Five (Stephanie Plum 25)

“They wanted a tuna sandwich on rye but that’s lame. I can’t give those poor people tuna on rye. I got more pride than that.”

I stocked Lula up on chips and an assortment of condiments and went back to Ranger.

“Things seem to be going okay,” I said. “We’ve gone back to the normal number of customers.”

“I want to talk to Eddie. Tell your crew we’ll be back by closing.”

* * *

¦ ¦ ¦

Eddie’s Tattoos was on the second block of Stark. It was a great location because it was next to a popular bar. People got drunk and they got a tattoo.

The second block of Stark was respectable enough to require only the standard SUV security of a deafening alarm. We parked and walked half a block back to Eddie’s. It was still early in the day for tattoos, and Eddie was alone in his shop.

Eddie was a rangy guy in his fifties who was covered in tattoos. His hair was gray and pulled into a ponytail. He obviously knew Ranger because they did one of those elaborate man-greetings with the knuckle bumps and hand-clasping routines.

“I see you got your old lady with you,” Eddie said. “You want her inked?”

“Not today,” Ranger said. “I’m looking for Victor Waggle.”

“Good luck, bro. Nobody ever knows where to find that dude. He floats.”

“Does he have friends?” Ranger asked.

“Everyone’s his friend, and no one’s his friend.”

“I need a place to start.”

“The Snake Pit.”

“Been there,” Ranger said.

“His manager is around the corner on State.”

“Manager’s dead,” Ranger said.

“I hadn’t heard. Was it recent?”

Ranger nodded.

“Victor’s gotta be broken up about that,” Eddie said. “They had some kind of a project going. A movie or a TV show.”

“Does Victor have a lot of tattoos?” I asked. “It sounds like you talk to him frequently.”

“It’s the snake,” Eddie said. “His fans all want the snake around their neck. Victor gets a commission for everyone he brings in here. I do one or two a week.”

“Let me know if you see him,” Ranger said.

They did another ritual goodbye thing, and we left the shop.

“You didn’t even pay him off,” I said.

“I helped him get rid of some parasites last year.”

“Ringworm?”

“Fire and personal injury insurers.”