I dropped the form that the coroner had given me on Connie's desk, stating Bernie Horowitz was no longer breathing, but he was with the proper authorities.

"What's this?" Connie said.

"Bernie Horowitz death certificate."

"I heard about that. Is it true? Joe's Grandma gave Bernie the eye?" She looked at me hopefully, raising her eyebrows.

I shrugged. "Beats me. My grandma sure thinks she did. She even called the police. 911. Joe got the call."

Connie smiled. "I bet that went over well. Gotta love your grams. She keeps the boys in blue on their toes. One thing for sure, Vinnie will be surprised. We already took money out of the budget to cover that one. You should get a bonus."

"Bonus my ass!" Vinnie yelled from the back office. He poked his head out, so he could see us. "Stephanie, you get a handle on Donatello yet?" Before I could flip him the bird, he walked back in the office, muttering something about how he shouldn't have come back to Trenton.

I looked at Connie and folded my arms. "What is the deal with Donatello anyways? I haven't even started looking for him. I don't even know if I want to look for him. It's already causing problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"I think my mom dated him once."

"Ha!" Vinnie's voice spewed out again from the office. I looked towards it, challenging him to poke his little greasy balding head out again. We waited, but he didn't say any more. I shrugged and looked at Connie.

"You think he knows something? Or is he just making noises because he found his lost beastiality DVD?" I asked.

"I'm betting on the DVD." Connie said. Her voice went up a notch "Because if he knew something that would help you out, I'm sure he would tell you!"

We both looked back towards the office. Nothing.

"Well, there's your answer. Its the lost DVD." She lowered her voice. "Hey, I got a message for you this morning. I was going to call you, but you walked in before I had the chance."

My heart skipped a beat. "What's the message?"

Connie stood up. "Let's go for a walk. People have big ears around here."

We didn't bring our pocketbooks. Just in case someone had bugs in our shoulder bags, we left everything at the desk and took a walk. I didn't care about whatever was going on with Donnie. So, my family had secrets. Who doesn't? Feeling terrible about Bernie wouldn't bring him back to life. I doubted that Grandma Bella would be arrested for a spell she cast. Plus, he probably died happy. He lived, he loved, and he died while in a compromising situation with a woman. He would be famous. His death would be questioned for years to come. Had Bella's spell worked? Or hadn't it? It would be one of those things that would sweep through the retirement community like wildfire. His name would be infamous. I think he would be happy if he knew. His viewing would be the highlight of the year. They would have to set out more chairs. Maybe they would even have to open up the Big Room for it. They may even have to open an extra bag of cookies. What else could a guy want?

I felt confident that what was happening in my life, was more important right now. I should concentrate on Ranger. I wanted him out of the slammer. That was my goal. The tapes were the key. The solution I was looking for, the golden ticket. I had high hopes that Ranger would be cleared of any wrong doing once we listened to the tapes.

We walked down the block, cut across the street and kept walking. "I wanna make sure no one's following us." Connie said, looking back. "You see anyone?"

I looked around. I was sure I would see men in dark suits looking suspicious. Or I would see men in "Construction" uniforms working on a street that didn't need repair. People reading the newspaper with a hole cut out so they could see us. I couldn't spot anyone, but it didn't mean that they weren't there.

"Jeez, your making me nervous!" I told Connie. I looked around again.

"Ok, here's the deal." Connie said, as we were passing by Phil's Fish and Aquarium Supply. Home of Harriet, The Largest Living Goldfish in New Jersey! I had personally never set my eyes on Harriet. Although, the sign has been up since before I was born.

"They are finished with the tapes." She said. "Tony Barella was clean. They can give them to you. But, my uncle said to be careful with them. You shouldn't go around announcing that you have them until you listen to them yourself."

"What is that suppose to mean?" I asked.

"I don't know, but he wasn't joking. I've heard that same tone before. He meant it."

"Did he say where the tapes were going to be?"

"He said he would drop them off."

"Drop them off where?"

"That, he didn't say. He's gonna call and let me know after it's done."

"So that's it?" I said stopping in front of Tasty Pastry. "We walked four blocks so you could tell me that?" I crossed my arms, looking around again. Dammit, I was still paranoid. I had lost my sense of security with the information we read last night. I didn't know if I would ever feel totally safe again.

"No, That's not it." She said. "Leaving the office will drive Vinnie nuts. He knows everything that happens in the office now. I swear there has to be a bug. I just can't find it. It's making me crazy. I hate that bug. I had to get the hell out of the office."

We walked into the bakery and bought a dozen doughnuts. "Maybe it's in the chair." I said.

