Motor Mouth - Janet Evanovich [100]
“We heard rumors that you were in charge, but I didn’t know if it was true,” I said to Suzanne.
“I was second in line as executor. And since Ray still hasn’t surfaced, I’m in charge until my sons come of age.”
“No word about Ray?”
“Miranda’s been in touch, making ransom noises. I told him he’d have to pay me to take Ray back. He also said the only thing they found in the bag of dog shit was dog shit. I voiced surprise over that. He then offered to market my product for me, and I declined.”
“What happens if Ray returns?”
“I suppose he could fight me for executorship, but I’ve had a chance to go into his files and collect evidence against him. He’d been robbing the company for years. The charges against him would be embezzling, at the very least. And I’m not wasting any time setting safeguards in place to protect Huevo property. The new battery and the wireless technology are in negotiation with a reputable buyer. The process is far enough along that Miranda doesn’t have an incentive to strong-arm me into partnership with him.”
“Looks like you’re going hands-on with the race-car side of Huevo,” Hooker said.
“I’m hands-on with everything my kids own,” Suzanne said. “I thought it would be good to stop around today and make my presence felt.”
Hooker’s mechanic was under the hood of the primary triple two. He revved the engine and the sound was deafening.
“Gotta go,” Suzanne said when the engine cut back. “I need to talk to Dickie before he gets in the car today.”
“Yeah,” Hooker said on a whisper to me. “Shore him up so he’s not too crushed when he loses because he’s not running with traction control.”
“About traction control,” I said to Hooker. “It turned out the gizmo wasn’t working at Homestead.”
“Are you shitting me?”
“Spanky drove a great race.”
“That is so depressing,” Hooker said. “I’m going to need some serious cheering up when we get back to the house.”
“And I suppose I’d be expected to help with the cheering up?”
Hooker smiled at me. “I could cheer myself up, but it’s a lot nicer when we get cheered up together.”
I smiled back at him. Something to look forward to. Getting cheered up with Hooker was one of my favorite things to do these days.
Suzanne had detoured to the garage area to speak to her crew chief. She stood with one hand on the dog bag, one hand at her side, her feet planted wide. She was very much the owner. Woman in charge. She finished her conversation, turned on her heel, and stalked off to the hauler to meet with Dickie.
“Something else to think about,” I said to Hooker. “Here’s the bad news. Any woman who can swing her ass like that in four-inch heels and has mother bear programmed into her hormone system will do whatever needs to be done to keep the cubs in pizza money. I wouldn’t be surprised if she used her technology to keep cheating. It’s virtually undetectable.”
“Is there good news?” Hooker wanted to know.
“Felicia called me the day after we flew out of Miami. She was walking barefoot through her dining room and pricked her foot on something sharp in the carpet. Turned out it was the chip. Beans hadn’t eaten it after all. I sent it to my pal Steven, and he backed his way through it and reproduced it for me. I just got it from FedEx yesterday. And not only do I have the duplicated technology, but I’ve come up with a way to improve on it. Because in our case, the driver would be controlling the technology, I can insert the remote into a man’s sport watch, eliminating the need for the relay.”
Hooker slid an arm around my shoulders and hugged me into him. “Darlin’!”
About the Author
JANET EVANOVICH is the recipient of the Silver Dagger, Last Laugh, Lefty, and John Creasey Memorial awards and the two-time recipient of the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association’s Dilys Award. She lives in Florida…sometimes.
www.evanovich.com
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