Chapter 42
SPOV
As I came awake, I was aware of being in different surroundings, of the cold tendrils of fear crawling over my skin. I didn't dare move or make a sound in case I attracted someone's attention. I didn't want to know where I was, I wanted to be home with Ranger. Ranger, I never even discovered if he'd been rescued or how badly hurt he was. I wasn't going to entertain the idea that he may have died, that couldn't have happened. I'd know wouldn't I, I'd feel it.
The slightest sound from someone moving close to me had my muscles tensing, waiting for a touch that could hurt me. I know I cowered away when the touch came, even if it was expected. It was the feel of someone brushing my hair away from my face.
"Come on Cupcake, I know you can't still be unconscious"
Okay that had me moving, and I was suddenly sitting up slightly with my eyes wide open. The last person I expected to see looking down at me was Joe Morelli.
"What the hell Joe, why am here? Was it you that knocked me out?"
"What else was I supposed to do? You always manage to screw things up, don't you?"
If Joe Morelli thought that he was going to shout at me and berate me for something that had nothing to do with me then I couldn't stay sat on the bed. I turned to the side away from where Joe was sat and was soon on my feet, staring at him. I was so thankful that what must have been a blast from a stun gun didn't have any lasting effects.
"No Joe, I was there because Ranger had been taken. We were there to rescue him"
"Get real Cupcake, how the hell did you think you were going to save him?"
"His men were already on their way. What the hell were you doing there Joe?"
Obviously Joe didn't like that I would question him and to be honest I really couldn't understand why he would have been anywhere near to where Ranger had been was stood up now facing me and not looking too pleased.
"Me, doing my job"
"Are you telling me that hiding behind a hut was doing your job?"
"Of course it was"
I actually stopped to think before having another scream at Joe because I thought he might actually be telling me the truth. The problem though with Joe was getting him to tell me about anything he was doing. There were many times in the past when our paths had crossed due to our work and just about every time he used information that I'd gleaned without ever giving me anything in return. Well that wasn't going to happen again. No way would I give Joe any piece of information, and I didn't care if it would solve his case or not.
"So you're telling me that you were there because of a case that you're on?"
"Yes, but now I've lost the lead that I had because of you"
"A lead?"
"Now I'll have to start again"
Okay so how do I play Joe so that he'll tell me what he was looking for, or even who he was after? The problem was that I didn't want him anywhere near me, so I'd have to be careful that he didn't construe any of my actions as wanting to rekindle our relationship.
I also knew that Joe would have to believe that I wasn't in a relationship with Ranger otherwise he'd probably get nasty with me. I sat down on the edge of the bed with my back toward Joe. At least I was still fully clothed, though my feet were missing my shoes and socks. I looked down at my hands on my knees and using a soft voice quietly started to talk to him.
"I'm sorry Joe, I had no idea"
"Just like always Cupcake, you have no idea just how annoying you can be"
I had to squeeze my eyes shut just to stop myself from turning around and shouting at him again, fighting instead to find a soft voice.
"I didn't mean to Joe, I just never thought that you'd be there"
"You never do think Cupcake, you just charge right in and be damned to the consequences"
That had me turning around and looking at him. Okay maybe he looked a bit calmer now, after all I'd let him think that maybe I was being contrite.
"If you told me what was going on then maybe I'd know to stay away?"
"Maybe. For now, I want you staying here"
Okay that had my attention and I turned away from Joe not trusting what I might say to that order that he thought he was giving to me. Come on, when have I ever agreed to do what people told me especially if it meant being locked up. I reined in my temper and remained sat meekly on the bed.
"Okay. Do you think I'm in danger?"
As I said that I looked over to him, before I lowered my eyes again.
"If you weren't before then you probably are now"
"The man who stopped?"
"I have no idea who he was. I think he was looking for you"
As I thought through what Joe had said it occurred to me that maybe Joe had no idea who the men were that we were looking for. I really wanted to know what Joe had found out and what the case was that he was working on.
"Maybe I know him, the man that you're looking for Joe?"
"Maybe"
"I might know something that could help"
"Maybe"
From the sound of his reply I knew that I was slowly getting below his defenses, he was thinking now, thinking how much I could help him. Of course, my stomach took that exact moment to announce that it was empty. I looked over to Joe, hoping maybe he could come up with something to eat.
"Any chance of something to eat Joe?"
I heard him sigh as though he was just realizing that he'd now have to feed me.
"Yeah, stay here"
I couldn't believe it when I heard the lock turn as Joe went out of the door. Had he just locked me in this room? Of course, Joe had removed every piece of jewelry that I'd had on meaning that I had no trackers on me. Hell, maybe that was the reason Joe had removed my trainers because he'd know that Ranger had sometimes put trackers in them.
I went over to the door just to make sure that I hadn't made a mistake and finding it locked turned and looked around the room. It was quite a large bedroom that had standing furniture against one wall and the bed against another. Opposite me was a window, so I walked over to it to take a look outside. I was surprised to see fields opposite and a narrow back lane behind the house. There was a very small back yard that looked to be next to the one from next door.
