Twisted Twenty-Six (Stephanie Plum 26)

“I’m heading out,” I told her. “If anything scary happens, call me right away.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

I DROVE FROM my parents’ house directly to Barbara Rosolli’s. Waiting for Morelli or asking Ranger for help would be the smart thing to do, but sometimes you need to go with your gut and just charge ahead. Morelli and Ranger were intimidating. Me, not so much. Barbara would be more willing to talk to me if I was alone. I didn’t think she was going to admit to kidnapping Grandma, but she might slip and say something useful. And if she didn’t make a slip, I had a speech prepared to spur her into action.

I rang her bell, and she answered the door with a glass of wine in her hand. Yes! Off to a good start.

“Stephanie,” she said, looking around me. “Where’s Mr. Sexy?”

“I’m alone.”

“Too bad. He was hot.”

“Can I come in for a moment?”

“Sure, what the hell, join the party. Jeanine and I were having a glass of wine. Her husband is working late again.”

They were drinking wine at the kitchen table. This is something I would do with my mom. There was comfort at the table that couldn’t be found anyplace else in the house. I sat down and accepted a glass of wine. There was a chunk of Parmesan on a cutting board, and some slivers had been sliced off.

It was disarming that I was invited to be part of this. Just as it was disarming that Benny was happy to have me visit. I was on the hunt for kidnappers and killers, and it would have been easier if everyone was rude.

“Here’s to us,” Barbara said, and we clinked glasses.

“And here’s to Edna,” Jeanine said. “Let’s hope she’s okay and returns to us soon.”

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sp; “Oh God,” Barbara said. “Do I have to drink to that?”

“Mom!” Jeanine said.

“Okay, okay,” Barbara said. “Here’s to Edna.”

I took a slice of the Parmesan. “This is really good,” I said. “Did you get this at Giovichinni’s?”

“Of course,” Barbara said. “You don’t find hard cheese like that at the supermarket.”

“It’s nice that you live next door to each other and you can get together like this,” I said. “Does Bernie work late a lot?”

“No. It’s that they got a big order for precast and some machine broke down. Bernie wanted to stay with the mechanic who was working on the machine. These guys get time and a half for overtime. The Cement Plant looks like a big business, but the profit margin is slim. I guess it gets eaten up fast with time-and-a-half paychecks.”

“It’s disgraceful that you and Bernard should have to worry about those things,” Barbara said. “Your father should have put money aside for you. And now even in death the money will go to other places.”

“Bernie and I don’t need Daddy’s money,” Jeanine said. “We’re doing okay.”

Barbara chugged half a glass of wine. “The whole La-Z-Boy thing is bizarre anyway. A bunch of old men sitting around in recliners in a nudie club. Ick!”

Here was the opening for my speech! I’d seen it done in Sherlock Holmes movies, and it always worked. Let the guilty person think you knew all about them, so they’d make a hasty move and screw up.

“I talked to Benny today,” I said. “He’s in the hospital waiting to get stented.”

Jeanine went wide-eyed. “You talked to Benny? Isn’t he a kidnapping suspect? What did he say?”

“He was angry that the La-Z-Boys didn’t kidnap Grandma sooner. They dragged their feet on it, and now someone else has her and is essentially ransoming her to them.”

Barbara gave a bark of laughter. “I love it.”

“So, do you know who has her?” Jeanine asked.