Chapter 32

I passed the photo back to Ranger, not saying anything out loud. I think I needed to sit down with a pen and paper and put months to what I was thinking. Even though I was trying to talk myself out of it I knew deep down that Katie had been the woman in the photo that Les had shown me.

Did that mean that the other women were portrayed in paintings as well? Is that why it was a bidding site? Someone paying a fortune for a painting of a dead woman? Or had she been alive for the painting and they'd killed her afterwards? I felt someone lifting me up under my arms and turning me away from the scene. We were slowly making our way back to the quads, all of us quiet but my head wasn't.

I allowed Ranger to replace the rucksack on my back and help me onto the quad. I held tighter to Ranger as we retraced our route back the way we had come, all of the time I was thinking whether or not the people after me wanted to do that to me. I couldn't comprehend what those women had gone through, the loneliness and fear of what was happening to them of what was going to happen to them. Their lives between being captured and dying must have been a living nightmare.

I wasn't aware of where we were or of anything around us only that we were stopping at where we'd started from. After climbing off the quad, I removed the helmet and put it on the seat and then went and stood next to the car. I was aware that Ranger was watching me whilst he spoke with Mick. After shaking his hand Ranger came to the door, using the fob to open the doors. I was opening the door and getting in before he had time to come around the car and help me. He did though pull down the seat belt and fasten it around me, gently caressing the cheek of my face when he'd finished.

"Babe, talk to me. What's got you so frightened?"

"I, I can't explain it, I need the photo from Les"

"I'll arrange it"

I just sat there staring ahead of me but was aware that Ranger had closed the door and was speaking on his phone. All the time he was watching me as though I might suddenly do something. Once he was in the car, I felt us moving back down the track and then onto the main route. I had no idea what Ranger had planned for where we were going but knew that I had to get my shit together before we arrived. I didn't want to think of anything and though I was tired I certainly didn't want to fall asleep.

I knew I should talk to him, tell him why I was so afraid, but thinking it through I started to realize that panicking wasn't going to help. I had to find out more information, work out what threads we needed to follow, beat whoever was doing this because I was terrified they were after me.

As those thoughts went through my head I started to look around at where we were, realizing that we were now travelling through an area that had more buildings. In fact the road we were on was now two lanes with lots of traffic on it. I turned to Ranger confused with where we were and where we were going.

"Where are we going?"

"Rangeman Boston"

"Why there?"

"It's the safest place around here and Santos can get there quickly"

I felt okay with that, well the thought of being in a safe building and that Les would be here soon. Maybe not the idea of being seen by the men here though. I had no idea if they knew who I was and that made me feel uncomfortable.
I felt myself tensing as we turned from the street and went through opening gates and down into a garage. Ranger parked the car at the far end, where I assumed the elevator was, right next to a black Porsche Boxster.

"Stay there while I kill the cameras and then we'll go up to the apartment"

I watched as he pointed a fob into the corner and then heard as he opened and closed the trunk. I unbuckled my seat belt ready to leave the car and was prepared for the door opening, of Ranger taking my hand and leading me over to the elevator. He stepped forward as the doors opened and pointed his fob again at a camera before pulling me inside with him.

I watched as the numbers on the panel changed surprised when we came to a stop on the sixth floor and the doors slid open. Again, he held my hand as we approached a door and were soon inside an apartment. I had to say that looking around took my mind off the events of the day, so I wandered through the hallway finding myself in a large open plan area.

The feel of the place gave me the impression that it was slightly smaller than his apartment in Trenton. It had similar furnishings from the modern kitchen, a smaller glass topped table to the leather couch set out with a small coffee table in front of it. I wandered through a door and found the bedroom, touching the cover as I walked past the bed. A door to my right opened into a bathroom that held the same features as Trenton, so I stepped inside and used the toilet and washed my hands.

As I looked at myself in the mirror, I knew my skin seemed pale and my eyes seemed much larger. Curls were falling out from my ponytail and framing my face. I looked sideways as the door opened and saw Ranger in the doorway watching me.

