A/N: Thank you to all who have read, reviewed, favorited and/or followed this story. I truly appreciate you all.

Everything in this chapter pertaining to DNA comes from internet research, primarily at the National Institute of Justice website. Any mistakes are completely mine.

Any characters you recognize belong to JE.

Chapter 28

My new Egyptian cotton sheets were in complete disarray and I had a very satisfied smile on my face when we made our way back downstairs to the picnic basket that had been left by the door. I was ravenous and eager to see what Ella had prepared as a special housewarming dinner. Ella outdid herself with a homemade lasagna, a loaf of crusty Italian bread and a very nice bottle of Chianti. I'm sure the lasagna was made with organic whole wheat noodles, low fat cheese and some kind of tofu Italian sausage, but the way Ella prepared food you never knew you were eating healthy. There was also a large salad, but we both knew that wasn't for me. However, the double portion of tiramisu was definitely for me.

I put the lasagna and bread in the oven to warm while Ranger poured us both a glass of wine. I was tempted to sample the tiramisu while we waited for dinner but I decided to save it for after dinner when I could savor the flavors rather than inhaling the whole thing without tasting it. Maybe even convince Ranger to let me use his delectable body as a serving dish.

Once everything was heated, we took our wine and our plates to the new dining room table. "Have you heard about the murders down on Stark Street?" I asked as we ate.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific, Babe. Lots of murders happen on Stark Street," he replied.

"The three hookers who were killed in the last couple of weeks. All strangled. The last one was a friend of Lula's," I said.

Ranger nodded. "I've heard some rumors, but haven't heard that they have any suspects."

"Joe came to see me last night. He told me he had gone to see each of the women on the night they were murdered. Claims that on each night, he blacked out and has no recollection of how he got home from Stark Street." I recounted everything Joe had told me about the nights in question.

"Seems a little too contrived," Ranger said.

I nodded my head in agreement. "I thought the same thing. But I can't get those poor women out of my mind." Sadly, I knew these murders wouldn't be a high priority case unless the police decided they were dealing with a serial killer. Budgets were tight and resources were scarce in the TPD, and violent crimes on Stark Street were all too common.

As we ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, a plan began to form in my mind. "I'm going to ask Lula to go with me to talk to the people she knows, but would you mind if I borrowed Hector to come along with us? I love Lula, but she isn't reliable for back-up and she has a way of creating trouble where there was none. The gang bangers won't talk to me or Lula, but they might talk to Hector."

"Agreed. I was going to suggest you take one of the guys to watch your back, but I like your idea better. Proud of you, Babe," Ranger said with a smile.

Conversation moved to less violent topics as we finished dinner. Ranger told me about his trip to Boston and I told him about my day. Even after all these weeks, I was still getting used to the man of mystery sharing his day with me. I had worried that the time spent opening up to me in the hospital was a pity reaction and he would revert back to one word sentences once I recovered. That fear had proven groundless, and I still enjoyed hearing about even the most mundane details of his days.

We cleaned the kitchen and moved to the living room. Ranger offered to get my TV and DVD player setup while I unpacked a couple more boxes. There wasn't a lot to unpack downstairs, since my living room had generally borne the brunt of the firebombs at my apartment. Once I had found a home for my DVDs and my few personal items, we opted to watch a movie and settled in on my new sofa. I had been steadily increasing my workouts to rebuild my stamina, but it had been a long and busy day and I was ready for a little down time.

When I woke the next morning, it took my brain a second to remember where I was. I had a vague memory of Ranger carrying me up the stairs and then later, another of him kissing me and telling me he was going for a run before heading to Rangeman. Thinking back, the last thing I clearly remember was sipping my wine while wrapped up in Ranger's arm as we watched a movie from my new sofa. Some hot date I was. I peeked under the covers and saw I was still wearing the pilfered Rangeman t-shirt and boy-cut shorts I put on before dinner. Not that Ranger would indulge in sex with a partner who was not actively participating, but I was in the habit of checking after years of Joe helping himself.

A quick glance at the clock told me it was time to get a move on. I wanted to stop by the bonds office to check in with Connie and talk to Lula. I also wanted to ask Ranger if I could use one of the conference rooms at Rangeman to have another meeting with Joe. It felt like there was more to the story and I wanted to have him go through everything again with Ranger and Hector there. I also needed to check with Ranger to see what Hector's schedule was and when he would be available to go with us to talk with people about the murders.

My morning routine didn't take long and I was on the road in less than an hour. I stopped to grab donuts and pulled into a spot half a block from the bonds office. Ranger's Cayenne was parked right in front of the bonds office. Stupid parking karma. Ranger walked out of the bonds office and waited for me to walk the short distance. "Babe. Those things will kill you," he said looking at the pastry box in my hand.

