Chapter 4
"Mother, I need your help." His words were soft and well-modulated and he was taking the coward's way out by saying them over the telephone.
"Could you say that again?" she asked. He spoke louder as he repeated the previously uttered words.
"There's no need to shout, Carlos," his mother chided him. "I'm not deaf; it was just nice to hear I'm needed. I couldn't resist asking to hear it again."
He smiled because he was not immune to the charming determination of his mother. She had clever ways of reminding him no matter how important he thought he was she was still his mother.
His voice softened, "I'm sorry, Mama. I've been very busy and I know I'm overdue for a visit. I'll come soon."
"Come for dinner this Sunday," she said. "I'll invite Leida. She's just home for a few days before she finishes up her inaugural tour."
"Don't match-make for me, Mama," he warned. "Leida is too young for me and although she is beautiful and talented, she doesn't interest me."
"I don't understand why you'd say that, Carlos. I know you're not seeing Tulia Campos any longer. She was the topic of discussion at the bridge club because she's seeing Rogay Alvarado and he's old enough to be her father. You're of an age to be settling down and Leida is perfectly suited to you."
"Leida is perfectly suited to you, Mama. I'm not interested, and I'm calling for another reason entirely."
"But, Carlos really!" The exasperation was clear in the tone of his mother's voice. He didn't lie, not usually, but he needed some information from her and he didn't want to continue the pointless conversation.
"I'm seeing someone, Mother," he said as his phone beeped to indicate an incoming call.
"Who?" she demanded. The phone beeped again and he looked at the caller ID.
"What's the name of the woman you're seeing?" his mother persisted. "Do I know her, or her family?"
"Stephanie," he said, reading the name off of the caller ID.
"Well, your father and I would like to meet her. What's her last name?"
"Stephanie Plum" he said, "and it's early days yet. It's not the time to introduce her to my family. Now let's change the subject. I need to know the name of the designer you used for my apartment. I'm going to use her to complete the rest of the building. The apartments on the fourth floor are ready to be decorated. I've got staff hired waiting to move in as soon as they are done."
"Where is Stephanie from, Carlos? Is she Catholic?"
"Mother." He didn't raise his voice, but she recognized the tone. He was his father's son in many ways and she knew it would be futile to continue with her questions. She had another agenda and she was going to pursue that line of thought before he could escape.
"Woodrow Smythe," she said, "of Burnfield, Weiss & Smythe Designs. He's very good and very busy. You'll be lucky to get him." The news surprised Ranger. He'd never considered his apartment had been decorated by a man. It suited him though, and he wanted the apartments on four to be designed with the same functionality, if not the same level of luxury, as his. He'd call the man and see if he was available for the apartments and maybe the entire building. It wasn't his forte or interest, but it was necessary. His attention snapped back to the present and he realized his mother was still talking.
"…about Ella and Luis. You said you'd consider them..."
"Ella and Luis' apartment will be the first one finished," Ranger said, interrupting his mother and startling her into silence. "I just spoke with both of them and they have agreed to come work for me. Luis will do building maintenance and Ella with manage the kitchen," and me, he thought silently. He knew it was his mother's wish that Ella would take care of his needs and he knew there would be some talk between the two women, but he trusted Ella to keep unspoken what needed to stay quiet.
"That's wonderful news, Carlos. I'm so happy you're giving them this opportunity. I need to go now. I'm going to call Ella and congratulate her. And, Carlos, I'm so very happy for you."
"Thank you, Mama. I'm happy too, to be finally starting to pull RangeMan together," he said.
"Well, yes," she said. "That's good news, but I was referring to Stephanie. I'm glad you finally found someone and I'm looking forward to meeting her soon."
He disconnected and stood with a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He'd just thrown Stephanie Plum under the bus. Chances were slim to none she'd ever meet his mother, but it would get his mother off his back if he could maintain the pretense of a relationship. His smile broke free when he remembered Stephanie limping around with a gunshot wound to her ass after she'd turned Morelli in. If he told his mother she was a gun-toting bounty hunter Mama would start to think Tulia was a good choice.
