Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. Any other character is a figment of my imagination and any similarities to real persons is merely a coincidence. If the dialogue seems familiar it is probably either a summary or possibly even word for word from one of J.E.'s books 1-8. Any mistakes in citing the spot in the book or not citing are mine. The Beginning has a lot of content from books 1-8, if the dialogue looks like hers then it is probably hers.

Spoilers: For now books 1 through 8. The first two chapters have a lot from J.E. books included, either in summary form or actual word for word.

Note: I really want to keep it a secret for now who she ends up with. Although you may not be happy with what Morelli/Ranger has done, he is not a totally bad person.

Chapter 1: The Beginning-Part 1

Stephanie's POV:

The two men I'd spent the past few years loving and yo-yoing back and forth between were both loaded on stretchers into ambulances with gunshot wounds. One of them got shot because he stepped in front of me to take the bullet meant for me. The other was shot by his own partner. I couldn't ride with both of them, but it was no contest. Before the EMT could close the doors I slipped inside and sat beside the one man I knew I could trust with my life. My whole world had been turned upside down in the past three days, but that was the one true fact I knew I could still count on.

How was my world turned upside down? Well to explain, I'd have to go back to the beginning. Not just three days ago, but further back to the time I was 6 years old...

My name is Stephanie Plum, in more recent years I've been known as The Bombshell Bounty Hunter, Cupcake, and Babe. Back then I was just known as Stephanie Plum. I was born in Trenton, New Jersey where I lived in a two story duplex. Our half was yellow with a brown shingle roof. We lived in a neighborhood in Chambersburg known as 'The Burg'.

When I was 6 years old I'd been warned to stay away from the Morelli boys because they were trouble. But, when 8 year old Joe Morelli promised to show me a new game, I'd eagerly followed him to his parents garage. Ten years later he nailed me on the floor of the Tasty Pastry after I'd closed the store for the night. Our next meeting was three years later when I was driving my dad's Buick and saw Morelli on the sidewalk by Giovichinni's Meat Market. I'd gunned the Buick, jumped the curb and knocked Morelli on his ass. He had a broken leg and I felt happier. Our next meeting wouldn't take place for eleven years. I guess that's where this story truly begins.

I was in desperate need of a job and so I blackmailed my cousin Vinnie into hiring me on as a Bounty Hunter and one of the cases I landed was Joe Morelli. To say Morelli was less than thrilled when I met up with him would be an understatement. But, he'd easily left me standing, watching him drive away. Morelli was in one of those ambulances. He'd been shot and was on his way to St. Francis Hospital.

That's about the same time I met the other man in my life. Ricardo Carlos Manoso, Aka Ranger, Aka Batman, was a bad ass Bounty Hunter who did high bonds captures for Vinnie. Connie Rizzoli, Vinnie's secretary called Ranger and asked him to meet me and give me some pointers. I think I amused Ranger more than anything. He laughed when he found out Vinnie gave me Morelli. Ranger helped me buy a gun and gave me some pointers. I couldn't help but remember our first meeting was the first time Ranger had called me Babe. Oh, it didn't have nearly the meaning then as it had now...but that was the first. Ranger was in one of those ambulances. He'd been shot and was on his way to St. Francis Hospital.

My mind was racing with everything that had happened. I remembered going after Morelli when he was FTA. I'd taken his Jeep Cherokee hoping to draw him out. I'd disabled it so he wouldn't be able to just come and drive off with it and Morelli was pissed at that. He handcuffed me naked to my shower and searched my apartment for the part he needed to make the Jeep run. I had to call Ranger to come rescue me. I couldn't help but remember that was the first time he'd rescued me. I still had nightmares about Ramirez. The vision of a naked and bloody Lula tied to my fire escape as Ramirez's special present for me was something I don't think I could ever forget. When Morelli approached me with a deal I agreed to help him, but when we found what he'd been looking for he tried to welsh on our deal, saying he wasn't going in till he had irrefutable proof of his innocence. He said I couldn't take him in unless he let me and I couldn't do anything about it. I called him a jerk and shut the truck door on him and drove him to the police station. Man was he pissed when they let him out.

It wasn't till I went home that I learned Jimmy Alpha was behind the whole sorry mess. His plan was to wait till Ramirez raped and killed me before killing Ramirez and making it look like I did it. I managed to get to my gun but Alpha shot me in the ass. I felt my hand go around my gun inside my purse and I opened fire, not stopping till the gun was empty.

