Chapter 29
"Mr Drapson, I wanted to talk with you about what's happened to you"
That was when he lifted his head and looked at me. Hell, he looked a mess. His skin was a grey color and he had black circles under his eyes. His hair was lanky and sticking out all over the place. To be honest he didn't look as though he'd changed his clothes for a while either. I sat down next to him and took one of his hands in mine. I'm sure Ranger was about to say something or even move me. He didn't though because we could both see how upset Drapson was.
"I'm here to help sort this out"
"I don't know how you can do that"
"Did you rape that woman?"
I saw shock on his face and then he was vehemently shaking his head.
"No. I'd never do that. I thought she needed a friend so offered to walk her home"
"How did you know her?"
"She started working at a little café I went to near my apartment"
"Go on"
"Well, she was nice to me. If there weren't many people in, she'd sit with me and talk"
"So how did you end up picking her up from a bar?"
"She had a few jobs, you know to make ends meet. Her mum was really ill, so she worked a lot. She called me saying she was frightened to go home"
"Did she say why?"
"Some men were giving her trouble"
"Gary why are you so upset?"
"I don't want to go to prison. I have to get home"
"What's happening at home"
"She said if I paid her some money, she'd drop the charges. I can't go anywhere in case she turns up"
"How much money Gary?"
"$250,00"
I looked to Ranger as Gary said that. Hell, it was a lot of money that Vanessa was trying to get out of him and I bet she knew he would rather pay her than be sent to prison.
"Gary how does she know you can afford that?"
"I'm not sure. I try to keep quiet about money, my mum said it would only attract people who didn't like me for me but liked me for the money"
"Okay Gary, hang in there while we try to decide what to do"
I left with Ranger and sat down on the floor outside on the corridor, trying to think of a way to help Gary Drapson. Ranger sat next to me, his hands resting on his bent knees, I suppose waiting for me to say something. I needed to think this through so was quiet. Somehow, we had to beat Vanessa at her own game yet at the same time get her to admit that she'd made up the rape in order to blackmail Gary. The problem was how to do that and get Gary acquitted of the charges. I tried to remember Vanessa from school. She didn't hang out with me or my friends in fact she was more of a loner. I couldn't say that I saw her with boys or being at dances or parties. Maybe that's why I saw her as quiet, though sneaky was a description that also came to mind.
"Babe"
"I think I have an idea"
"Does it involve me?"
"Oh yeah, you're going to play a leading role"
An hour later we were sat inside of Gary's apartment. I had to say it was a really nice place, stylish and modern with a lot of expensive furniture and appliances. Gary was pacing the floor of the lounge area while Ranger was sat on the couch. I was tempted to go to the window and look out anticipating Vanessa's arrival. Gary had called her to tell her he had the money so now we waited to play her at her own game. I saw Ranger sit forward so knew someone had alerted him to Vanessa's arrival. I pulled Gary from the path he was walking and into the second bedroom. From here we could watch through the laptop as the scene unfolded from the eye of a camera we'd positioned in the lounge. Vanessa didn't bother to knock she walked straight into the apartment a smile playing on her lips. As soon as she saw Ranger she stopped in her tracks. I have to say that he was certainly dressed for the part he was about to play. In jeans that showed the frame of his well-built body and a tight T-shirt that definitely made him look extremely handsome. His hair had grown a bit since Bogota and now with his unshaven face he looked absolutely gorgeous. It seemed Vanessa thought so to. I watched as she slowly stepped toward him, her long blonde hair flicked over her shoulder, her chest pushed out to show her cleavage from the absurdly flimsy halter neck top she was wearing.
"My, you're certainly much better than dear Gary. Where is he?"
She looked around, but her eyes came back to Ranger, I knew it was impossible not to keep looking at him.
"Gary will be back soon. I asked him to leave so that we could have a few minutes alone"
"Alone, why would I want to be alone here with you?"
I watched as Ranger closed the gap between them, as he caught her arm and turned her so her back was to his chest. I had a very hard time staying where I was. I knew the moves he was making because he'd used them on me so many times before. I closed my eyes and listened to his voice, slow and seductive with that magical hint of an accent.
