Look Alive Twenty-Five (Stephanie Plum #25)(16)

“Mr. Skoogie is Victor’s agent?” I asked.

“Agent and manager,” she said.

I took the press release and thanked the woman. Lula and I left the office and returned to my car.

“I can’t believe she didn’t offer us a donut,” Lula said. “That showed a less-than-gracious personality. I wouldn’t trust someone who doesn’t offer a guest a donut.”

I didn’t have a lot of thoughts about the donuts. My thoughts were about Skoogie and his interest in Victor Waggle. Hard to believe Skoogie’s high hopes were sufficient to warrant putting up a five-figure bond for someone who went around stabbing people because he was having a bad day. Something was missing in the picture.

“I can’t stop thinking about a donut now,” Lula said. “It’s stuck in my mind. I’m going to have to get a donut.”

“It’s almost ten. I’m heading for the deli. You can grab something to eat there.”

“I’m impressed that you’re taking your manager job seriously. What with all that’s been happening, a lot of people wouldn’t see this as having long-term career potential.”

“I’m not interested in long-term career potential. I want to find Vinnie and Wayne Kulicki.”

“So, you’re making yourself the next target?”

“More or less.”

“That could be a bad idea being that you’re not exactly Ranger.”

“No, but Ranger’s going to help me. He’s installing security cameras.”

“I hate to be a party pooper, but I’m thinking security cameras aren’t going to give you a lot of security. From my knowledge of this sort of thing, which mostly comes from Star Trek, it all happens pretty fast. You get vaporized and next thing you’re having dinner with a Klingon.”

“I’m going with the outside chance that it’s not space aliens.”





CHAPTER SEVEN


I PULLED TO the curb in front of the deli and parked behind a Rangeman SUV. The deli door was unlocked, and Ranger’s tech guy was inside, on a ladder. No surprise that he could let himself in. His name was Randy, and he was a master electrician, a pickpocket, a locksmith, a safecracker, and a sharpshooter. His work history prior to Ranger was south of the law.

“Good morning,” Raymond said to Lula and me. “As you can see, we have a man in black working to bring us into the age of surveillance.”

Lula went straight to the fridge. “Stephanie wants to have video for YouTube when she gets snatched up.”

“She is a woman with vision,” Raymond said.

“Where’s that carrot cake from yesterday?” Lula asked. “I don’t see it here.”

“Bottom shelf,” Stretch said. “If you eat it all you have to make a bakery run.”

“I see two cakes down here,” Lula said.

Stretch was setting up his prep area. “Yeah, like I said, if you eat it all you have to make a bakery run.”

“Hunh,” Lula said. “ Smart-ass.”

I walked through the kitchen to the back door and looked outside. There was no sign that anything out of the ordinary had taken place. The crime scene tape had been taken down. The lone shoe had been removed.

A man appeared at the edge of the parking area. It was Wulf. He crooked a finger at me and motioned me forward. I gave a single shake of my head, no. I mimicked his gesture, motioning him to come to me. He smiled. There was a flash of light, a burst of smoke, and he was gone.

I stepped back, closed the door, and sucked in some air. Hard not to get rattled by Wulf. I wasn’t bothered by the theatrics. That was just Wulf having fun. I was bothered by the man. I knew him on a superficial level, as my drop-in friend Diesel’s mysterious and complicated cousin. He was a man who tended to live in shadows and to come and go like thunder and lightning. And by “thunder and lightning” I’m not referring to his exit act, but by the disturbing magnetic, almost electric energy that surrounded him. He aroused my curiosity and simultaneously set off stranger-danger alarms. And I was a little freaked out that he was suddenly being seen in the two areas where people had vanished.

Everything seemed to be business as usual at the deli, so I called Connie and asked her to get me some information on the band members. Ten minutes later she texted back.

“I’m going to try to talk to the Armpit guys,” I said to Lula. “I’ll be back for the lunch rush. Do you want to stay here or come with me?”

“I’ll come with you. Just in case you get beamed up off-site, I don’t want to miss it.”

Zigmund Klug was first on the list. He was nineteen and shared the same address as Victor Waggle. His parents lived in Arizona. He had no employment history. I moved him to last on the list.

Jaimie Rolls was living with his parents on Mayberry Street and was a pizza delivery specialist for Noohana’s Pizza Emporium. I was familiar with Mayberry. It was tucked in behind the bonds office on Hamilton. It was a nice neighborhood of well-kept modest houses. I moved Jaimie to the top of the list.

“I heard about Noohana’s,” Lula said. “I saw it advertised on television the other day. They got emporiums all over the country, and if you order before noon and get them delivered after midnight, the pizza is only ninety-nine cents. I think that’s because they must make them in China and ship them over here.”