"I looked in the chair. I tore the lining off the bottom and the sides too. I had to superglue it back together again. I even flipped the chair over and took the wheels apart. He is a bastard. I can't find it anywhere."

"I can ask Ramon come over and look for it. If there is a bug, he will find it."

"Do it." She said. "I am tired of his crap. I have no privacy. I've been afraid to use the bathroom! I have to go next door now and use Mary's."

It was already deep into the afternoon when I got back to RangeMan. It would be Fall soon. The leaves were starting to change. I knew the warmer weather would be gone soon enough. Already, I was starting to wear a sweatshirt when I went out to run in the mornings. I watched Judge Judy as I power walked my fifth mile on the treadmill in RangeMan's gym. My cellphone chirped at me. I was in the zone, thinking about how Judge Judy is sometimes nicer to the people who are jerks, than the people who get taken for a ride.

"The eagle has landed." Someone whispered through the phone. I think it was a woman's voice, but I wasn't totally positive.

"What?" I said, stopping the machine. I hadn't looked at the caller I.D. Who the hell was this?

"The eagle has landed." She said again, more forcefully this time. I thought the voice sounded familiar. Maybe it was Connie.

"What eagle?" I was totally confused. I wasn't even sure it was Connie. I glanced at the caller I.D. It was Connie's number.

"Connie? Is that you? What are you talking about?"

"Jeez, Stephanie! I can't talk on the phone. Meet me at the office in an hour." She hung up.

As I tried to catch my breath from the walk, I realized what she meant. Connie must have gotten confirmation about the tapes. You would have thought we would have a code worked out already if she was going to use it.

The phone chirped again. It was Tank. "Something just happened." He said. "Ramon was watching Seabring. He was in his office all afternoon. Five minutes ago, Seabring runs out of the building and takes off. Ramon tried to follow, but he lost him. It was like he was after something."

I looked at my phone, now knowing it was probably compromised. What were the odds that Seabring had a tap on it? "Shit, I'm coming down." I said. I hung up and ran downstairs. I found Tank. He was holding his hand up to his earpiece. I could tell by the conversation, he was talking to Ramon. He saw me and told Ramon to call him back if he found him.

"Ramon wasn't expecting Seabring to take off." Tank said. "He was hanging back, having lunch when he made his move. By the time Ramon had scrambled back up to the truck, Seabring was gone."

"I need another cell phone or another line. I think someone has this one tapped."

He walked into the backroom and came out with new phone. He called a number and set it up, giving me a card that had my new number and access code for mail.

"Use this one for now." He took my cell phone and shut it off, taking the battery out and put it in a black box.

I told Tank about the call from Connie, and how it lined up with Seabring's run.

"It could be a coincidence." I said. "Or, he was monitoring my phone. If he was, he will be going to the bonds office. Connie is supposed to meet me there in an hour."

Tank looked at me calmly. "Stephanie, you are under the assumption that Les is the bad guy. He could have gone anywhere. Maybe he was late for an appointment. We have no idea. We do have a tracker on his car. I will call it in."

Tank picked up the phone. Within five minutes, he had confirmation that Seabring's car was parked at his ex-wives house. That was across town, going the opposite way. I wanted him to be guilty so badly; I was putting him ahead of the investigation. I wanted to solve this and be done with it. Ranger's hearing was tomorrow. He would be officially charged with Jeanne's murder. That news could do a lot of damage to his business, and to his psyche. It would be very helpful If we just had something to give to Michael Rosewall.

"I'm supposed to meet Connie at the office. What should I do?"

"Cal and I will go with you. I am also suspicious of Les. His car could be a decoy. We will be going in hot. Go upstairs and change into the gear you wore the other night, and don't forget your gun and your vest."

I felt a little over dressed when I came back down stairs. I had on my black cargo pants, my Cat boots, a black tank top with my flak vest over it. For effect, I put my hair up in a pony tail and put on a black RangeMan ball cap. Tank and Cal looked just as I did. All I needed was a really big gun and I would be ready for the next police academy movie.

"Aren't we a little over dressed for daylight?" I asked.

"No way, You need to be prepared. You think you will be safer in a skirt?" Cal asked me, laughing.

Safe had nothing to do with it. Ridicules had a lot to do with how I felt. At night, I can pull it off. During the day, the outfit needed to be a little less conspicuous.

Tank looked over at me. "Ranger wants us to keep you safe. If you wore street clothes, you would stand out from us. You need to be in uniform. It's my job."

"We are only going to the office. I was there a few hours ago!"

"That was before the tapes were ready and Les took off. If there is a chance that someone else wants these tapes, we have to be ready. That means in uniform with vests. Just go with it, Stephanie. You look good. Don't worry, we got you."