He disconnected from the call to his mother and returned Stephanie's call, ignoring the voice message she'd left, choosing instead to listen to her real-time. She'd been getting closer to Kenny Mancuso and had needed his help a time or two, but for the most part she'd done a good job. He frowned as she told him of her grandmother's disappearance in the funeral home. She had the feeling Kenny had something to do with it. He disconnected and made the decision to join her in her search.
He was still blocks away when the police scanner squawked the news of a major fire at the funeral home. His foot went to the floor on the gas pedal. Eliza Doolittle was in trouble. He didn't take time to wonder why the adrenaline coursed through him. He only knew he had an obligation to help.
The Mercedes squealed to a stop and Ranger exited the vehicle. The heat of the fire held him back for a moment and he took time to survey the scene. Black and whites had halted, helter-skelter in the road, and a crowd was standing mesmerized watching the building burn. He spotted Morelli talking to a small woman he recognized at Stephanie's granny. That was a good sign. Morelli took off around the side of the burning building and Ranger followed. He came to a halt when three of Trenton's finest stepped into his path.
"I'm looking for Stephanie Plum," he told them.
One of the officers said, "You need to leave. This area is restricted." Ranger paid no heed and pushed by the man. A man he knew to be a federal agent appeared from the back of the house and turned when he saw Ranger. He gave a slight incline of his head and Ranger followed him to the back of the funeral home. He heard Morelli before he saw him. He was yelling at Stephanie.
"Let go of his shirt!" Morelli bent forward and tried to remove Stephanie who was sitting astride Kenny Mancuso.
"He'll get away!" Stephanie kept her head low and her grip tight. She was determined to keep Mancuso flattened on the sidewalk.
"He won't get away," Morelli shouted. "I've got him." Stephanie looked up and saw Morelli by her side. Then she noticed Ranger and Roche, the federal agent, watching her. She smiled at Ranger, and he relaxed. She was okay.
She gave him a thumbs up sign and grimaced as she noticed her hands were covered with blood. Mancuso's blood. Ranger stood for a moment and just stared. Her hair was in wild disarray, but, all in all, she looked much better than Mancuso. She was two for two with her major FTAs. Vinnie should cut her some slack now.
Ranger was unmoving as he watched the scene unfold. Stephanie stood and pushed her hair out of her eyes as Morelli drove his fist into Mancuso's face and destroyed what was left of his nose. One of the cops cuffed Mancuso and hauled him to his feet.
It was dark and the scene was lit with flickering firelight as the funeral home continued to burn. Ranger became aware of the sound of fire engines and the chaos that reigned in front of the building. Stephanie was no longer in any danger, but he didn't leave immediately. He remembered Stephanie telling him it was personal between her and Morelli and it looked like things between them were on an upward swing.
Morelli's unprovoked attack on Kenny Mancuso and the look on his face told Ranger more than Morelli could have imagined. After Mancuso was walked around the side of the building, Morelli leaned in close and said something that made Stephanie laugh. It was very personal between the two of them. That was good. Morelli would watch over her. It should have eased his mind that he didn't have to bear the responsibility of Stephanie Plum alone. He didn't take time to analyze the minute dart of anxiety that coursed through him. He turned to leave. He had plenty of RangeMan business to attend to.
As he turned the corner and headed back to his car he saw Stephanie's grandma. She was struggling to shove what looked like a .45 long barrel into a black patent-leather pocketbook. His eyes crinkled and the corners of his mouth twitched. Yep, Babe, that's one helluva gene pool.
Two days later Ranger opened the stairwell door and walked across the empty lobby of his RangeMan headquarters. He checked his watch as the lobby door opened and a tall blond man walked in. They met in the middle of the room and Woodrow Smythe held out his hand.
"Mr. Mañoso?" he said in a voice tinged with a honeyed Southern drawl. Ranger held his hand out and it was grasped in a firm handshake.
"Call me Ranger," he told the tall, deeply tanned man. "You're the designer? Mr. Smythe?"
