And here's the third chapter, I hope you're still with me. Thank you sooo much for your kind reviews and feedback!
The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.
Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun
You Give Love a Bad Name
Chapter 3
How much had Joe seen? Had he watched me get out of Ranger's car or had he seen me kiss Ranger before that? I couldn't remember if the windows in Ranger's car were tinted or not.
Best to go the innocent route, I decided.
"Hi Joe." I smiled as I closed in for a kiss. The thing about Joe is, his mood doesn't matter when it comes to sex and all things related to it. He's never refused a kiss from me. That sometimes makes it easy to end a fight, I have to admit. Unless I am too mad for sex, since I can't just turn anger off like him.
Joe put his arms around me and kissed me right back. When we pulled apart, he looked a little more like the Joe I loved and less like Joe the cop.
"Is this a social call? Come to take me out for lunch?" I jumped right in.
He smiled. "Yes and no. It's a social call because I realized I was a jerk earlier, but I don't have time for lunch."
Did I hear that right? Joe was apologizing? Where was my calendar, I had to mark the date!
I snuggled into him. It had worked once again. Greet Joe with a kiss and he forgets he just saw me cuddling with another man! Of course there was a chance he had been too preoccupied to even register I had come out of Ranger's car, but I couldn't really ask him.
"Yeah, you were pretty jerk-y earlier. Wanna talk about it?"
"I do, Cupcake. But not right now. I just came by to make sure we were okay." He said and hugged me tighter. He could be so sweet. How could you stay mad at him?
"Is it the case?" I tried.
He nodded, his chin was on my head.
"And tonight, I'll tell you all about it over a beer, I promise."
Joe took a step back so he could see my face, and he smiled. He lowered his head and kissed me with those wonderful Joe-lips and when our tongues met, tiny sparks rushed through me straight down to my toes.
Joe held me after the kiss, so I didn't lose balance.
"I gotta go." He said softly, his mouth close to my ear.
"Uhm…just one thing." I remembered just in time "Lula is missing."
Joe looked at me confused "What do you mean, missing?"
What was so hard to understand about that phrase? Ranger had reacted the same way. Lula. Is. Missing. What ways of missing were there?
I told him the story from the beginning. I was hoping the more I recited it, the more ideas I would get about where else to look for Lula, but that didn't happen. Joe listened without interruption.
"I'll let dispatch know. The boys pretty much all know her, so they'll keep an eye out. Don't worry. She probably just forgot to tell you where she was going."
Joe pulled me close again to emphasize his words. I so wanted to believe him.
He had to leave shortly after that, but I was looking forward to having some time with him later. I really wanted to find out what had him so stressed out.
Bob was excited to see me in the middle of the day, and he made it clear that I had to make up for missing his walk in the morning. So I clipped on his leash and took him out. I loved walking him, it's carrying the plastic bags of poop that I hated. That's why I preferred walking him at night were we could be the mystery poopers. But I felt bad for having him only run in the backyard in the morning, so I made up for it with a long walk.
I realized too late that I'd left my cell phone at home, so when Bob and I got back, there were three messages. Connie, Ranger and Tank. Tank??
Connie wanted to know if I'd heard from Lula and also told me she hadn't. Ranger told me he'd pick me up at four, he hadn't found Lula but some more places to look for her. Tank just asked to call him back. I didn't know what I'd say to Tank, but it seemed rude not to return his call.
"Tank here." He said as he picked up the phone.
"Hi
Tank, it's Stephanie." I was pretty sure my number showed up on
his caller ID, but what else is there to say?
"Yeah, uhm, Steph,
thanks for calling me back. Ranger, uhm, told me about Lula and
I…uhm…"
Who was this person I was talking to? I'd never heard Tank stutter before. He never talked much, but what he said was always straight to the point. Tank lost for words was new.
"Have you seen her?" Since Connie had asked him the same question before I knew the answer.
"No. That's why I called. Have you heard from her?"
I told him I hadn't. He said he'd ask around and I was trying to name the emotion in his voice. He sounded concerned, but there seemed to be more. I was happy he cared for Lula, she more than deserved it. Even if I had to find out under grim circumstances, it was still nice. I told Tank I had everybody looking for Lula and would let him know as soon as I heard anything. I doubted I'd hear before Tank though.