"I'm sorry"

"Why are you sorry, Babe?"

"I freaked out"

"You worked something out, didn't you?"

"Yeah and it scared the crap out of me"

"Why did it scare you so much?"

By now he'd entered the room and was wrapping his arms around me which only allowed the damn holding back my emotions to break. I was sobbing for those women that had died, for how they'd been treated and how they must have felt. Sobbing with fear for the next woman who would disappear and yeah, probably selfishly sobbing in case that woman was me. I felt myself being lifted and being laid on the bed, Ranger never letting go of his hold around me as I cried myself to sleep.

I came awake suddenly, not recognizing where I was, but the feel of arms tightening around me made me feel safe. I realized I was laid partly over Ranger's chest, with my arm across him so looked up to see him watching me.

"How are you feeling?"

"A bit fuzzy"

"You haven't slept for long, do you want to go back to sleep?"

"No. When will Les be here?"

"He's here already"

I'm sure I frowned as he said that because I couldn't understand how Les had got here so quickly.

"He flew down in the helicopter"

"Oh"

Eloquent I know, but I didn't know what to say to that because I had no idea that Rangeman had access to the use of a helicopter.

"Why don't you get a shower while I arrange some food and get Les to come up?"

I nodded my head and started to push myself up, looking down I could see that somehow, I'd lost my trousers and bra, leaving me in my T-shirt and panties. I suppose such a simple action gave me comfort from the normality of what Ranger had done. I walked through to the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower to allow it to heat up.

I had to admit I felt better as I dressed. I didn't feel as panicked as I had done before. I remembered the little pep talk I'd given myself in the car and was determined that was the way to approach this. As I walked through the lounge area and toward the kitchen, I saw Les leant against the counter, with Ranger stood in front of him. As soon as Les saw me he stepped around Ranger and came to me, holding me to him before he kissed the top of my head and stood away still looking at me.

"We're going to eat first and then you can tell me why I had to fly all the way here"

Les led me to the table and pulled out a chair for me to sit in while Ranger brought a large pot over to the table. There were bowls and cutlery already laid out, so I watched with interest what was inside the pot. As Ranger took off the lid the smell of chili floated into the air from the contents. Les was returning from the kitchen with a small bowl and 2 baked potatoes on a plate. While Les and I enjoyed the potato, Ranger had rice with his chili and as I began to eat, I didn't realize just how hungry I was. As I ate, I listened to the two men talk.

"Morelli came back after you left"

"Why would he do that?"

"He came with Eddie, though, so I think we got a break with that"

"What did he want?"

"To know where you were and then demanded to see you Steph. He wasn't pleased when we said you'd gone to visit another office and that maybe Steph was with her parents"

"Did he have a warrant?"

"No, so he only got as far as the ground floor conference room this time. He had a list of questions though and things he wanted to see"

I watched as Ranger just looked at Les expecting him to carry on talking.

"Let me eat will you"

After a couple of large forkfuls of food Les continued his account.

"He wanted to know Haye's rota, who'd seen him last and when he'd left the building. We provided him with a copy of the tape from the garage and Hector's rota. Then he was asking what guns we had in the building. Tank set him straight on that one and told him that the police already had a copy of the permits we had and that he needed to look at that. He asked the usual, who he was friends with, if we knew where he lived"

"Where did he live?"

"Small apartment on the edge of town. He declined an apartment on four after he'd passed the standards"

"Did we know much about him?"

"Not really, though Cal reckons he saw himself as a ladies man"

"Had we checked through his apartment?"

"No, Tank didn't think that would be a wise move, just in case the police were there or watching it"

"Morelli satisfied with the answers he got?"

"He seemed pissed from the start, but Eddie said he didn't think there'd be any reason for them to return again"

I couldn't figure out why Joe had turned up again at Rangeman, surely he should have got everything he needed when he first visited. I would have to thank Eddie for being with him and maybe tamping down how Joe was behaving.