"I understand for money you'll let a man do anything they want to"
"Why would you think that?"
I opened my eyes so that I could see what was going through her mind. I had a sudden panic that maybe this wasn't going to work, that Vanessa would expect Ranger to go through with what he was about to suggest.
"I had a long conversation with Gary. He told me for the right amount of money you'd be willing to play out being raped"
I saw her eyes get wide at that and she seemed to want to move away from Ranger, but he wouldn't release her.
"I, err, don't think that would be right"
"Why not? I'm here, you're here and my friends are just outside"
"No, why the hell would you think I'd do that?"
"You let Gary do it"
"What?"
"You let Gary rape you for money"
"That's not what happened"
"He didn't rape you?"
"He, I . . ."
"You gave him what he wanted, so now you can give me what I want"
I watched as she started to panic, her shoulders slumped as her breathing increased and her face paled. As Ranger's hold on her relaxed she moved forward away from him, her eyes darting around the room.
"The bedroom's that way"
Ranger was stood between her and the door that led out of the apartment, so there was no way she could leave. I saw tears come to her eyes as the seriousness of her situation hit her.
"He didn't rape me, I didn't let it happen"
"What the hell are you saying?"
She stopped still as the look on his face changed to one of predator. I'd seen that look before but thankfully never aimed at me.
"I lied, I would never let a man do that to me"
"You told everyone about it"
She was cowering against the wall as Ranger stalked toward her, her tears had turned to sobs now as she realized the danger she could be in.
"I lied, I was trying to get some money from him"
"You lied about him raping you?"
"Yes. Please don't hurt me"
Ranger stepped away and looked up at the camera just before he brought his phone out from his pocket. A minute later Eddie walked through the door and nodded to Ranger, walking up to a surprised Vanessa and cuffing her. He was reading her rights as he led her from the apartment. A look at Gary showed a small smile on his face.
"You okay Gary?"
"Is it over?"
"Yeah, it's over"
"Does that mean I won't go to prison?"
"Yes Gary, but we need to go down to the station so a judge can acquit you of all the charges"
I turned the computer off and removed the pen drive where the video had been downloaded to and then helped Gary to lock up the apartment. Eddie was waiting at the station when Ranger and I walked through the door with Gary. With his usual smile he took Gary and the recording from me in order for him to been seen by a judge straight away. As I turned to go back to the car Ranger's arm came around me.
"Good call Babe, proud of you"
"You know when I do distractions?"
"Yes"
"How does it make you feel?"
He looked at me and as we got to the car pushed me against it, using his body to hold me there.
"I hate it. I get distracted when I see or hear the skip near you and want to get to you and drag you away"
"I hated watching you with Vanessa today. I could see the moves you'd make with me"
"Babe, it was a job, just as you've done distraction jobs for Rangeman"
"Yeah, I know"
His lips were touching mine as he spoke and as I finished speaking his mouth came down hard on mine holding my head to him. As we came up for air, I was glad his body was holding me up against the car.
It felt good taking my receipt into the office. Ranger was with me which caused Connie to sit up straighter and Vinnie to disappear through the door into his office.
"Receipt for Drapson. Though Vinnie had better not bail out Vanessa Wodsworth"
"I thought she was the one who was assaulted?"
"Nope, she tried to scam Drapson, she made the whole thing up so that she could scam him for money"
"If I want to bail her out"
I hadn't even heard Vinnie come out of his office and one look at Ranger had him turn around, muttering "I won't" before he slammed the door shut.
"Any files?"
"No, all's quiet"
"Where's Lula?"
"No idea, she said she had a wardrobe emergency"
Had she found a new man or was Leroy back in town? No doubt I would hear all about it in the morning.
"Okay, I'll catch up with you in the morning"
I turned and with Ranger walked out to his car. After he'd opened my door and made sure I was in I heard my phone ringing. As Ranger started to drive, I looked to see it was a call from Lula.
"Hi Lula"
"White girl I need your help"
Thinking this was probably a disaster involving clothes I smiled and whispered "Lula" to Ranger.
"What with Lula?"
"I need you to drive me to New York"
"Why?"
"Leroy called, he wants me to meet him in this swanky hotel"
"Why can't you drive?"
