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“Well shit, what was I thinking of?”

“You're under a lot of strain lately.”

There was a knock on the door, and we both jumped.

Morelli beat me to the peephole. He stepped back several paces and pulled me with him. “It's Morty Beyers,” he said.

There was another knock on the door.

“He can't have you,” I said. “You're mine, and I'm not sharing.”

Morelli grimaced. “I'll be under the bed if you need me.”

I went to the door and took a look for myself. I'd never seen Morty Beyers before, but this guy looked like he'd just had an appendectomy. He was close to forty, overweight, ashen-faced, and he was stooped over, holding his stomach. His sandy hair was thin, combed over the top of his balding dome, and slick with sweat.

I opened the door to him.

“Morty Beyers,” he said, extending his hand. “You must be Stephanie Plum.”

“Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?”

“An exploded appendix only gets you a couple hours' stay. I'm back to work. They tell me I'm good as new.”

He didn't look good as new. He looked like he had met Vampira on the stairs. “Your stomach still hurt?”

“Only when I straighten up.”

“What can I do for you?”

“Vinnie said you had my FTAs. I thought now that I was feeling okay . . .”

“You want the paperwork back.”

“Yeah. Listen, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.”

“It wasn't a complete bust. I brought two of them in.”

He nodded. “Didn't have any luck with Morelli?”

“None at all.”

“I know this sounds weird, but I could've sworn I saw his car in your parking lot.”

“I stole it. I thought maybe I could flush him out by making him come after his car.”

“You stole it? No shit? Jesus, that's great.” He was leaning against the wall with his hand pressed to his groin.

“You want to sit down for a minute? You want some water?”

“Nah, I'm fine. I gotta get to work. I just wanted the pictures and stuff.”

I ran to the kitchen, gathered up the files, and rushed back to the door. “This is it.”

“Great.” He tucked the folders under an arm. “So are you gonna keep the car a while?”

“I'm not sure.”

“If you spotted Morelli walking down the street, would you bring him in?”


Tags: Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum Mystery