I was jolted from my memories by a voice saying, "He's flat lining!"

It felt like my heart stopped. I heard myself saying, "Don't you die on me damn it! I didn't come to this point just to loose you."

When I heard the beeping indicating his heart was going again I felt relieved, but knew it could still go either way. I kissed his face and whispered, "Don't leave me. I love you. I can't make it if you don't."

I sat staring into space. This ride seemed to be happening in slow motion. Again my thoughts went back. They went back to when I was after Kenny Mancuso. I'd gotten Kenny's phone bill and Morelli had a contact check out a number. Funny thing, when Morelli left he took Kenny's phone bill with him. I didn't trust Morelli not to hold back on me. Seems he always wanted to know what I had but didn't want to share what he knew with me. At one point I'd taken a skip to the police station and come out to find Morelli leaning against my car. He was looking to see what I'd turned up on Kenny. I'd told him I thought we were a team and he said there were all kinds of teams. I'd told him what it came down to is him wanting me to share information without giving me any in return and in the end he would spirit Kenny away and cut me out of my recovery. (p. 46-47 TFTD) Eventually I managed to get a little info from Morelli and learned the missing guns were shipped in caskets and Spiro, Kenny, and Moogey had been in it together.

I finally caught Kenny at Stiva's while searching for Grandma Mazur. Kenny had put her in one of the body coolers in the wall. He'd pulled her out thinking she might be frozen but since he hadn't turned the temp. down on the unit she was very much alive and pissed to boot. Somehow, her gun was fired and with all the ammo in the room the place was ablaze in no time. I got grandma Mazur out and when I saw Kenny emerging from the basement, I ran at him and tackled him. I refused to let go of him till Morelli had told me he had him and wasn't letting him go.

I turned and focused my gaze on the man lying on the stretcher. I clenched my hands and prayed harder than I'd ever prayed before. I begged God not to take him from me. I looked out the window but I wasn't seeing the scenery whizzing by as we sped towards St. Francis. Instead I was seeing myself sitting in Vinnie's office and him telling me he was giving me an FTA. He handed me Uncle Mo's file and I argued with him to no avail. I just knew I was going to be a Pariah for going after uncle Mo and I was right.

One night when I was checking out the candy store I heard someone coming and hid. When the door opened I turned the mag-light on in the intruders face and went flying through the air. I woke to find Ronald Anders had been shot dead and I had a headache that led me to believe I had a concussion. I got a call from Eddie and he warned me I'd better have all my ducks in a row in case Morelli wanted to charge me. Seems there were those in the department that wanted to pin the murder on me. After all, Anders was one of Vinnie's skips and I worked for Vinnie.

When Morelli stopped by to talk to me I pretended not to be home. Then when he went out to his car and stayed in the lot staking out my apartment...well I called Ranger and arranged to meet before calling Lula for a ride. I told her to pick me up in front and not go to the lot.

Later when I was at my parents for supper, Morelli showed up and said he wanted to take a ride later to talk with me. I snuck out the back and waited till he left before coming back. Unfortunately my mom had given Morelli the whole cake to take with him and I got no dessert. When I got to my apartment later I saw a light was on and got a look at Morelli through the window. I found his car and kicked the tire. It set off his car alarm. One of my neighbors opened fire thinking someone was steeling a car. When I finally called Morelli he told me he wanted to talk. I went up after deciding if he'd wanted to arrest me he would have already. What he wanted was to run over what had really happened at the candy store. So many of my dealings with Morelli were off the record...at least I'd thought they were. Anyway...

I'd gotten a tip that Mo was at the candy store and called Ranger to help me. Sure enough Mo was there but he got away and in so doing he took Ranger's "black BMW, limited production 850 Ci". (p. 135 TTGD) So now Ranger was stepping in to help me. I debated whether that was a good thing, because as good as I knew Ranger was I wasn't sure he wouldn't just shoot Mo for stealing his car. With Ranger's help I'd made some progress, then we got word that Mo had left Ranger's car in his garage and my old school teacher who just happened to be Mo's neighbor had the key to the garage. Once Ranger got his car back he told me Mo was back on my plate.

