Lula pulled up in her firebird in a suit. And I mean a full on suit. She was wearing black pants and jacket, a white shirt, with a bright orange vest and tie. On anyone else it would have made them look like a Halloween float, but on Lula it worked. Something about her just had to stand out, and even she couldn't dress fully normal.

"We going to eat first, 'cause you know I can't do this on an empty stomach. I mean I know I'm just driving and all, but if I get hungry I'll have to leave, and what kind of friend would I be if I left you stranded?"

My eyebrows rose half an inch at the statement. "You've left me stranded multiple times."

"Yeah, but that was on account of we was at a police station, and you know how that place gives me the runs. I was doing you a favor. Didn't want you to have to be around when they hit."

"Gee, thanks."

"Huhn." She put her hands on her hips and swung her head forward, pursing her lips out. "Well you ain't gotta get snippy about it. I might just take myself on home and let you drive yourself around. I got more important things to do anyways."

"Like?"

"Like find me a new job. I need to work somewhere where I get paid based on my skill level."

"You file one hour a week, I think you're getting more than paid for the work you do."

"Show's what you know. I been filing like crazy these last few days, but you wasn't around to see. Speaking of that, where you been? Vinnie's been going crazy. He actually got ready to call Joyce and rehire her but Connie and me told him to wait a few more days. Good thing you showed or else she'd be out here catching skips."

"Well I guess we better get going then. Wouldn't want Vinnie to do anyone any favors."

We climbed in Lula's car and I swore I could feel my teeth rattling loose from my jaw as she turned the music and bass up. At Cluck in a Bucket we got an assortment of wings, some sides and a whole bucket of biscuits. Lula ordered a gallon of coke, I stuck with a large. Pulling the files out of my bag I flipped through them.

"How about we go after Ernie Teller."

"That name sounds familiar. Did we already bring him in once?"

"Yeah, he was the one that threw mashed potatoes out the window at you when you called him a crazy ass cracker."

"Well he is. What he get picked up for this time?"

"Assault with a deadly weapon."

"Maybe we should skip over that one. It ain't that I'm scared, its just that I'm full, and if he gonna be throwing food I want it thrown at me on an empty stomach."

"Good idea. How about Jason Barnes. Says here he is wanted for armed robbery."

"That might not be too bad. Anyone less crazy?"

"He looks to be the least. And on the bright side it says here he held up a fast food store, and the deadly weapon was a can of wasp repellant."

"Huhn. Crazy ass cracker."

Lula parked the firebird outside of Jason's apartment complex. The building was brick, one story, and had probably seen better days. His address was the end unit and we walked our way down, listening for any signs that someone was home.

"I thought you were staying in the car?"

"Yeah right. You know how many cars you've gotten blown up. I'm not sitting in there in case your luck strikes again. I just bought this suit."

"Fine, but let me do all the talking and no shooting."

"You always got the same rules. Don't you ever change nothing up? Variety is the spice of life, that's why they got those mix and match meals at fast food places."

I turned to glare at her and she stepped back. "Jeez, must be someone's time of the month."

"It is not my time of the month!"

"Huhn."

"Just go take the back door okay?"

"You ever heard of please? Sure works a lot better when you say please."

"Please." My teeth were slammed together and I could feel my eye starting to twitch.

Just then the front door opened and a man stuck his head out. "Could you please keep it down out here, some of us are trying to sleep." He was wearing cut off sweats and nothing else. His beer belly was covered in hair and orange cheese crumbs and the hair on his head was thin and gray.

"Jason Barnes?"

"Yeah, who wants to know?"

"I'm Stephanie Plum, I'm here from Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. You missed your court date and I just need to take you down town to reschedule."

"I don't know. You don't look like you represent anyone but Wal-Mart."

I resented that. I was wearing new jeans and a plain white shirt I'd found on Joe's floor that was most likely clean. It was a little too big for me, but not noticeably. Lula stepped forward then and I felt the color drain from my face.

"Pay her no mind. If you would just come with me I'll take you to the court and we'll get you all set with a new appointment."

"Okay, let me just put on some clothes."

