Seven Up (Stephanie Plum 7)

“Now what?” I said to Ranger.

“Now we wait.”

“I've never been very good at waiting. I have another idea. How about if we use me as bait? How about if I call Mary Maggie and tell her I have the thing and I'm willing to trade it for Mooner. And then I ask her to pass it on to Eddie DeChooch.”

“You think Mary Maggie's the contact?”

“It's a shot in the dark.”

MORELLI CALLED A half hour after Ranger dropped me off. “You're what?” Morelli yelled.

“Bait.”

“Jesus.”

“It's a good idea,” I said. “We're going to let people think I have whatever it is that they're after . . .”

“We?”

“Ranger and me.”

“Ranger.”

I had a mental picture of Morelli clenching his teeth.

“I don't want you working with Ranger.”

“It's my job. We're bounty hunters.”

“I don't want you doing that job, either.”

“Well, guess what? I'm not crazy about you being a cop.”

“At least my job is legitimate,” Morelli said.

“My job is just as legitimate as yours.”

“Not when you work with Ranger,” Morelli said. “He's a nut case. And I don't like the way he looks at you.”

“How does he look at me?”

“The same way I do.”

I could feel myself hyperventilating. Breathe slow, I told myself. Don't panic.

I got rid of Morelli, made myself a peanut butter and olive sandwich, and called my sister.

“I'm worried about this marriage thing,” I said. “If you couldn't stay married, what are my chances?”

“Men don't think right,” Valerie said. “I did everything I was supposed to do and it was wrong. How can that be?”

“Do you still love him?”

“I don't think so. Mostly I'd like to punch him in the face.”

“Okay,” I said. “I have to go now.” And I hung up.

Next, I paged through the phone book, but there was no Mary Maggie Mason listed. No surprise there. I called Connie and asked her to get me the number. Connie had sources for unlisted phones.