"I was hoping someone might help me burn the calories off later," I said with what I hoped was a sexy smile.

The corners of Ranger's mouth tipped up slightly. "Sure, what time do you want to meet me at the gym?" Oops, so much for sexy.

"I'll take a pass on that, but I would like to set up a time to have Joe come to Rangeman and meet with us if at all possible. I was thinking about what you said last night - his story sounded too contrived. I'd like to have him go through it again and see if there was something he may have left out or if anything raises any additional questions with you."

Ranger nodded. "Have him meet us at Rangeman at 6:00 tonight. I'll have Hector sit in as well. Hector may not speak English, but he understands a lot more than he lets on. I want him to have the information first hand since he will be the one going down there with you."

Placing a hand at the back of my neck, Ranger pulled my mouth to his and gave me a bone melting kiss right there on the sidewalk in front of the bonds office. "Gotta go, Babe. I'll see you later."

I couldn't wipe the grin off my face as I walked into the office and set the donuts down on Connie's desk. Connie was using a file folder to fan herself as Lula got up from the fake leather couch to help herself to the donut. "Girl, I don't know how you two don't melt the sidewalk with all that heat."

This only made the grin grow bigger. "Anything new for me, Connie."

"No, things are slow lately," she said. "But you know it won't last."

I nodded in agreement. Thankfully the part-time work I had been doing for Rangeman made up for the slow days working for Vinnie. "Lula, are you up to helping me do some poking around down on Stark Street? I talked to Joe about your friend's murder and he said she was the third victim in just a few weeks. He said the cops weren't getting anywhere and thought maybe I could convince people to talk to me."

"Huh," she snorted, "I'm surprised the cops are bothering to ask questions, but I'm not surprised no one will talk to them. They aren't going to talk to a skinny white girl, either. You're right, you're gonna need me if you want to find out anything. Folks down there know they can trust Lula. Let's go." She stood up, grabbed the box of donuts from Connie's desk and turned towards the door.

"Hold up!" I said as Connie yelled "Hey, I didn't get one of those, yet."

"I was just asking if you would help me. We're not going right now. One of Ranger's men is going to go with us to help and to watch our backs." Lula walked back to Connie's desk, set the box down and helped herself to another donut. Connie snatched two out of the box, probably in case Lula decided to take off with it again.

"Which one?" Lula asked. "It better not be Tank. That man had his chance. Is it Lester? That man is fine. Almost as fine as Batman."

"No, not Les. I asked Ranger if I could borrow Hector," I said.

"Hector? Isn't he the one with the teardrop tattoos? He scares the crap outta me." This surprised me. I didn't think anybody scared Lula.

"Yeah, that's Hector. He's really a great guy once you get to know him. Plus, he can help with the gang bangers. They aren't going to talk to a woman," I explained as I grabbed a donut from the box. "I'll see you guys later." I needed to call Joe to see if he could meet us at Rangeman, but I was afraid if Lula heard me she would invite herself to sit in on the meeting as well. Not only could Lula be disrupting, but I didn't think Ranger would appreciate having Lula loose in Rangeman.

Joe was hesitant at first, but finally agreed to meet us at Rangeman when I told him I either did this with Ranger's help or not at all. I found it ironic that in all the time Joe and I were together, nosing around alone down on Stark Street was exactly the kind of thing that would set him off, but now that I wasn't with him he was asking me to do it. What he didn't realize was that, while the mayhem that found me was not usually my fault, I had finally admitted to myself it found me because of the choices I made. By carrying a loaded weapon and taking back-up, I was now far more capable of dealing with mayhem when it did find me.

I arrived at Rangeman at 5:30, hoping to have a few moments to go over Joe's story with Hector before Joe arrived. Although Hector understands English, he only speaks Spanish. I wanted Ranger there to translate in case he had any questions about what Joe had told me. Hal told me Ranger was in a meeting but that Hector and Manny had just returned from an install job and were unloading tools and equipment from one of the SUV's. I went down to the garage to help them unload and chatted with Manny as we were putting everything away. With three of us working it didn't take long. I asked Hector if he had "uno momento" before our meeting so I could go over what Joe had already told me. Hector nodded and indicated that he would meet me in the conference room after he cleaned up.

Since Ranger wasn't available to translate if Hector had any questions, I asked Lester to join us. I quickly ran through everything Joe had shared with me and how he had asked me to do some poking around. By the time I had covered everything, Lester was wearing his blank face and Hector looked ready to add another tear drop tattoo.

"Dumb bastard," Lester commented. I'm pretty sure I heard Hector mutter something along the same vein. "So why is he coming here?"

