Hot Six (Stephanie Plum 6)

“Any time you're with Alexander Ramos, you're safe. Nobody touches Alexander Ramos.”

Yeah, right. That's why we're hiding out in a bar in Asbury Park. This was feeling like Bizarro Land.

“I just don't like to be bothered when I smoke,” he said. “I don't want to have to look at all the leeches.”

“Why don't you get rid of them. Tell them to leave your house?”

He squinted at me through a haze of smoke. “How would it look? They're family.” He dropped his cigarette on the floor and stepped on it. “There's only one way to get rid of family.”

Oh boy.

“We're done here,” he said. “I have to get back before my son runs me into the ground.”

“Hannibal?”

“Mr. Big Shot. I should never have sent him to college.” He stood and dropped a wad of money onto the table. “How about you? Did you go to college?”

“Yep.”

“What are you doing now?”

I was afraid if I told him I was a bounty hunter he'd shoot me. “A little of this and a little of that,” I said.

“Big fancy education and you're doing a little of this?”

“You sound like my mother.”

“You probably give your mother angina.”

That made me smile. He was scary crazy, but I sort of liked him. He reminded me of my uncle Punky. “Do you know who killed Homer?”

“Homer killed himself.”

“I read in the paper that they didn't find a gun, so they ruled out suicide.”

“More than one way to kill yourself. My son was stupid and greedy.”

“Uh . . . you didn't kill him, did you?”

“I was in Greece when he was shot.”

We locked eyes. We both knew that didn't answer the question. Ramos could have ordered his son's execution.

I drove him back to Deal and parked on a side street, a block from the pink house.

“Any time you want to make twenty bucks you just show up on the corner,” Ramos said.

I smiled. I hadn't taken any money from him, and probably I wouldn't be back. “Okay,” I said, “keep your eyes open for me.”

I took off the second he left the car. I didn't want to risk the guys in the suits spotting me. Ten minutes later, my phone rang.

“Short visit,” Ranger said.

“He drinks, he smokes, he goes home.”

“Did you learn anything?”

“I think he might be crazy.”