"Les, why do you think he turned up again?"

"I think he thought that by turning up unexpectedly he would catch you there"

I wondered if Joe was pissed that there hadn't been any leads to point to Rangeman or if he was pissed because both Ranger and I weren't there. No doubt he'd assume that we were together but to be honest I didn't care what he thought. The mention though of my parents had me questioning why they'd suddenly decided to go away on a vacation, especially so suddenly.

"Les, does anyone know why my parents suddenly left to go on vacation?"

Les finished what he was chewing before starting his story.

"Hector managed to talk Bobby into calling up your Grandmother, seeing as she seems to have the most respect for him. Seems her and your mother had a good talk and seem to be more understanding of each other. According to your grandmother Val's been very demanding, so your parents decided to use the money they'd put to one side for your wedding and spend it on a vacation. Something about Val needing to deal with her own shit and not rely on your parents to always bail her out"

Wow, I was surprised at that, but deep down inside pleased that my mother had finally realized that Val had been relying heavily on their money and help. I knew that even when Val had lived away in California with Steve, she was always demanding money from my mother. What surprised me at the time was what she spent it on but the excuse she gave was that Steve never gave her enough to cover the housekeeping or things the girls needed.

I felt sorry for Albert though and knew he would never make enough money other than to get by on. He loved all those girls, even Angie and Mary Alice, but he must be feeling the strain of trying to provide enough for Val to continue her lifestyle. I seriously wondered how they would manage and what Val would do. Maybe like other wives she could start to consider working.

As I thought through memories of Val, I realized I really didn't know her all that well, probably because we'd never really got on. I'd tried when she came back to Trenton. Hell, I'd put up with her trying to be a lesbian and then let her stay at my apartment, but looking back it had always so one sided. She'd never once helped me out unless it suited her, and I suppose the whole Abruzzi thing had made me feel guilty.

It would be interesting to see what happened, but I would always be there for those girls, they didn't deserve the turmoil that Val put them through though maybe that might account for their odd behavior.

I was surprised as I looked down at my bowl and realized it was empty. I had needed the diversion that Les provided to forget for a short time what had been bothering me but as we cleared away the dishes into the kitchen, I knew the time had come to try and explain to Ranger why I'd got so upset.

I went through to the lounge area and sat on the couch, pleased when Ranger sat next to me with his arm over my shoulder. Les turned one of the matching chairs to face us and then sat on the edge of the seat waiting, I suppose for me start and explain why I'd insisted he came here.

"Les, do you remember showing me a photo you'd taken off the internet of a painting you liked?"

"Yeah. It seemed be to something that I liked, subtle yet sensual. What about it Beautiful?"

"Could you show it to Ranger?"

"I suppose, why?"

Les kept looking at me as he brought out his phone and started to look for what I'd asked, but I wanted Ranger to see it and try and judge his reaction. In the back of my mind I wasn't sure if maybe I'd imagined the similarities between the picture that Les had and the crime scene photo. As Les passed his phone to Ranger I saw immediately Ranger's first impression. His blank face slamming down to cover his thoughts.

"Put it up on the screen Les"

Was all he said as he stood up and disappeared into the bedroom, leaving me looking at Les's ideal painting. When Ranger returned, he passed a photo to Les, no doubt the crime scene photo I'd looked at this morning. I could see Les looking back and forth between the photo and the screen and the color drain from his face. It was almost immediate when Les looked at Ranger, another man who could drop on a blank face to disguise how he felt.

"They look similar, I mean the way they are laid down. Shit, Ranger, are you saying the painting I found is of a dead woman?"

I looked back at the screen not really wanting to in order to decide if she'd been dead when this had been painted, trying not to see her as Katie. There were subtle differences that made me think that she'd still been alive in Les's picture and that made my heart sink when I thought of what she'd gone through and that she was in fact dead now.