"My spidey sense is telling me there is something more to the story and Ranger agreed," I explained. "We were hoping by having him come in and walk us through each night again, either he would remember a forgotten detail or let something slip he had been trying to hide."

The door to the conference room opened and in walked corporate Ranger. I momentarily lost my train of thought as my eyes took in the man before me. The corners of his mouth tipped up ever so slightly at what must have been a look of naked lust. "Babe."

I tore my eyes off him and indicated to Les and Hector. "I wanted to fill Hector in on the story Morelli gave me about the murdered woman and why we've asked to meet with him. Les was translating for me."

Hector started speaking rapidly to Ranger and Les. I understood a word here and there and was pretty sure I heard my name, but I had no clue what they were saying. It looked as if the three of them were making a plan, but I couldn't be sure because Ranger's tone and facial expression never changed. Finally I got fed up waiting for someone to tell me what they were talking about. "Enough. What did Hector say?" I asked.

"Hector thinks Joe will be more forthcoming without you in the room," Ranger replied. "He says Joe's animosity towards me and his delusion of reuniting with you will keep him from sharing any details that make him look any worse than he already does."

I thought about that for a minute and agreed with what they were saying. "Okay, so how do you want to do this?"

"When Joe gets here, Hector will escort him up to the conference room where we'll be waiting. Babe, I want you to walk him through the story that he told you the other night at the diner. Lester will be monitoring the conversation from the other room and will come in as Joe is finishing up his story. Les will report that there is an alarm going off at your house and we'll leave the room. We can continue to monitor the conversation from my office. Once we're out of the room, Les and Hector will see if they can get anything more from him."

The intercom buzzed and the Rangeman on the front desk announced Joe Morelli was downstairs. Hector went to escort Joe up and Lester went back to his desk to monitor the room. Several minutes later, a rather out of breath Morelli was led into the room. If I had to guess, I would say Hector brought him up to the fifth floor via the stairwell rather than taking the elevator. I glanced over at Hector and saw a hint of mischief in his eye.

Ranger and I sat on one side of the conference table and Joe flopped down in a chair across the table from where we were sitting. Hector took up position beside the door. Joe glanced over at Hector and asked, "You need a bodyguard in your own building, Manoso?"

"Hector will be going with Stephanie when she goes down to Stark Street on your behalf. I've asked him to be here so he can hear what you remember about the nights of the murders."

"So why not just have a seat at the table with the rest of us?" I thought Joe's tone and demeanor were a bit aggressive considering he was here seeking help.

"He prefers to stand. He says it makes it easier to reach his knives that way," Ranger deadpanned.

"Alright, enough Joe. You're here because you asked for my help. Ranger has agreed to offer his resources to help us figure out who murdered those women." I had had enough of Joe's bullshit and the sooner I could get out of here the happier I'd be.

"I'm not asking you to solve the murders, Cupcake. I'm just asking for your help proving I wasn't the one who killed them," Joe said. "You have a knack for stumbling into clues others miss and your dumb luck is almost legendary."

I just stared at Joe dumbfounded. "How did I not see what a complete asshole you are for so long?"

This drew a perplexed look from Joe so I continued. "You come to me asking for help, asking me to go to the one of the place you always said gave you heartburn, and then you sit here and diminish my accomplishments by saying attributing them to a "knack for stumbling into clues" and "dumb luck." Not to mention, you continue to call me by that asinine nickname you gave me when you wrote on the men's room wall at Mario's Sub Shop about taking my virginity. You are a complete and utter asshole, Joe." I looked over at Ranger. "You talk to him, I can't be in here right now." I walked out through the door and shut it noisily behind me. I had messed up the plan, but I just couldn't stay and I knew the guys would adjust.

I went to Lester's cubicle knowing he had been watching everything through the feed. He glanced over at my face and grinned. "Good thing you didn't get a hold of Hector's knives. I'm going to go in and do my thing. You want to watch from here?"

"Yeah, thanks. If I had stayed in there, the three of you would be disposing of a body by the time we were done." I settled into Les' chair and slipped on the headset so I could hear.

Lester knocked once and opened the door. The camera in the conference room was mounted in the corner above the door and offered a complete view of the room. The microphone was located more centrally to allow conversation around the room to be recorded. I would be able to see and hear everything from here.

Lester settled into a seat on Ranger's side of the table and said, "I see you still have a way with women, Morelli."

Joe snorted, "Probably that time of the month. You know how women get."

"Ugh, what the hell was I thinking?" I muttered to no one in particular as the meeting continued on the monitor in front of me.

Ranger asked Joe to start from the night of the first murder and tell them what he could remember. The story Joe told was the same one he had told me at the diner. As Joe was telling them about waking up in front of his house, Lester stopped him.

