“If anything happens I’ll call you,” Jeanne Ellen said.
“That’s a big fib.”
“True, again. Let me tell you something that isn’t a fib. If you don’t leave, I’ll put a bullet hole in your car.”
I knew from past experience that bullet holes were very bad for resale. I disconnected, put the car in gear, and drove away. I drove exactly two blocks and parked in front of a small white ranch. I locked up and walked around the block until I was directly behind Dotty’s house, one street over. There was no activity on the street. Not a lot of life visible from Dotty’s neighbors. Everyone was still at the mall, the soccer game, the Little League game, the car wash. I cut between two houses and straddled the white picket fence that enclosed Dotty’s backyard. I crossed the small yard, and knocked on Dotty’s back door. Dotty opened the door and stared out at me, surprised to find a strange woman on her property.
“I’m Stephanie Plum,” I said. “I hope I didn’t startle you by showing up at your back door like this.”
Relief replaced surprise. “Of course, your parents live next to Mabel Markowitz. I went to school with your sister.”
“I’d like to talk to you about Evelyn. Mabel is worried about her, and I said I’d do some inquiring around. I came to the back door because the front of your house is under surveillance.”
Dotty’s mouth dropped and her eyes widened. “Someone’s watching me?”
“Steven Soder has hired a private detective to find Annie. The detective’s name is Jeanne Ellen Burrows, and she’s in a black Jaguar, behind the blue van. I spotted her when I drove up, and I didn’t want her to see me, so I came through the back.” Take that, Jeanne Ellen Burrows. Direct hit.
“Omigod,” Dottie said. “What should I do?”
“Do you know where Evelyn is?”
“No. Sorry. Evelyn and I sort of lost touch.”
She was lying. She’d waited too long to say no. And now spots of color were booming on her cheeks. She was possibly the worst liar I’d ever seen. She was a disgrace to Burg women. Burg women were
“You mean
“Careful isn’t good enough. Jeanne Ellen will follow you, and you’ll never see her. Don’t go anywhere near Evelyn. Stay away from her.”
Dotty wasn’t liking this advice. “Hmmm,” she said.
“Maybe we should talk about Evelyn.”
She shook her head. “I can’t talk about Evelyn.”
I gave her my card. “Call me if you change your mind. If Evelyn gets in touch with you, and you need to go see her, please consider letting me help you. You can call Mabel and check me out.”
Dotty looked at the card and nodded. “Okay.”
I let myself out the back door and slipped through the yards to the street. I walked the half block back to my car and took off for home.
**********************
I STEPPED OUT of the elevator and felt my heart sink at the sight of Kloughn camping in my hall. He was sitting with his back to the wall, legs outstretched, arms crossed over his chest. His face brightened when he saw me, and he scrambled to his feet.
“Boy,” he said, “you’ve been gone all afternoon. Where were you? You didn’t catch Bender, did you? You wouldn’t catch him without me, would you? I mean, we’re a team, right?”
“Right,” I said. “We’re a team.” A team without handcuffs.
