A/N: Everything I know of the illegal drugs used in this story comes from internet research. I have tried to accurately depict their affects based on what I have read but, thankfully, have no first hand knowledge.

I love hearing what you think, and your reviews and PM's are greatly appreciated. As always, anyone you recognize belongs to JE.

Chapter 30

When I came to I did a quick assessment of my situation before I opened my eyes. I could feel that I was still dressed and was relieved to note that I hadn't soiled myself when I was stunned. I wasn't blindfolded or gagged, but my hands were handcuffed behind my back. I was laying on what felt like the floor in the backseat of a moving car. The car smelled faintly of grease and sugar and I suspected I was being transported in my own POS. If so, that meant the control room at Rangeman would be tracking both my panic button and my car.

The car stopped and I opened my eyes to see where we were. I had been right about being in my own car but I couldn't see who was driving. There wasn't enough light from the streetlamps to see much, but I saw blonde hair as someone reached over the back of the front seat. A woman's voice said "Nighty night" right before another jolt went through me.

Coming to for a second time, I was more pissed than concerned. The car was moving again and I could hear a man and a woman talking. As the ringing in my ears started to fade, I was shocked to recognize Joe's voice. He was slurring and sounded vague, but it was definitely Joe. The woman's voice sounded familiar so I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on nothing but her voice. Then it came to me. That voice sounded a lot like Terry Gilman.

The car slowed and turned. From my position on the back floor, I could see buildings were close on both sides and I guessed we were in an alley. The car stopped and they both got out of the car. I heard Terry say something and then the door at my feet opened and Joe pulled me out. I grunted as my back scraped across the carpeting. I struggled to raise up enough to keep my shirt from lifting up and possibly exposing the wire I was still wearing.

I was unceremoniously dumped on the ground beside the car. It was awkward standing up with my hands behind my back, but I needed to get off the ground so I would be better able to defend myself. I looked from Joe to the woman who walked around the car and was surprised to see Tammy Grizolli. The surprise must have shown on my face and Tammy grinned. The lighting was poor, but it was enough to see the evil in her smile.

"Stephanie Plum. How lovely to see you again," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"What's going on, Tammy? Joe?" I knew Ranger would want to come swooping in to save me, but I was relying on him to trust me enough to let me try to get to the bottom of the murders. Joe was just standing there, being strangely quiet. He looked a bit confused and was weaving slightly.

Tammy chuckled. "What's going on, 'Cupcake', is I'm getting rid of the whore who has fucked up my sister's chance for happiness while destroying the asshole who doesn't deserve her love in the first place."

"I haven't done anything to Terry or you, Tammy. Neither of you has any reason to hate me." I was baiting her, hoping I would be able to get some answers out of her before the cavalry arrived. I felt safe in egging her on since I knew Rangerman had my back. By now, there were probably snipers on every rooftop with Tammy and Joe in their cross hairs. I imagined each and every shadow the length of the alley contained a Rangeman in black, like a modern day ninja ready to strike on command.

"Terry has been waiting for Joe to get over you for years. Every time you two would break up, she'd get her hopes up only to have them crushed when you got back together. Joe was always happy to hook up with her when you were split up, but he only wanted a fuck buddy. When you got together with Manoso, she figured it was finally her shot." Tammy glanced over at Joe with a look of disgust. "Unfortunately for my sister, Joe has trouble keeping his zipper shut. Terry found a picture on his phone of him naked with that socialite that died. I started following him and realized he was not only a man whore, but he was developing quite a little drug habit. Terry deserves so much more."

Joe was standing there beside Tammy this whole time, but it was like he wasn't even there. "Did you drug Joe tonight?" I asked her.

"Roofies. I find the memory loss properties to be quite useful," Tammy replied.

"Is that what you used on him when you killed those three women on Stark Street?" I guessed.

