Free 12bis Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich Page A

Gary Martin, Charlene Klinger, and Larry Burlew. I had the Pleasure Treasure bag to take to Jeanine. And then there was Annie Hart. I was hoping Annie was back in her apartment, but I thought it was unlikely.
     
    By the time I emerged from the bathroom, Diesel was out of bed, standing at my kitchen counter, eating a bowl of cereal.
     
    "I fed and walked the dog," Diesel said. "I didn't know what to do about the rat."
     
    "Hamster."
     
    "Whatever."
     
    I gave Rex fresh water, filled his bowl with hamster crunchies, and poured out some cereal for myself. "Have you heard from Annie?" I asked Diesel.
     
    "No. She didn't answer when I called this morning, so I had Flash check on her apartment again. Still empty." He put his cereal bowl in the dishwasher. "I need to go solo this morning and try to get a fix on Annie. I'm going to jump in the shower and take off. I wrote Beaners wife's address on the pad on the counter. Her name is Betty. She's expecting you. I don't know how helpful she'll be, but you can give it a shot. I'll be on my cell. The number's also on the pad."
     
    "Do you have a car?"
     
    "I can get one."
     
    Okay, I wasn't going to ask questions about that either.
     
    I was standing at the counter, enjoying a second cup of coffee, when Diesel walked into the kitchen. His hair was still damp, and he smelled like my shower gel. He had his jacket on, and his scarf wound around his neck. "Catch up with you later," he said.

     
    I blinked, and he was gone. Not magically. Out the door, down the hall, to the elevator.
     
    I rinsed my cup and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I turned to leave the bathroom and bumped into Ranger. I shrieked and jumped away.
     
    "Didn't mean to startle you," he said.
     
    Usually I sense Ranger behind me by the change in air pressure and the hint of desire. I wasn't paying attention today, and I was caught by surprise.
     
    "Men keep sneaking up on me," I told him.
     
    "I saw Diesel leave."
     
    "Do you know Diesel?"
     
    "From a distance," Ranger said. "Is Diesel a problem?"
     
    "No more than usual. We're sort of working together."
     
    "I have to go out of town for a couple days. Tank will be here. And I'll be on my cell. I need to talk to you when I get back." He brushed a light kiss across my lips and left.
     
    "The man of mystery" I said to the closed door.
     
    "I heard that," Ranger said from the other side.
     
Chapter 8
     
    I dropped Bob at my parents' house and asked them to dog-sit. I had coffee with my mother and Grandma, and by the time I rolled down Betty Beaner's street, it was a little past nine. I parked in her driveway and checked out her house. Average suburbia in every way. Two-story colonial. Landscaped front yard. Fenced back yard. Two-car garage. Freshly painted.
     
    I rang the bell, and Betty answered on the second ring. She was shorter than me and pleasantly round. She had a round face with a nice mouth that looked like it smiled a lot, round wide-open eyes, rounded hips, and big round breasts. She was a Rubenesque woman. She looked to be around fifty.
     
    I extended my hand. "Stephanie Plum."
     
    "I've been expecting you," she said. "Diesel called."
     
    "We thought you might be able to help us with Bernie."
     
    "I can't believe he's running around giving out hives like a senile old fool. I swear, the man is an embarrassment." I followed her through the living room and dining room and into the kitchen. She'd been at the small kitchen table, reading the paper, drinking coffee. It was a charming room decorated in warm tones. Rusts and yellows mostly. Small-print wallpaper and matching curtains on the windows.
     
    Betty poured a cup of coffee out for me, and we sat at the table. I looked down at the paper and realized she'd been looking at the want ads.
     
    "Getting a job?" I asked her.
     
    Betty had a red pen on the table by the paper, but none of the ads were circled. "I've been thinking about it. Problem is, I can't do anything. I've been a