Plum Boxed Set 1, Books 1-3 Stephanie Plum Novels) Read Online Free PDF Page A

want, but I’ll track you down and find you, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to apprehend you.”
    What a load of bull! I couldn’t believe I was saying it. I’d been lucky to find him this first time, and the only way I was ever going to apprehend him was if I stumbled upon him already bound, gagged, and knocked unconscious. Even then, I wasn’t sure how far I could drag him.
    He left through a back entrance and headed for a late-model car parked close to the building. “Don’t bother tracing the plate,” he said. “The car is borrowed. I’ll have a different one an hour from now. And, don’t waste your energy following me. I’ll lose you. I guarantee it.”
    He dumped the duffel onto the front seat, started to get into the car, and stopped. He turned and straightened, hooked an elbow over the door frame, and for the first time since I’d popped up on his doorstep he took a few moments to actually look at me. The first rush of angry emotion was gone, and in its place was quiet assessment. This was the cop, I thought. The Morelli I didn’t know. The grown-up Morelli, if such an animal existed. Or maybe it was just the old Morelli, looking for a new angle.
    “I like the way you’ve let your hair go curly,” he finally said. “Suits your personality. Lots of energy, not much control, sexy as hell.”
    “You know nothing about my personality.”
    “I know about the sexy as hell part.”
    I felt my face burn. “Tactless of you to remind me.”
    Morelli grinned. “You’re right. And, you could be right about the Buick business, too. I probably deserved to get run over.”
    “Was that an apology?”
    “No. But you can hold the flashlight next time we play train.”

    I T WAS ALMOST ONE when I returned to Vinnie’s office. I slouched in a chair by Connie’s desk and tipped my head back to get maximum benefit from the air-conditioning.
    “You been out jogging?” Connie asked. “I haven’t seen that much sweat since Nixon.”
    “My car doesn’t have air.”
    “Bummer. How’s it going with Morelli? You get any leads?”
    “That’s why I’m here. I need help. This capturing stuff isn’t as easy as it sounds. I need to talk to someone who’s an expert at this job.”
    “I know just the guy. Ranger. His full name is Ricardo Carlos Mañoso. Second generation Cuban-American. Was Special Forces. Works for Vinnie now. He makes apprehensions other agents only dream about. He gets a little creative sometimes, but hey, that’s the way it is with a genius, right?”
    “Creative?”
    “Doesn’t always play by the rules.”
    “Oh.”
    “Like Clint Eastwood in that Dirty Harry movie,” Connie said. “You don’t have a problem with Clint Eastwood, do you?”
    She punched a number on her speed dial, connected with Mañoso’s pager, and left a call-back message. “Not to worry,” she said, smiling. “This guy’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
    An hour later, I sat across from Mañoso in a downtown café. His straight black hair was slicked back in a ponytail. His biceps looked like they’d been carved out of granite and buffed up with Armour-all. He was around 5’10" with a muscular neck and a don’t-mess-with-me body. I placed him in his late twenties.
    He leaned back and grinned. “Sooooo, Connie says I’m supposed to make you into a badass fugitive apprehension agent. She says you need to get the crash course. What’s the rush?”
    “You see the brown Nova at the curb?”
    His eyes swiveled to the front window. “Un huh.”
    “That’s my car.”
    He gave an almost imperceptible nod. “So you need money. Anything else?”
    “Personal reasons.”
    “Bond enforcement is dangerous business. Those personal reasons better be pretty fucking good.”
    “What are your reasons for doing this?”
    He did a palms up gesture. “It’s what I do best.”
    Good answer, I thought. More eloquent than mine. “Maybe someday I’ll be good at this too. Right now my motive is steady