Fortune and Glory (Stephanie Plum, #27)(16)

“Keep thinking about it,” I said. “Hopefully we can get a couple more clues.”

“Better sooner than later. My list of things to do with the money is growing.”

Connie was unlocking the door when I arrived. “Whoa,” she said. “This isn’t something I see every day. Are you up early for a reason? Or have you not been to bed yet?”

“I need to find Shine and Salgusta, and I need to be the one on the hunt, not the other way around. Problem is, I don’t know where to begin.”

Connie handed me a box of donuts, opened the door, and we stepped inside.

“Begin by having a donut,” Connie said. “Start with the good stuff.”

I put the box on her desk and took a donut. “Any other ideas?”

“If it’s the treasure you’re actually interested in, ask yourself, what would Indy do?” Connie said.

“Indy always comes through. Me not so much.”

“Indy has what you have, perseverance,” Connie said. “Most of the time you don’t know what the heck you’re doing, but you stick with it, and eventually you get lucky.”

“I haven’t got a lot of time to get lucky on this. Salgusta and Shine are also after the treasure, and they have two extra clues that I don’t have.”

“Shine has been like the invisible man,” Connie said. “Everyone knows he’s here, but no one has seen him. And with good reason, he’s being invisible. There’s an outstanding warrant on him for tax evasion, among other things. Plus, he’s now a murder suspect. Salgusta keeps circling back to the Mole Hole. Never stays long. No pattern to his visits. Have either of them made a move on Grandma?”

“You mean since they kidnapped us a while back, and we escaped? No.”

“That kidnapping had to have been horrible.”

I nodded.

Horrible didn’t begin to describe it. It was terrifying, and I still had an occasional nightmare about it.

“Any ideas about where these guys are staying?” I asked Connie.

“No, but Shine likes the ladies. Last time he was hooked up with a pro. Lula might be some help there. Salgusta pretty much creeps out everyone. I don’t know who would harbor him. Especially since he’s also a suspect for the murder you witnessed.”

“Can you get me information on recent credit card use? It might lead me to a neighborhood.”

“You want me to hack into his accounts?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Connie said. “Not a lot going on here. I have some extra time. You’ll visit me in jail, right?”

“I’ll bring you lasagna on visiting day.”

The front door banged open and Lula swung in. “What’s going on here?” she said. “Did I miss something? Did Stephanie eat the Boston creme donut?”

“No,” I said. “I ate a maple glazed and a jelly donut. I left the Boston creme for you.”

“I appreciate it,” Lula said, “but that’s worrisome. First one here always gets the Boston creme. What’s up?”

“I wasn’t in a Boston creme mood,” I said. “I have a lot on my mind.”

Lula took the Boston creme. “Like what?”

“I need to find Lou Salgusta and Charlie Shine.”

“Good luck with that one,” Lula said. “Last time we tried to catch Salgusta we almost got roasted. I’m not going after him no more. And I’m not going into that tunnel again, either.”

“Okay,” I said, “but we could look for Charlie Shine. Connie thinks he might be shopping around for a new girlfriend. Do you still have friends on the street?”

“I know a couple of the older girls, but it’s been a while since I was a professional satisfier,” Lula said. “Still, I guess we could ask around tonight.”

I looked at Connie. “Do you have anything else?”

“He’s not with his wife in the Burg,” Connie said. “That’s definite. I’m thinking he’s hanging somewhere close, but not in Trenton.”

“Unless he’s with a new honey,” Lula said.

Connie and I nodded agreement.

“So, what are we gonna do now?” Lula asked

“We can look in on Rugalowski and Trotter,” I said.

“I’m not excited about that,” Lula said. “I don’t like them. I especially don’t like Arnold Rugalowski and his stupid nuts.”

“We’re going to try Rugalowski at home this time,” I said. “I’m hoping he’ll be more receptive to getting re-bonded.”

“He don’t look like he even got a home,” Lula said. “He looks like he lives in his ten-year-old Chevy Nova. I’m guessing the ex-wife got the home.”

I pulled his file out of my bag. “He gives a home address of 43 South Clinton Street.”

Lula tapped it into her phone. “That’s a weird address,” she said. “It don’t look like there’s any houses. It’s only got a cemetery on one side and some government offices on the other.”

I looked over at Connie.

“I didn’t write the bond,” Connie said. “Vinnie wrote the bond.”

“Is Vinnie coming in today?” I asked.