Family Ties
Chapter 28
Javi and I agreed on a time and place later this evening. I had some time on my hands, so I went to the bank and deposited the check for Beaumont. I'd have to write Tank a check for his share.
I decided I could get a few more stops out of the way before meeting with Javi, and headed over to Hancock Street.
Lauralene Taylor answered the door. She looked at me with tired eyes. "You're the bounty hunter that hauled off Anton."
"Yes, I am. May I speak with you for a minute?"
"You told the cops to go easy on me that night?"
I nodded. I had actually told Morelli that she could use a friend.
"So now you looking for a little payback, or what?"
Francine Taylor walked up behind her daughter. "Lauralene, let the woman in. It could have gone a lot harder on you. You could have been charged with harboring or aiding or being an accessory or whatever they call it. At least see what she wants."
Lauralene nodded grudgingly and stepped back from the door. I heard a baby crying, and she left the room as Francine led the way to the living room.
"Would you like some coffee?" The gracious hostess.
"That would be lovely, thank you." Mom would be proud I'd remembered my manners. Then I thought about the plan and changed my mind. If she ever caught wind of that, manners wouldn't be high on her priority list.
Lauralene returned carrying a very small baby. She smiled as she looked down at her child, and I was pleased to see that not everything about her had turned hard and bitter.
"So, why did you ask them to go easy?"
I shrugged. "You were young, scared, and about to have a baby. I'd just taken the baby's father to jail. I didn't think you needed any more trouble."
She nodded absently. "Thanks. So what do you want now?"
Francine returned from the kitchen as Lauralene asked the question. Francine handed me a cup of coffee, and they both waited for my answer. I blew in my coffee and took a sip, stalling. I wasn't sure how to answer.
Hours later, I'd finished my errands and was on my way to meet Javi. I was hurrying because I was running behind. I hadn't found anything useful about Brennan, but I did get the names of a couple of ex-girlfriends that had moved out of the area. I'd called them in to Rangeman, so hopefully the guys could track them down soon. With luck, maybe they would have something to tell us. But this was about Sam, and I wasn't about to rely on luck.
I thought about Sam as I drove. I hadn't met her the day we came back to Trenton, but a few days later, after Tomas had time to check with her counselor. Tomas had told her that I helped her uncle Carlos catch the bad man who hurt her and took him to jail. She'd smiled her sweet smile at me and called me 'Aunt Stephanie' the minute we'd met.
She and Tomas were staying at the bat cave while Tomas house hunted. I'd met the rest of his family, a few at a time, as they visited Sam. Well, everyone except Ciara. I had spoken to her on the phone a few times, and Ranger and I planned to go to Miami so we could meet in person, as soon as we were sure things were settled for Sam.
I smiled when I thought of the bat cave. I wouldn't say it was a disappointment, but it was just a very nice house in a very nice neighborhood. Ranger didn't usually spend much time there, but we had taken to staying there most weekends and giving Tomas a hand with Sam's care. She was sleeping in Ciara's room. The casts were off, and the skin grafts were completed, but she still needed help getting around, and dressing changes to her new skin. Either Ranger or Tomas had hired a nurse at first, but Sam quickly reached a point that any of us could take care of her needs. And with the nearly constant stream of relatives dropping by to see if she needed anything, she didn't lack for anything.
I pulled my mind back to current business as I pulled into the parking lot of the diner to meet Javi. I hoped he would be willing to help. He didn't know me, but Pat had called him before the plane had touched down in Trenton. He hadn't sounded surprised to hear from me, and I was taking that as a good sign.
I took a deep breath as I opened the door. I considered saying a prayer that all would go well, but thought that might be sacrilegious.
I scanned the restaurant as I entered. It was almost half full, but I spotted Javi right away. He had the same nose and high cheekbones that Pat did. He smiled as we made eye contact, and it was Pat's happy grin.
Javi stood as I approached, and held out his hand. "Stephanie Plum? I'm Javi."
I smiled up at him as we shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Javi. Thanks for agreeing to see me, especially on such short notice."
His smile became a grin as we sat down. "Had to, big sister's orders." I looked questioningly at him, and he continued. "I called her after I talked to you this morning. She told me, 'Whatever she needs, Skip, you do it.' She also told me about the case you recently worked together, and I gathered what information on Brennan I could."
I almost laughed aloud. With this level of preparation, he should be a Rangeman. "Good. That's exactly who I wanted information on."
He nodded for me to continue. "I understand he's being housed in general population, why is that?"
He shrugged a little. "The parole violation was for an assault charge, and the current charge is attempted murder. I understand there's talk of filing charges for sexual abuse, but until that happens they won't move him."
"That's all I needed." And just what I hoped to hear.
Javi looked at me, assessing. "That was easy enough. Okay, that was the information, what's the favor?"
I met his eyes and hoped for the best. "I need to have a private conversation with Anton Ward."
