Plum Lucky (Stephanie Plum 13.50)

Black boots, black cargo pants that fit perfectly across his butt, black T-?shirt under a black windbreaker with rangeman written in black on the sleeve. He walked over and gave me a friendly, lingering kiss on my temple, just above my ear.

“Babe.”

Babe covered a lot of ground with Ranger. Depending on the inflection, it could be sexy, scolding, or wistful. He said “babe” when I amused him, astonished him, and exasperated him. Today, it was mostly hello.

He gave my ponytail a playful tug. “You look worried.”

“I could use some help. Lou Delvina kidnapped Grandma.”

“When did this happen?”

“This morning. Two days ago, on St. Patrick’s Day, Grandma found a bag of money. She bought an RV and hired Randy Briggs to drive her to Atlantic City. Turns out, the money belonged to this little guy who thinks he’s a leprechaun. And the leprechaun stole the money from Delvina. So Delvina kidnapped the leprechaun’s horse and Grandma until he gets his money. Problem is, we only have some of his money.”

“We?”

“Diesel and me.”

Ranger covered his face with his hands, pressing his fingertips against his eyes. It was one of those gestures you do instead of jumping off a bridge or choking someone. “Diesel,” Ranger said.

“He’s not your favorite person?”

“We don’t hang out together.”

“I think he turned Delvina into a toad.”

“Delvina only looks like a toad. Under the warts, he’s still a middle-?aged, mid-?level mobster. And he’s ruthless. And a little insane.”

“Great. This makes me feel much better.”

“You haven’t gone to the police?”

“No.”

“Morelli?”

“No. We were afraid Delvina would panic and make Grandma disappear.”

“That’s a genuine concern,” Ranger said. “How can I help you?”

“For starters, you can get me Delvina’s phone number.”

Ranger called his office and asked for Delvina’s number. Moments later, he gave it to me. “Now what?” he asked.

“Hopefully, this will do it. I’ll give him his money, and he’ll give me Grandma.”

“Call me if there are complications. I have to run. I need to look in on a commercial account.”

I immediately called Delvina. “Okay,” I said, “I have the money.” Most of it. “How do you want to do this?”

“Put the duffel bag on the passenger seat of a car and take the car to the car wash at three o’clock. If the money’s all there, you’ll get your grandmother.”

“Will she be at the car wash?”

“More or less. We’ll deliver her to the car wash as soon as we count the money. You shouldn’t worry about it. Trust me, the sooner we’re rid of her, the better.”

“I suppose I should tell you we’re a little short.”

“How short?”