This was the point when everything always went wrong. Every time someone said to give them a minute they bolted, either out a back door, through a window, or out some secret passage that I never could find. The problem was today I didn't care. Let him run, so what? Right now I was letting Lula run the show, and when he ran I would blame it all on her. Two minutes later we were still standing outside and in one more minute I'd mark him as gone. Just then the door opened and Jason Barnes came out, fully dressed and ready to go. Damn it.

On the way downtown we stopped and picked up another skip, this scenario played out just as the one before had, but the guy got a few more insults about me in before Lula took over. I was completely and utterly stunned. Maybe Lula was actually on to something. Honestly I didn't want to believe it, but it was hard to deny that she had had much better luck than me. Hell, maybe it was just because I was off my game today. That reasoning sounded much better.

"You aren't going to leave when I go inside are you?"

"Do you know who you're talking to? I'm a changed woman."

"Okay, but are you going to leave?"

"Huhn."

That was all the answer I would get from her. I lead the two skips inside, collected my body receipts and got a lot of disapproving looks from the guys hanging around. Carl Constanza was coming out of a door in the hallway when I was waiting on my last paper. Carl and I went way back, and recently he'd had the pleasure of responding to most of the calls that came in involving me.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just brought in two skips."

"Funny. What are you really doing here?"

"Really, I just brought two in."

"But you're clothes aren't torn and you don't have salad dressing in your hair."

"Guess I'm getting better every day."

I left then. I was a good liar, but I didn't want to say much more or I'd give away my secret. When I got to the lot I looked around and sure enough, Lula was gone. Reaching in my purse I pulled out my phone to call her but it went straight to voicemail. Great. Not only had she stranded me, but she was ignoring my calls. Oh well, she'd have to talk to me some time if she wanted her portion of the money. Looking out in the lot I spotted a familiar car and I dialed my phone.

"Yo." Ranger always kept it simple

"Yo yourself. What are you doing at the station?"

"Paperwork. I'll be out in a minute."

He disconnected and I sat down on the top step. Life with Ranger in it was complicated. My feelings for him were strong, but they were different than the ones I had with Joe. Ranger wasn't emotionally available, and though at times that made things easier, it wasn't exactly what I wanted. Marriage, and a family, and talk of feelings were all things that were on Ranger's no go list. He had been married once, and even had a daughter that he literally gave his life for, but that was all in his past. Most people couldn't tell what Ranger was thinking or feeling, but during the time I had spent with him I was slowly learning how to read him.

"What's the paperwork for?"

"Tim Stringer."

"Who's Tim Stringer?"

"Serial killer."

"Oh. Did he skip bond or something?"

"Not yet, but we're trying to keep him from doing it. The police have handed his surveillance over to me since they don't have the staff or equipment for that sort of operation."

"What kind of paperwork did you have to fill out for that?"

"Something new they just drew up. Basically it says I won't kill him while he is in my custody."

"Does this paperwork mean they do or don't know you?"

"Let's just say it was your boyfriend's idea." He pulled me into him then and kissed me. There was no tongue but it was enough to make my heart stop for a minute. "Where's your ride."

"She took off."

"Get in."

Today Ranger was driving the Porsche Turbo. All Ranger's cars were black, their origin unknown and probably questionable. But none of that mattered. I'd driven some of his cars before, most of which met a horrible ending, and they were always perfect. They smelled of new car and Ranger's delicious Bulgar shower gel, they all had lock boxes under the seat with a gun in them, and were tracked twenty-four seven by his staff.

"Babe."

"Sorry, I was just smelling."

"Miss me?"

"Something like that."

I did miss Ranger in some ways. In other ways I was scared to be alone with him. Sometimes I wasn't sure I could control myself around him much longer and one of these times I'd just jump him. Not that he would mind, but there was no way Joe would go for that. They had a working relationship that allowed them to be civil and put things aside to bring in the bad guys. But when it came to personal they would kill each other, and I worried it was over me. Okay, I didn't really worry about it, but I knew it was about me, and that didn't really sit well in my stomach.

