Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight (Stephanie Plum #28)(19)

“I’d like to enjoy this discussion of Hemingway,” Lula said, “but I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and I’m standing here in mismatched shoes, so could we get on with the bail bonds predicament?”

“Of course,” Andy said. “I just need to put my book in my P-A-T and zip it up for the afternoon.”

We followed Andy a short distance through a wooded area and came to a pop-up domed tent. There was another camp chair in a cleared area and a small fire pit with a spit.

“I guess this is where you do the ducks,” Lula said to Andy.

“My finances are currently limited,” Andy said. “And I do have a weakness for rotisserie duck. Fortunately, duck is in abundant supply here.”

“It’s also illegal,” I said.

“You should barbecue a goose,” Lula said. “Nobody would care if you barbecued a goose.”

“I’m afraid of the geese,” Andy said. “Sadly, I’m no Hemingway.”

“Is this your tent?” Melvin asked.

“Yep,” Andy said. “It was given to me by a city official who didn’t want me camped out in front of his office on State Street. It’s wonderfully roomy and it’s only a short distance from the public restroom facilities.”

“This is almost as good as my loft,” Melvin said.

Lula elbowed me. “We got a match made in heaven here. You just stepped in a pile of good luck.”

“I’m not sure this is secure,” I said.

“It’s totally secure. Who’s gonna think to look for Melvin here?”

“We need a safe place for Melvin to stay for a couple days,” I said to Andy. “Would you have room for him here?”

“Ordinarily I don’t have houseguests,” Andy said, “but I suppose I could make an exception for a Hemingway aficionado.”

“I need to work,” Melvin said. “Where can I charge my laptop and cell phone?”

“The public restroom has outlets,” Andy said. “And I have an extra sleeping bag that you can borrow.”

“See that,” Lula said. “It’s all perfect. We can bring Andy in any old time to get rescheduled. The important thing is that we have a home for Melvin.”

“Do you like duck?” Andy asked Melvin.

“No!” I said. “No more duck. We’ll bring food. No need to worry about food.”

Melvin walked back to the car with Lula and me and got his backpack. “This will be fun,” he said. “I’ve never camped out before.”

“Make sure you keep your cell phone charged,” I said. “Call me if you get information on Oswald.”





CHAPTER EIGHT


I drove out of the park and found a supermarket. I bought two rotisserie chickens, a couple of bags of chips, and a couple of bags of cookies. I put them in an insulated grocery bag with a bag of ice and Lula and I left the store. We were almost to my car when two men ran at Lula, ripped her purse off her shoulder, and ran away with it. She took off after them and chased them around the side of the building. I dropped the bag of groceries and ran after Lula. When I rounded the building the men were scrambling into a car, and Lula was pounding on one of them with her shoe. The car started rolling with one man half in and half out and Lula running alongside. The car picked up speed and Lula was left behind.

“Did you see that?” she yelled at me. “They tried to take my purse.”

“Did they get it?”

“No. I caught up to them and they panicked and threw it in the dumpster and ran for their car. Freaking amateurs.”

“Did you get their plate?”

“No. Did you?”

“No.”

Lula walked back to the dumpster and looked in. “There it is,” she said. “Give me a boost up.”

“You’re going in the dumpster?”

“I gotta get my purse.”

“It’s disgusting in there. Maybe we can scoop it out with a net or something.”

“It’s on the top of everything. I can reach it if you boost me up.”

She got her hands on the top rim of the dumpster and pulled herself partway to the edge. I got my hand under her ass and gave her a shove.

“I almost got it,” she said.

And then she fell into the dumpster. I hoisted myself up and looked in at her. She was waste deep in rotting vegetables and fruit, thrashing around, trying to get to the side. She had her purse in one hand and a shoe in the other.

“Hang on,” I said. “I’m going to get help.”

A half hour later, the fire department had Lula out of the dumpster. They hosed her down and gave her a blanket. We walked back to my car, retrieved the insulated bag with the chickens, and I drove Lula to the bonds office so she could get her car.

“This just isn’t right,” she said. “These things aren’t supposed to be happening to me.”

Andy was in his camp chair by the pond and Melvin was in the camp chair by the tent when I got back to them. I gave Melvin the grocery bag and told him I’d be back in the morning. I’m not sure he heard me. He was busy on his computer. It was too early to meet Diesel, so I went to my parents’ house to retrieve my laundry.

My mother and Grandma were in the kitchen. My mother was making egg salad for lunch and Grandma was at the small kitchen table, texting on her phone.