Another time I'd gotten a tip Mo was in his store I called Ranger for back up and headed out. I was attacked by three men. One of them shot mace in my face and they made all kinds of threats. One of them lit a cigarette and burned the back of my hand before they were scared of by the arrival of a car and voices. It was Morelli who'd shown up. When I'd asked him how he knew I was there he said he accessed my messages. He fixed me a sundae and we talked. I mentioned that it was hot and didn't smell too good and he said he didn't want to say anything because he thought it might be me. When we figured it wasn't either of us we investigated and the smell seemed to be coming from the basement. We poked around enough to know the cause of the smell and then Morelli called in the crime scene experts. I sat in his car while they pulled four bodies out of Mo's cellar. Funny, even though Mo was suspected of killing four men, he was lauded a hero because the dead men were drug dealers.

Lula and I were out and about and spotted Mo by a car with what looked to be a rug on top the car. Mo saw us and took off. We gave chase and figured out the thing on top wasn't a carpet just before the strings broke and the garbage bags blew away. Next thing we knew a dead body was on Lula's windshield. We stuffed the body in the trunk with the legs sticking out and headed for Eddie's house. I knew he'd help me. He was a friend first and a cop second. When he wasn't home Lula wanted to know what we were going to do now.

" I'm thinking. I'm thinking." The problem was that I could only come up with one other person who might be able to help me out. Joe Morelli. Not someone I wanted to see in my present bedraggled condition. And not someone I wanted to owe an additional favor. And not someone I totally trusted to choose me over the Trenton Police Department.(p. 216-217 TTGD)

We drove to Morelli's and I told him what happened. He wasn't pleased but told us to follow him to the station. We did and the crime scene guys came out and did their job. One of the guys who'd come out was Arnie Rupp. A man in jeans, black Trenton PD ball cap and red and black plaid wool jacket stood next to him. Rupp asked the man if he'd completed the paperwork on the Runion job. The man said, not yet. He'd finish it up first thing in the morning.

I stared at the man and little alarms went off in my brain.

The man stared back at me. Noncommittal. Cop face. Unyielding.(p. 222 TTGD)

Morelli came over and said he was sending Lula and I home. I asked who the man was standing next to Rupp.

"Mickey Maglio. Major crimes. Robbery detective."

"Remember when I was telling you about the men in the ski masks and coveralls? The leader, the one who burned my hand and offered me money, had a smokers voice. Jersey City accent. I know you don't want to hear this, but I swear, Maglio sounds just like him. And he's the right height and the right build."

"You never saw his face?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Maglio's a good cop." Morelli said, "He's got three kids and a pregnant wife."

"I don't know," I said. "I could be wrong. I'm c-c-cold. Maybe I'm not thinking right."

Morelli wrapped his arm around me and dragged me towards a waiting squad car. "I'll look into it. In the meantime let's keep it to ourselves." (pg 223?)

Morelli had stopped by later and after he left I'd called Mary Lou and asked if she'd help me spy on Morelli. I'd just returned to my apartment a while later and the phone rang.

I answered it with a tentative hello.

Pause on the other end.

"Hello," I repeated.

"I hope that little discussion we had last time meant something to you," the man said. "Because if I find out you've opened your mouth about any of this, I'm going to come get you. And it's not going to be nice."

"Maglio?"

The caller hung up.

Morelli found out who Mo's lawyer was and it was none other than my ex. He asked me if I wanted to tag along and if I asked if there was a price he'd said there's always a price. He told me where to meet him.

I met him and he asked me some questions about my ex, Dickie Orr. He threw a $10 on the table and told me to order some pie. I told him he'd said he would take me with him and he said he'd lied. He told to me to wait and he'd be back after he talked to Orr. I nursed the cake for 20 minutes then paid the bill and wondered if Morelli had left me hanging. Wouldn't be the first time. When he finally showed up I asked him what Mo had to trade.

"Information."

I raised my eyebrows.

"That's all I can tell you." Morelli said

Morelli was screwing me over again. "Thanks for nothing."

"It's the best I can do."

"Your best isn't very good is it?"

I called Lula and asked her to meet me because I intended talking to Dickie myself. We made the trip to Dickie's office but he gave me nothing. The next time I went to see him I was solo. That time I did get more out of him. He told me everything he'd told Morelli.