So, there were neighbors, but it didn't help me to work out where I was or what Joe was doing using a house like this. I was on the first floor and obviously at the back of the house but looking at the décor I was thinking that it was maybe an older building. I tried to push the window open, but it wouldn't budge and at this moment in time I didn't want to have to break the glass.
I heard the lock in the door turn and watched as Joe came in carrying a plate with some pizza on. I could almost swear from the smell that it was one from Pinos, reminding me that I'd not had to get to eat a meatball sub. I desperately wanted to know what had happened to Ranger, if the guys had managed to find him. I knew Joe would be annoyed if I asked so instead, I went with my original plan. Be nice to Joe and look for a way out.
"Smells like Pinos"
"It is, I bought in few and put them in the freezer"
It was slowly getting dark outside and I watched as Joe turned on the light by the side of the bed. He placed the plate on the bed so I walked over and sat next to it, taking a piece and beginning to eat it. It tasted just as good as I remembered but I made I conscious effort not to moan at the delicious taste. I could sense that Joe was watching me as I ate and smiled at him as I took another piece of pizza.
"Not having some Joe?"
"No. I ate before you woke up"
I watched Joe as I continued to eat waiting for what he would ask me next.
"Eddie said that you disappeared. I thought maybe you were just trying to avoid me. That's why I kept calling at Rangeman"
"No. Someone did kidnap me, but Hector was the one to find me"
"Not Ranger?"
"He was out of town. He only got back recently"
"So why are you staying at Rangeman and not at your apartment?"
"You know it's not safe. Hell, everyone can break into the place. Ranger thought I'd be safer for the moment staying there"
"I suppose. Did you know who it was?"
"Not really. Do you think it does cross with your case?"
I wasn't feeling very confident about believing what Joe was saying to me, it was almost as if he was trying to cover something up.
"Who were you waiting for Joe?"
"Someone who may have had something to do with the case I'm working"
"What case are you working on?"
"Cold case. The Chief's been slated by his bosses for the number of cases that are classified as unsolved"
Okay now that did surprise me. I'd assumed that Joe had been following up on a lead from Shane's murder, wasn't he the lead detective on that one?
"How cold?"
"Eight years. Neither officer that were involved are working now, so the Chief decided it was time for a fresh pair of eyes"
"So you think this man you were looking for was the murderer?"
"I'm not sure, but there are some things I've found that could help to solve the case"
Eight years ago and the fact that the officers involved weren't around, made me think that Joe was talking about the young kid who had died. There hadn't been very much about that case in the notes that Jerry had given to me, in fact even the reports he'd given to me didn't have all that much in them. Maybe I needed to find out more about that young kid and how he had died.
As I finished the last piece of pizza I turned to Joe, because I really wanted to get out of this room.
"I need the bathroom Joe, is it close?"
"I'll show you"
Damn I was hoping that maybe he'd just tell me where to go and then I could have sneaked out to take a look around. The bathroom was two doors down from the room I was in. There was a short hallway that had three other doors and what looked to be a staircase heading downstairs. I went into the bathroom, locking the door behind me and used the toilet. Looking around it looked clean, if not a bit tired. Basic white porcelain units with a cheap carpet on the floor.
At least the towels looked clean and there were bottles of hair shampoo and shower gel on the side of the bath, but then that had me wondering who was here to use them. Of course, there was no window so being in here wasn't going to help me to find a way out.
Once finished I opened the door to find Joe leant against the wall opposite. There was no way I was going to let him lock me up inside that bedroom. I started to turn as if returning to the bedroom, seeing Joe push himself off from the wall. That's when I turned suddenly and made a dash for the stairs. Joe was slow to realize what I'd done but I could hear him racing after me. There was a door ahead of the stairs, that to me looked like a front door so that's where I ran for. Turning the handle, I was so annoyed that it was locked and felt Joe grab hold of my arm.
"Where the hell do you think that you're going Cupcake?"
I turned to him, I'm sure my eyes were blazing with annoyance. I managed to jerk my arm free and made for the first door I came to, finding myself in what looked to be a lounge. There was a couple of couches and a TV, and a coffee table with some magazines on, so I sat down on one of the couches and propped my feet on top of the table.
"I won't be locked in a room Joe"
"I know you, Cupcake, you'll try to escape"
"Why shouldn't I. You're supposed to be a police officer, not someone who kidnaps a woman and locks them up"
"It's for your own good"
"Yeah right. Maybe it suits what you want"
Okay, maybe that had hit him harder than I thought because he suddenly closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath into his lungs. When he opened his eyes, he was looking at me differently. All the anger had disappeared, and in its place was a look that was sending out alarms for me.
"I do want you with me, Cupcake. I always have, but I want you safe. Away from that thug you seem to rely on so much. You could live with me at my house, I'll keep you safe. Hell, Cupcake we were meant to be together"
Something didn't feel right as he said that.
