Hot Six by Janet Evanovich Page B

you right? Are you sticking your big fat nose in the Ramos case?"
    "Well, I happened to run across"
    Lula's eyes widened. "You're working for Ranger!"
    Vinnie popped out of his inner office. "Is that true? Are you working for Ranger?"
    "No. It's not true. There's not a shred of truth to it. " Well, what the hellwhat's one more lie?
    The front door crashed open and Joyce Barnhardt stomped in.
    Lula, Connie, and I all ran to get Bob on the leash.
    "You dumb bitch, " Joyce yelled at me. "You sent me on a wild goose chase. Ranger doesn't have a sister working at the Macko Coat Factory. "
    "Maybe she quit, " I said.
    "Yeah, " Lula said, "people quit all the time. "
    Joyce looked down at Bob. "What's this?"
    "It's a dog, " I said, shortening his lead.
    "Why's his hair standing up like that?"
    From the woman who adds five inches to her height with a rat-tail comb.
    "Beside the wild goose chase, how're you doin' on the Ranger hunt?" Lula asked. "You track him down yet?"
    "Not yet, but I'm getting close. "
    "I think you're fibbing, " Lula said. "I bet you don't have anything. "
    And I bet you don't have a waistline, " Joyce said.

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    Bob wagged his tail.
    "Maybe later, " I told him.
    Vinnie popped back out of his office. "What's going on out here? I can't hear myself think. "
    Lula, Connie, and I all exchanged glances and bit down hard on our lower lips.
    "Vinnie!" Joyce cooed, pointing her C cups in his direction. "Looking good, Vinnie. "
    "Yeah, you're not looking so bad yourself, " Vinnie said. He looked at Bob. "What's with the dog with the bad hair day?"
    "I'm dog-sitting, " I told him.
    "I hope you're getting paid a lot of money. He's a train wreck. "
    I fondled Bob's ear. "I think he's cute. " In a prehistoric way.
    "So what's going on here?" Joyce asked. "You got anything new for me?"
    Vinnie thought about it for a moment, looked from Connie to Lula to me, and retreated into his office.
    "Nothing new, " Connie said.
    Joyce narrowed her eyes at Vinnie's closed door. "Chickenshit. "
    Vinnie opened the door and glared out at her.
    "Yeah, you, " Joyce said.
    Vinnie pulled his head back inside his office, closed the door, and clicked the dead bolt.
    "Fungule, " Joyce said, with a gesture. She turned on her stiletto heel and swung her ass out the door.
    We all rolled our eyes.
    "Now what?" Lula wanted to know. "You and Bob got some big day planned?"

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    Vinnie's office door opened again. "How about a little of Morris Munson?" he yelled. "I'm not running a charity here, you know. "
    "Morris Munson is a nut!" I yelled back. "He tried to set me on fire!"
    Vinnie stood, hands on hips. "So what's your point?"
    "Fine. Just fine, " I said. "I'll go get Morris Munson. So what if he runs me over. So what if he sets me on fire and bashes my head in with a tire iron. It's my job, right? So here I go to do my job. "
    "That's the spirit, " Vinnie said.
    "Hold on, " Lula said. "I don't want to miss this one. I'll go with you. "
    She shoved her arms into a jacket and grabbed a purse that was big enough to hold a sawed-off shotgun. "Okay, " I said, eyeballing the purse. "What have you got in there?"
    "Tech-9. "
    The urban assault weapon of choice.
    "Do you have a license to carry that?"
    "Say what?"
    "Call me crazy, but I'd feel a lot better if you left your Tech-9 here. "
    "Boy, you sure know how to ruin a good time, " Lula said.
    "Leave it with me, " Connie told her. "I'll use it for a paperweight. Give the office some atmosphere. "
    "Hunh, " Lula said.
    I opened the office door, and Bob bounded out. He stopped at the Buick and stood there, tail wagging, eyes bright.
    "Look at this smart dog, " I said to Lula. "He knows my car after only riding in it once. "
    "What happened to the Rollswagen?"
    "I gave it back to the Dealer. "

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    Lula and Bob and I kept to our own thoughts as we rolled along Hamilton en route to the button factory. I was going through a mental inventory of equipment. Stun gun: in my