Physical Evidence
NOT CUPCAKE FRIENDLY. Angst. Sexual situations. Adult Language. Babe HEA!
Not mine. No profit. Belong to JE.
Thanks to my fabulous beta, Jacqueline!
Chapter 10 – April 19, 2010 – 9:00 pm
To avoid being followed, Tank led the caravan from St. Francis in an elaborate route through the outskirts of Trenton before heading toward Princeton on Route 1. Although University Medical Center was only twelve miles from St. Francis, the drive lasted exactly thirty minutes.
Tank, Ram and Bobby wheeled Steph into the elevator and were met by her doctor as soon as the doors opened to the correct floor.
"Hello, you must be Tank." The woman chuckled. "I'm Dr. Alicia Washington. I'll be Ms. Plum's doctor."
"Hi. This is Derek Ramsay and Bobby Brown." He gestured to each man. "Bobby is our company medic and has been monitoring Stephanie's vitals on the drive over."
"Excellent." Dr. Washington said as she eyed Bobby closely. "This way to her new room." She turned her back to all of them as she headed down the hallway, expecting them to follow.
Tank watched Bobby closely. He remained stoic on the outside, but his libido was standing at salute. Dr. Washington was a good looking woman and the sway of her hips had Bobby hypnotized. They watched her disappear through an open doorway and followed her inside.
"Brown. Keep it professional. I see that look in your eye." Tank whispered. Bobby straightened his posture and gave a slight nod to Tank. They all understood the seriousness of the situation. Steph needed to be kept away from Morelli and Ranger needed to get to her side before the transfer was discovered and Ranger was banned from seeing Steph.
"I trust this room meets your specifications?" Dr. Washington asked. Two orderlies came in and moved Steph from the gurney to a much more comfortable hospital bed while a nurse began hooking machines up to Steph. The orderlies left, pushing the empty gurney out into the hallway.
"Yes. Thank you." Tank replied. "We will be leaving two men at her door at all times and her medical POA will be sitting with her, regardless of visiting hours. Many have tried to keep him away and it's pointless to try." Dr. Washington nodded in understanding. "It's possible the police will come barreling in here at any moment. I apologize in advance if your hospital is disrupted at all."
"I'm aware of the Trenton news. I also am aware of Mr. Manoso's reputation. I don't believe he did anything to harm Ms. Plum. I know his sister and she's told me many stories of her brother's rescue measures when it comes to the bombshell bounty hunter. I also know of Detective Morelli. He is quite familiar with our hospital." Dr. Washington explained.
"With the hospital or the nursing staff?" Tank smirked.
Dr. Washington smiled. "Let's just say that Ms. Plum's location won't remain a secret for too long. Detective Morelli has been seeing someone on staff for months. He often escorts her home after her shift."
"Would you be willing to testify to that in court if needed?" Ram asked. "Morelli is claiming to be engaged to Steph. We may have to prove otherwise."
"I would prefer to leave my name out of it, but you can interview as many of the nurses as you'd like. I know you'll find at least a dozen that have bitter feelings toward the man." The doctor explained with disdain. "If I was a betting woman, I'd place the odds on Morelli as the one who put Ms. Plum in the hospital."
"I'd have to agree." A voice came from behind Dr. Washington, causing her to jump. "Sorry to startle you, Dr. Washington. I'm Carlos Manoso. I'll be camping out in Ms. Plum's room indefinitely." Ranger stepped around her and offered his hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Carlos. Celia has told me so much about you. I hope you can get to the bottom of this quickly." Dr. Washington took his hand in both of hers and shook it firmly. "If you'll all excuse me, I have to make rounds. I'll be back to check on Ms. Plum in a while. If she shows any signs of distress or of waking up, please have me paged."
Ranger thanked her again and turned to address his men.
"Thank you for getting her here. I'm going to sit with her. Give me some time and I'll get a full report from you." He directed the last part to Tank. Tank nodded and gestured for Ram and Bobby to go first as they all exited the room, followed by the nurse.
Ranger walked around her bed and pulled up the chair next to it as he sat with his back to the wall, facing the door. He gently grasped Steph's hand.
"I'm so sorry, Babe. I should have gone with you to Morelli's house. Please wake up and come back to me." He whispered as he rubbed his face against her hand. "I don't know how much time I'll have to sit with you. I know they are working hard to keep me away from you. If they ban me from seeing you, just know that I'll be doing my best to protect you. Morelli will never hurt you again, Babe. I love you, Stephanie. I love you so much and now that I have said it out loud to you, I'll never be afraid to say it again. Don't worry about me. Don't worry about the charges. I just want you to be alright. Get better so that I can see those beautiful, blue eyes again. Please, Babe. I need to know you're okay." He pleaded as he lay his head down on the side of the bed.
Meanwhile, across town in an alley on Stark Street….
"Come on, Detective, there must be something I can do for you to get out of this. Do you wanna freebie?" The woman's voice purred as she stroked her hand up and down Morelli's thigh. "Please don't arrest me. I'll do whatever you want."
"That's a given, Candy. We'll get to that in a minute." Morelli said as he batted her hand away. "I need you to do something for me. It's a big job and it has to be kept quiet."
"I can be very discreet." Candy whispered huskily. "Whatcha need?" She twirled her finger around one of her auburn curls.
"I need you to seduce Chief Stenson." Morelli explained as he handed her a recent picture. "He goes out after work on Fridays for a beer at the little dive pool hall just a few streets from here."
"I know the place." Candy said. "Lots of business types who want to blend into the woodwork go there."
"Here's some cash…" Morelli grasped Candy's chin and jerked her face toward his holding her gaze firmly. "Do not spend this money on crack! This is for a nice business outfit. You need to clean your ass up and look like the farthest thing from a street walker. Can you do that?" He asked menacingly as he dug his finger into her jaw bone roughly.
Candy nodded her head up and down as her blue eyes filled with tears.
"I trust you to do this for me. You haven't been out on the street long enough to get that used look. If you pull this off, I'll help you get cleaned up and off the street." Morelli promised. "Understand? You show up at the pool hall, rub yourself up against the Chief and take him to this address." Morelli handed her a piece of paper and a key. "Fuck his brains out. I mean it! You show him the time of his life." He looked at her intensely. "You need to pull this off."
"I'll pull it off." Candy vowed. She shoved the picture, money, address and key into the side pocket of her bag. "Why are you doing this?" Why would you help me?
Morelli growled. "Don't ask questions…just do what I tell you!" Or you'll be sorry!
"I mean…why are you helping me if I pull this off?" She rephrased her question.
"You remind me of someone…." He whispered as he tugged on one of her curls and gazed into her blue eyes. It's like I'm back at the Tasty Pastry all those years ago.
"Thanks." She told him sincerely. "No one has ever wanted to help me."
The vulnerability in her voice snapped him out of his trance and he couldn't bear to see the gratitude in her eyes. "Take care of me now." He ordered as he unzipped his fly and pulled out his cock, leaning himself against the alley wall. "If you do it right, I'll even fuck you good after you're done."
When he looked at her again, the gratitude was gone and her eyes were hard again. She dropped to her knees and took him in her mouth slowly. "Mmmm…." She moaned as she went through the motions.
"Yes! That's it, Cupcake. Suck it good." Morelli whispered as he closed his eyes and fisted his hands in the young girl's curly mop.