"I don't want to get in the middle of things, but there is something I think you should know." We were parked in front of the bonds office and he was staring straight out the window, not looking at me. This couldn't be good.

"Okay. What's up?"

"Joyce Barnhardt was at the station today."

"Great. Let me guess, she was looking for Joe?"

"She was in his office with him for awhile. I'm not saying anything happened, but I know how she is, and I just thought you should know."

"You know, most guys would tell a girl this to get in their pants."

"Babe," He leaned over across me, pulling the handle to open the door before kissing me on the cheek. "If I wanted in your pants, I'd be in them."

And that was true. I composed myself enough to be able to walk and exited the car. Connie was staring out the window at us and bouncing in her seat as I walked through the door.

"What was all that about? Did he just kiss you on the cheek?"

"Lula abandoned me at the station and Ranger just happened to be there so he gave me a ride. And yeah. He umm, he kissed me on the cheek."

"Oh my." She was fanning herself with her hand now. And I knew just what she meant. "You smell like him. Its almost too much."

"I'll just go then, can you make half this amount out to me and half to Lula?"

"Half? I thought you gave her thirty percent."

"I should give her all of it. She practically handled both of them by herself."

"Lula?" Connie stopped writing and looked up at me.

"Don't ask."

Morelli brought home subs for dinner. Most people would get tired of meatball subs every day, but we weren't most people. He was finishing off his second beer when the phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, looked at the screen and hit the end button as his eyes rolled up in his head.

"Who was that?"

"No one important."

"Huhn." Now I was curious. "Want another beer?"

"Trying to get me drunk?"

"Maybe." In reality I wasn't. I was trying to distract him so I could get his phone and see who had called. Something made me think it was Ranger calling, but then again, he probably would have answered.

"I'm gonna take Bob out and then, yes, I'll have another beer." He kissed the top of my head and I made a show of picking up the trash and heading for the kitchen.

As soon as he was out the door I quietly ran back into the living room and looked on the table. His phone was there. I picked it up and scrolled through the call history. The number seemed familiar, but instead of calling it back I wrote it down on a napkin and put everything back how it was. Quickly I called Connie and asked her if she knew the number.

"Of course, that's Joyce's cell phone. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, I just, umm. I saw it on some ad for something."

"Like a personal ad?"

"Yeah, it was on the internet."

"Oh my god! You'll have to send it to me."

"What?" I made static sounds, and hung up on her. Connie wouldn't call back, and I'd find a way to avoid her tomorrow.

Things were getting weird, but I tried not to jump to conclusions. More than anything I wanted to smack him upside the head and yell at him, but I didn't have all the facts. I was sure there was a completely normal explanation for this. Yeah, like they were sleeping together. NO! Like he was working on a case, and somehow she was involved. That might just work. I told myself that over and over until I almost half way, sort of believed it. Just as I was convincing myself Bob and Morelli came back in the house and we all headed upstairs.

After we'd both gotten ready for bed I knew I wasn't ready for this. My mind was still swimming with thoughts of him and Joyce and I couldn't even imagine lying in bed next to him, let alone being intimate. I had to stall and find a way to get him to fall asleep before he had a chance to make a move. From personal experience I knew that was very far fetched. He'd wait up all night if it meant a chance to get some. On to plan B.

"I'm gonna go downstairs and get a drink, do you want anything?"

"I sure do, but it isn't in the fridge."

"I'll be back in a minute, I just really need a drink, my uhh, my throat is dry."

"Stephanie."

"One minute." Crap. He was on to me.

I darted down the stairs, grabbed my bag and my keys and flew out the front door. I was pulling out of my parking space when he appeared in the doorway, shaking his head. My phone rang ten seconds later and I hit the end button. All the way home it rang and I finally turned it off, sick of looking at the little red voicemail light. There was a good chance he would come to my house looking for me, but I figured if I locked all my locks he would give up trying to get in and go home.

An hour later he hadn't shown up and I figured it was safe to check my voicemail. There was only one message.

"What the hell?"

