Top Secret Twenty-One: A Stephanie Plum Novel(30)

“Is this the Batcave?” I asked him.

“It was a safe house until you discovered it.”

“And now it’s not safe?”

“Now it’s a home,” Ranger said.

“Wow!”

The corners of his mouth twitched into the beginnings of a smile. “Don’t read too much into that.”

“It was a profound revelation. And I don’t know how to tell you this, but your safe house wasn’t that hard to find.”

“Only because you know me so well. And it’s more satellite office than safe house. Was there a specific reason for this visit?”

“I have two problems. The first is Jimmy Poletti. I know Poletti is in the area because he just shot a firebomb into my living room. Unfortunately, I’m not having any luck capturing him. I thought you might be able to help me.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“I have some ideas.”

“And your second problem?”

“It’s you. I don’t like the thought that some freakazoid polonium assassin will have better luck the second time around and you’ll end up glowing in the dark. It’s causing me stress, so I wish you’d find the guy and eliminate him.”

“I’m working on it.”

“Do you have any leads?”

“I think this person is probably Russian. Either mob or military. I’ve apprehended some members of the Russian mob. And it wouldn’t be hard to imagine Gardi moving in those circles.”

“Why Russian?”

“The polonium-210 that was in Gardi’s possession is a relatively obscure radioactive poison that has limited production. To my knowledge it’s currently being produced only in Russia and is available only to well-connected Russians.”

“And you think some Russian mob guy hates you enough to do this?”

“It would require a certain level of insanity, but it’s possible.”

“So how do you find this guy?”

“It’s hard without access to Gardi.”

“Morelli said even the police don’t have access.”

“He’s been charged with nuclear terrorism. He’s guarded by an army of FBI agents, and no one at the federal level is sharing information.”

“I bet I can get you in.”

One eyebrow raised a fraction of an inch.

“I’ve got Randy Briggs,” I said. “He was briefly head of security at Central Hospital, and while he was at Central he filled in weekends at St. Francis. I’m sure he knows everyone’s schedule and all the ways to get onto a floor.”





THIRTEEN


THERE WAS A single donut left in the box when I got back to the office. I helped myself to the donut and turned to Briggs.

“Ranger needs to talk to Gardi,” I said. “Can you get him into St. Francis?”

“That could be tough. From what I hear the floor is crawling with FBI. They won’t even let hospital security in.”

“Someone must be getting in,” I said. “Doctors, nurses, housekeeping, food service. What would be our best shot?”

“Housekeeping. I’m sure everyone going into that room is gowned and masked, so that’s an advantage. I can get you suited up, and then all you have to do is go in with a stack of towels and sheets. Late afternoon is best. Unless Gardi’s having an emergency, he should be alone. Doctors do rounds in the morning, and nurses do paperwork around four o’clock. Usually, security doesn’t stay in the room. They hang outside the door. The problem is with Ranger. Housekeeping’s all women. They work in pairs, pushing a cart filled with supplies.”

“I could be a pair with Stephanie,” Lula said. “Ordinarily I don’t like being in a hospital, but this would be different. This would be like one of them doctor shows where I’d have a chance to give an award-winning performance. I could perform the snot out of this role.”

“Are you sure you can’t get Ranger in?” I asked Briggs. “He needs some specific information.”

“I can suit him up,” Briggs said. “And I can tell him how to get on the floor. I don’t know if he can bluff his way past the FBI. If I was protecting Gardi, I’d be reluctant to let a big guy I didn’t know get into the room.”

“But being we’re ladies we wouldn’t have those problems,” Lula said. “We could go about our business like we were invisible.”

“Maybe,” Briggs said. “I think it’s a crapshoot.”

“Do you know what Ranger needs to get out of Gardi?” Lula asked me.

“He wants to know who gave Gardi the polonium.”

“If you need information from Gardi you want to try to get it sooner rather than later,” Connie said. “He’s not doing well.”

St. Francis is walking distance from the bail bonds office, but we had Connie drive us. I called Ranger on the way and told him the plan.

“This wasn’t what I had in mind,” he said.

“If I get caught you’ll be my one phone call.”

This was met by silence on Ranger’s side, so I disconnected.

Briggs took us to a back entrance that was used for maintenance purposes. The door had a four-digit thumb lock. He tapped in the combination, and the door opened.