I felt a painful stab in the midsection. Morelli had withheld that information from me. He'd never told me about the gun connection and the floater. Now it all made sense. Now I realized why Morelli was interested in Mo from the very beginning. And why Mo had jumped bail."

Next I got a tip and what I learned had me going to Vinnie. If anyone could get this information it would be him. Sure enough, in no time he had an address for me. I called Ranger for backup and waited till he joined me. I was going in after giving Ranger time to get in behind the house. I was talking to Mo and Ranger came in behind him. Mo was a little jumpy when we heard a car on the gravel but that ended up being Lula. Just then the reverend Bill arrived with a van load of men. They had a rocket launcher and my car went up in smoke. Damn! Just when I'd gotten it fixed so it was running good. Ranger told us to head out the back and he'd cover us till we got away. I didn't want to go but he told me he'd done this before. We headed out. I found out on the trail that Mo'd taken a bullet so I sent Lula for help. Seems the cops were following the good reverend and his followers and Morelli was following me. They all showed up and we gave our statements. Seems people from all walks were in on the killing of the drug dealers, including cops.

I was jolted from my memories when we came to a stop and the EMT's unloaded the stretcher and rushed towards the E.R. I quickly followed, grabbing hold of one of the hands laying limp on the gurney. When he was wheeled into a treatment room I was barred from entry. The nurse was as gentle as she could be, but she wouldn't budge no matter how much I plead. Finally, I nodded. I had calls to make. There were people who would want to be here. I made my way out to the waiting room and placed the call that would start the ball rolling. I knew the person I called would take care of calling everyone else. Once I'd made the call I went over and found a seat. Now all I could do was wait. Wait and pray.

Again my thoughts were drawn inward. I remembered the time I was looking to bring in Maxine Nowicki. That was one for the books because I picked up a stalker along the way. Maxine was arrested when her boyfriend Eddie Kuntz said she stole his car. He gave me a list of people that might know where Maxine was. I checked with her mother but no luck. Imagine my surprise when I went to dinner at my folks and grandma Mazur told me she'd invited a date for me. When she'd opened the door to my "date" it was none other than Eddie Kuntz. I did find out Maxine had contacted him and told him she was sending him something airmail.

I checked with Margie, a co-worker of Maxine's, and she had no idea where Maxine might be. She'd mentioned having to get her finger re-attached because there'd been an accident and it had been chopped off. I had an idea there was more than what she was telling me.

The next day when I talked to Eddie he wanted me to come see about the note. Seems Maxine's idea of airmail was a note tied to a brick thrown through his front window. The note was in code so I'd taken it with me to try and decode it. I checked with the neighbors in my building to see if any of them could help with it and Lorraine said her nephew Slavatore Sweet would be able to help. She warned me he was a little odd though.

Turns out Sally Sweet was able to figure out the clue and from that I knew I had to look in the big garbage bin behind Cluck In A Bucket. There was no way I was climbing in there to retrieve the clue so I called Kuntz. He called a guy and had him come and dump the contents of the bin onto the pavement and spread it around. I retrieved the next clue and firmly denied knowing the man.

When I returned home I had a call from Ranger. He wanted me to call him. Seems he was after Vito Grizolli's nephew Kenny and wanted me to do a distraction. I wasn't too keen on the idea but ended up doing it anyway. Everything was going great until Kenny's mom sent someone to get him. Terry Gilman came to see what the hold up was and asked Kenny if he knew who I was. She told him I was a Bounty Hunter. Well Kenny started pushing me around and I got him in the face with my hairspray. His mother and uncle Vito came to see what was going on and I told them Kenny missed his court date. Vito told Kenny to go with me and let the lawyers do their job. Ranger was outside waiting for us.

A while after that Lula, Sally and I went to Mrs. Nowicki's house because the second clue said to look under the bench on the porch. I used a flashlight to look under the porch and saw yellow eyes moving. Lula didn't think a full figured gal would fit in that little bitty space and I said how I didn't think I'd fit, because I'd seen something moving under there and there were bound to be spiders. We happened to glance in the window and saw Mrs. Nowicki lying on the floor with a bloody towel wrapped around her head. We called the police and while we were checking things out Mrs. Nowicki woke up. We gave our statements to the police and I decided to come back later and try to retrieve the clue.