After I listened to it I curled up in my bed and tried to fall asleep. No use. There was no food in the fridge, no cable to keep me occupied and if I was being honest I wasn't able to fall asleep alone. Sighing I dragged myself out of bed, gathered up all my stuff and locked my door behind me. My car was still warm and I pulled out and drove down the empty streets back to Morelli's house.

When I walked up the stairs and climbed into bed he was asleep, but stirred and looked at me. "Don't ask." I mumbled and pulled the covers tightly around me. He draped an arm across my stomach and pulled me in close, nuzzling his nose into my neck. I fell asleep almost instantly and woke up alone. There was a note taped to the mirror in the bathroom.

I'LL BE HOME AROUND FIVE THIRTY AND HOPEFULLY BY THEN YOU WILL HAVE MADE UP A GOOD ENOUGH STORY TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT, OR ELSE….

I gulped down the lump in my throat. Or else was a pretty big threat, and it wasn't one that meant physical harm, it was one that meant other kinds of torture. Dragging myself into the shower I tried to rinse away all the thoughts of Joyce, but it just didn't work. Pouring my coffee I trudged around the house, trying to find something to wear today. I'd be working at the mall again, which meant I could avoid Connie and Lula. At least something was working out for me.

Barbie was running around like crazy when I arrived. She was changing all the clothes on the manikins and she wanted my help.

"If you just look at this piece of paper it will show you exactly how they are supposed to look and where everything needs to go. I've got a meeting to go to, but I'll be back in an hour or so. I'm changing your schedule for next week so make sure you get a copy of it before you leave today."

And with that she was gone, and I was left with a store full of naked plastic ladies. Once I got the hang of it, it was easy work, and much better than folding bras. I had everything all set up and dressed when I heard a familiar voice behind me. My stomach dropped into my toes when I turned around and came face to face with Lula.

"Girl! You didn't tell me you was workin here. How you gonna hold out on me. I bet you get a discount and everything. And after all I done for you."

"You left me stranded at the police station. I had to get a ride home from Ranger."

"Now I call that a favor. You know that Ranger is finer than a two-dollar bill. So you get a discount or what?"

"Thirty percent."

"And you wasn't even gonna tell me? I thought we was friends."

"They don't keep anything here in stock that would fit you."

"Now see, since we friends I'm gonna overlook that and not get angry."

"Look, I didn't want to tell anyone I was working here because I wasn't sure if it would work out. This is only my first week and I didn't want my mother to get her hopes up thinking I was quitting bond work."

"Are you? I mean, you've only brought in four skips this week and two of them was all on account of me."

"I don't know what I'm doing. This job is just part time, so it won't pay the rent."

"It would if you moved in with that fine ass Morelli. I bet he'd let you live there rent free even."

She had a point, but I wasn't ready to think about a permanent move just yet. "Look I get off in an hour. Wait around and we'll go out and bring in a few more skips okay?"

"I guess I could, I mean I don't have work today."

"You got a job?"

"Not yet. That's why I don't got work today."

Lula left and I finished up my last hour of work. My schedule for next week was more standard and would allow me to work both jobs easier. I was set to be in Monday to Friday from ten till three. That meant I would have the weekends off, and I could go out and get skips in the afternoons. Sometimes that was a better choice because when you tried to get them too early in the morning they were still hung-over and not in the best mood.

I found Lula in the food court and we headed outside. She refused to ride in my car, and honestly I couldn't blame her, she wouldn't fit so well in it. Not to mention two doors didn't mesh well with handcuffed people. When I got in the car I made her promise that she wouldn't leave me again, and we headed off to our first folder.

"Milton Daford. Forty-eight, and charged with public intoxication. This one shouldn't be too bad."

"Damn straight. But that is all on account of how you're dressed."

I was still in my black skirt and blazer with a white shirt under it and heels. Great. Lula better be right about this dressing for the job thing because if I had to chase anyone I was going to be in big trouble.

We pulled up to his row house and I told Lula to take the back. My cuffs were tucked into the top of my skirt and I had my pepper spray out and in hand. I knocked softly on the door, and it opened moments later. Milton Daford was drunk as a skunk and practically fell into my arms. Lula ran around when she heard him hit the pavement.

"See. What I tell you. It's all about the clothes."