Janet Evanovich owns most of these characters. I'm just borrowing them.

Back in the Game

Ch14

The next day was a bust, investigation-wise. Lula and I did yoga in the morning. Jeff and his crew finished up my new garage apartment the evening before. Considering I chose all the finishes in a mad-dash shopping spree and Jeff's guys worked like speed-demons to get it done in just a few days, it came together very nicely. It wouldn't be my first choice for a cozy living space, but it would be very nice in its future as an office. It was absolutely better than my old apartment. Jeff even got his guys to take apart my bed, move it, and reassemble it in the new space. They also moved my dresser, night stands, and clothes. A few rugs, a small table, and some chairs chosen from the assortment of furniture still piled in my living room completed my new temporary living space. The guys did the heavy lifting, and Lula stayed behind to help arrange and unpack everything. Once I moved Rex's cage from the house into the apartment, it became home.

After they all left, I took advantage of my new bathroom. I loved the water pressure and bright white fixtures. It was so much better than the red sink and toilet and gold flocked wallpaper. The bathroom was tiny, but everything worked just like it was supposed to. I did the hair and makeup thing and then dressed in a crisp blue blouse and dark jeans paired with my black steel toed CAT boots. I wanted to be ready in case I actually stumbled into something during the day's investigation.

I double checked that my gun was still loaded, stun gun was still charged, and my pepper spray and handcuffs were still in my purse. I grabbed my list of Anthony's known associates off the kitchen counter and I was ready to roll. When I left Ranger's apartment this morning, I promised him I'd let him know my plans once I decided on them so I sent him a text explaining my plan for the day. I was going to do a repeat of yesterday and knock on a bunch of doors. Hopefully I'd get some of the people I'd missed yesterday. Even more, I hoped that one of those people knew where Anthony or the drugs were. At this point, I only wanted to find Anthony so I could find the drugs. If the drugs were found without Anthony's assistance, then so much the better.

As I backed my Explorer out of my garage, a phone rang. It took me a second to realize it was the disposable phone I'd called Ivan Milovich on the other day. Ranger gave me the phone after the conversation and told me to hang on to it in case I needed to talk to Ivan. I dug it out of my purse and answered. "Hello, Ivan."

"Stephanie, how are you today?"

"I'm getting ready to go knock on some more doors in an effort to find either Anthony or, preferably, the drugs."

"That's why I called. I just wanted to remind you that you only have a few days left."

"I am well aware of that, believe me. I don't suppose you have any information that might help me out here?"

"No, if I knew anything, I'd be following up on it myself."

"Okay then. Well, this has been a nice chat, but I'm gonna go now."

"Take care, Stephanie. I'll be talking to you again in a few days." Ivan disconnected and I shivered in revulsion. The man's voice was so creepy and slimy. I debated going back to the apartment and showering again, but decided to just shake it off and keep going.

Six hours later, I was worn out both emotionally and physically. I'd trudged around half of Trenton asking about Anthony. No one had anything they were willing to tell me. It was like Anthony had dropped off the face of the earth. I was beginning to wonder if the rumors of him being alive were false, and he was actually lying dead somewhere. Ivan's call earlier in the day rattled me more than I thought and I now had a countdown clock running in my head that I'd rather wasn't there.

Ranger was busy with a takedown, so I picked up some Chinese food and stopped at 7-11 for beer before going home to my new apartment. I chowed down on chicken fried rice and egg rolls, washing the food down with a few beers while watching Ghostbusters. On the verge of passing out, I was startled awake by a knock at the door. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was already 9:00. I looked through the peephole and saw Ranger standing outside. After disengaging the alarm and all the assorted locks and dead bolts, I opened the door for him to come in. He was carrying a duffel bag and looked worn out. After a brief kiss, I offered him a beer. He took it and sank gracefully into an armchair in front of the TV. I told him about my day, and he filled me in on the takedown. It was kinda homey. I could tell he was tired and suggested we call it an early night. He didn't argue and fell asleep almost immediately after sliding into bed.

/

Ranger woke up at his usual time to go back to the office on Haywood for his workout. I, however, decided to stay in bed a few more hours until Lula was due to arrive. A twenty-minute jog with her wasn't quite as good as a five-mile run, but I was feeling lazy.

After our jog, Lula came up to the apartment for our usual water and coffee. I was impressed that she wasn't pressing me for donuts or McDonald's in the mornings, although I had no idea what she was eating the rest of the day. Like I told her, I wasn't into dieting and still ate whatever I wanted. Lula was regaling me with stories of some of her recent skips. It sounded like she was having slightly better success, which was good to hear. She asked me to help her with one that kept eluding her, through what sounded like no fault of her own. She only had two more days left to bring him in, so we made plans to meet in a few hours to try to bring him in.