When I got home, Morelli was in my hallway with a bag from Pino's. I wasn't too happy with Morelli since he'd disappeared for 5 months without a word, but there was no way I'd turn down a meatball sub. I let Morelli in. Seems he thought I might want an up-date on Mrs. Nowicki. She'd been scalped. Morelli asked me about my case and I filled him in. We got into a little disagreement and I called him a dysfunctional human being and he said I was fucking frightening. Our disagreement led to a make out session and I mentioned being safe. It took him a few moments to get my meaning and when he did he said he could go get some but the mood would have disappeared by the time he got back. We ended up watching a Rangers game and I was replaced by a raspberry popsicle.

I was getting anxious for Morelli to go home so I could head over and retrieve the clue from under the porch, when Sally Sweet showed up. Morelli refused to give us privacy and the two of them had a little scuffle and some one up-manship going on. Sally had retrieved the clue and it said for Kuntz to meet Maxine at their spot.

I'd been seeing the same vehicle following me around and when I went to check it out I found none other than my arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt behind the wheel. Seems she had papers saying she was authorized to go after Maxine. I headed for the bonds office to give Vinnie a piece of my mind. Joyce followed me but stayed in her car. Vinnie wasn't there but I told Connie and Lula about it and they were as outraged as I was. Lula went out and shot out the back tire on Joyce's Cherokee so she wouldn't be able to follow me. The two of us headed for Sally's to see if he could help us with a disguise. Sally wasn't going to be left out anymore than Lula was so the three of us headed to the park. We hung around for awhile but the only thing that happened was a guy on another bench got a pie in the face. I figured Kuntz had picked the wrong bench and managed to get the clue from the pie and we were on our way.

When I got home from the park there was a note on my door scribbled in black marker. "I hate you! And I'll get even!" I also had a message on my machine to call Helen Badijian, the manager at the seven-eleven. She was busy but said she might have something for me if I could drop by around 10 p.m. Kuntz called to see if I wanted to have a drink with him. I declined. He said he didn't think I was making much progress because all we ever got was more notes. I told him I was meeting the manager of the seven-eleven later and she might have something for me. Kuntz asked me why I was going later and not now. I got the feeling there was more to this case then he let on.

Later when I was on my fire escape eating pop tarts and drinking beer, I noticed Joyce was parked across the street. I called Ranger and told him about my little problem. He told me to hold tight and he'd see what he could do. When Ranger arrived he got in the passenger side of Joyce's Cherokee and five minutes later climbed out and headed in my direction. I raced downstairs and skidded to a stop in front of Ranger.

"Well?"

"How bad do you want to get rid of her? You want me to shoot her? Break a bone?"

"No!"

Ranger shrugged. "Then she's gonna stick."

There was the sound of a car engine catching and headlights flashed on across the street. We both turned to watch Joyce pull away and disappear around the corner.

"She'll be back," Ranger said. "But not tonight."

"How'd you get her to leave?"

" Told her I was gonna spend the next twelve hours ruining you for all other men, and so she might as well go home."

I could feel the heat rush to my face.

Ranger gave me the wolf smile. "I lied about it being tonight," he said. (Pg. 95 FTS)

I was glad not to have to worry about Joyce following me to the seven-eleven. When I made my way into the store though, I learned the owner had gotten a call from the police to tell him the store was un-manned. Helen was nowhere to be found. I did pick up a book of matches that said Parrot Bar in Point Pleasant. When I got home I called Morelli and told him, asking him to keep an eye out for her.

"Probably Arnold's right," Morelli said. "Probably she's at a bar with a couple of friends."

"You really think so?"

"No," Morelli said. "I was just saying that to get you off the phone. I'm watching a ball game."

"There's something that really bothers me here that I didn't tell you."

"Oh boy."

"Eddie Kuntz was the only one who knows I was going to see Helen Badijian."

"And you think he got to her first."

"It crossed my mind."

"You know there was a time when I'd say to myself...How does she do it? How does she get mixed up with these weirdos? But now I don't even question it. In fact, I've come to expect such things of you."

