"Well? Is anything missing?"
"Clean underwear, for starters. Doesn't anybody on this boat bathe or do laundry?"
"Ship, love. The Black Pearl is a ship."
I rolled my eyes and held up a pair of pants so stiff that yes, they did stand up on their own. "Here. Go through the pockets and see if you find anything."
"Afraid?"
"Of a pair of pants? No. I just want my hands free to search through the rest of his stuff," I lied. Damn skippy, I was afraid. Who wouldn't be afraid of lice, crabs and other nasty things that were probably in those pants?
Sparrow took the pants, held them upside down and shook them vigorously. Nothing fell out. He shook them again and something metallic clinked on the wooden floor.
I leaned down to look, taking extra care not to trip over my skirts. Finally, I found it. It was a plain silver band. "This mean anything to you?"
"Possibly a Mrs. Callinan, I'd say."
"But he didn't want some floozy in a bar to know about it."
"Bar?"
"Tavern?"
"Ah." Sparrow grinned at me. "Aye, though I've not seen a ring make much difference if a man or woman was aiming to have a bit o' fun."
"Me, either."
"Was that bitterness I heard, Stephanie Plum? Was there a Mister Plum before Morelli?"
I'm sure I twitched, thinking about my ex-husband, Dickie Orr, the horse's patootie. I remembered the day I found him having sex on the dining room table with my archenemy, Joyce Barnhardt. I smiled sweetly at Sparrow and avoided the question. "Mister Plum is my father."
"Ah."
Ignoring him, I kept digging though Callinan's trunk. There wasn't much. A dagger, a spare shirt and a Bible. I flipped through the pages of the Bible, but nothing fell out. Then I turned my attention to the trunk itself, feeling for any hidden compartments.
"Allow me, pet." Sparrow nudged me aside, poked at the lining on the top and revealed Callinan's hidey-hole. "Pirate instincts. They never fail to lead me to the treasure."
"Yeah? So where is it?"
"It's like you said, love. It's gone missing. Now all ye have to do is figure out what it was and who took it."
Lucky me.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A/N --- Wow! I can't believe all the positive feedback I'm getting on this. Thanks to all of you who've told me I've got Stephanie's voice down and that you like what I'm doing with Steph and Jack. blushing And special thanks to the alert reader who realized that the Buick dress, like the real Big Blue, is going to take a licking and keep on ticking. After all, what's a Plum adventure without an exploding car, Big Blue and somebody waggling their wonkie at Stephanie?
A number of you have asked where I got the idea from. Brilliant? I don't know about that. Crazy? Probably. But having fun? Absolutely. Thanks for joining me on the ride.
"Clean underwear, for starters. Doesn't anybody on this boat bathe or do laundry?"
"Ship, love. The Black Pearl is a ship."
I rolled my eyes and held up a pair of pants so stiff that yes, they did stand up on their own. "Here. Go through the pockets and see if you find anything."
"Afraid?"
"Of a pair of pants? No. I just want my hands free to search through the rest of his stuff," I lied. Damn skippy, I was afraid. Who wouldn't be afraid of lice, crabs and other nasty things that were probably in those pants?
Sparrow took the pants, held them upside down and shook them vigorously. Nothing fell out. He shook them again and something metallic clinked on the wooden floor.
I leaned down to look, taking extra care not to trip over my skirts. Finally, I found it. It was a plain silver band. "This mean anything to you?"
"Possibly a Mrs. Callinan, I'd say."
"But he didn't want some floozy in a bar to know about it."
"Bar?"
"Tavern?"
"Ah." Sparrow grinned at me. "Aye, though I've not seen a ring make much difference if a man or woman was aiming to have a bit o' fun."
"Me, either."
"Was that bitterness I heard, Stephanie Plum? Was there a Mister Plum before Morelli?"
I'm sure I twitched, thinking about my ex-husband, Dickie Orr, the horse's patootie. I remembered the day I found him having sex on the dining room table with my archenemy, Joyce Barnhardt. I smiled sweetly at Sparrow and avoided the question. "Mister Plum is my father."
"Ah."
Ignoring him, I kept digging though Callinan's trunk. There wasn't much. A dagger, a spare shirt and a Bible. I flipped through the pages of the Bible, but nothing fell out. Then I turned my attention to the trunk itself, feeling for any hidden compartments.
"Allow me, pet." Sparrow nudged me aside, poked at the lining on the top and revealed Callinan's hidey-hole. "Pirate instincts. They never fail to lead me to the treasure."
"Yeah? So where is it?"
"It's like you said, love. It's gone missing. Now all ye have to do is figure out what it was and who took it."
Lucky me.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A/N --- Wow! I can't believe all the positive feedback I'm getting on this. Thanks to all of you who've told me I've got Stephanie's voice down and that you like what I'm doing with Steph and Jack. blushing And special thanks to the alert reader who realized that the Buick dress, like the real Big Blue, is going to take a licking and keep on ticking. After all, what's a Plum adventure without an exploding car, Big Blue and somebody waggling their wonkie at Stephanie?
A number of you have asked where I got the idea from. Brilliant? I don't know about that. Crazy? Probably. But having fun? Absolutely. Thanks for joining me on the ride.