Look Alive Twenty-Five (Stephanie Plum #25)(42)

“It’s like these people are professional kidnappers. They plan ahead, and they don’t leave any evidence behind.”

“They leave evidence,” Morelli said. “Everyone leaves evidence. We haven’t found the evidence yet, but it’s there.”

“Were you able to find out who owned the security cameras?”

“They were placed after the unit was rented. We couldn’t trace them. We shut them down but left them in place, so Ranger could send his tech over to take a look. His guy is better than my guy.”

Big Wanger, Anthony, and Mooch were lined up on the couch, eyes glued to the television. Morelli was in the leather recliner. Bob was sitting next to Morelli, waiting for food to fall onto the floor. The coffee table was littered with takeout pizza boxes, empty beer cans, bowls of chips, and whatever.

“Do you want to sit?” Mooch asked me. “There’s room on the couch.”

“No, thanks,” I said. “I just came in to gather up some of the trash. I don’t want to encroach on your male-bonding experience.”

“That happened in seventh grade,” Big Wanger said. “We just tolerate each other now.”

I put a bunch of empty beer cans in one of the empty pizza boxes and carted it all out to the kitchen. I stopped short at the kitchen door when I realized Wulf was lounging against the counter. He was wearing black slacks and a black cashmere sweater with the sleeves pushed up. No visible bat wings.

“We need to talk,” Wulf said.

“Okay.”

“As a courtesy to a friend, I’m looking for a man who is associated with the deli. I believe he’s also involved in the kidnappings.”

“Ernie Sitz? Harry the Hammer?”

“I’m not at liberty to say. I’m telling you this because I want you to persuade Ranger to remove his men from their surveillance positions. They’re making my job difficult.”

“You should talk to Ranger directly.”

Wulf’s mouth curved into a smile, but his eyes were cold. “Ranger and I have an adversarial history.”

“I’ll pass the message along, but I can’t guarantee he’ll listen to me.”

“Understood.”

“What were you doing in the apartment above the KitKat?”

“Tracking my prey.”

“You left through the window,” I said.

“There were people in the hall, fumbling for their apartment key. It seemed expedient to exit directly to the alley.”

“The shoes?”

“The shoes are a mystery,” Wulf said. He looked toward the living room. “I have to leave.”

“Are you going to do the smoke thing?”

This time the smile was genuine. “Would you like me to do the smoke thing?”

“Yes.”

BANG! Smoke swirled around Wulf, and he was gone.

Ranger picked me up in his sporty Porsche 911 Turbo at four o’clock. No Ella scrunched into the back seat.

“Where’s Ella?” I asked.

“Tank is bringing her over. He’s taking a shift on deli patrol tonight.”

Tank is second-in-command at Rangeman. He’s the guy who watches Ranger’s back. He’s a year younger than Ranger. He’s twice Ranger’s size. There’s good reason he’s called Tank.

“Do you think the deli patrol is necessary? Hard to believe the kidnappers would try to snatch someone after their apartment has been discovered.”

Ranger drove away from Morelli’s house and turned onto Hamilton Avenue. “There are problems with the apartment. These kidnappings are professionally executed. Very little forensic evidence is left behind. No time is wasted. Someone who meticulously planned out these crimes wouldn’t have chosen a third-floor walk-up to play a role in the abduction. If the victims are unconscious, someone has to carry them up three flights of stairs. Not easy with someone like Hal. If they’re conscious you have to walk them up the stairs at gunpoint. Too conspicuous. And then there are the shoes. Neatly piled in a corner of the otherwise empty apartment. They were purposely brought there. And there were more shoes than known kidnap victims.”

“You think they were staged.”

“The better question is why were they staged?”

This is why Ranger has his own security firm, and I’m barely able to pay my rent. He’s observant. He connects the dots. He knows how to use his unique talents. I’m sure I have unique talents, but they haven’t surfaced yet.

“Morelli said he asked you to send your tech over to check out the security cameras.”

“The apartment didn’t have an alarm system, so the cameras were strictly for surveillance. They had the ability to record and send to a separate location.”

“Do you know the location? Were you able to see what it recorded?”

“The record function wasn’t active. The cameras were sending to a location that’s since been shut down. Sometimes we can still find the location, but not in this case.”

“I had a surprise visit from Wulf this afternoon,” I said. “He told me he was doing a favor for a friend, tracking down a man who was associated with the deli. He said you were making his job more difficult with your surveillance people.”

“And he asked you to pass this on to me?”