Untitled 13
By Heidi
Previously
"We don't want to disturb the crime scene any more than we already have Steph" he said close to my ear.
"But…but…she's wearing my new lingerie" I squeaked and craned my neck to look at Ranger.
A dark look crossed his face. I myself was trying not to get hysterical, best not to think about the dead woman on my bed. I was gonna lose it, shit.
"That son of a bitch! Of all the horrible, no-good things to do to a woman. It's bad enough he left a dead woman in my apartment, but to dress her in my new lingerie and my new 'Red Stiletto' lipstick! I never even got to wear them!" I sobbed.
Chapter Twenty
"Babe, we need to worry about the dead lady here right now. I'll buy you new lingerie and lipstick, I promise, lots and lots of it" Ranger said taking my face between his hands, looking into my eyes, his expression serious.
I gasped.
"You don't think that's Paula de Escobar do you?" I asked Ranger looking at the body.
"I don't know Babe" Ranger said releasing me and turning toward the bed. "The hair and eye color and build seem to match." He studied her face. "There's something weird about the eyes."
"Yeah, the color, it looks fake."
A minute later I heard the apartment door open. Morelli called out.
"Steph?"
"In the bedroom" I said.
Ranger and I were standing by the bedroom door not wanting to corrupt the scene.
Morelli came in wearing rubber gloves. He stepped carefully into the room and started to look around not touching anything.
"Joe? What's the story with Javier de Escobar? I think this could be his sister, Paula" I said glancing at the body finally getting over the urge to stare and trying hard not to throw up or hyperventilate.
"He was released first thing this morning. The D.A. dropped the charges since he was acting in defense of a third party and didn't injure the man" Morelli said pausing to look at me. "He has to check in with his Parole Officer weekly and they're requiring him to get career counseling so he can get training for a decent job. He left a note for you with the processing officer. It's in my coat pocket if you want to grab it" Morelli said stepping up to me, leaning his hip toward me.
I reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of yellow legal paper.
Dear Miss Plum,
I want to thank you very much for working to find my sister Paula. You are very kind. Call my cell day or night if I can help in any way. Please keep me up to speed and know that I appreciate your assistance tremendously.
Sincerely,
Javier T. de Escobar
His cell phone number was written on the bottom of the page.
"Well that's interesting" I said to Ranger showing him the note.
"Look like he be multilingual too" Ranger said with an almost smile.
"Do you think it would be appropriate for me to call him to see if he can ID the body as Paula?" I asked Ranger and Morelli.
"Well, I don't think you should bring him in here with her like this. Once the M.E. comes and gets her on a gurney I think it would be ok" Morelli said looking at the window, opening the curtains, searching for evidence.
"I agree" said Ranger with a nod.
At that moment several people moved into the apartment and into my little bedroom. There were three Crime Scene Techs carrying tool boxes and a camera bag. Lester and Bobby walked in followed by Carl and Big Dog.
I stepped out into the living room to give them space. Ranger and Morelli stayed in the bedroom.
As soon as I saw Lester I turned away from him going to stand by the window. I was looking out but not really seeing anything. Ugh, what a shitty day.
"Don't stand in front of the window Steph" Lester said from close behind me.
I turned around to face him still not actually looking at him and blew out a sigh.
"Thanks Les. It's stupid to stand in the window and give Scrog a free shot, sorry. Just add that to the list of stupid things I've done so far today and hey, the day is still young" I said glancing at my shoes.
"Steph" Lester said quietly but firmly. He used a finger under my chin to guide my gaze up to meet his. "What you did this morning wasn't stupid honey. It was spontaneous and bold and sexy…just like you. I'm just sorry I interrupted your fun, although I have to say I enjoyed the view very much" he said waggling his eyebrows at me.
I snorted. "I just feel like an idiot, like I gave everyone else another reason to laugh at me. I'm nothing if not entertainment for you guys right?" I said with a disturbed laugh.
"Steph, it's not like that. You bring a kind of light to the world that we don't very often see in our business. You're one of a kind and we all love you. The Boss is a lucky man and besides I didn't tell anyone that it happened. Only you, me and Ranger know. Now stop wasting time being all embarrassed and warm up that Spidey Sense of yours. We've got a psycho to catch" he said with a killer smile.
I blinked back the tears threatening to spill and grabbed Lester in a bear hug. I pulled back and punched him lightly on the arm. "Thanks you big lug" I said with a smile.
Lester crooked an arm around my neck and kissed the top of my head.
