Perfect. Best news I'd heard all day. Except probably the furthest thing from it. So much for the Ray plan. This Rocky mess was really starting to get out of hand. And its ties to Ray's suspicious and untimely demise was smelling kinda fishy. Who am I kidding? It reeked! Like month-old slimy, decomposing fish guts.

Then again, it wasn't entirely impossible that Ray could've gotten a little carried away with one of his favorite recreational activities. But the guy seemed too smart to do something like that. I guess addiction didn't reserve its rampant path of destruction just for those who were stupid. Then a terrible thought occurred to me.

What if I had killed Ray with the brownies? Oh my gosh! I was a murderer! I'd murdered a homeless man with a pan of Mooner's whacky brownies! I could feel myself start to hyperventilate.

"You ok, lady?" the park employee asked suddenly.

"Fine," I gasped. I took a few deep breaths. "Sorry, the news just took me by surprise is all."

The man nodded. "I know what you mean. I'd just met the guy, but he seemed pretty clear-minded at the time. But I've never had problems with an addiction like that either. Maybe he just couldn't help himself. He even had a syringe still in his arm when I found him."

"I'm sorry, did you say a syringe?" I asked. He nodded. Phew! At least I wasn't a murderer anymore.

"Do you know where that syringe ended up by chance? Was there a police investigation at all?"

"Not my area of expertise, lady. I called the cops when I found him, and they took things from there." He paused and frowned. "Sorry about Ray. Seemed like a decent guy."

I nodded. "Thanks. Me too."

I made my way back to my car feeling frustrated and sad. Ray wasn't someone I hung out with on a regular basis or anything, but he had a good sense of humor, and the guy had some real integrity. It was a lot more than could be said about many of the other people I know. I held a little moment of silence in remembrance of Ray. Hopefully heaven was stalked with some really good brownies. A whole truckload just for Ray.

My next course of action involved making a call to the Trenton PD. More specifically a call to a friend and relative of sorts, Eddie Gazarra. He was married to my cousin Shirley the whiner, and had proven himself useful on a number of occasions in pulling a few strings to make my life as a bond enforcement agent a little easier. After each favor, he always swore it was going to be the last, but really we both knew better.

I grabbed my phone and dialed his number. "Hey," I said when I heard the line pick up.

"What is it this time?" he asked with a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking," I replied sarcastically. "What's with the attitude today?"

"Paperwork's thick as mud over here, and I'm pretty sure I'm long overdue for a vacation. And when you call, I get a sinking feeling in my gut."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you're probably not the only one."

"Funny. What's up, Steph?"

"There was a homeless man found dead in a local park recently. The park employee I just talked to said it seemed like he'd overdosed on drugs. Know anything about it?"

"Not off the top of my head. Like I said earlier, the paperwork's been a real mess lately."

"Do you know what happens with stuff like that? I mean, the guy was homeless, and there probably wasn't much of a reason to suspect any foul play."

There was a beat of silence while Eddie considered my question. "I'm not exactly sure, but it probably works the same as any other death situation. The police department spends a few days trying to find the next of kin while the body stays in the morgue. If no one comes forward, then the body's cremated. Sometimes specialized groups fund a little ceremony of sorts, but I think that's about it."

"This happened a couple days ago. Do you think the body would still be in the morgue?"

"Maybe. What's so important about this dead person?"

"I don't think his drug overdose was an accident. But right now I don't really have any evidence to support my theory. I was hoping that maybe he left behind some clues for me to follow. Of course, it's probably all just wishful thinking at this point. Thanks for your help, Gazarra. Tell the whiner I said hi."

I ended the call before Eddie could give me an earful on my blatantly rude comment. But it's not like he didn't know who he married. Or what the family had nicknamed her. I assumed it was probably part of the reason he pulled the long hours at the police department.

I left the park and headed toward downtown. My next order of business was probably to pay a visit to the city morgue. Not exactly my idea of fun. Maybe a trip to Cluck in a Bucket for a milkshake would make things a little easier to handle.

I pulled through the drive thru and rounded up all my loose change. It was barely enough to cover the milkshake. I frowned. My cash flow problem was starting to really annoy me. After the morgue, I made a mental note to swing by the bonds office and see who was available for some quick cash. And if that didn't pan out, I thought I might make a call to my mother to see what delicacy would be making an appearance on the Plum family menu for the evening. The best thing about those meals? They almost always came with dessert, and my mom wasn't usually chincy when it came to the take-home bags of leftovers.

After I'd polished off my milkshake, I pulled into one of the parking spaces in front of the city morgue building. The place looked horribly grim and bleak. I was used to people making a big splashy show of death and dying where I grew up. I'd definitely been to my fair share of funerals and viewings at the local funeral parlors, but the morgue made the whole process seem anything but glamorous. I took a deep breath and went inside.