"Call me Woody," he replied, the grin widening. "Your mother said you would be pleased by the apartment. I was happy to get the call from you, because if you want me to do more work it means she was right."
Ranger gave him a tour and explained what needed to be done. Woody listened attentively. He carried a pad and took notes, occasionally making sketches. When they'd toured the first five floors of the building Ranger turned and asked, "Any questions?"
"Yes," he responded. "I do have a question for you. How did you like the security system I put in your apartment? I was a little hesitant to do it because this building is going to house a security firm, but I wanted something that would integrate well with whatever system you use for the rest of the building. I didn't think I could design the apartment as I did and then leave it unsecure in a mostly empty building. I hope I didn't overstep my bounds."
Ranger took a long look at the designer and found him to be very interesting. He was young, mid-twenties at the most. He was tall, easily a couple of inches over six feet and well-muscled. They didn't look like gym muscles either, Ranger noticed. The man looked more like someone who did manual labor for a living rather than interior design. Not wanting to be unfair, he conceded there could be an element of physical labor in design work. Woody was wearing a pristine white dress shirt tucked into faded and well-worn jeans. His feet were shod in a pair of handmade Sorrel cowboy boots that had probably set the designer back at least a grand. Ranger knew, because he had a pair of his own tucked into the deep recesses of his closet. They'd been a birthday gift from his sister, Celia.
Ranger laughed to himself before he answered Woody's question. "The system you installed is exactly the one I would have picked, had I the option. I don't think you need to be worried about overstepping your boundaries. My mother had the entire apartment decorated for me without my consent or knowledge." Woody's face paled a little under his tan.
"I didn't realize that," he said.
"I'm aware of that," Ranger responded. "It's not an issue, between us, or between my mother and me. I think she did me a favor, actually. I want you to design the rest of the building. I like your style. Do you have much experience in home security?"
"Some," Woody said. "And I'm getting more with each job I do. We, uh, I have done a lot of high end homes in the Trenton area and I feel home security is a vital part of the design."
"You said 'we'," Ranger said. "Do you have a partner?"
"I did," Woody said. "I moved to Trenton to work with my fiancée and her business partner. Unfortunately, she and our other partner decided it worked better with just the two of them. They moved back to Dallas together, and she's no longer my fiancée. I've got thirty days to make the decision to buy them out or close the business, but don't worry, even if I close the business I will complete this job. I'm really excited at the prospect of designing the entire office complex."
"Do you enjoy the work, Woody?" Ranger asked.
"I enjoy it way more than what I was doing before I came to Trenton," Woody said. His eyes shifted slightly not meeting Ranger's directly.
"And what were you doing before you came to Trenton?" Ranger asked him. He had a good idea what he was going to hear.
Woody was quiet for a moment. "I was in the Army. Rangers. I never served with you, but I know who you are, Major. I spent a lot of time in Iraq and Afghanistan and I'd have to say I didn't enjoy it. I was good at what I did, but there was no enjoyment."
"I'm not Major, anymore. Just Ranger."
They continued their conversation about the plans for the unassuming building on Haywood Street and when Woody shook Ranger's hand and made his way out the door the decision had been made.
He'd have to make some phone calls, but his instincts told him he'd found a new member for the RangeMan team.
By mid-afternoon the background check was done and he'd talked to Woody's former commanding officer. It was his business and his decision, but he shared the information he'd collected with Tank. When Tank agreed, Ranger made the call.
"You've got the design job for RangeMan, Woody, and your answer to what I'm about to ask has no bearing on that. You have no obligation to say yes, but I'd like you to consider carefully what I'm going to ask you. Would you be interested in coming to work for RangeMan?"
"Sir, yes, sir."
"That was a quick reply," Ranger said. "Don't you have questions, about the job or about salary and benefits?"
"Yes, I do," Woody said. "But it won't change the outcome. I want to work for you."
"Well then, welcome to RangeMan, Woody." Ranger disconnected and laughed out loud. He knew he'd be hiring others besides Santos and Brown, and he had a list of likely candidates. He'd never considered hiring an interior designer, but the decision felt right. He picked up his phone to order flowers for his mother.