After lunch I took another painkiller and Ranger helped me into bed, and I fell asleep as I heard Amelia return with Tia. Tia was cooing and babbling, and Amelia was talking to her and asking her questions. It was quite cute actually. Amelia would ask her a question; Tia would answer her in baby language, and Amelia would ask her another question as if Tia had answered her in English and she had understood perfectly what Tia had said. I had commented on it once, and Amelia said that was one of the ways that babies learned the give and take of language. She said that it was important to the development of their language skills. Whatever it was, I had started doing it too. It was a lot of fun, and it made it easier to talk to Tia although, to be honest, I didn't have much of a problem talking to her at the best of times. Of course, I didn't really have a problem talking to anybody whenever. I loved talking to people and often found out the most interesting things when I did.

So I had a two-hour nap and when I woke up, the apartment was quiet and I knew that Tia was napping. I hoped that Amelia was napping too. I knew how tired I got when I was pregnant, and I thought that getting more sleep would be good for her.

I maneuvered myself out of the bed. It took me a few minutes, but I was very proud of myself when I was able to accomplish it. After using the facilities, I left the bedroom and swung my way out to the den. Ranger looked up and smiled at me as I stumped inside, and I shut the door softly after myself. "I'd assume that Mellie is sleeping?" I said.

"Yes", said Ranger. "I've just spent the last few hours calling different care organizations, and I've got the names of a couple of organizations that supply caregivers. I also found out a few things. One, I think your mother is eligible for caregiver support for a few hours a week through the government. There is a push to keep seniors in their homes as long as they can, and that type of community care means that there is a wealth of supports in the neighborhood that your mom will have access to. We will still provide someone every Monday, but we can try to get someone in for another couple of afternoons a week or mornings each week, and that will help your mom out more. The support organizations supply both Individual Support Workers, as well as registered nurses, depending upon the level of care that she needs. At this point, I think an Individual Support Worker is the level of care that is appropriate. Because there is no medication involved, I think a registered nurse is overkill."

"I agree."

"I have typed a summary of the conversations I had with the various aid organizations, and I have organized them according to the way that I thought made the most sense to approach them. I thought, however, that you'd like to do the final selection yourself when you feel up to it." He printed off his scratch sheet and handed it to me.

"Thank you for doing that. You didn't have to go to so much work."

Ranger turned a little red. "You would have for my family. Besides, she's my grandmother now too. Even if I get angry with her sometimes."

I smiled. "So do I, and from the sounds of it we might be getting angry with her more and more over the upcoming years."

"Did you read anything about how long people with Pick's Disease usually live?"

"I think I read something like someone often lives on average for seven years following diagnosis, but others can last ten years or more."

"Okay, so we have to batten down the hatches and prepare ourselves for the long haul."

"Yes."

Ranger smiled. "Don't look so worried, babe. We can do this. And think of it this way – it will be a wonderful learning experience for our kids, as they grow up understanding that people have cognitive disabilities just as much as they have physical ones, and that all people should be accepted and appreciated for everything they are and everything they have been."

I smiled. "That's true."

My phone rang, and when I answered I told Morelli that I was in the apartment and he could come upstairs. About three minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Ranger got up to let him in. He told him that Amelia was sleeping and led him to the coffee pot. After Morelli doctored his coffee, he followed Ranger into the den.

"I don't have your capture plan prepared yet,'' I said. "I've had some family drama to take care of, and I needed to concentrate on that."

"What family drama is that?" said Morelli.

I told him about my grandmother and the suspected diagnosis of Pick's Disease, and I detailed to him the symptoms and why we thought that the diagnosis fit. "My mom doesn't take her to the neurologist until next Monday, but it is a diagnosis that makes sense."

"That may change what I am about to say then,'' said Morelli.

"What were you about to say?"

"I looked at the tapes of you getting attacked and I did, in fact, download them onto a jump drive so that perhaps you can help me pick out the various people. I knew some of them, but between your apartment and your grandmother, you are more in tune with the senior's crowd." My old apartment had been a great place to live. Since the rent was cheap and the apartments were all one-bedrooms, most inhabitants were either the newly wed or the nearly dead, and there weren't many people in-between. Since I got along well with seniors, I'd had a ball living there.

"Okay. I'd be glad to help."

"I have to warn you, however, that out of all the people who attacked you, one of the people I recognized was your grandmother." I paled. "She bashed you over your head with her purse, and she was one of the people who knocked you to the ground. I'm sorry, cupcake."