"No. If you look at how her fingers and feet are positioned; they look as though she is stretching them out, they're not relaxed"

"I agree, her eyes are showing a small pupil, as though the light around her is bright"

I dared to look at her eyes now that Ranger had mentioned it and I had to agree that she looked as though she was posing for this painting.

"Is this the woman that FTA murdered?"

"Yes, she is"

"Shit"

"Santos where did you find this?"

"Internet, okay, dark web. I know there's some fucked up stuff on there but that painting looked genuine"

"Could you find it again?"

"Nah, I tried afterwards. I wanted to find out who the artist was, but it had gone. I just assumed the bidding had ended"

"Les, did you go to the next photo?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well there's an arrow at the bottom right corner. Doesn't that usually mean there's something else?"

I'd been busy looking at the surrounding area of the picture, trying to work out what they had used to get the effects of the white swirls around Katie and somehow could see the arrow as part of the swirls.

"I never even saw that Beautiful"

"Babe, what do you want to do next?"

"I know you may disagree, but I think we need to follow up with Alice Brien"

"Why?"

"She doesn't fit the pattern of the others so whatever ties all the women together will be easier to find through her"

"Wasn't she the one from Trenton, the one you asked me to find out about?"

"Yes. What did you find?"

"Very little. Her family were travelers but for some reason spent a few years in Trenton. They left the area, but it seems Alice stayed behind. When she didn't catch up with them that's when they reported her missing"

"I bet the police didn't do much"

"No, in fact I'd say they didn't do anything. When her body was found her death was put down to misadventure. Being out in the woods the animals had done a lot of damage, so they put her death down to that"

"But her name came up in a search I did through newspapers for unsolved murders?"

"It seems her parents tried to raise concerns and the journalist ran with that to get them off his back"

Maybe that's why I didn't remember anything about her being found. There was no public outcry because the police saw her as not being important enough and it would have taken a lot of man hours to try and solve a five year old murder, especially if the coroner thought her body was too damaged to show foul play. Somehow though I knew she was the key to this, that from looking at her life in Trenton we'd find a key that tied everyone together.

"Are we going back to Trenton?"

I watched as Les addressed his question to Ranger and waited while Ranger thought through his answer. Maybe Ranger now understood why I acted like I had today, and I wasn't the only one who was worried for my safety. As he answered it was me he was looking at, and somehow I wasn't sure if I was going to like what I was about to hear or not.

"If we go back you have to have additional men with you"

Okay, at least he hadn't said he was going to lock me up in Rangeman. I knew I'd taken on board what he'd asked of me, being armed and carrying a tracker so was eager to hear what else he had to say.

"I think you'll need a tracker like ours"

I know I frowned as he said that because I knew I always had one with me but looking at Les's face I was beginning to think he meant something different.

"Yours?"
As I looked between Ranger and Les I had the feeling I wasn't going to like what Ranger was suggesting.

"It's a sub dermal implant"

"You mean it goes inside me?"

Had my voice just got louder, yeah it probably had, but the idea of something like that scared the shit out of me.

"But what about other people using it to find me?"

"It isn't tied into Rangeman Beautiful"

"It isn't? Then who?"

"It's a military outfit. They maintain complete control and it's only activated if we need to find you"

"But what if someone sees it or knows I have one, would they cut it out of me?"

I felt Ranger pull me to him and the softness of his voice against my ear did calm me, but only slightly.

"Babe, it's placed wherever you want it. Do you know where mine is?"

I thought long and hard about that, I mean I did know his body intimately but to be honest he did have several scars on his body. I assumed those were from injuries. Where would someone think of putting one on me where the scar wouldn't be obvious? I know I opened and closed my mouth a few times as each scar came to mind, but I couldn't think of anywhere that felt it might be from a tracker. Ranger picked up my hand and then ran my fingers down his neck until I felt the scar from where he'd been shot by Scrogg.

As I ran my finger over it, it felt slightly raised, almost bumpy from where the tissue had healed. The thing was I didn't have that many scars and certainly none that felt like that. Okay I'd been shot in my backside, but I didn't like the idea that every time I sat down, I would be sitting on a tracker. What if I broke it?