"So are you going to help me or what?" (pg. 99 FTS)

Morelli agreed to make a few calls but I still felt dissatisfied. I decided to take a ride over to Kuntz and make sure he didn't have Helen tied to a chair at his place. I was watching Kuntz through his front window when a hand clamped over my mouth and I heard Morelli's voice. He told me I needed to get out of there, he found Helen. Just then there were noises and Morelli told me to run. Once I got to my car I didn't stop till I was parked in my lot. I got out of my car and leaned against it non-nonchalantly. Morelli came over to me and told me he'd found Helen dead and that her finger had been chopped off and there were bruises on her neck. When I asked if she'd been choked to death he said that's what it looked like.

The next morning Sally called while I was waiting for my coffee to get done. He told me what the clue said. When I called Eddie to tell him about the clue he told me Maxine had been there the night before. I was relieved he thought it was Maxine and had no clue it was actually me. When I told him what the clue said he looked around and found the box on his back stoop. Kuntz didn't want to open it because he was worried it was a bomb. I told him that wasn't Maxine's style so he insisted if I felt it was so safe I should open it. I told him I'd be over later. I was debating having a second cup of coffee when there was a knock on the door. It was Maxine with a bunch of flowers covering her face so I wouldn't recognize her till after she was inside.

Maxine cuffed me to my fridge and we had a little talk. She wanted me to stop helping Kuntz. She wanted him to do his own dirty work. I told her there was more going on here and asked her if she knew about Margie and her mother. I asked if she was the one who left the message on my door and she told me no. When she left I also told her about Joyce as she closed the door. I was stuck there for awhile before I heard someone rattling the doorknob and called out for help. Sally swung the door open and I sent him down to get Dillon to help me get free.

As I was headed out to my car Joyce pulled into the parking lot and told me she didn't need me to find Maxine anymore because she had contacts. I continued towards my car and found a note that read, I said I'd get even and I meant it. I've been watching you and I know he was here. This is your last warning. Leave my boyfriend alone! Next time I soak something with gasoline I'll strike a match to it. (pg. 112 FTS)

My car was soaked inside and out with gasoline. Only one name came to mind when I thought of the word boyfriend and that was Morelli. I figured this was all related to him somehow. I called Lula and told her I needed a ride. We went over to Kuntz and I told him the box was safe to open. When he figured out it was dog poop in the bag and he had to sift through it I told him I had things to do so he could call me later and read the clue over the phone. Then I called Morelli and told him his girlfriend left a message on my car. He said he didn't have a girlfriend. I told him about my car and he didn't know who it could be but suggested maybe it was Maxine.

Lula and I headed back to my lot to asses the damage and old lady Nowicki pulled into my lot. She told me she was leaving town and she wanted me to know Maxine was going to Atlantic City. Said she thought it would be better if I found her rather than the other people who might be looking for her. She told me where in Atlantic City she thought Maxine would be going and then flicked the cigarette she'd been smoking up in the air. When it landed it rolled under my car and well, lets just say my car went up like a Christmas Tree. Too bad Lula's car was parked so close because a fireball erupted and landed on her car and it went up too.

When I went up to my apartment I had a call for Kuntz and he read me the message over the phone. I called Sally with the message and asked what kind of car he drove. He had a Porsche and didn't think we could fit Lula in with us even if we greased her. I went over to my parents to borrow the Buick. My mother went into her spiel about other people's daughters not blowing up cars. We were at the table eating dinner and my father had his head bent over his plate, and his shoulders were shaking.

"What?" my mother said to him.

"I don't know. It just struck me as funny. Some men could go a lifetime and never have their kid blow up a car, but I have a daughter who's knocked off three cars and burned down a funeral home. Maybe that's some kind of record."

When I left my parents house I had the Buick and Grandma had joined the party headed for Atlantic City. We saw Maxine but she got away. Thinking about it I decided we'd been set up. It was too easy for Maxine to get away. Like the car was there waiting for her. We headed back to Trenton with Grandma, Lula and Sally falling asleep withing 15 minutes. When I got to my apartment building there were emergency vehicles were dotting the lot. I parked and ran across the street, checking to see where the fire had started. My apartment. The words on the note came back to me, 'Next time I'll strike a match.' (pg. 135 FTS) My only thoughts were for Rex. One of my neighbors stepped forward and I was relieved to see Rex had been rescued.

