Top Secret Twenty-One: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich(23)

“No.”

“What if I was in the hospital with a heart attack?”

“No.”

“Boy, you’re tough. Most women would go for the heart attack.”





TEN


BRIGGS WAS STILL asleep on the kitchen floor when I brought Grandma home. I nudged him with my foot, and he mumbled something, but he didn’t wake up.

“Is it okay if I leave him here?” I asked my mom. “I’ll come get him first thing in the morning.”

“As long as it’s first thing.”

I drove home, parked in my lot, and noticed that the lights were on in my apartment. Morelli had a key, but his green SUV wasn’t in the lot. Ranger’s black Porsche wasn’t there either, but that didn’t mean much. Ranger has a lot of cars available to him.

My cellphone rang and Ranger said, “Babe.”

“Are you in my apartment?” I asked him.

“Are you alone?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m in your apartment.”

He was in my kitchen with a bottle of water in his hand. He was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, a Glock, and an unzipped flak vest. Not his usual all black perfectly tailored uniform. No Rangeman logo.

“This must be casual Tuesday,” I said to him.

“They won’t let anything leave the building. Ella had to do some fast shopping.”

Ella is half of a housekeeping couple that maintains Ranger’s building. She makes sure everyone is appropriately dressed and well fed, she supervises the cleaning crew, and she personally tends to Ranger’s private apartment.

“Are you okay?” I asked him.

“Yes. I wasn’t onsite when the poison was released. Bruce McCready discovered Gardi with the canister. There was a struggle, the canister was activated, and McCready and Gardi were contaminated. Gardi panicked and told McCready everything he knew, hoping he could get treatment in time to save himself. Fortunately, McCready was able to evacuate the building before the poison spread.”

“Is McCready going to be okay?”

“No one is saying, but from the limited information I have, I suspect McCready and Gardi received a lethal dose. This stuff takes a while to kill. McCready is a good man. He’s a team player. Everyone likes him. There are a lot of prayers being said at Rangeman.”

“That’s horrible. How did this happen?”

“We didn’t do a body cavity check. Technically, we’re not empowered. Gardi obviously knew this, because he had a delayed-action aerosol cartridge of polonium-210 hidden in him. The plan was for him to release it into the air-conditioning system just before he left for Miami. At least that’s what he told McCready, and what McCready passed on to us before he was hospitalized. I haven’t been able to talk to either McCready or Gardi since they were admitted. They’re both in isolation under heavy guard.”

“I’ve never heard of polonium.”

“It’s produced in nuclear reactors. It’s rare, and it’s difficult to detect. If it enters the body through an open wound, if it’s eaten, if a person breathes contaminated air, it’s deadly. It causes multiple organ failure.

“McCready was watching the cell video feed when Gardi pulled the canister out, and McCready went to investigate. If the poison had gone undetected into the building ventilation system, it would have infected everyone in the building.”

“Morelli said he thought Gardi was working for someone who had a vendetta against you.”

Ranger was leaning against my kitchen counter, looking relaxed, his brown eyes mostly black in the dim light. “I’ve made some enemies.”

“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got? Some enemies?”

The corners of his mouth turned up into the smallest of smiles. “Are you worried about me?”

“Of course I’m worried about you.”

“Nice.” He looked at his watch. “I have to go.”

“What? Are you serious? You didn’t tell me anything.”

“This is why I’m not married,” Ranger said. “Women ask questions.”

“Unh!” I said, smacking my forehead with the heel of my hand. “That’s not why you’re not married. You’re not married because you’re … impossible.”

He dragged me to him and kissed me, and I felt the kiss travel like lava to my doo-dah.

“I have some issues to resolve,” he said.

No kidding.

He gave my ponytail a playful tug and left.



It was almost eight A.M. when I got to my parents’ house. Grandma was looking out the front door with her arms crossed over her chest, and Briggs was pacing on the sidewalk. His hair was a mess, and his shirt was stained and disheveled.

“Why are you out here?” I asked. “And what have you got all over your shirt?”

Grandma leaned out the open door. “It’s chocolate,” she said. “He woke up and snarfed down the cake. All of it. Your father went after him with a baseball bat. Lucky for Briggs it was your father’s duty time. You know how your father has to keep on schedule with his morning duties. Good thing you got here before he was done in the bathroom.”

“Somebody had to eat it,” Briggs said. “It was just sitting there.”