"He says he wants to take me away for a bit of loving and we'd use his motor"
"When do you need to go?"
"An hour"
"An hour, you want me to drive you there in an hours time?"
"Well yeah"
I looked at Ranger who for once was actually listening to what was going on.
"Lula, let me get back to you in five"
I finished the call and sat tapping the phone against my chin. It was already 4 in the afternoon. If we set off at 5 it would take about an hour and a half to get there so it would probably be about 9 when I got back. Not that late but the idea of driving three hours wasn't something I wanted to do. Then I thought of how Lula had dropped everything and drove down to Atlanta for me, to help me when I needed her. I couldn't refuse to do this for her.
"Babe"
"Lula wants me to drive her to New York"
"When?"
"In an hour"
"It's a long way to drive, there and back"
"I know. The thing is she drove down to Atlanta for me and then she was there for me in Miami"
"You could take one of the fleet cars and Caleb could go with you"
"You mean he still wants to be with me?"
"Yes. He couldn't quite believe what happened yesterday, so Santos gave him some of the details about things that have happened around you"
"That should have scared him off"
"No, he sees it as a challenge now"
"Great"
"I have a take down tonight otherwise I'd have gone with you"
"That's okay, it'll be pretty boring anyway"
At least I hoped it would be.
An hour later I'd picked up Lula from her apartment and was heading up the 1-95 toward New York City. Ranger had told me there was a card in the windscreen of the car that would automatically pay any tolls we went through. I'd argued with Caleb about who would be driving and in the end we compromised. I'd drive us there and he'd drive back. Maybe that's what he planned all along because Lula was bubbling as we drove and Caleb made out to be asleep in the front next to me.
"I got me one them, you know, from Victorias. An I packed some of them things, you know?"
"Lula, maybe Caleb doesn't need to know the details"
And neither did I. It sounded like Lula expected a night of loving from her man, I just hoped for Lula's sake that Leroy met her expectations. Caleb was quiet as I drove, which didn't go unnoticed by Lula. She made up for the silence though, with her nonstop talking. I made the appropriate responses, a "Yeah" "No" and "Really". I figured she must be nervous so let her fill the silence. As we approached the city, I asked her to tell Caleb the name of the hotel so he could put it into the Sat nav and then followed the directions the female voice gave to me. Why was it that the Rangeman fleet cars always had a female voice programmed in. No doubt because of the men who usually drove them.
The Chatwell Hotel was on 130 W 44th St, not an area of town that I knew that well, though I did know that some of the areas we were near wasn't somewhere I wanted to be. The streets were a nightmare, all being one-way streets, but eventually we found it. Of course, there was no way to stop and park, so I followed the signs that would lead us to their parking area. Down an alley and then a right turn brought me into a small dark area behind the hotel. There weren't too many cars parked but of course those that were here were parked close to the entrance meaning I had to park toward the back of the lot. As Lula collected her things together from the back seat, Caleb got out of the car to fetch her bag from the trunk. Whilst it hadn't been a long drive, I ached from the tension of concentrating on driving so got out to stretch my legs. I didn't like the feel of where we were and for some reason felt the need to ensure that Lula was going to be okay, that Leroy was actually here at the hotel to meet her.
"Lula I'll come in with you just to be sure everything's okay"
"My man will be here soon. I messaged him that we were here"
I saw the back door open and recognized Leroy come out, Lula and Caleb started toward the door to where he was and that's when I heard a commotion.
People running and screaming, and the unmistakable sound of gun shots filled the air. Lula and Caleb ran for the door, but I was still near to the car so ducked down beside the wheel. As I carefully looked around the front of the car, I could see a group of young people making their way toward me. As they reached the parking area they scattered, using the cars for cover. Suddenly a young girl appeared behind me and slunk down the car squatting beside me. I turned to her, wanting some answers, hoping maybe it was just some kids playing a prank.
"What the hell is going on?"
"I'm not sure. The guys thought it would be fun to have a go at some dude on the street"
I looked more closely at her, seeing that she was actually quite young, dressed in a short skirt, tall FMPs and a barely there T-shirt. Her hair was short and spiky, and she was wearing lots of makeup. I wasn't too sure who the guys were that she'd been with but didn't have a good feeling about it.