I looked at the ground. "You have to charge her,'' said Ranger. "It might help get support for your mom in caring for her. Your grandmother needs to be supervised all the time now, and it will only get worse over time."

I nodded and sighed as Morelli handed me the USB stick, and I put it in my computer and accessed the file.

I watched it through from start to finish, and winced when I saw my grandmother attacking me. I looked at Ranger as I got to the end of the tape, and his face was studiously blank. I could tell that he had a hard time with seeing me being attacked, and I hoped this wouldn't cause him to have more nightmares. I looked at Morelli, and he looked like he had steam coming out of his ears. "No matter how often I see this", he said, "I am upset again by the violence of it."

"I knew a few of the people,'' I said. "Let's start it from the beginning." I started the file again and stopped it several times in order to identify people. Between Morelli and me, we were able to identify approximately fifteen people. That left about another six people that were unknowns. Morelli said that he'd take the file to the people that we had identified and perhaps see if one of the attackers could recognize the other people. We decided not to take the file to my grandmother – she'd derail the investigation, or to Grandma Bella, who would be so happy that I was being attacked that she might not help.

"What do you want to do about your grandmother?" said Morelli as he took the jump drive back from me.

I sighed. "I don't want her charged, but on the other hand, Ranger is right and it will help my mother get proper care for my grandmother."

"I think that it is important for your grandmother to have boundaries on her actions, and for her to own what she has done,'' said Ranger. "If she gets off scot-free, she won't think twice about doing it again."

"I know. This is going to be terrible for my mother," I said. "She's the one I feel sorry for. After all, for my grandmother the phrase 'you do the crime, you do the time' keeps going through my head. However, my mom is going to be the one stuck dealing with it."

"I'd recommend that your mom doesn't go to her bail hearing, and your mother doesn't offer to pay the bail,'' said Ranger. "Bail will likely be low, and will be something your grandmother will be able to afford through her Social Security checks or, at least, be able to pay with some help from Vinnie. I'm sure she has some jewelry that she could offer as collateral. Let your grandmother figure how to handle this mess. She was, after all, the one that got herself into it."

"Can I phone my mother and warn her?" I said.

"That's a good idea,'' said Ranger. "That way we can tell her what we decided that we personally should do, and recommend that she do the same."

"I'll pick your grandmother up first,'' said Morelli, "so that your mother doesn't have to worry about it all day."

"That would be good. Thanks."

Morelli got to his feet, leaned over and gave me a hug and kissed my cheek, and shook Ranger's hand. "I'm sorry I didn't come with better news."

"It is what it is,'' I said. "At least we got some of the people in the video footage identified."

"I'll go pick up your grandmother now, which means that you have about twenty minutes to talk to your mother."

He left the apartment and I sighed and picked up the phone and called my mother. "Hi, Mom."

"Steph! Long time, no hear, "she said with a laugh. "I wanted to tell you that, after talking to you earlier, I feel much better."

"I'm glad, but you won't after this conversation."

"What's going on?"

"When I was attacked, the film crew got it all on video. Joe got a copy of the tape, and one of the people attacking me was very clearly Grandma."

"What!" I could hear her thump down on a chair.

"Joe is on his way over to arrest Grandma for assault. We anticipate that bail will be set low, but Ranger and I will not be putting up the bail money and we strongly encourage you not to either. We believe that Grandma needs to answer to her actions and we shouldn't be bailing her out or she will be more likely to do it again. She will turn it into a lark and treat it as a good story, and instead needs to understand that this is not acceptable."

"I suppose."

"I know it's hard, but you were good at practicing tough love when we were growing up. It was the right thing to do then and, with Grandma's declining cognitive health, I think it's the right thing to do again now. She is, in many ways, becoming more like a child as she gets older."

"I know. Okay, I can do this."

"Don't go to the bail hearing. Let Grandma figure things out on her own. Joe will track her through the system so that we know what is going on."

My mother sighed. "Thanks, Steph."

"On a happier note, Ranger did some research this afternoon and found some aid organizations that might be able to provide some more caregiver relief in addition to the day we are providing on Mondays. Even if it is only for a few hours here and there, it will be a help to you. I'm going to call the organizations probably tomorrow. I have a capture plan to prepare first."

"I appreciate you and Ranger doing all this work,'' said my mother.

"I'll pass your thanks along."

"I just don't know where to start looking for assistance."

"We'll help you get squared away. With having a formal diagnosis, it will open up a lot of options for you."