Connie was standing outside when we got to the office. The alarm was going off. They screamed loud behind her. I suddenly felt I was dressed appropriately. On the way over to the office, RangeMan got the alarm code. One of the inside alarms had been triggered. Who ever triggered it, was already inside the building when it happened. It took twenty minutes for us to get there. I was hoping Connie hadn't come early and surprised anyone. Butterflies were in my stomach as I watched the road, willing the truck to move faster towards her. I was relieved when we pulled up and she was standing there, looking pissed off.

"I didn't want to go in and shut the alarm off." Connie said. "This building has a bad history with bombs. I decided to wait for you."

Tank used his phone and called in to cancel the alarm. It went off suddenly bringing the noise level from eleven back down to a three.

"You okay?" I said, checking her out to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"Yeah, sure. I didn't go in. I got here about five minutes before you did. You need to get better with codes."

"You confused me! I didn't know you were giving me a code!" I argued back defensively, trying to hold onto my pride. "The eagle has landed?" What kind of code is that? I wasn't even aware I was supposed to be on the lookout for codes! What the hell do eagles have to do with anything? I was watching Judge Judy, Give me a little break!"

Connie and I watched as Tank and Cal went into the office with guns drawn. It was unlikely that anyone was still there. Whomever set off the alarm, would be long gone. You always need to be careful. We waited outside, just in case. I had my hand on my gun. I sure as hell did not want to have anyone run out at us while they were inside.

"I knew this would happen." Connie said. "My uncle called me early. He said he was already having bad luck with those tapes. He said they were hot. He thought someone knew he had them, and he wanted them out of his lap as soon as possible. He said his boys were dropping them off, then they would meet me back here at the office. He wanted his guys to stay with me until you had the tapes. He was worried about them. I got the call over an hour ago. Right before I called you." She looked around some more. "Maybe the alarm scared them off. I don't see them anywhere."

"I think my phone is tapped." I said.

"You see, that is what I was doing with the code!" She said, frustrated. "The code was suppose to make it hard for the person to know what we were talking about!"

"Yeah?" I said. "Except you forgot one thing."

"Whats that?"

"You never told me about any codes! If the person you are giving the code to doesn't know what it means, how are they suppose to know what to do?"

Connie looked at me for a minute. "I hadn't thought of that. We always use codes. I forgot you're not part of the family." She smiled. "Sorry. Uncle Phil is paranoid. His boys are probably the ones who set off the alarm when they left."

Tank walked up. "No, I don't think so. Your uncle's friends are out back with bullets in their heads."

"Your shittin' me." Connie said. We both walked quickly towards the back of the building.

Two men were heaped on top of one another. They had on nice light brown suits. I didn't get close enough to see any bullet holes, but I believed Tank. My stomach was doing summersaults. I backed away, and held on tight to my gun. My eyes darted back and forth, seeking empty darkened places, watching for movement, as if someone would leap out and kill us all. I thought we should get inside the building.

I looked at Tank and Cal. "Someone knew the tapes would be here." I said.

This was bigger than just Ranger killing Jeanne, something more had happened. What ever that was, the tapes may be the key to all of it. They might be the only evidence there was that cleared Ranger and gave the police another suspect. The killer knew the tapes would be here and Les took off right after I talked to Connie. I felt terrible that these two men had lost thier life because of what Connie's uncle had told them to do. I was instantly grateful for not only my vest and choice of clothing, but for the men who were protecting Connie and I. One thing for sure, I wasn't calling this one in. I would let Cal do it.

Connie went over to the two men, and looked at them closely. "I know both of these guys. They came over to watch football on Sundays. That's Arnie and the other guy, that's Marko. Oh crap." Connie said. She walked away from us, and called her uncle.

"The inside of the office is trashed." Tank said. "The file cabinets are knocked over. The desk is on its side, the pictures are even off the walls and the couches have been torn apart. Who ever went in to the office, tripped the alarm while they were doing the search. It wasn't Connie's boys. It was whoever was after those tapes. They knew about the alarms on the doors, but they didn't know about the alarms we set up on the inside. Vinnie had a new system put in a few months ago, after he came back from Scottsdale. He didn't want anyone surprising him. He even set up his own security codes. They were not in Vinnie's original file, it was on a separate account." Tank said.

"Maybe they didn't have the new codes." I said. "Do you think they found the tapes?"

"Hard to tell. My guess is, yes. I am hoping that Uncle Phil hid them somewhere else."