If Ranger was going to pick me up at four, there was a chance I wasn't going to be back until late. I had to let Joe know. That meant I probably wouldn't get a chance to get his side of the story. But right now, Lula was more important; Joe and I had already made sure we were okay. I called him and left a message on his cell phone, warning him I might not be home until much later, I'd be out looking for Lula.
Since I had some time left before Ranger would show up, I went upstairs into our bedroom and assumed my thinking position. My thinking position was flat on my back on the bed, which had the added advantage that I could nap if I got tired.
Today I couldn't sleep though, I was replaying the morning over and over like a bad movie. Lula had been by my side until the cops had arrived, that was the last time I'd seen her. And when Ranger arrived about an hour later, she'd been gone. Ranger wouldn't have missed her, he had one of those 'always be aware of your surroundings'- things going on that I would never understand.
So Lula goes downstairs, finds my car locked, then what? I found it hard to believe she would have been kidnapped. She would have been bitchin' and hollerin' so loudly, the entire street would have heard her.
But if Lula had called someone to pick her up, she would have surfaced by now, even if she'd decided to go shopping.
I was still trying to come up with possibilities when my cell phone rang. I was proud of myself, I had remembered to take it into the bedroom with me. It was Connie. It took me a minute to decipher what she was saying, she was talking so fast.
"Connie, slow down. What happened??"
"Okay. Sorry." She took a deep breath "I just got a call from Lula. She said she was fine, and not to look for her. And then she asked if I could take care of Fluffy."
"Who's
Fluffy?"
"Exactly. More to the point, Lula would never say any
of that. Why would she call to say nothing more than she was okay?
The whole thing just sounded fishy. Like something is wrong."
I had to agree. Lula would never ask us not to look for her.
"Call Ranger and tell him." On second thought…"Never mind, I'll tell Ranger. Did you get the number from your caller ID?"
"No, the number was blocked."
That's what I had expected.
"Okay, when you leave tonight, make sure you forward the office number to my cell phone. I'll let you know as soon as I see or hear anything!" I didn't want to miss another call.
Connie agreed. I assured her there was nothing else we could do and we disconnected. Her words repeated in my mind though. 'Take care of Fluffy'? Was that Lula's attempt to tell us something was wrong, since none of us knew what Fluffy could be? I knew Lula didn't have any pets, and try as I might, Tank could never be referred to as Fluffy. Odd.
Originally, I was going to wait for Ranger to pick me up, but I couldn't wait any longer and called him at three to share the news. The message didn't make sense to him either, but I got a laugh out of him when I asked if he thought Tank was 'Fluffy'.
I didn't know how to fell about the fact that I'd been right. Something was definitely wrong; Lula had not just taken off. But that meant that she was not wherever she was now voluntarily, and I was praying she was all right.
I quickly changed according to Ranger's instructions "Wear something sexy, babe" he'd said. "You'll fit in better. We're going into the underbelly." Whatever that meant. But I knew Ranger's definition of sexy, so I put on a red tube top, a black leather mini skirt and my 4" black fuck-me-pumps. I teased my hair up to within an inch of its life and added red lipstick and black eyeliner to my usual mascara. One look in the mirror confirmed that I made a great Jersey slut.
I had just hugged and fed Bob and thrown some grapes into Rex's aquarium when I heard Ranger park outside.
I knew my mother would have a fit if she heard how I was leaving the house, barely dressed and with another man, and my neighbors were sure to report any such sightings. So I threw on a long brown wool coat and rushed to the door, getting into Ranger's Porsche before he could get out.
He cut his eyes to me.
"Babe, when I said sexy, I meant…" I unbuttoned the coat and slipped out of it "…never mind." He finished and concentrated on driving. I had to bite my cheek to keep the laughter in, I'd so had him!
"Where are we going?" I asked instead of laughing.
"6th Street." Ranger said. Getting information from Ranger was always hard. He'd always answer the question, but he had a tendency to only give the smallest details. Like, if I'd been asked the question, I might have said 'We're going to this great new restaurant on 6th Street that my sister has told me about.' But not Ranger. Mental head slap. I should know by now to phrase my questions accordingly. Tonight, I didn't feel like playing the game of 20 questions, so I just sat back and stared out the window.
Of course that made Ranger look at me, no doubt because he'd expected more questions from me.
"Why don't we get something to eat and I fill you in?" He suggested. Any idea involving food had my vote.