We turned away from the window to find Ranger standing about five feet away.
Lester gave my shoulder a squeeze then stepped away.
He paused when he reached Ranger and I heard him say "You're a lucky man Boss, she's a keeper."
Ranger gave him a slight nod and a slap on the back. It might have been my imagination but I thought I saw Lester wince at the slap and roll his shoulders as he walked toward the bedroom.
"Hey Babe' Ranger said pulling me into his arms. "You and Les make up?" he asked with a little grin.
"Yeah, turns out he enjoyed seeing me naked and all the Merry Men love me." I shot him a wink and was overcome by a smile when I saw Ranger's brow crease and his eyes narrow.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist Carlos, I only have eyes for you" I said then gave him a hard, quick kiss on the lips and a squeeze.
Ranger pulled back a moment later, a funny look on his face.
"You called me Carlos" he said.
"Well, that is your name" I said with an exaggerated eye-roll.
I turned toward the door at the sound of a stretcher being rolled in. The M.E. walked in behind it.
A shudder passed through my body at the memory of when they wheeled a stretcher in to bring Ranger to the hospital after Scrog shot him.
Ranger looked down at me. "You alright Babe?"
"Yeah, I'm ok" I said, although I wasn't sure if that was true or not.
"Do you want to call Javier or do you want me to do it?" Ranger asked sensing my distress.
"I'll call him" I said pulling out my cell phone and the note.
I dialed Javier's cell number. He answered on the second ring.
"Yeah?"
"Javier, it's Stephanie Plum, listen I…I…shit" I took a deep breath.
"What is it Steph? Just tell me" Javier insisted.
I blew out a sigh.
"Ranger and I found a woman's body in my apartment this morning. We don't know at this point but judging by the appearance it could be Paula."
The line was silent for a few beats then I heard Javier curse under his breath.
"Where are you?" he asked.
I gave him the address and offered to have someone pick him up at his apartment but Javier said he'd rather drive himself.
The body was zipped into a body bag and loaded onto the stretcher. Morelli walked out of the bedroom followed by the M.E. They walked up to Ranger and me. The M.E. seemed to be focused on me.
"Bernie Fowler, I'm the new Medical Examiner. I was wondering when I would have the pleasure to meet you" he said shaking my hand a little longer than necessary, smiling broadly at me. "I've heard so much about you Stephanie" he beamed.
Ranger cleared his throat loudly. Bernie snapped his attention up to Ranger who gave him that look that makes even the most hardened criminals wet their pants. Bernie's smile quickly disappeared, a nervousness settling over him.
"Female Jane Doe, mid thirties. I suspect the cause of death is the bullet to the head, I saw no other signs of trauma. Judging by the body temperature and the state of rigor mortis, I estimate the time of death between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m. I will of course conduct a thorough examination back at the Coroner's office" Bernie said efficiently.
Raised voices carried in from the hallway.
"I'm sorry sir but you can't go in there. This is a closed crime scene" I heard Big Dog say.
"I was asked to come here. I was called by Miss Plum. Is Detective Morelli inside? He knows me. Please" Javier said firmly.
Morelli and I both took off for the door. Big Dog opened the door just as we stepped up to it.
"Steph" Javier said, "This guy doesn't want to let me in."
"He's fine Big Dog, I called him" I said.
Big Dog looked at Morelli. "Your crime scene, your call Morelli."
"He's here to possibly identify the body" Morelli said waving Javier into the apartment.
"Thank you sir" Javier said to Morelli.
The gurney carrying the body was still parked in my tiny hall, partly in the living room. We all walked over to it. The M.E. stood at the head ready to unzip the body bag.
I stood next to Javier with Ranger by my side. Morelli was on Javier's other side. Big Dog, Bobby and Les stood in the small foyer near the front door.
"Ready?" Bernie asked Javier.
Javier swallowed hard then nodded his head. He had put on a brave face but I could feel him trembling next to me.
I felt horrible, this was all my fault!
I reached out and grasped Javier's ice cold hand in mine as Bernie unzipped the bag.
Javier sucked in a quick breath and his shoulders slumped, his head dropped forward.
A moment passed where no one spoke or moved. Shit, I hate this.
Javier kept his head tilted down but shook it slowly from side to side.
"It's not her, it's not Paula" he said with a shaky voice. "Thank you Jesus" he said looking skyward.
