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“He’s dead,” Grandma said. “They were talking about it at the bakery. Eleanor’s son, Jimmy, is a paramedic, and he was at the scene last night. Someone found Mori by the dumpster behind Smart’s Tavern. Jimmy said Mori looked like Swiss cheese.”
“The report says twelve shots,” Lula said. “And it said they were self-inflicted.”
“That’s got to be a typo,” Grandma said. “Hard to self-inflict Swiss cheese.”
“Are there any rumors about him being involved in anything other than dry cleaning?” I asked Grandma.
“You mean something shady? Not that I know. He was just a grouchy bachelor. Never married. Didn’t even have a dog. Lived in a row house on Marbury Street for his whole life. Inherited it when his parents passed. I imagine he was sitting on a chunk of money. He had a good business going and he was a real tightwad.”
“Vinnie bonded him out and Mori used a commemorative coin as security,” I said.
“That sounds like him,” Grandma said. “Probably lifted the coin from someone’s jacket pocket when it came in to get cleaned. He had a sign up in his place that said anything he found he’d keep. He meant it too. We don’t take our dry cleaning to Mori. We take ours to Tide at the strip mall.”
“You got a thing about that coin,” Lula said to me. “I don’t see how it ties to Connie, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“The coin was valuable. Mori offered Vinnie money for it.”
Lula took a second doughnut. “So, then why’d Mori give it to Vinnie if it was so valuable? And why’s Mori so dead? And I still don’t see what it’s got to do with Connie.”
“When I talked to Vinnie just now, he said a couple daysago Mori came into the office to get his coin back. Vinnie told Mori that he didn’t have the coin. Somehow the coin got lost. Mori went gonzo, grabbing Vinnie and yelling that he was lying. Connie stun gunned Mori and dragged him out of the office. A car came and picked Mori up and drove away with him. Now Mori is dead.
“I think Mori lifted the coin from the wrong pocket, thinking it was a fun trinket. The owner came back looking for it, and Mori said he gave it to Vinnie. The original owner couldn’t get in touch with Vinnie, so he forced Connie to let him into the office. He searched the storeroom, couldn’t find the coin, and he took Connie as a hostage.”
“Well, I didn’t know none of that,” Lula said. “That’s real suspicious.”
A worse scenario was that they’d disposed of Connie just as they’d disposed of Mori, but I didn’t want to say it aloud.
The office phone rang, and we all stared at it.
“Someone should answer it,” Lula said.
I put it on speakerphone. “Vincent Plum Bail Bonds,” I said. “This is Stephanie speaking.”
“I want to talk to Vinnie.”
Lula waved her arms in the air and mouthed,It’s him. It’s him!
“Vinnie is out of town. I’m Stephanie Plum, and I’m in charge of the office in his absence. How can I help you?”
“Oh jeez, you’re the disaster bounty hunter, right? You’re in the news all the time.”
“Notallthe time,” I said.
“This is personal between me and Vinnie. He has something I want, and I have something he wants.”
“Unfortunately, he isn’t here, so you’re going to have to deal with me. Let’s start by telling me what it is that you want.”
“It’s a coin that was given to Vinnie as security. The coin was stolen, and the rightful owner wants it returned.”
“I’ll be happy to check our inventory. Who gave Vinnie the coin?”
“Paul Mori.”
I put the caller on hold.
“I knew it!” Lula said. “I knew it was all about that coin. And he’s got Connie too. Mark my words.”
I returned to the caller. “I’m sorry, but the coin isn’t in our inventory. You must be mistaken.”
