Just a little bonus chapter I promised. I'm already working on my next one which will be longer.

SPOV

I started reading the two victim's background's from Florida. Ranger and I decided to fly out in the next few days to Miami. Ranger needed two weeks to check everything out in the building and with his men then at the end of our trip is Julie's party.

It was decided Slick would also accompany us. Ranger didn't feel comfortable having an unknown guard with me that didn't know me personally. My plan was to go see Renee Griffin's house. She owned her own business and was a speech therapist from Tampa, Florida. Her neighbor was the one that reported her missing. I wanted to start with that neighbor. I researched her and discovered she worked from home. If Renee's neighborhood was anything like mine she might have noticed someone strange. Renee was also found at the local college in the woods but I couldn't find a connection to the victim and the school. Other victims were found miles from there home's or work but she wasn't.

This victim bothered me the most since from the beginning because her after picture looked the least like the other victims due to her weight. Like me she really enjoyed food and makeup but that's where the similarities ended. Her home was left to one of her friend's Hershel Forrest. Her cause of death was fluid in her lungs, fresh water not salt but I didn't see any large bodies of fresh water near where she was found dead or taken.

I started planning out my trip once we landed in Miami. Slick and I would take a day to get our barrings so I could meet with Ron then we were going to drive to Tampa which was around a 4 hour road trip. I didn't expect to find any tapes of Renee's whereabouts around town, it's been too long but she was one of the few victim's that owned a residence that went to someone she knew instead of a stranger. That home could possibly still have Renee's items and a clue for me.

I read over her credit card statements, like me she didn't have a strict routine but liked takeout from all over. I looked up her family, her mother was in and out of rehab for alcohol most of her life so Renee was left with neighbors and her father died from cancer when she was in high school. Boyfriends weren't frequent, her last relationship was two years ago and now he is married with a baby. Her medical records showed she received regular check ups and her doctor's wanted her to lose weight but she wasn't on any medication including birth control.

Winifred Grey was from Miami, divorced with no children, had a pet a cat and frequented the bakery near her home a lot but worked out just as much to keep her figure my notes told me. I saw in her background her ex husband liked strippers a little too much. He used there joint bank account to pay these women and slept with them too.

Her occupation was a blogger. I read multiple articles of hers to get the feel of her personality, she was witty and cute. She liked to write how-to articles and try new things. Like me, yoga was not her thing, she wrote about her adventures almost daily on her personal blog.

I could see myself as one of her friends. She once had a lot of friends before she was married but her divorce was a nasty one like mine. I saw she became kind of a shut in for a while. I was shocked she had to support her ex husband after the divorce because he couldn't keep a job, yet he was spending that hard earned money on other women. I was pissed for her.

Winifred was found on the beach from antifreeze poisoning. I had made a call to her landlord before Christmas but I haven't heard back. The apartment is now rented and all of her belongings went to her ex husband. I bet he didn't keep anything he couldn't sell for cash.

I was tracking him down but I had a feeling Slick and I were going to end up at a strip club to speak to him. I searched for Winnie's family but all I found was a single mother with no father on the birth certificate. I guess the man she called her father wasn't biological although she had his last name. The mom remarried and ran off to L.A with her boyfriend when Winifred turned 18.

I kept reading her daily blogs for clues on what was going on in her life, sometimes she talked about her cat Count Flufferton. She dressed him up in the craziest outfits. I sent those funny pictures to Tank's email, he showed me his cat's enough I thought he would like this too.

I read her blog about her adventures in dating again. It was funny to read about all of her awful first dates. I could definitely relate years ago. She had met men at speed dating and free online dating. One guy she met didn't believe in bringing left overs home at all. She told the waiter she wanted it anyway despite his feelings and that it didn't matter what he thought, she wouldn't be seeing him again anyway. That made me laugh.

Another date took her to Denny's and started coloring on the table with some left over crayons he found on the side. Wow just Wow! Speed dating was no better. A lot of the guys were looking for one night hook ups and sex in the parking lots. Classy. I'm glad I never let Connie and Lula talk me into speed dating now. I'm curious if this is how my stalker found her though. I made a note to look for a computer in her belongings and her dating profile online. I read almost everything she wrote in the last 3 years, she never mentioned issues with anyone except her ex husband. She was semi dating but no secret admirers.

I got a message from Royce.

Ever since that article went out in the newspapers the hotline is over run by woman calling saying they are being stalked now all over New Jersey. 1 out of 24 are convinced of it. Were still going through the names and taking information but were seeing a lot of "false stalking syndrome" right now, its kinda like "Munchausen's Syndrome" some women are calling for the sympathy or attention. We have the Trenton PD looking into some of the calls but the profile for these woman are typically sexually provocative, dramatic, have multiple relationship failures, money issues and either have once been stalked or know someone who was. Wanted to give you a heads up just in case they hire you to investigate. I'm currently beating my head on my desk. Rescue me by giving me a lead to run.

I texted him back.

Did Winifred have any interesting messages from men she was dating online or speed dating?

He responded right away.

No comment. The task force is on information lock down Dollface. Wink.

Great... "I'm stuck Slick. I need some inspiration."