Ten minutes later, we parked in front of Pino's. Pino's is the best place in Trenton for pizza, everybody knows this. It's also a favorite hangout for cops, since it's close to the Trenton PD.
Since it was too early for the dinner crowd, the big dining room was almost empty when we entered, and only two people were holding the bar up.
Ranger ordered a pizza and a pitcher of beer without asking. He didn't have to, he knew what I liked. Not just as far as food was concerned.
When our pizza was on the table and our glasses were filled, Ranger gave me the background story.
"This is what I know, and Morelli filled in a few blanks last night. In a nutshell, hookers are being killed at an alarming rate."
I hadn't heard anything about that. Maybe I should have read the paper more often.
"But Lula isn't…"
Ranger put up his hand in the universal 'stop' signal. "Lynn-Ann this morning was the latest. There have been ten murdered hookers in the past month."
He took a sip from his beer and finished his piece of pizza. I almost choked on the bite I was trying to swallow.
"It took the cops a while to connect the murders, although the m.o. was the same. I guess they didn't look too thoroughly because all murders happened on the wrong side of the tracks and the victims were whores."
I thought I'd detected disgust in his voice. Ranger'd never shared his opinion about cops in general or the Trenton PD with me, but I was guessing he was now.
Joe hadn't mentioned the investigation to me, and I was wondering why. He usually shared his day-to-day happenings with me. I'd put that on the list of things to ask him.
"So now you think Lula might be the next victim?" I asked when Ranger didn't continue.
He raised an eyebrow "No. There is no reason to think that. The killer, or killers, only ever killed active working girls. Not retired ones."
"Unless…"
Ranger's eyes met mine "Unless what, Babe? You know something?"
"No, I don't, but…what if Lula did? Or what if she saw something? Just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, not a target all along?"
He shook his head almost imperceptivity "You're just jumping to conclusions now. You'll drive yourself crazy if you make up too many of these 'what if's'!"
He was right. I had no evidence of anything, I was just thinking out loud.
"I was just giving you the background of how this morning's events fit into the big picture. Lula may or may not have anything to do with that."
But it was a start!
"Is that why I'm dressed up 'sexy'?" I asked.
Ranger nodded. "It may not hurt if you look like you'd ask to be paid for your services." He winked at me.
"I take it that would make you my pimp?" I was appalled at how much I liked that idea, when I should have been disgusted at the mere suggestion. I was hopeless.
Ranger nodded. He explained that Tank would be our 'eyes and ears'. He'd asked Ranger to be a part of the search, and Ranger admitted he hadn't known how much Tank cared about Lula either.
Ranger wanted to follow up on what he'd found out through his work with the police, reasoning that it was as good a place to start as any. I agreed, since I was anxious to be doing SOMETHING.
I took a third slice of pizza and listened to the plan. Ranger had eaten a slice and a half. His willpower was a lot stronger than mine. Stress made me hungry.
Ranger paid the check and got up. He waited for me to stand as well and gave me a critical once-over. He nodded, smiling "It'll do."
I didn't know if I was flattered because he liked what he saw or insulted that he thought I could pass for a professional. And I realized I'd forgotten to pack a change of clothes, I'd have to walk into the house dressed this way with Joe waiting. Joe would never fall for the coat-routine. Something fun to look forward to.
Pino's was filling up when we left. I got a lot of looks and did another mental head slap. Joe's phone would be ringing within minutes with reports of my outfit, I was sure. I'd only thought of the good pizza, not the consequences of being seen. Eh, it was no use to worry about it right there and then, I'd think of what to say later.
I was sure Ranger'd seen the looks too, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He was probably cracking up inside. If Ranger ever did such a thing.
We drove over to Sixth Street in silence. Ranger was in his 'zone', where he totally concentrated on driving, I supposed. Since he didn't talk he could be planning the invasion of a communist country. I didn't have a zone, unless I was devouring a pack of Tastykakes, but then I only concentrated on the orgasmic joy of sugar and trans fats.
We pulled up behind a black SUV parked in a side street.
"Time to prep." Ranger said as he got out.
Tank was waiting for us in the SUV. He passed me some photos and files. Preliminary suspects of the investigation. No prints had been found at the crime scenes, or sometimes too many, so the list contained more or less the 'usual suspects'; pimps with a violent history.
