Look Alive Twenty-Five (Stephanie Plum 25)

“He looks like he eats granola bars made out of tree bark and beetles,” Lula said. “And I bet he goes commando.”

The commando remark required a moment of silence from both of us while we enjoyed the mental image. At the end of the moment we gave up a sigh and ordered Taylor’s pork roll sandwiches with cheese and a side of fries.

“Now that I’ve been a part of the food industry I’m seeing a lot of things differently,” Lula said. “These forks and knives we got don’t even have food stuck to them. That’s a sign of a superior establishment. And the plates that are coming out are all attractive with pickles as a garnish. It’s nice to have something green on the plate besides the sliced turkey.”

I nodded in agreement. The grease fire was an act of God. It would only have been a matter of time before we poisoned someone if the deli had stayed open.

“Wulf dropped in this morning,” I said. “He thinks I should be concentrating more on finding the kidnap victims than on trying to find the kidnapper.”

“I agree with that, but I don’t know how you do it. It’s not like anyone left a forwarding address.”

“He thinks I should try harder to capture Waggle.”

“You’ll have your chance tomorrow night,” Lula said. “He’ll be at the Snake Pit.”

“He’d be crazy to perform.”

“What’s your point?” Lula asked.

Lula was right. Victor Waggle was a crazy man.

“I’m taking Ranger with me this time,” I said.

“Don’t think you’re leaving me out. I got body armor and a new wig, so when my hair gets shot it’s not mine.”

Our food arrived, and I ate on autopilot while I thought about my conversation with Wulf. He said the connection went from Sitz to Skoogie to Waggle. The kidnappings had been caught on video and put on YouTube. The safe and the file cabinets had been filled with television and movie stuff. It was like this whole bizarre horror was entertainment . . . like reality television, or dinner theater, or a personal diversion.

I called Ranger.

“I’d like to go back to Skoogie’s office,” I said. “Can you get me in?”

“When you’re done with lunch, have Carl bring you around to the garage entrance. I’ll meet you there.”

“Carl is the guy who’s been following me around?”

“Yes.”

Ranger disconnected, and I dug into my rice pudding.

“Why are you going back to Skoogie’s office?” Lula asked.

“I went through the deli building this morning with Ranger, and there were some files missing from a file cabinet. I want to see if they’re in Skoogie’s office.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

LULA WENT BACK to the office, and Carl took me to the Hamilton Building, where I transferred from the Rangeman SUV to Ranger’s Porsche 911 Turbo.

“Let me guess,” Ranger said. “You want to look fo

r the missing files.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Am I wired? You heard me talking to Lula, right?”

“Wrong. I had the same thought. There’s a theatrical connection between Sitz, Skoogie, and Waggle, and possibly a criminal one. I wouldn’t mind seeing what’s in the missing files.”

“For instance, maybe under FUTURE PROJECTS would be a plan for kidnapping five men and leaving a shoe behind.”

“It’s an interesting hook,” Ranger said.