"Brilliant, isn't it? He actually did it to himself the first time. He was jonesin' so bad he snorted the coke the whore sold him standing right there in the alley. Once he had his fix, he told her to service him or he'd have her picked up for possession. By the time she was done sucking him off, I could see he was messed up. I came out of my hiding spot and confronted her, asking her what she had given him. This bitch had her own scam going and couldn't wait to flex on it. She cut roofies in with the coke she was selling. Then, she'd offer the john a sample. When the drugs kicked in, she'd take the mark to the nearest ATM and have him make a cash withdrawal. The guy wakes up not remembering a thing. He's not going to report a large cash withdrawal he made down on Stark Street while he was with a hooker. She had a pretty sweet racket going." Tammy laughed. "Well, she did until I grabbed her throat and started squeezing. I had never killed anyone before. At first, I was scared that I wouldn't be able to finish it, but she was skinny and weak and I just kept squeezing and squeezing until she stopped moving."

"But why kill her?" I asked again.

"While she was telling me about setting up her marks, I realized I could do the same thing to Joe. I had a dead hooker and Joe with no memory of what he had done. It was perfect. Except that no one cared about one dead hooker so there had to be more. Every night I would follow him as he went down to Stark. He was mostly looking for drugs, but he also took advantage of a blow job whenever he could get one."

I glanced over at Joe who was now sitting on the ground with his back against a dumpster. Tammy continued. "At first, I couldn't figure out how to slip him the drugs, but then his man whore ways gave me my opportunity. There was a blonde he liked to flirt with at the coffee place on State. Once in a while, he'd stop and pick up a fancy iced coffee on his way to Stark. Once he parked and went to make his score, I jimmied the lock and added the drugs to his drink. Then I waited at the end of the alley pretending to be a homeless person until he was done doing his thing. After killing the first one, the strangling part got easy."

"So you weren't on a date with him when I saw you at Pino's?" It really didn't matter but my curiosity got the best of me.

Tammy snorted. "No, I had gone to him at the request of my Uncle Vito. Joe and Uncle Vito have collaborated in the past but Terry had always been the go between. She refused, so Vito sent me. The pig had the nerve to start hitting on me until he saw you standing at the counter."

The evil smile returned to Tammy's face. "Enough with the chit chat. It's your turn, 'Cupcake'. You'll be dead and Joe will have no memory of what happened. Just like the hookers, except this time, I'm going to leave him here with you. Your car was seen at his house tonight and he was seen leaving in it. When the police determine your time of death, Joe will have no alibi. Once he's tied to the other murders, he'll be sent away forever and Terry can finally move on."

As Tammy took a step towards me, I lowered my shoulder and rammed into her as hard as I could, driving her backwards into the brick wall behind her. I took a step back and kicked out hard, connecting with the side of her knee. The injured leg gave out from under her and she fell with a scream of pain, clutching at her leg. I spared a quick glance at Joe, but he appeared to be passed out in his spot against the dumpster.

"Send in the cavalry," I said out loud. I half expected Ranger to descend down from the rooftops like Batman, and it was a little disappointing when he emerged from the shadows like everyone else. A patrol car pulled into the alley and Eddie Gazarra and Robin Russell got out.

Ranger moved behind me to release the cuffs. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Did you get it all?" I asked, rubbing my wrists where the bracelets had chaffed. I glanced over to see a handcuffed Tammy limping heavily as she was escorted to a waiting cruiser.

Ranger nodded, "The whole thing. Proud of you, Babe." Then he pulled me into a tight hug. The EMT's arrived and were getting Joe strapped to a gurney. I declined medical attention and Ranger offered to take me home. One of the guys would drop my car off after the cops finished processing it.

On the way home Ranger told me what happened. Turns out the control room got suspicious when the tracker on my car showed me heading to Morelli's. Given our history and what happened the last time I had gone to Joe's house, the control room thought it best to inform Ranger. Lester told me later the guys played rock, paper, scissors and the loser had to call Ranger to let him know my car was at Joe's.

I was a little disappointed to find out there had been no snipers, but Ranger, Vince and Hector had been in the alley covering me from almost the moment I had been pulled from the car. Vince had been doing surveillance with Ranger, and Hector was still in the area trying to find out more on the mysterious blonde. Ranger coordinated with Trenton PD to have a patrol car and EMTs standing by, just in case. The control room had patched my wire through to Ranger's comm unit and he had been listening the whole time.

Ranger offered to stop at Pino's on the way home and we picked up some comfort food for dinner. I was surprised to find I had an appetite and made short work of my meatball sub. After dinner and a quick shower, Ranger then spent the rest of the evening reassuring himself that I was okay and making me extremely happy to be alive.