We both looked over at Connie. I walked quickly over to her. Tank followed. If the tapes were not yet recovered, then Connie and her uncle could be targets. Tank, Cal and I surrounded her as we walked her into the office to keep her safe.

"What?" She was confused as we grouped around her, shielding her until we moved back inside and away from the windows.

"Connie, where did the boys hide the tapes?" I said. "Were they here? Or did they hide them someplace else?"

She looked around at the office. It was destroyed, again. "Oh jeez, Vinnie is going to freak!"

"Where are the tapes suppose to be?" I said, panicking.

"Uncle Phil said he put them in a grate inside your apartment."

"My apartment?" I said. I was really panicking now. This was bad.

"Yeah, your apartment." She said.

"Connie, I don't have an apartment anymore. I gave it up."

She looked at me for a moment. I could see she was more than a little lost with what had just happened, but I needed her to focus. "Oh, shit." She said. "Well, that's where they are."

"Did he tell you what grate?" I said.

"The one in the ceiling, by the stove in the kitchen."

"Call your uncle back, use your codes and let him know what happened. Tell him to watch out, the killer could be coming after him. He could be in danger."

I looked at Tank. "How the hell are we going to get the tapes?"

Tank called Ramon. He told him to meet us over at the bonds office, and to bring the van.

"I need a secure line." I said.

Connie pointed to her phone on the desk. "That one is secure. At least it was this morning."

I checked outside. There was a payphone on the corner. I fished fifty cents out of my pocket, and went outside to call Dillon. Dillon is the super at my old apartment. He is a friend from high school, and there is a lot of things he knows about me that most people don't. Like, why my apartment was so difficult to rent out. I told him we needed to get into the apartment. It was the truth. I figured honesty was the best policy. He had never let me down before. I did not tell him exactly why we needed to get in, just that we did and we needed to do it immediately. I didn't want anything bad to happen to anyone at the apartment building. It would be where the killer would head, once he found out where the tapes were hidden. Best if we took the building out of the equation.

He told me that Mrs. Fuentes was on vacation. He could help me out and get me in, but he wasn't going to risk getting in trouble, so he would use the story about a dead rat, to get inside. I told him that I owed him a case of beer for this one. Dillon told me to throw in a Pino's pizza and we had a deal.

Ramon showed up with a plain white van. Inside, there was enough blue cover-all workers uniforms and matching baseball caps for all of us. I made Connie come with us. I needed her there, in case the tapes were not where they were supposed to be. I wasn't all that sure the killer wouldn't seek her out to find out where the tapes were. She was at risk as much as her uncle would be. There was an extra flack vest in the van. I helped her put it on under the cover-alls.

"Is this necessary?" She said, as I strapped the last band around her.

"Yes." I said, looking in her eyes. "Very necessary." We all got into our uniforms. Ramon drove around the building three times. All of us watched through the vans windows looking for anything or anyone that looked out-of-place.

"Looks ok." Ramon said. "I'm parking in the back." He drove into the parking lot and parked next to old Mr. Sanderson's Miata.

My heart was beating fast in my chest. I made sure my gun was loaded and ready. I adjusted the ball cap and put my blue-tooth earpiece in my ear. We all tested the devices making sure we could hear each other. Cal would stay in the van; we needed Ramon with us for any locks we had to break.

We walked quickly into the apartment building. I found Dillon in the basement office. I handed him the beer and his pizza.

"Nice!" He said. "Okay, let's go. I called Mrs. Fuentes and let her know we needed to check the apartment. She was uncomfortable with it, but I convinced her the smell was bad, and we had no choice."

Dillon used his keys and opened the door to my old abode. I looked in, scanning the rooms. Not a lot had changed. Memories flooded back, but I took a deep breath and made myself believe that I had made the right choice to let the apartment go. Tank went quickly room to room, checking to make sure we were alone. Then he went into the kitchen and Ramon closed the front door.

There was a grate in the ceiling in front of the oven. I did see some flecks of paint that had come off when someone had removed it. Ramon got a chair and stood on it with a small drill and took the screws out one by one, handing the plate to Tank. He shined his flashlight up into the hole. We waited patiently.

"I don't see anything." Ramon said, as he scanned the inside of the vent. He looked some more. "Wait. I see something." He extended his arm and put it completely inside the hole, almost up to his armpit. I heard some tearing. He pulled out a small canvas bag and handed it down to me. I opened it. Inside were lots of small micro cassette tapes. The ones you use for dictation. There was a bunch of them. Uncle Phil had said there were about fifty.

Ramon finished putting the grate back together. Tank held onto the canvas bag, as we all walked out. Dillon locked up the apartment again, letting me take one last look at the ugly bathroom I had come to adore.