"You mean to tell me a hooker is offering you free drugs but not free sex?" Lester looked at him questioningly. "That doesn't make sense. If she wanted to offer you something, why something that she had to account for with her dealer?"

Joe scoffed. "I can't understand women any better than the next guy. How should I know?"

Ranger's face could have been cut from stone as he stared across the table at Joe. "You bought the drugs from Alicia. You were there to get information and figured you'd do a little one stop shopping. Did you threaten to bust her for possession if she didn't have sex with you?"

Joe shook his head. "I didn't have sex with her. Even I wouldn't dip my wick in a Stark Street hooker." Huh, nice to know he draws the line somewhere I thought to myself as I continued to watch the monitor.

Ranger continued, "So if you didn't have sex with her, what are you concerned about? How are the police going to place you with the victim the night she was murdered?"

Joe mumbled something but it was so low the microphone didn't pick it up. Lester said, "But you just told us you didn't have sex with her."

"I didn't. I just let her blow me. I didn't sex with her." Joe retorted.

Lester gave a mirthless laugh. "Yeah, that defense didn't work for Bill Clinton, either."

I didn't know whether to laugh at Lester's joke or cry at what Joe had become.

Joe's voice dropped and I had to turn up the volume so I could hear what he was saying. "Listen, I couldn't say anything to Steph, alright. She wouldn't understand. But you guys know how it is when a woman throws herself at you. She offered. She told me she wanted to have something sexy to fantasize about as she was working her trade. I was tryin' to help the poor girl out, okay? Give her a little Italian Stallion liquid magic to get her through her day. I didn't know she'd end up dead with my spunk still in her stomach." Listening to Joe made me retch.

"So the police already have your DNA from the victim," Ranger said.

"Yes, but they don't know it. Alicia had been busy that night. There was DNA from multiple sources in the contents of her stomach. They have not identified any of the men she was with. I'm not sure they can at this point," Joe explained.

"What about Shonda Williams and Dericia Johnson? Did they have your DNA in their stomachs?" I could tell Ranger was about at the end of his patience with Joe. Mine had ended when I walked out of the room.

"Shonda yes, Dericia no. After Shonda was killed, I wasn't going to risk leaving any more evidence in case someone else turned up dead," Joe replied.

"And was Shonda another act of unselfish service by the Italian Stallion?" Lester asked derisively.

Joe shook his head. "No, I had known Shonda for a while. She was always willing and I wasn't about to turn down a freebie. Fortunately, she had other DNA in her stomach as well."

As I listened, I thought to myself Yeah, lucky you. I idly wondered if those freebies were happening while we were together. I was so disgusted at this point, I decided I really didn't care.

"Is there anything else you neglected to tell Stephanie?" Ranger asked quietly.

"No, but I did remember something else after I talked to Steph. I had forgotten all about it until today. There was a homeless person in the alleyway when I left both Shonda Williams and Dericia Johnson. I don't remember seeing anyone when we walked into the alley, but I noticed them when I walked out. With Alicia, I don't remember leaving the alley, so I don't know if there was anyone there that night. After both Shonda and Dericia, I can remember making it back to my car before everything goes blank," Joe said.

Nothing more of value came out of the rest of the interview with Joe. Ranger asked Lester to escort Joe out of the building and then came over to Lester's cube to find me. The concern was evident on Ranger's face. "You okay, Babe?" he asked. He knew the long history I had with Joe, and I suspect he knew far more about Joe's extracurricular activities during our relationship than he would ever let on.

"I'm fine," I replied. "I've reached the point where I just don't care anymore. You know what they say, the opposite of love isn't hate, its apathy. Hating Joe would take more energy than I am willing to expend on him. I'm doing this to help find the person who killed Lula's friend and the other two women, not to help Joe. I told him that at the diner, but you know how it's always about him. I'm sure he thinks I'm doing this for him."

I pushed back away from the monitor, stood up and stretched. As I lifted my arms up over my head my shirt pulled out of my waistband and rode up my stomach a little. Ranger's fingers traced a path across my bare stomach. It tickled for a second but then his warm hand moved under my shirt and around to the small of my back. He gently pulled me to him and I ran my hands up the front of his shirt. Although he had removed his tie and unclasped the top two buttons, corporate Ranger was still in the house. The warmth spreading through my lower half intensified as I looked into his eyes. His eyes that had darkened with desire as I pressed against him. "How about we head up to seven and I help you forget all about Joe Morelli?" Ranger asked in a low voice.

Right now, an evening in Denial Land seemed like a pretty good idea. A smile spread across my face as I contemplated the various ways Ranger had for making me forget even my own name. "You're on, Batman."