I was incredibly relieved that it wasn't Paula, but at the same time that meant that Paula was still out there somewhere in danger and that this woman died so Scrog could act out his sick fantasy for me. The room started to spin.
"Breath Babe" Ranger said touching my back lightly. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath.
Javier suddenly stilled. "Wait a minute! Open that back up, I think I know her" he said.
I freed my hand from Javier's and shook it to get the blood flowing again.
Bernie revealed the woman's face again and we all looked at her for about thirty seconds.
"Dat's the nurse, I almost sure of it" he said excitedly. "The one dat Scrog was talkin' to at da prison, Kerry or Sherry or whatever her name."
"Sherry Sutherland" Ranger said.
"Are you sure Javier?" Morelli asked him.
"99 percent sure, hard ta tell wit da eyes closed" Javier answered.
The M.E. rolled the gurney out of the apartment. That left me, Ranger, Morelli and Javier in the living room.
"That's very helpful, thank you Javier" Morelli said.
"You're welcome" he replied with a nod. "Any word on my sister?" he asked us collectively.
Ranger spoke up first.
"Morelli got a warrant for the records from her cell phone. My men worked through the night last night to try and triangulate an approximate location where the call to Steph's phone was placed from. We were able to trace it down to downtown Trenton in the area of the Statehouse, probably on Stark Street. But that is give or take a couple of blocks in each direction."
I looked at Ranger eyes wide and crossed my arms over my chest. This was news to me! I don't know why he didn't feel the need to share that information with me but I was not happy about it.
Morelli took one look at the pissed off expression on my face, then shot a look at Ranger trying to warn him of my anger.
"I'll explain later Steph, put away the claws" Ranger said.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Uh-oh" Javier said. "I seen that look before, it ain't never good" he said.
"Uh…I need to talk to you about something" Morelli said to Javier. "Let's go talk in the hall" he said with a grin.
I assumed that Morelli was going to tell him about Paula's car being crashed last night, but he might have just been trying to get out of the line of fire.
Ranger grabbed the top of my arm and pulled me into a quiet corner in the living room.
"Stephanie, I got word about the cell phone this morning while you were supposed to be getting dressed. That's why Lester was in the apartment, he brought up the report from Silvio. When I walked out of the kitchen and saw you standing there naked and Lester with his shirt off, I tossed the report aside. After I cough talked to Lester and he left I looked at the print out and called Morelli with the location.
"I had planned to tell you about it when I came to visit you in the bathroom but you distracted me standing there naked and pink and sexy with water rolling down your body" Ranger said with a grin.
"Oh" I said as I saw Ranger's bedroom eyes looking back at me. When you put it that way how can he not be distracted?
"Well, why didn't you tell me in the truck on the way here? You were quiet in your driving zone as always" I said.
Ranger chuckled softly and pulled me into his arms, speaking softly, his lips brushing my ear.
"I wasn't exactly in my zone Steph. I was daydreaming about your new lingerie. I was imagining what kind of naughty goodies you had waiting for me to rip of with my teeth." Ranger chuckled then licked my ear when I gasped at his admission. "I was so focused on the goal of retrieving your sexy lingerie, the report never even crossed my mind" he finished kissing my neck with his hot moist mouth.
I sighed, uncrossed my arms and hugged him around the waist.
"Ok, well, just try to remember to include me next time ok" I said.
"We're in this together Babe, remember that" he said then leaned in for a soft, wet kiss.
I couldn't help the whimper that escaped my throat as he kissed me.
"Oh good, you two kissed and made up" Morelli said loudly. "We've got a situation" he said.
Ranger and I just stared at him waiting for him to tell us what happened. The Merry Men filtered into the room as we waited.
It was Javier who spoke. "Scrog just called my cell phone."
I sucked in a breath.
"He said that if I ever want to see my sister alive again, I have to meet him tonight" Javier said with a tight voice.
Ranger still had an arm around me and I felt him stiffen.
"That's not all" Morelli said.
Javier looked like it was something he really didn't want to say.
I looked at Javier, noticing that his face was pale and his hands were balled into fists.
"Just say it" I urged him.
Judging by the look on Morelli's face it was bad.
Javier took a deep breath then said in a rush "Scrog said the only way he gonna let Paula go is if I trade you for her, Steph."
A/N – Thank you so much to all of those who continue to read and send such great reviews. You guys are the best! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I really like it so I figure that it will be everyone else's least favorite. Thanks again! -- Special thanks to Uncherished Light for the wonderful, thoughtful email of encouragement. This ones for you babe :).