Fortune and Glory (Stephanie Plum #27)(31)

“An adventure?” I asked.

“That’s what Edna said. Off to find a treasure.”

Crap!

I ran out of the salon and took off for the Mole Hole. I forgot about Potts in the backseat. I crossed over the railroad tracks and he started humming.

Double crap.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“The Mole Hole. I need to check on something.”

I pulled into the lot and skidded to a stop. “Stay here,” I told Potts. “I’ll be right out.”

I marched into the bar and stood for a moment, letting my eyes adjust to the dim light. Two girls were working the poles and the bar was packed with lunchtimers. I approached one of the bartenders and asked if an older woman had come into the bar.

“There’s an older couple in the booth to the right and a single woman is halfway around the bar.”

I scanned the bar and spotted Grandma. She was eating a burger and watching the stripper directly in front of her.

“One more question,” I said to the bartender. “Have you seen Charlie Shine today?”

“No one sees Charlie Shine,” he said.

“How about Lou?”

“Salgusta? Never heard of him.”

“Anyone in the back room?”

“Some furniture movers. It’s getting redecorated.”

I walked around the bar to Grandma. All the stools were taken so I sidled up next to her.

“Looks like a good burger,” I said.

“It’s excellent,” she said. “And this young lady on the pole is amazing. She can do an upside-down and a split. And she can do a full squat to get money stuffed into her G-string. I wish I could do that. My knees aren’t what they used to be. What are you doing here? Did you come for lunch?”

“No. I’m here because I thought you might be here.”

“I came to investigate the tunnels, but I thought I’d have a burger first. The Mole Hole makes the best burger in town.”

“Finish your burger while I peek into the back room. We can’t access the tunnel if the room is occupied.”

I walked around the bar and opened the door to the back room. The La-Z-Boy recliners were gone and had been replaced by five leather club chairs. There was a thick cream-colored rug on the floor and a new big-screen TV on the wall. The rickety card table had been replaced by an elaborate dark wood poker table and six poker table chairs on casters.

Two men in T-shirts and jeans were arranging side tables by three of the club chairs. Two forty-something chunky men in suits were leaning against the far wall, arms crossed over their chests, eyes focused on me.

“This is a private party,” one of the suits said. “This isn’t a public room.”

“I’m looking for Charlie and Lou,” I said. “Have you seen them?”

“Maybe,” he said. “Who are you?”

“Stephanie Plum.”

He smiled and looked over at the other suit. “This is our lucky day, Ed. Just when we’re wondering how we’re going to snatch Stephanie Plum, she brings herself to us.”

“Yeah, lucky us,” Ed said. “Unlucky her.”

The door pushed open behind me, and Grandma stepped in. “I thought I’d give it a peek, too,” she said.

“Well, what have we got here?” Ed asked.

“I’m Edna,” Grandma said. “Who are you?”

“I’m Ed. And this is Chick.”

The other suit nodded and smiled at Grandma.

“This is a very nice room you have back here. I like the decorating,” Grandma said. “Although, I’m guessing Benny will miss his La-Z-Boy.”

“I’m thinking we have Stephanie Plum’s granny here,” Ed said.

“Yeah, we hit the jackpot,” Chick said. “It would be good if you two ladies would move away from the door.”

“Actually, we’re going to be heading out,” I said. “Nice meeting you.”

Both of the suits pulled guns and the two guys in jeans moved to the back of the room. I heard Grandma take in a sharp breath, and I wrapped my hand around her wrist and gave it a fast squeeze.

“Step away from the door,” Ed said. “There’s people who want to talk to you and Granny.”

My heart was running at double time, beating so hard I had blurred vision. Bad enough I had stumbled into this—now I had Grandma in their crosshairs.

“Who wants to talk to us?” I asked.

“People,” Ed said. “You got a hearing problem?”

“That’s rude,” Grandma said. “The La-Z-Boys would never talk to a lady like that.”

I was calculating the distance between Grandma and me and the open door and the time it would take the gorilla in a suit to pull the trigger. Probably he wouldn’t kill us because people wouldn’t like that. On the other hand, people might think I was expendable. Grandma had the key to the treasure. I was most likely just a pain in the ass. So, they might be willing to kill me and run down Grandma. I was about to turn and drag Grandma through the door when Potts burst in.

“Here you are,” he said. “I got worried when you didn’t come right out. So, I came to see if you were okay.”

Potts spotted the two goons in suits and his eyes got wide. “Oh b-b-boy,” he said.