I puttered around the apartment after she left. I cleaned Rex's cage out and gave him fresh shavings and a new soup can. His water bottle was sparkling fresh and he got a few grapes in his food dish. Looking in the fridge, I could tell I needed to go grocery shopping. Despite my prayers, the food fairy still doesn't visit me. These days my empty cupboards have nothing to do with my empty wallet like in the past. Now it was an issue of laziness on my part.

Finally it was time to go meet Lula at the bonds office. My outfit was essentially a repeat of the day before, just substituting a green blouse for the blue one. I did a quick check that all my stuff was still ready to go, gun, stun gun, cuffs, and spray. I grabbed my phone and clomped down the stairs to the Explorer.

I made a quick stop at Tasty Pastry to get a snack for the girls. Of course, I also picked up a Boston Creme or two for myself. Lula and Connie were in their usual spots in the office and I got the usual reaction when they saw the box of donuts. After the initial enthusiastic greeting, silence reigned for several minutes while our sugary treats were devoured.

"Alright, Lula, where's the file on this skip?" Lula handed it over and I started flipping through the pages slowly. Eugene Johnson was a pickpocket and purse snatcher. He had been a state champion track star in high school. Rather than use his running skills to get scholarships to pay for furthering his education, Eugene used his running skills to help his life of crime. Even with running five miles a few times a week, there was no way I could keep up with this guy. We were going to have to be sneaky.

Connie, Lula, and I brainstormed for a while. Finally we had a plan. Lula had several run ins with the guy, none of which had ended well for her. Connie had bonded him out before. I had never brought in Eugene during my bounty hunter career and since I'd been gone for a year, chances were he wouldn't know who I was. We hoped.

I went home to change clothes. Eugene targeted the area around the state complex, an area full of busy professionals likely to have some cash, not paying attention to their wallets and purses. I was going for the ditzy office professional look. Hopefully I'd look like an easy mark. I chose a light grey suit with a bright red, low-cut silk tank. The skirt was fairly short and the tank showed a little cleavage with help from a Miracle Bra. I worked my hair into big, fluffy curls and slathered on the makeup. A pair of four-inch, black heels completed the look. I made sure I had Connie's contribution handy. She provided a powerful stun gun that was disguised as a lipstick.

Since I refused to sacrifice another car while chasing down a skip, Lula swung by to pick me up. While I was getting ready, she'd done a pass through Eugene's territory and confirmed he was 'working' today. She dropped me off a few blocks from Eugene's location. I chatted on the phone with Lula as I strolled towards Eugene. I could see him out of the corner of my eye. I stopped and sat on a bench and started digging through my purse, making sure to 'accidentally' flash a little cash. I set my purse next to me on the bench and continued gossiping with Lula on the phone. I had my lipstick stun gun in hand ready to act.

I knew I'd caught his attention while I was strolling down the sidewalk. A short skirt and a hint of cleavage worked almost every time. Since I'd caught his attention with my appearance, I knew he was still watching while I rummaged through my purse and then left it basically unattended next to me while I talked on the phone. Sure enough, he fell for it. While I was supposedly absorbed in my conversation with Lula, I noticed him making his way closer to me, with my big dark sunglasses hiding that I was tracking his progress. Eugene casually walked up to stand next to the bench. I pretended to not notice him as I 'focused' on my gossip fest.

Next thing I knew, he had a good grip on my purse and was starting to take off. Shit, he was even faster than I'd thought! I stood and reached out barely in time to tag him on the wrist with the stun gun. He dropped like a ton of bricks and face planted into the sidewalk. I quickly took my purse out of his hand and dug out the hand cuffs. By the time Lula's Firebird screeched to a stop in front of us, I had him cuffed and was sitting on him. I had learned painfully from prior experience that everyone reacts differently to being stunned. I didn't want to take any chances on him getting away before Lula arrived.

Lula and I did a high-five and a little victory dance. We were attracting attention, but Lula let everyone in on the situation. "This here's a purse snatcher. My girl and I brought him down since he missed his court date. We're bounty hunters." Losing interest after that, the gawkers moved on. Thankfully Eugene was a little guy, because he still hadn't regained consciousness. We hefted him up between us and dragged him to the Firebird. We stuffed him into the backseat and took off for TPD. I was feeling pretty good. Connie, Lula, and I came up with a plan and executed it to perfection. No one was hurt and no one was covered in unidentified substances.

Before Lula dropped me off at home, we made plans with Connie to meet for drinks in a few hours after Connie got off work. I stripped out of my suit the minute I got in the apartment. After I showered, I wrapped a towel around my wet hair and pulled on a t-shirt that belonged to Ranger. I flopped onto my bed and laid in my thinking position. I needed to figure out what to do about Anthony and the drugs. I woke up a few hours later with no new ideas. I did the hair and makeup thing and chose a cute little black and white flowered sundress and black strappy sandals. I had just enough time to get to the bar to meet the girls without being late.