Two for the Dough

by Janet Evanovich

• ISBN13: 9780671001797
• ISBN10: 0671001795
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-30
• Publisher: Pocket

Summary

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is packing a whole lot of attitude -- not to mention stun guns, defense sprays, and a .38 Smith & Wesson. She's on the trail of Kenny Mancuso, from working-class Trenton, New Jersey, who has just shot his best friend. Fresh out of the army and suspiciously wealthy, Mancuso's also distantly related to Joe Morelli, a vice cop with questionable ethics, a libido in permanent overdrive, and a habit of horning in on Stephanie's investigations. Aided by her tough bounty-hunting pal, Ranger, and her funeral-hopping Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's soon staggering knee-deep in corpses, trying to shake Morelli...and stirring up a very nasty enemy.

Author Biography

Janet Evanovich, an award-winning author, has written eight books in the highly acclaimed Stephanie Plum series: One for the Money, Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, Four to Score, High Five, Hot Six, Seven Up, and Hard Eight. She lives with her family in New Hampshire. Visit her Web site at www.evanovich.com.

Excerpts

From Chapter 3Morelli and I had done battle before with only short-lived victories on both sides. I suspected this would be another war, of sorts. And I figured I'd have to learn how to live with it. If I went head-on with Morelli, he could make my life as a bounty hunter difficult to impossible.Not to say that I should be a total doormat. What was important was that I look like a doormat at appropriate moments. I decided this wasn't one of those moments and that my demeanor now should beangry and offended. This was an easy act to pull off, since it was true. I peeled out of the police lot, pretending to know where I was going when in fact I didn't. It was close to four, and I had no more stones to turn in the hunt for Mancuso, so I headed home, driving on autopilot, reviewing my progress.I knew I should go see Spiro, but I couldn't muster a lot of joy over the project. I didn't shareGrandma's enthusiasm for mortuaries. Actually, I thought death was just a bit creepy, and I thought Spiro was downright subterranean. Since I wasn't in all that good of a mood anyway, procrastination seemed like the way to go.I parked behind my building and skipped the elevator in favor of the stairs since the morning's blueberry pancakes were still oozing over the top of my Levi's. I let myself into my apartment and almost stepped on an envelope that had been shoved under the door. It was a plain white business-size envelope with my name printed in silver paste-on letters. I opened the envelope, removed the single piece of white paper, and read the two-sentence message, which had also been formed from paste-ons."Take a vacation. It will be good for your health."I didn't see any travel agency brochures stuck in the envelope, so I assumed this wasn't a cruise advertisement.I considered the other option. Threat. Of course, if the threat was from Kenny, that meant he was still in Trenton. Even better, it meant I'd done something to get him worried. Beyond Kenny I couldn't imagine who would be threatening me. Maybe one of Kenny's friends. Maybe Morelli. Maybe my mother.I said howdy to Rex, dumped my pocketbook and the envelope on the kitchen counter, and accessed myphone messages.My cousin Kitty, who worked at the bank, called to say she was keeping her eye on Mancuso's account just like I'd asked, but there was no new activity.My best friend since the day I was borm, Mary Lou Molnar, who was now Mary Lou Stankovic, called to ask if I'd dropped off the face of the earth since she hadn't heard from me since God knows when.And the last message was from Grandma Mazur."I hate these stupid machines," she said. "Always feel like a dang fool talking to nobody. I saw in the paper where there's gonna be a viewing for that gas station fellow tonight, and I could use a ride. Elsie Farnsworth said she'd take me, but I hate to go with her because she's got arthritis in her knees and sometimes her foot gets stuck on the gas pedal."A viewing for Moogey Bues. That seemed worthwhile. I went across the hall to borrow the paper from Mr. Wolesky. Mr. Wolesky kept his TV going day and night, so it was always necessary to pound real loud on his door. Then he'd open it and tell you not to knock his door down. When he had a heart attack four years ago, he called the ambulance but refused to get wheeled out until afterJeopardy!was over.Mr. Wolesky opened the door and glared out at me. "You don't have to knock the door down" he said."I'm not deaf you know.""I was wondering if I could borrow your paper.""As long as you bring it right back. I need the TV section.""I just wanted to check the viewings." I opened the paper to the obits and read down. Moogey Bues was at Stiva. Seven o'clock.I thanked Mr. Wolesky and returned his paper. I called Grandma and told her I'd pick her up at seven. I declined my mother's dinner invitation, promised her I wouldn't wear jeans to the viewing,disconnected, and, d