Full Scoop by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes Read Free Book Online Page A

be sending an agent to look after the doc and her daughter?” Queenie added.
    “I just did,” Zack said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of time to plan. I was on a plane within minutes of learning about Stanton’s escape. You can’t get service that quick in a fast-food restaurant. And to tell you the truth, I don’t want people knowing. Only reason I blurted it out like I did was because I was losing oxygen, and my aunt Gertrude, rest her soul, was trying to convince me to come to the light.”
    All four stared back as though they didn’t know what to make of him. “I’m kidding about Aunt Gertrude,” he said. “I don’t even have an Aunt Gertrude.”
    “So if nobody is supposed to know who you are what are we going to tell people?” Maggie asked.
    “I’m a long-lost relative?” He looked at Mel. “I could be your favorite uncle.”
    “I don’t have an uncle. My dad was an orphan.”
    “We’ll pretend.”
    Everest snapped his fingers. “I get it! He’s undercover. But he’s smarter than most undercover cops because they like to blend. People like Carl Lee Stanton will be looking for someone who blends. Zack is definitely not blending; you can see that van three blocks away. Not to mention the beard and Hawaiian shirt.”
    Maggie looked up from her bag. Beard? Hawaiian shirt? She felt the hairs stand on the back of her neck as she recalled Destiny Moultrie’s questions.
    “In other words,” Everest said. “Zack is so obvious that he’s not obvious. Does that make sense?”
    “I think I get it,” Zack said.
    “You need to sit down so I can reach your head,” Maggie said, noting how tall he was. The fact that she noticed the width of his shoulders as well stymied her.
    “I don’t think very many people know my dad was orphaned,” Mel said.
    “Just call me Uncle Zack,” he said, and pulled his pistol from the back of his jeans. Maggie yelped and pushed Mel behind her, Queenie started down the hall.
    Everest tried to wrestle the gun from him.
    “Hold it!” Zack said. “I’m not going to shoot anybody. I’m just trying to get comfortable.”
    Everest backed off. “Sorry. Just doing my job.”
    Zack offered the gun, handle first, to Maggie. “Would you please put this on top of your refrigerator so it’ll be out of the way?”
    “Huh?” She stared at the weapon. “Do we have to keep it inside?”
    Zack shrugged. “I guess I could lock it in the van, but if Stanton and his buddies show up, one of you will have to cover me while I run out for it.”
    “Okay,” Maggie said begrudgingly. She took the gun between two fingers and very slowly crossed the room with it as though it were a hand grenade, and she feared it would explode at any moment. “I hate guns,” she added as she placed it on the refrigerator.
    Zack gave her a sympathetic nod. “I don’t really have a choice. My boss sort of expects me to keep one on me.” He glanced about the group. “Listen, if it’ll make everybody feel better you can call the bureau and check me out. Thomas Helms, the director, will vouch for me.”
    “I think we all need to settle down,” Maggie said. “Mr. Madden, would you like something to eat or drink? Or should I refer to you as Agent Madden?”
    “Just call me Zack. I’m not hungry. I had something called a shrimp burger on the drive from the airport. Now that’s something you don’t see a lot of in Virginia.” He caught Queenie staring, eyes narrowed like slits. “Uh-oh, I’m going to be real embarrassed if you tell me I have a shrimp hull wedged between my teeth.”
    “I think she’s giving you the eye, ” Everest said, almost reverently.
    “I’m thinking you don’t look so good,” Queenie said, pulling a chair from the table and sitting. Everest and Mel sat as well. “You look like you need to be in the hospital.”
    “You’d think the FBI would have sent someone healthy,” Mel said, glancing at the cast on his right arm. “I hope you don’t shoot with your