Marcus Vega, the guy in the first picture I looked at, made my skin crawl. He was a light-skinned Latino with long black hair and a mean look in his dark eyes. His rap sheet included several arrests for assault with deadly weapons, rape and battery, but no convictions.
It wasn't surprising. Probably the witnesses, if any, had been hookers, and lawyers had a way of discrediting them on the stand.
The second guy was Frank Torlione, recently relocated from New York. He looked very Italian and just as mean as Vega.
Tank shared what he'd been able to find out about the two, among other things that they frequented the same night spots. They weren't friends, but they weren't rivals either.
Our plan was to focus on those two.
"So what's my part?" I asked. It seemed that Ranger and Tank had planned the whole evening.
Ranger averted his eyes when I looked at him, which was unusual. I raised my eyebrows at Tank.
Tank cleared his throat. "Well, Ranger is your employer…"
"And?"
"And the idea is for you to be pretty unhappy with him. We were hoping one of these guys may…offer you a job to work for them."
"So you want me to start a fight with Ranger and storm off?" Why were they acting all embarrassed-like?
"In essence, yes." Tank said.
"What he's trying to say is that I'll have to roughhouse you a bit to make it look credible." Ranger explained.
Oh, okay, I was beginning to get it. Ranger was to be my pimp and slap me around some when I was seemingly disobedient.
"When you say roughhouse…you're going to hit me??" My eyes widened. It was going to be hard to explain my outfit to Joe, I didn't think I could keep him from going after Ranger if I came home with a shiner. "I don't think that's going to work…"
Ranger chuckled at my expression "Babe."
Tank grinned "We'll go through the motions beforehand. It'll only look like it hurts."
"Oh…like on TV?" That made more sense. But for a minute I'd thought Ranger was going to beat me up. I smiled "OK then, I'm in!"
Tank drove us away from 6th across town to a small gym. We all piled out and Ranger explained the "Dumbbell" was a gym some RangeMen used if they needed a change from the office gym. It was closer to 6th Street than his office.
There were few people working out at the machines, although the after-work crowd should be in filling the place up. Probably it wasn't that popular a place.
Ranger led us through the main room into a smaller windowless room on the left. There were mats on the floor and fluorescent lights on the ceiling, other than that, it was bare.
"Okay, I'm going to give you a crash course in ducking." Ranger said and took off his t-shirt. That made it hard for me to focus on what he was saying, but I tried to follow as well as I could. And I got the gist. We agreed on a number of key words that would tell me what his next move would be. If he said 'bitch', he'd shove me, for example. Ranger and I went through a couple of the motions until he was satisfied it would look realistic. I had my doubts about that, but kept that to myself. I wanted to ask how far the charade was to continue in case one of the pimps bought the show. He didn't expect me to play the role for more than one night, I hoped. But I decided to burn that bridge when I got to it, no need to worry about that now.
Tank walked me over to the bar area after we were done and bought me a smoothie. It was a little too healthy for my taste, but I appreciated the gesture. Ranger went off to the changing room to shower and change into his 'pimp gear'.
I wanted to ask Tank about Lula, but I didn't quite know how to start. As many times as I had seen him, I found it hard to strike up a conversation.
Before I could think of a topic, my cell phone rang.
It was a forwarded call from the office, my hands were shaking slightly when I answered it.
"Plum bail bonding, this is Stephanie." I said, not knowing if that was even close to what Connie would say.
"Hey Connie, can I talk to Vinnie?" Lula said. I was sure she had heard me, so I decided to play along. Tank was watching me intently.
I waited a beat "This is Vinnie." I said then.
Some muffled sounds from the other end, but I couldn't hear voices.
"Vinnie, I'm just calling to let you know I'm quitting." I didn't reply "Yeah, I know, Hon, I love you, too. But it's just not working for me anymore, I've moved on, you know?"
Okay, either Lula was drunk or she had a plan. I was betting on the latter, but I'd felt better if I had been in on it.
"Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, me too. Listen, I gotta go. No hard feelings." And she disconnected.
Tank looked at me expectantly, but I didn't know what to tell him.
"Well?" He finally said.
"It was Lula." I said.
"What did she say???" His voice was slightly louder than usual, the only sign that he was getting impatient.
"She told Vinnie she loved him and quit."
Tank's face probably mirrored my expression perfectly. I had no clue what'd just happened and I'd been the one on the phone.
TBC