"He didn't like them giving him razz and next thing we know he's pulled a gun out and was shooting at us"
"You think he'll just disappear now that you've all run away?"
"I dunno, I hope so"
I wasn't inclined to find out so stayed where I was. I could hear Lula shouting from where she was, hopefully she was safe with Leroy.
"White girl where are you at?"
"By the car"
"We're coming for you"
"No Lula, stay . . . ."
That's as far as I got to telling her to stay where she was. I could hear footsteps coming toward me and knew it was her by the sound her heels were making on the ground. As she neared the car, I heard the sound of a gunshot and watched as she fell to the floor. The unmistakable sound of her swearing assured me she was still alive, so I crawled toward her and grabbed hold of her arm trying to bring her to the safety of the car. With me pulling and her using her uninjured leg to push with,we were quickly huddled together back behind the car. Lula went very quiet, tears running down her face, for a dark skinned woman she looked almost grey. A quick survey of her showed blood coming from her thigh.
"Shit Lula, you've been hit"
"I hate being shot, it hurts Steph"
"I know, lie down while I try and stop the bleeding"
I took the belt from my jeans and fastened it around her thigh above where the blood seemed to be coming from.
"Where are Leroy and Caleb?"
"By the building, they'll come find us"
More gunfire erupted that seemed to be aimed at the building, then I could hear the sound of sirens steadily getting louder. I could see the flashing of red and blue lights and heard the sound of footsteps as people decided to leave. I glanced sideways to see that the girl had disappeared, obviously not wanting to get involved with the police.
"Helps here Lula, hang on there"
"Shit I hate the police"
"Lula they're here to help. You're gonna need a hospital to patch you up"
I knew she hated the police but the idea of being taken to the hospital would be far worse for her.
"It'll be okay Lula"
I knew that ever since she'd been beaten up by Ramirez she'd be thinking about the pain she'd endured while being treated. Maybe that's why she hated the places because they reminded her of that awful time in her life. I was aware of uniforms around me, of being pushed away from Lula while medics attended to her. I felt safe to stand up and saw Leroy running toward us.
"Lula?"
"She's here, but she got hit"
Leroy bent down, as close as he could to Lula, whispering something in her ear.
"Leroy where's Caleb?"
"The man who was with you?"
"Yes"
"He caught a stray bullet that hit him in the shoulder. The medics are with him over by the building"
As I started to walk toward where I thought he was, a police officer blocked my way. I knew I was safe now, there were so many police officers swarming around.
"Ma'am, did you witness what went down here?"
"I was caught up in the middle of it"
"I need to take a statement"
"I need to check on my friend, he got hit"
"He's being taken care of"
I felt him take my elbow and as he started to pull me away from where Caleb was I started to panic.
"I need to see Caleb"
"When I have your statement you can go with him to the hospital"
"I need my bag, I have to phone someone to let them know what happened"
"Once I have your statement"
His grip tightened around my arm as he started to pull me toward a police car. I needed to let Ranger know what had happened, I needed him here with me. I looked away from the building and toward where he was leading me. Typical, his car was the furthest away from where we were. He opened the back door and before I knew it, I was suddenly pushed inside and felt the door slam against me. I tried to open the door, but of course it was locked. I expected him to just let me sit down with the door open and talk to me. That's what Eddie would have done. I was taken by surprise when he got into the driver's seat and started up the engine.
"Where are we going?"
"The precinct"
"But I can give my statement here"
"No Ma'am. Just following protocol"
"Please you have to let me check on Caleb, I have to make a call so someone will know I'm okay"
I was met by silence, he never even turned around. All I could see from where I was sat was the back of his head and the blue cap he was wearing. The area between the front seats was sectioned off from the back. In the police cars I'd ever been in they used a wire mesh. This was different, it looked to be some sort of glass with wire running inside. I was well and truly stuck in here and knew that panicking wouldn't help. The sooner I gave my statement the sooner I could get word through to Ranger. He'd find me after all I did have trackers on me. I didn't want to panic him as well by pressing my panic button on my watch, after all I was safe inside the cruiser with a policeman.