"Babe I was thinking about the recent damage to your hip"

"The cut I got in Toronto?"

"Yes. It would be ideal as it's still healing so no one would notice"

I suppose he was right about that, it was still slightly red, and I suppose because it was a jagged cut it was slightly raised. I didn't like the idea at all, it went against everything I believed in. Hell, I'd always fought against trackers because it made me feel as though nothing was private, that my every move was being watched.

"Babe, it's only activated if we lose you. You heard what Hector said, that they may well have been following your tracker"

"I'm not going to win on this am I?"

"Do it for me Babe, please"

Shit he just had to go and ask me like that. I felt I had no choice so just nodded my head, without looking at him. I felt my chin being lifted until I had to look into his eyes, those deep brown eyes.

"No one but me will be able to access it, I promise"

"Where will it happen?"

"I'll get in touch with someone and get him to come to us"

"Here?"

"Yes"

I closed my eyes as though that would make the whole thing go away, but I knew it was going to happen. Maybe I should be grateful that Ranger cared for me enough to insist on this tracker and maybe underneath all of the bullshit I tried to get people to believe, I wanted it as well.

I honestly hadn't realized that I'd fallen asleep while being held by Ranger, but as I became aware of waking up I was sure I was laid down. I was laid in my normal sleeping position, on my stomach with my arms wrapped around the pillow. Looking up slightly I thought I recognized the sheets and even the color of the walls. Was I in Trenton, how was that even possible, I would have known if we'd travelled that far, wouldn't I?

I sat up and pulled back the covers heading over to where I knew the bathroom was and came to a halt when beyond the door was a man sat with his back toward me. That's when I realized that I was still in Ranger's apartment in Boston. My instincts were fast considering I was still half asleep but remembered where I needed to be.

I came out of the bathroom wrapped in a large fluffy towel, grateful for the hot water and strong jets in the shower. I immediately noticed some clothes set out on the bed that I was sure hadn't been there before. I was a little confused that I was expected to wear a skirt. Once dressed I turned to the mirror and assessed the look. The skirt was kind of sexy wrap around and it hugged my hips and followed the contour of my legs to end mid-thigh. The top was made from a soft material with a cowl neck and seemed to enhance the shape of my breasts, though it was probably the amazing lift up bra that was responsible for that.

The colors had confused me at first but seeing them together I could see how well they went together. The skirt was a deep russet color whilst the top was almost a yellow, not a color I usually wore. This time I was more prepared as I left the bedroom, seeing the back of a man now sat on the couch. As I came out, Ranger approached me from the kitchen area and walked up to me. With his hands on either side of my face he skimmed his mouth over my lips.

"You look beautiful"

I so wanted to push myself against him, but my attention was caught by movement behind Ranger. Looking around Ranger was the man I'd glimpsed earlier, that I hadn't recognized from his back. I felt stupid as I saw who it was and watched as Dax looked over to where I was standing. I felt awkward now seeing Dax, hell, I never had the chance to thank him for helping me out and letting me use the house he owned. I walked slowly over to him and smiled back at him.

"How are you feeling Lau, sorry, Stephanie?"

"A lot better thank you. The shoulder and hip can ache a bit but not as badly as I thought they would"

"Good. I've heard a lot about you since starting at Rangeman"

I closed my eyes for a moment hoping he didn't ask any awkward questions, I mean looking back even I found it difficult to explain away some of the predicaments I'd gotten myself into. Dax must have sensed how uneasy what he'd said made me feel.

"Don't worry, it was all good"

I was about to leave the two of them when Ranger took my hand and led me to the couch. As I sat down, he crouched in front of me, still holding my hand. A nervousness came to me as I watched Dax approach us with a medical bag in his hand. I was sure Ranger knew that my eyes were following his progress as he approached us.

"Babe, Dax is going to insert the tracker"

My eyes went wide as I looked back to Ranger. Why was it being done now, why not wait until we were back in Trenton?