An unkempt man was sitting at the desk looking bored out of his mind. His badge said his name was Carl.

"Hi Carl," I said politely.

Carl's eyes perked up slightly. Then his gaze shifted not so subtly from my face to my breasts. I guess younger women probably didn't often make routine appearances around here.

"What can I help you with?" he asked still clearly distracted by my chest. I glanced down to make sure I hadn't spilled milkshake all over my shirt.

"Uh, yeah. I heard the police brought in a guy the other day. Name was Raymond Allen Tagwood. I was hoping to find out his COD."

Carl snapped out of his boob trance for a moment. "Tagwood, huh? Let me take a look real quick." He shuffled off to the back while I stood looking around. The whole place was kind of creepy. Including Carl. Note to self: never reach desperate level low enough to work in a morgue.

Carl suddenly reappeared carrying a piece of paper. "The coroner's report said the cause of death was a drug overdose. No surprise there, I guess. Heard the guy was a bum."

"Hey now," I said narrowing my eyes. "That's not a very kind way to speak of the deceased. Why don't you show a little respect?"

"Geez, lady. What's your problem?"

"He was a friend. And a classy guy." Which was a lot more than could be said for Carl at the moment. "What happened to his personal belongings?"

"Relative dropped by yesterday to claim everything. Even picked up the body."

Ray had a relative nearby? I wondered how he wound up homeless. Unless the relative wasn't really a relative. I could see Carl letting something like that slide for the right price.

"Did the relative leave a name?" I asked. "I'd like to help pay for some of Ray's final expenses."

"Probably. You've gotta sign off on everything before you can take it." Carl pulled out a log book from his desk. He ran his finger down the list. "Ah, yes. Relative's name was Mag I. Ver." I waited for Carl to figure out what he'd just said, but obviously the mental train wasn't making it to the station.

I slammed my palm into my forehead. "You let someone sign off on a deceased person's personal effects and their body with a name like MacGyver? Are you insane?"

Carl got a dopey grin on his face and let out a few husky laughs. "Heh heh. That's kinda funny, don't you think?"

I grabbed Carl by the collar of his shirt and nearly pulled him over the desk. "Listen you moron, you probably just screwed up an entire investigation thanks to your complete inability to use even the smallest amount of common sense. Ray deserved better than this. Better than you, you incompetent pea brain!" I let Carl fall back in his chair behind the desk. "And don't think I won't file a sexual harassment claim with your superiors over your obvious ogling of my boobs. You're disgusting!"

I stormed out the door and was in such a huff that I almost mowed over another person on their way inside. Except it wasn't just any person. It was Ranger.

"Did you follow me here?" I asked still steaming from my recent Carl experience.

"No." His eyes narrowed a little.

"Well alright then. Good seeing you." I turned abruptly and headed towards Ben's car. Except I hesitated a moment. Maybe outside the morgue wasn't the best place for an apology, but it's not like there was a rule book for this sort of thing. I did a mental sigh. Maybe I should just set up a rendezvous time for later.

"Did you have another accusation for me?" Ranger asked. "You seem to be debating about saying something else."

I turned around and walked back over to him. But instead of being pleasant and arranging a meeting to apologize, his comment made some case-related crap spill out of my mouth instead. And not exactly in the nicest of tones. "Why exactly are you here?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

He shrugged. "Probably the same reason you were. Doing some investigating on an untimely death."

"I thought you were off the Rocky case," I said feeling the sudden need to study my shoes.

"Just because I'm no longer working the case with you doesn't mean I'm not working the case at all. I'm still hunting for one of the forged art pieces. Along with the guy who made me look like an amateur."

"Right." I paused. "You're probably not gonna have much luck in there. The body's gone thanks to some grade A employee incompetence. And the guy's a complete perv."

Ranger's mouth twitched a small smile. "I think I can safely assume you already put him in his place."

"Well someone had to." I felt myself smile a little. "Listen, I think we need to find some time to talk about some things."

"I don't know. You sent a pretty clear message last time. And besides, I'm going to be gone for a while starting tomorrow."

"How about tonight then?"

He frowned and his body stiffened. "I'm working." I couldn't tell if it was the truth or a really believable excuse to avoid me.

"Whatever," I sighed yanking the folded piece of paper out of my bag. "Here."

Ranger stared at the paper. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Whatever the hell you want," I huffed shoving it into his hand. He was probably making all of this difficult on purpose. "Burn it, eat it, run it over with your car. I don't really care. I just wanted to… You know what, never mind." I turned to leave again. "Maybe I'll see you around." I glanced back. "Stay safe, Ranger."

I hopped in the car and tried not to lose it. The apology had been a disaster. Ray was dead. And nothing felt like it should. I pinched my arm just to make sure I wasn't living in a nightmare. Nope, I was definitely awake. Maybe it was time to do what any desperate person would do in my situation. I decided it was time to call my mom.