I went up and gathered what I could. Unfortunately the one room I wouldn't have minded being torched was relatively unscathed. Damn! I mean if they were going to torch my apartment, the least they could have done was take out the bathroom. I headed for my car. I sat for a few minutes contemplating where to go. I didn't want to put my parents in danger. I couldn't go to a hotel because there were none in Trenton. If I called Ranger he'd probably have to shoot me in the morning because no one knew where he lived. Staying with Lula was a scary thought. I finally decided to head over to Morelli's. I called him on my cell. I told him about my apartment and he asked where I was. When I told him outside his house he told me to wait in my car till he came down. He opened the door and I took Rex's cage and went into his house. We sat at the table with oreos and milk and talked. He asked why I was driving the Buick and I told him my car exploded. When a tear slid down my face Morelli asked if this was for real and I said yes, what did he think, that I was making it up? Apparently he thought I was using it as an excuse to climb into his bed.

Next day Lula and I headed to Point Pleasant and found Maxine. We'd just went in the house when Joyce Barnhardt broke in with a couple other women and chaos ensued. Maxine got away. When I got back to Morelli's, he was slouched on the sofa. I asked if he had a bad day. He told me he'd checked out my apartment and car story and they were indeed gone. What, did he really think I would have lied to him about that? Then he told me his mother heard we were living together and she expected us for dinner the next night. Then he told me the case he'd been working on for the past four months collapsed. I went up to take a shower and had just started drying off when Morelli knocked on the door and said Kuntz was on the phone. I opened the door enough to get the phone and Morelli's eyes darkened. Morelli interrupted my eventual conversation with Kuntz, telling him later and things got hot and heavy. We ended up in bed and after a long dry spell I felt very relaxed in the morning.

The minute I walked into the bonds office Connie made a comment about me 'doing it'. When Ranger walked into the office he took one look at me and smiled. How is it the whole fucking world suddenly knew I'd gotten laid? I went along with Ranger to pick up a FTA. Ranger gave me a little background on the skip and I was having second thoughts about helping him but he wouldn't let me back out. He mentioned something about doing this because it was a service to the community and I asked if that was why he did it he told me, "No. I do this for the money. And because hunting people is what I do best." (pg. 173 FTS) Unfortunately Norvil had thrown eggs at me and they'd dried in my hair. Morelli tried to fix it by cutting the worst of it out. Then we had to go to his mother's for dinner.

I was a little upset when Morelli described our relationship the same way he'd described his and Terry Gilman's relationship. Lucky for me I got to leave early because I had work to do. Grandma Bella said that was no work to be doing for someone who was expecting. I told her I really wasn't expecting and she said a lot I knew. She'd been to the other side. Morelli gave me a ride to the bar where we were going with Kuntz for the next clue. Joyce showed up and we got in a little skirmish. Lula stunned her and in the chaos Kuntz disappeared. I went out and asked Morelli if he'd seen him. He said he'd gotten in his car and left alone and no one followed him. I went back inside to look for Lula and Sally and was jostled forward and then sharply yanked back, face-to-face with an angry woman I didn't recognize.

"I knew it was you!" she said. "You bitch."

I knocked her hands off me. "What's your problem?"

"You're my problem. Everything was fine before you came along."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. And if you have any sense in that big bimbo head of yours you'll get out of town. You'll go far away. Because if you don't I'm gonna find you and turn you into a pile of ashes...just like your apartment." (pg. 188 FTS)

When I returned to Morelli's truck after talking with the bartender and finding out a woman had asked him to pass Kuntz a note, I got to thinking about what grandma Bella had said and smacked myself in the forehead with the heel of my hand. The thing is, while I was in love with Morelli for all these years, I'd always known it was best if nothing came of it. Loving Morelli was like loving cheesecake. Hours of misery on the Stairmaster, working off ugly fat, in return for a moment of blissful consumption.

All right, maybe it wasn't as bad as all that. Morelli had matured. How much he'd matured I couldn't nail down. Truth is, I didn't know a lot about Morelli. What I knew was that I had a hard time trusting him. Past experience led me to believe blind faith in Morelli might not be a smart thing. (pg. 191 FTS)

The next morning Morelli and I swung by Kuntz's place then headed for Point Pleasant. Morelli broke the window and we looked around the house where Maxine had been staying. When we got back to his place he had a call the case he'd been working on had just heated up. When he returned after checking things out, and we were just starting an argument when his front window was shattered when someone threw a bottle with a fire blackened rag sticking out of it. The bottle hit the carpet so no fire, lucky for us.

