22 Caliber - A Stephanie Plum-inspired Story

Chapter Nineteen

The next day Hal and I decided to go get Kenchiro. Wearing my usual outfit of jeans, t-shirt, hoody and Converse sneakers, I checked my bag to ensure I had a can of pepper spray and a pair of cuffs. I reviewed Kenchiro's file with Hal. "We have to be careful with him", I said. "He's a very angry man who now knows what I look like. He is partial to his truck and will try to get away in it."

We drove out to The Pines, speaking very little on the drive. Hal appeared to have been taking lessons from Ranger on getting in touch with his Zen. He looked relaxed, hands loose on the steering wheel, eyes checking the mirrors constantly for potential danger. I wasn't quite so relaxed. The last time I met up with Kenchiro I got shot.

We found Kenchiro's trailer and drove past once we ascertained Kenchiro was there. Hal parked about two hundred yards away from the trailer, behind a clump of trees, and opened up the back of the car. He got out flak vests, cuffs, stun gun and more ammunition. We were going in loaded for bear.

Hal handed me a flak vest and put one on himself. "You need to wear this. I don't want you to get shot – again." He also handed me an extra gun. "Ranger said your gun is in a cookie jar? Is that right?" I nodded yes. "Okay, I'll ask why later. Here's an extra gun for you now." He made sure it was loaded and handed it to me.

"That's okay. I have pepper spray", I said. "I don't need a gun."

Hal ignored me. "Do you know how to use it?" I nodded yes. "Good, then Ranger says you have to carry it."

Oh, goody. A gun.

We got back in the car and returned to Kenchiro's trailer. Like I had, Hal parked between Kenchiro's truck and his home. We went up to the front stoop and rapped on the door. There was no answer. Hal opened the door and yelled, "bond enforcement." No response. Hal took one step into the trailer when we heard the sound of a shotgun ratcheting as it got ready to shoot. Hal turned around and dove over me, knocked me off the steps of the stoop and onto the hard ground beneath as the first shots hit the door. I struggled to breathe. Hal had knocked the wind out of me when we landed. Hal stayed on top of me as Kenchiro ran past us, got in his truck and drove away.

Hal rolled off me. He looked worried. "Are you okay?" he asked. I continued to struggle to get air in me. By the time I was able to answer, Hal had ripped off my flak vest and was inspecting me for bullet holes.

"I'm okay. Just winded", I said. "How about you?"

"I'm okay. Are you sure you weren't shot?"

"No", I said. "I wasn't shot."

"Thank God. Ranger would kill me. What do you want to do now? Stakeout or regroup?"

"Let's regroup and come back tomorrow", I said. We took off our vests and put away our guns and other paraphernalia.

"Okay. On the way back you could tell me why you keep your gun in a cookie jar."

We decided we would go after Dorothea Pringle in the afternoon. But on the way back to Trenton I got a call from my mom. "Why don't you come for lunch?" she asked.

"I can, but I'll be bringing my new partner with me. Is that okay?" I asked.

"Sure, we have plenty. We have an Entemann's coffee cake and fresh bread from Giovichinni's and I've just made a pot of minestrone. What happened to Lula?"

"Nothing. Hal is on loan to me from Ranger."

I gave Hal directions to my parents' house. When we got there, my mother and grandmother were waiting at the door. "Oh, my, he's a big one, isn't he?" my grandmother said. Hal just smiled. I guess he was used to hearing that.