Page 19 of Lean Mean Thirteen (Stephanie Plum 13)

“Car!” I said to Lula.

We ran to the back of the house and saw Coglin pull away in a green Isuzu SUV. We turned and sprinted through the house, out the door to the Vic.

“There he goes,” Lula said, pointing to the corner. “South on Centerline.”

I had the Vic in gear and moving. I took the corner on two wheels and put my foot to the floor. Coglin was a block ahead of me.

“He's turning,” Lula said.

“I'm on it.”

“He's got a light,” Lula said. “He has to stop for the light.”

I jumped on the brake, but Coglin ran it. He sailed through the light and was lost in traffic. “Guess he didn't feel like going to jail,” Lula said.

The light changed and I slowly moved forward. I looked over at Lula and saw she still had

the squirrel.

"We were in such a rush to get out of the house, I forgot I was holding this here mutant

rodent," Lula said.

“It doesn't look like a third eye,” I said to her. "It looks like a switch. Maybe this is a

mechanical rodent."

Lula pushed the switch and studied it. “It's making a noise. It's sort of ticking. It's…” BANG. The squirrel exploded.

We both shrieked. I jumped the curb and sideswiped a streetlight.

“What the fuck?” Lula said.

“Are you okay?”

"No, I'm not okay. That squirrel just friggin' blew hisself apart on me. I got squirrel guts on

me."

“Doesn't look like guts,” I said, examining the hair and skin plastered to the dashboard.

“Looks like he was stuffed with some kind of foam that melted when it exploded.” “This guy's building rodent

bombs,” Lula said. "We should report him to someone. You

can't just go around building rodent bombs, can you?"

I backed up and tried to open my door, but it wouldn't open. I rolled the window down,

climbed out Dukes of Hazzard style, and examined the damage. Some of the door was bashed

in where I'd hit the light. I climbed back into the car and drove off the sidewalk. “I got foam and squirrel hair stuck to me,” Lula said. "I probably need a rabies shot or

something."

“Yeah,” I said. "Problem is, I don't know whether to take you to a veterinarian or an

upholsterer."

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