"Dax picked up the tracker on his way here. Part of his job used to be overseeing these devises, so he knows what he's doing and has everything set up ready"

I felt my legs being lifted onto the couch and Rangers hand as it caressed my leg. The sneaky bastard had run his hand inside of the wrap around skirt and I could see the scar on my leg. Dax sat down so that he was positioned at my waist and started to get things from his bag. I really didn't want to see what he was going to do, in fact I really didn't want him to do anything. As something cold touched my leg I tensed and closed my eyes tightly shut.

"You'll need to relax Steph. That was just alcohol to clean around the area. I'm going to numb it slightly, so you won't feel anything"

I remembered the last time a doctor had wanted to numb that cut and the image of a needle came to my head. Ranger must have remembered as well, because the next thing I knew his mouth was teasing at mine, his tongue grazing my teeth that were locked tightly together. He had a backup plan though which I became all too well aware of as his hand slid down the front of the cowl neck and slipped inside my bra.

If the needle hurt, I wasn't aware of it because the feel of him squeezing my nipple hard between his finger and thumb totally distracted me. As my mouth opened to express my desire, my moan was covered by his tongue delving into my mouth. I pulled away as I felt a weird feeling from my leg, it didn't hurt but was almost as if I could feel a pushing sensation. As Ranger pulled away, I looked at what Dax was doing, pleased that he was applying butterfly tape on it.

"All done Steph. We just need to activate it and set up the codes on your app Ranger"

My skirt was pulled back down over my leg and both men stood up, Ranger taking out his phone.

"Those are the serial number and id. What letters do want assigned?"

"SM"

Okay, I presumed that stood for Stephanie Michelle, so maybe anyone who managed to find it wouldn't automatically know it was me.

"Who do want to have access to it?"
"Babe?"

"You mean who could follow it?"

"Yes"

"You and Les. Could Hector be included?"

He nodded his head and they both started to work on their phones. I presumed that maybe Dax could access it as well, seeing as he was the one setting it up. Once they seemed to have sorted things out on their phones Ranger sat me up and sat down next to me.

"Dax we'll be returning to Trenton tonight, check with Santos for the exact time"

I watched as Dax left the apartment and turned back to see that Ranger was holding his phone up for me to see. As he pressed onto an app a screen asking for a password came up. Once he'd filled that in the screen changed to show a row of letters.

"LS is Santos, PS is Tank and BB is Bobby. That's you SM. If I go into your name this is what comes up"

I watched fascinated as what seemed like a large map appeared on the screen that had a flashing red dot in the middle of it.

"I can zoom in to your exact location or enlarge the map"

I watched as he did that, fascinated at the detail for my exact location and surprised at the extent the map enlarged to.

"How far does it transmit?"

"A hundred miles, but it can give a history of the trackers movement so that it's possible to follow its path and then pick it up as we get closer to it"

"Does Hector have one?"

"No"

I could understand that Hector wouldn't want one and I suppose in most circumstances he wouldn't need one because he wouldn't want people to know where he was. I also felt a bit more secure with the knowledge that should anything happen to me then I could be found. I suppose when Ranger had gone in the wind and anything happened then he could be found. I wondered how often it had been used or if it really was, as Ranger had said, only used in an emergency. My thoughts were interrupted as Ranger stood up and replaced his phone in his pocket.

"Babe, I need to go down to my office here and go through some local reports. No one knows that you're here so don't leave the apartment. I'll be back so that we can have dinner. I think Santos is going to be coming up to see you"

I suppose as Ranger was here then there would be work for him to catch up on, so I wasn't surprised at what he'd said. I stood as well and headed into the kitchen area because I knew I'd missed my morning coffee and I was hungry.

I was sat at the table eating some cereal when I heard the door open and saw Les walk into the apartment. He was wearing a Rangeman uniform so I assumed he'd been working as well. I got up from the table and finding another mug poured Les a coffee, placing it on the table as I sat back down.

"How did it go?"