"Take a break. When you force yourself to think it won't come."

"What do you know about compulsive shopping off the top of your head?"

"I know they have support groups but that's pretty much it." Great and I only know a movie about it.

"My ass hurts in this chair, let's go for a walk." We made our way out of Rangeman.

"I've been thinking...Can you think out anyone you rejected, anyone resentful or wanted intimacy with you in the past three years that you blew off? I'm trying to figure out if your stalker ever met you before. I saw the pictures of you in that room... it was something else. What is his motive? Is he seeking vindication, is this about a mental illness or delusion? I personally see a predator although none of the women were sexually assaulted. I think he has a constant fantasy about you to create a room like that... but something is off and I know you feel it too." I just sighed.

Slick and I were walking around the streets downtown. "I've thought of that. No one really made an intention known to me. I've been thought of in the past as Morelli's girl so no one really tried to move in on his territory. The people who did flirt with me like Bernie Kuntz didn't do this...I feel like he wanted me in that room, wanted me to become bossed with him as much as he is with me. I've been thinking of slipping the newspaper a fake story about me focusing on some case that's nothing to do about this one. Maybe I can get him angry where he will try to make a move on me." I bit my lip. "Or maybe he might make the next woman disappear again like that missing victim... What do you think?"

"I think it's a good idea. But don't leave town in your real name when the article is out. Maybe leak your working a big case in town relating to a art crime or something, we fake a crime if necessary to drawl the press into it. Let's go to the clean room after you write a draft of your fake case maybe submit it before we leave for Miami but don't tell anyone your going to Miami not even your family. We are going on a private plane as long as you don't use Stephanie Plum in Miami on paper, he may never know you left Trenton."

"I've stopped using my name since I've been back. I've only used my business card for the last month and my old bank account was shut down. How do I erase my background? Ranger told me I could do that if I wanted to one day."

Slick thought of it "it's a multiple step process, because your high profile you will never be a true ghost but let's head back and I'll speak to Hector. Electrically he can get rid of you within a month. The only thing he will leave is your birth, high school graduation and college records. The newspaper articles will probably stand for a really long time online because of your rep but over the next year Hector will start tracking down hard copies about your life from everywhere and get rid of them. It's not an over night thing. Do you have any spare id's not in your name? Or do we need Hector to make some."

"Ya, two I have."

He nodded "in the future if you can't use your business cards, use those for traveling from now on instead of your own. If you immediately stop using your name now it will make it easier for Hector to run future searches and get rid of what comes up. Eventually he will run maintenance searches monthly on your name and get rid of things like he does for Ranger. That's how he discovered someone stole his identity and started looking for Scrog."

I felt something dripping from my nose and I touched it, blood.

"Are you hurt, sick, what happened? We were just walking? Do you need the hospital?"

"No Ranger told me it could be one of my new symptoms during the pregnancy this week. I'm fine it's just a little nose bleed, let me stop in the bathroom in the lobby." After ten minutes I came back out all better. We walked back to the war room to sit.

"Have you been thinking about your all star list?"

I gave him a big smile. "Yeah I want to meet your art thief so far. When things settle down for me again I'm thinking of getting Rosetta stone Spanish for myself and the other two on my list I don't know yet, I'm still making it."

"Done. Your going to like Walker... he's unique. He is also a world class forger. I'll call him now and see what he can do."

Slick left the room and I re-looked at Florida. I couldn't get my conversation with Ranger out of my head concerning Rachel. I googled shopping addictions to see if there was a legitimate mental cause.

Slick came back in "he can give us time later today, he is near New York and willing to meet."

I gave him a big smile."Thanks I needed a break...Slick you don't have to tell me, it's not my business but why aren't you close to your family?"

He was quiet for a long time. I started to look back at my screen researching when he spoke.

"Like most guys here, my family didn't understand how the army changed me. I didn't feel like I fit with them anymore, they wanted the old me and I couldn't give that to them anymore. I couldn't pretend. They were very curious about my skills I had acquired since I was in Special Forces but I kept a tight lip about my old life once I got out. My family wanted me to marry a small town girl but I've never met anyone I loved. Lust sure, love no. If I ever get married it's going to be a one time deal. I don't talk about myself a lot or my life. I'm a private person, were trained to be that way for our own safety. Rangeman also has confidentiality and privacy requirements that doesn't allow me to talk about my work to just anyone. It makes a relationship difficult... When your asked about your day you can't always be honest, being vague tends to annoy most women too."

"Do you want a serious relationship?"

"I would like someone to go home too sometimes but with that mentality I could get a dog or a cat like Tank. My longest partnership with a woman has been you. Before you I dated a girl a week at most my whole life. I'm not proud of it but I can't change it either."

"I think your dating the wrong women, instead of picking her up in a bar, pick a woman up from a book store or take her on a real date. I've dated two men with impossible schedules and lives. If you want to make it work you make it work. The whole I can't tell you about my work is annoying, I'm not going to lie but if you explain it up front, most women would understand. I'd set you up with one of my cousins but they are all super annoying and my only single friends are Connie and Lula."

