A/N: All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I use them for fun and not profit.

Chapter 2

Lula threw her chicken debris in the trash. "If you're going shopping, I'm coming too. I got me a real hot date and I need a new outfit."

"Okay," I said. "You and Tank celebrating something special?"

"Tank and me," Lula said, drawing herself up to her full 5'4'', "are no longer keeping company. I got a new man on the line."

"What?" I exclaimed. "I thought you guys were the real thing. What happened? When did it happen?"

"What happened is Tank don't communicate."

I rolled my eyes, "That's standard operating procedure for RangeMan. I think it's part of their training protocol. Avoid intimacy at any cost." I was surprised at the bitterness in my voice, but at the same time I knew why it was there.

"He won't tell me nothing about what's going on with him," Lula continued. "There has to be communication for a real relationship. I warned him and when it didn't change I dumped him!" It was said with vehemence, but when I looked at Lula there were tears in her eyes. When she saw I'd seen her emotion she wiped her face clean with the back of her hand and said, "Let's go shopping. I'm not riding in the junk heap you drive. We'll take the Firebird." That was my message the subject was closed.

I thought a quiet evening and a six-pack might elicit more details. I wasn't trying to be nosy. I wanted to be a friend and listen if she needed to talk. I knew I could use someone to talk to as well, and Lula had good instincts for her own self-preservation as well as that of her friends. More and more, though, I was thinking my next talk should be with a lawyer.

We swung through the bank and I cashed the check Connie had given me. For once, my credit card was going to stay in my wallet. This was a cash outing. I turned to Lula, "What are you looking for?"

"I wanna impress my date. I think I should get me some new lingerie. You never know how the night's gonna end up."

"Wow," I said, "You are really serious about having a hot date. Is this someone you've been seeing for a while?"

"Nah. He just called me up yesterday. Tank and I had words and when I got the opportunity to see another man I took it. I ain't gonna sit at home and waste my life away pining for Tank." She shot me a look that implied she thought that's what I was doing.

"Whatever happened with you and Officer Hottie?" she asked. "Is that why you don't want to go after Mooch?"

"What happened is…it's complicated and now's not the time. Lula we need some quality girl time. I'd like to tell you about it, but it's a long story. When you have a free evening we'll get together and I'll spill it all," I lied. I wouldn't be spilling it all to anyone, but maybe I could tell her enough to make my current situation seem plausible.

We entered the mall and headed for Macy's. I found a new pocketbook that would hold all my bounty hunting paraphernalia and I paid for it in cash. Lula was on a quest for a new peignoir set so I followed her to the lingerie department. The sales clerk was helpful and seemed knowledgeable. On impulse, I turned to her.

"Do you carry Carine Gilson lingerie?" I asked, mentioning the brand of the first thong I'd received? I wondered if she'd even be familiar with the label.

"Oh no, ma'am." I turned to see whom she was calling ma'am. Apparently, it was me. "We don't carry anything that expensive. You might be able to order it on the Internet but I don't think you can buy it in Trenton." Good to know, I thought. Maybe my stalker wasn't local, although the lack of postage on the envelopes didn't make it very likely.

Lula found an orange peignoir set and snatched it up without even questioning the price.

"Is this your first date with this new guy?" I asked.

"Sorta," Lula hesitated and then said, "It's Bunchy…you remember, he's that bookie we met a while back."

"Bunchy?" I was surprised. I remembered Bunchy and I remembered him being very interested in Lula. I also remembered he wasn't a bookie. He was FBI. I was pretty sure Lula was unaware of that fact. She had an aversion to all kinds of law enforcement going back to her time as a 'ho. I knew she'd been interested in Bunchy when she thought he was a bookie. If she didn't know Bunchy's occupation I wasn't going to tell her.

"Yeah, Bunchy ain't his real name, though. His real name is Bert Bronfman, and he's taking me out to dinner. If things go well I'll invite him in, and I might entertain him by slippin' into something more comfortable like this here new negligee."

"Wow, that would be moving pretty fast," I said. "Are you sure you're ready to jump from Tank to Bunchy?"

Lula sighed, "No, I'm not sure. Truth is Bunchy is a nice guy, but he don't attract me the way Tank does. But Tank can't have everything his way. He's got to open up if he wants to be in a relationship with me. I'm thinking Bunchy takin' me out might cause Tank to open up a little."

"Don't play with fire, Lula," I warned. "If you have strong feelings for Tank you should let him know. Tell him what you need from him." The second the words were out of my mouth I realized the ridiculousness of giving relationship advice to Lula. It had been so long since I'd been in a relationship I could barely remember it. It was hard to believe I'd gone so long without a man in my life.

Lula and I made it back to the bonds office late in the afternoon and I spent some time studying the file on Mooch Morelli. If I had to bring this guy in, I was going to act fast and try my hardest to avoid Joe. I hadn't bumped into him in over nine months. It had taken careful planning on both our parts to avoid one another so completely. There was some small measure of satisfaction in knowing he wanted to keep his distance from me as much as I wanted to stay away from him.

Mooch lived outside the Burg in an area not too far from St. Francis. I knew I probably wouldn't be lucky enough to find him at his own residence. I had the feeling he wasn't hiding from me, but rather from his cousin. I'd known Mooch almost as long as I'd known Joe. If he wasn't with Joe or his brother Tony then he was likely hiding out with a friend. All I had to do was figure out which one and things would be easy…or not.

On impulse I pulled the file and found Mooch's cell number. I called and was taken aback when he answered. His voice sounded so much like Joe's I was momentarily speechless.

"Mooch?" I questioned.

"Yeah, who wants to know?"

"It's Stephanie Plum. You missed your court date. You need to rebond."

"Shit, Stephanie, I can't do that. Joe's a little ticked at me right now. I gotta wait for him to cool off."

"I understand Joe is very upset," I said. "You were arrested for boinking his woman in a public place and you were very drunk."

"That's not what happened," Mooch said. His whiny voice was sounding less and less like Joe's. "I can explain everything, but Joe isn't in the mood to listen. I gotta let him calm down before I talk to him. He's really pissed. I got one of my other cousins trying to run interference for me. Aunt Angie wants us to get this thing settled."

Mooch wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Too much alcohol for too many years. It was a Morelli curse Joe had avoided. Mooch probably didn't even realize he'd tipped me off to his location. If he had a cousin helping him hide from Morelli it had to be Leo and Leo Morelli lived only a few blocks from my apartment. I stuffed the file into my new pocketbook and headed home. I had a stakeout to prepare for.