"The tracker?"

"Yes. I saw Dax come back downstairs"

"Didn't he say anything?"

"Nah. He's very quiet, keeps his thoughts to himself"

I was pleased about that because I didn't want anyone to know how Ranger had distracted me whilst Dax had been inserting the damn thing.

"Okay, it's in and working. You can access it"

"Good, I was a bit worried that if it was only Ranger who could, then it might limit how we might find you"

"I have no intention of getting lost Les"

"Good. Now, I need your help"

"What with?"

I had no idea what Les could be doing to need my help, I mean I was sure he hadn't looked at the files we had because they were through in the bedroom.

"That FTA, the one Connie gave to you"

"I only remember that his name was Hancock and that I'd probably be better getting help from Rangeman and not involving Lula"

"It's weird because no one can find the file"

"Connie should have a copy"

"Should, but even she's struggling"

"There'll be a copy at the station"

"The only Hancock on file at the station is some young kid and his bond is pretty low"

"Is he FTA?"
"Yeah and it corresponds to Vinnie bailing him out"

"What did he do?"

"Beat up one of his girls, badly. She ended up in the hospital"

"Is he gang related?"

I watched as Les looked through a file that he'd brought with him, becoming impatient as he took so long.

"I'm not sure"

That was strange because usually any search that we did was good at ferreting out information like that. Les passed the file to me so I started to read through the information he had. The man in question was Jerome Hancock, aged 27, who had given his address in an apartment in the south of Trenton on the other side of the river. Those three pieces of information alone had my spidey senses tingling.

"This doesn't make sense Les"

"Go on"

"I'm not sure, but the name, age and address feel false. Is there a photograph?"

"Here"
The picture in front of me was in black and white and wasn't very good quality, in fact it reminded me of old photos my mother had from when we were kids. I continued to read through the information, surprised when it said he worked at the button factory. Hadn't Owen said that a lot of people had been made redundant? Maybe he'd been in a job that was needed? Further reading said that both his parents were dead, but that he had an older sister who had moved down to Baltimore.

"Les can I do a search here?"

"I don't see why not, but I'll need to go downstairs for a laptop"

While Les went to do that I continued to read through the next section. Apparently, Jerome had no health issues, but his education seemed to finish when he was 14, after which he went to the button factory. That couldn't be right because I was sure kids that age weren't allowed to work that young.

I jumped as Les sat back down, noticing that the laptop was already logged in. He went to the search program and looked at me, as though waiting for me to say something.

"Put in a search for his sister, Elizabeth Hancock from Baltimore"

"You got any more than that?"

"Err, try father Harry"

I watched as the program did it's work not surprised at the information on the screen.

"Beautiful, it says that she 84 years old and is living in a residential home"

"I thought as much. Your Jerome Hancock is probably about 75 years old, well according to the name"

"So we have an FTA who's using an old man's id?"

"Looks like it. I wonder what the original file had in?"

"I'll go down to the station tomorrow and find out who arrested him"

"Why doesn't the search go past him being 22?"

"Maybe someone hacked in and changed it, or maybe he died. We're looking at over fifty years ago, records got lost or they never got around to putting it into the system"

"Did you check out the address?"

"Derelict"

I thought through how we would find out who this man actually was, the first place I would have gone to would have been the woman in the hospital, the problem though was that I'd bet she would be too frightened to say anything in case her pimp found her again.

"You know who you need to talk don't you?"

"No, who?"

"Lula. She'll probably know the woman who was assaulted and even who the pimp is"

"Is she likely to help?"

"You'd probably have to give a percentage of the reward"

"Is that what you did when she was with you?"

I thought through what Les was asking me and nodded my head, knowing that sometimes she caused me more grief than help at times. I knew that she got a wage from Vinnie for filing, but she also took money from me. Hell, she was probably better off than I was. I could see the frown on Les's face as he took in what I said.

"It doesn't matter now Les, I don't have a job, remember"

"Yes you do. You're one of us now Beautiful"