Slick grimaced. "I don't want family connections and no offense but I saw the shit Lula did to Tank. I'll pass." He started laughing and I did too. I thought at one point Ranger was going to kill Lula just to leave Tank alone.

"How did you meet Ranger? I noticed most of his employees he works with first before employing them. Very few are from actual applications submitted."

"Ram worked here already, we served together. They needed someone who was fast, quick fingers and could talk there way out of a situation. I'm not huge like Tank or Hal but I'm not a small guy either. I'm better at blending in as a guard because I don't intimidate unless I need to."

"You don't have a criminal record, did the army teach you quick fingers?"

He smiled "my dad owned a key making business with lock picking on call. I became good at a young age and eventually moved onto... other things. The trick is patience. You get frustrated after a few minutes."

"How do I learn patience?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe put a plate of food you love in front of you then you have to wait to eat it for 5 minutes. If you complain or try to eat it, another 5 minutes as a penalty. We can increase the time weekly to create patience for you. I don't know, that's what my dad did with me when I was five but he was strange in his lessons. He wouldn't even let me drive a car til I could parallel park and K-turn a John Deer tracker he owned between cones he had set up."

I started laughing. "I can only imagine what Ranger will set up for the twins. Tank mentioned baby boot camp and at the time I thought he was joking but now I'm not so sure. I can just picture the twins just starting to walk wearing Rangeman uniforms then Tank setting up cones for them to do an obstacle course while crawling. Or when they can run, larger courses with repelling off a wall." The image made me smile.

"I don't care what they want to do as long as the twins aren't forced into it, then I will put my foot down. I did forced dancing, cooking and singing so I know what it's like...why don't any other women but me and Ella work for Rangeman?"

"You should ask Ranger he does the hiring."

"I have. He says he would hire someone if they had the right skills. I want your take on it."

"There aren't a lot of women who are soldiers, most ex military women get out and start families. Other ones that don't are usually in government work and are payed well to stay in that field unless they burn out or forced out due to skills. Larger private security firms or mercenary firms pick them up in the larger cities and pay them a bonus for their gender.

As far as I know a woman hasn't applied to Rangeman in a guard/patrol capacity, only as assistants or house keeping. It's also about personalities, there is a lot of testosterone in this building. You saw what happened in the gym with Eric, he backed off because your Ranger's woman but it would create a distraction among the men in my opinion if Ranger hired the wrong personality in a woman. Employees sleeping together or sharing woman isn't good for moral. Ranger even has a building rule about not sharing women with other men here in our personal lives. It works. Conflict is minimum. Ranger doesn't just hire for skills, he hires people that will work well as a unit without weakness or distraction he has a brilliant strategic mind.

Look at the field you use to work in. In New Jersey there is only a handful of female bounty hunters, only one of you had military experience Jeanne Ellen, the rest learned on there feet but burned out over time or quit due to injury, Joyce Barnhart for example. Your one of the few I know who left willingly do to your condition... Do you think you will return to it after you deliver?"

"I don't know right now. I don't love chasing people but I kind of miss hanging out at the office or seeing certain people that were my regulars. I didn't love every file but I didn't hate it. I will probably still run this business and maybe take the odd case for Vinnie once in a while. I'll wait and see... Is there a pool about me? I know Rangeman pools over my cars but are there any others?"

"Yeah. Gender, babies weights, the month and day they will be born. No one bets with Ranger included so there isn't a marriage pool or anything, no one has a death wish. We bet about everything though, it's not out of spite, we just don't have a lot of fun here. Ella never bets but she is in on this one with the babies."

"Does Ranger bet?" He just shook his head "Never. Neither does Tank."

I just nodded and returned back to my computer. I started printing off my research to show Ranger.

"I'll be back I need to drop this off." I walked to Ranger's office and knocked on his door I heard "enter."

"Yo Batman. I just wanted you to see this, Slick and I are going on a field trip soon so I'll call you if I need to miss dinner... Did you talk to Ron about a meeting?"

"Yes. He will come to Rangeman the day we land alone. He seemed not surprised I wanted a sit down." Huh he must know there is an issue then.

"That doesn't sound good. When you get a chance read over my research it might help." Or she might just be a gold digger. I don't want to say that to his face though, I know he is struggling with this enough. I gave him a small kiss and walked away.

RPOV

I looked at Steph's research. She looked at causes for obsessive shopping. Boredom, avoidance, depression/loneliness, poor body image, peer pressure, past poverty, passive aggression at a person or spouse and symptom substitution such as women with eating disorders graduate to compulsive shopping.

Symptoms include compulsion, obsession and loss of control, continued behavior in the face of negative consequences. People who engage in these binges get a feeling of a "high" physically and emotionally to help cope with their life and anxiety. People use it as a coping mechanism, some psychological conditions that are the root cause include negative feelings including fear and anger, excitement seeking, approval seeking, need for control, perfectionism or a deprivation in childhood.

Treatments include individual therapy, group therapy, reducing temptation, taking a friend on trips, developing new coping mechanisms or other hobbies, making lists before you leave your home and sticking to that list. Medications for depression and anti anxiety can also be prescribed.

I rubbed my hands over my face and groaned. I can't believe this shit.