Sally called me for help. Morelli and I went over and Morelli helped him by tying up the corset and I helped him with the makeup. Sally invited us to the club and we followed. The minute I saw Sugar I knew he was the woman from the bar and I told Morelli. Morelli got up close and personal with Sugar and then we left so he could run a check on Sugar and the car he was driving.

The next day when Morelli returned I told him I saw him earlier. Then when he asked if I made him I told him I recognized the car. He admitted he was watching the seven-eleven and when I asked for drugs he said funny money. Then my mother called and we got sucked into supper. Then Lula stopped by and told me who Joyce's connection was. We checked it out and the guy promised to tell us when Mrs. Nowicki came by. I had a weird thought and asked how Mrs. Nowicki paid him. He showed me the bill and I traded twenties with him. When I got to Morelli's I showed it to him and sure enough it was counterfeit. I told Morelli where I got it since I knew he'd get the information out of me anyway.

Sally came by Morelli's and told us Sugar tried to kill him. Morelli set up a decoy and made it look like Sally and I were staying with him but we were really staying with my folks. I called and talked to Ranger and he said our best bet for drawing Sugar out was to increase his discomfort level. Sally and I made the rounds of the places Sugar frequented. We got to the last place and people stopped Sally to let him know Sugar was looking for him. I had to visit the ladies room and that's when Sugar showed up. Sugar had a gun and he took me outside. I managed to get away and Sugar started firing. I made my way to an apartment building nearby and Sugar came after me. We struggled and I kneed Sugar where it counts. He rolled into a fetal position and I rolled over and looked up to see Ranger standing there smiling at me asking me if I needed help. Sally gave me a ride back to Morelli's.

The next day I stopped by Kuntz's and checked out his side of the duplex and found nothing. I found a key to the Glick's side and used it to snoop around. I made my way down to the basement and found a dead body. I headed back upstairs and the Glick's were standing there in the kitchen. I got them talking, trying to stall so they wouldn't shoot me and after Lula and Leo exchanged gunfire where no one got hurt, the police showed up. Morelli was there and when he went down to the basement he came back to tell me the man downstairs was the man he'd been watching. While we were standing there talking about everything, Joyce showed up and Kuntz got out of her vehicle. Kuntz told us where Maxine was headed. We got in Lula's car and headed out. We caught up to them to find Joyce had them pulled over and on the ground. Lula said she'd help Joyce get the women into her car and when she went to hand her Maxine, Lula stunned Joyce. I un-cuffed Mrs. Nowicki and Margie. I told them I had no authority to take them in but that the treasury was looking for them and they should turn themselves in. We loaded Maxine into Lula's car. When we got to the police station, Leo and Betty were being taken in the back. I said we'd take Maxine through the front so she wouldn't have to deal with Leo. When Morelli found out I let Mrs. Nowicki and Margie go he wasn't too happy.

When Morelli came by my parents he was driving a Duc. He thought I'd be interested to know how it went. With everything that went on, the only charges that might stick were the original charges against Maxine. My thoughts were interrupted by the sounds in the waiting room. I heard angry voices and looked up to see Angie and Bella Morelli ranting at the hospital staff for denying them the right to go back and be with Joe. Bella glared at the hapless nurse and said, "I give you the eye."

My eyes darted round the room searching. My gaze landed on Tank and our gazes connected. He nodded and made his way over to the two women. I heard him ask the women to have a seat and let the nurse do her job. He told them that they weren't helping the situation with their demands. Grandma Bella started telling Tank she was giving him the eye. He told her to stop making a scene. Everyone was dealing with grief and she didn't need to be adding to it.

I stood and walked over to the window, staring out into nothing. I didn't see the view outside the window. Instead I was looking inside. Remembering. That was the point where things started changing. I became confused between what was familiar, what I'd felt from the age of 6 and what I was coming to feel now as a woman.

Here is part 1 of The beginning. Sorry the majority is background from books 1-4, but it is necessary for what is to follow. Part 2 will be just as heavy background from books 5-8. I will state that I take the liberty to change what I need to in order to make this story work the way I want it to. I hope that when it's over you will like the overall product. Sorry I can't let you know if it's a Babe or Cupcake yet but that will become clear soon too.