"Are you telling me that you followed me with the intention of making a grab for me?"
"You were heading into danger, as always, what else was I supposed to do?"
"So your excuse of following a lead was a load of bullshit?"
I was so annoyed with what he'd said, at what he'd admitted to. I stood up and faced him, keeping my distance from him as all sorts of questions went through my head.
"You knew I was at Pinos?"
"Well yeah"
"How?"
Then it hit me, the only person who knew where I would be outside of Rangeman staff was my father. He wouldn't say anything, knowing the danger that I'd been in and probably was still in, but there was one other person who might have known.
"My mother told you?"
I screamed back at him.
"She's helping us to get back together Cupcake"
"Did you tell someone else?"
"For god's sake Cupcake, no. I didn't tell anyone"
"You know what Joe, I don't believe you. Who else did you tell Joe?"
That's when I started to put things together, because I knew that it wasn't a coincidence that Tasha was there in Pinos or that Ranger had been taken.
"You were with a woman when she called you weren't you?"
"No. She'd left"
Him saying that only confirmed what I was thinking. I wouldn't put it past him to be sleeping with Tasha. She'd see him as a link to me and maybe Ranger. Had she hung around long enough to overhear him or had she bugged his house with the intention of having access to all of Joe's conversations?
I lost it, totally lost it and all the training that Bobby had given me came to me like second nature. My stance was right as I pulled back my arm and made a fist. Joe never saw it coming, probably because he didn't think I could do it. My fist caught him squarely at the junction of his eye and nose, a loud crunch the only noise in the room. Joe went backwards and landed hard on the floor, though I think the corner of the coffee table was probably responsible for him being unconscious.
The sound of a loud slow clap had my head whizzing around to the open door. Stood there with a smile on her face was none other than Sophia Singsong. I continued to look at her as she walked into the room, noticing the cuffs around her wrists.
"I've been wanting to do that for days"
"Sophia. Why are you here, I thought that you'd been kidnapped or worse?"
"No. I have to admit that I did come here with him voluntarily. He scared the shit out of me with his stories and promised that he'd keep me safe"
"So why did you want to punch him?"
"All he wants is information"
I heard a moan from Joe and looking down at him thought that maybe he was coming around.
"Get something to tie him up with Sophia"
It wasn't long before we had Joe totally tied up. I found the keys to Sophia's handcuffs and also for the house and Joes vehicle, though I wasn't sure what he was driving. Sophia had found some duct tape so after wrapping the tape around his wrists and ankles I proceeded to wrap the tape around his knees and then around his body, strapping his elbows tightly to his chest. For good measure a piece went over his mouth. I wanted a conversation with Sophia before we left here.
Sophia and I sat in the dining area, drinking a cup of coffee, we'd opened the adjoining doors to the lounge so that we could see Joe but knew that he couldn't hear anything.
"Start at the beginning Sophia"
Knowing that this was going to be a long story.
"You know I worked at Devils Delight. I really enjoyed it, the work and the people I met"
"Did you know Shane Cooper?"
"Yeah, he's a lovely man. I think he has the hots for Kara and she likes him a lot as well. He did some amazing photographs for us. Anyway, I met someone, someone who actually treated me right. He wanted to talk and take me out not just bed me. He made me think about what the hell I was doing. Then that man in there, he started to follow me and got into the building where my apartment was. He started to ask me all sorts of questions about Devils Delight. Who worked there, what their names were and said that I needed to do some sneaking around at work. Of course, I told him to go to hell. I thought maybe he was working for a competing club. When I tried to shrug him off and told him where to go, he grabbed hold of me"
"So it was Joe who you attacked?"
"Sure was and let me tell you I didn't take kindly to that. I went to my lawyer who said to press charges. You know what happened after that"
Yeah, I knew, he counter charged her. I wondered if the whole thing was being kept quiet because he'd said it was part of an undercover job or some other shit.
"The thing is it did make me curious, so I started to take more note of what was going at the club. The clients were the same but there were some closed door meetings happening with people that I didn't know and that weren't usually at the club. Then suddenly one of the basement storerooms was closed off. The excuse was that there was a mains leak and the place was flooded. I, err, took a look and couldn't believe what I saw. The place was full of computer equipment and boards covered in papers"
"Did someone see you Sophia?"
I was thinking that maybe Joe had been right in persuading Sophia to hide out somewhere.
"I don't know, I don't think so, but I wasn't feeling very safe there. Then Morelli turned up and said that they knew and that I was in serious danger. He talked me into letting him bring me here"
"Why did you say that you wanted to punch him?"
"All he'd do was question me. What had I seen at Devils Delight, who was working there and who did I see. It was as though my safety wasn't even a concern, getting information out of me was and then he expected me to sleep with him. I don't like him, plus I wanted to talk to my friend. Morelli locked me inside here without access to a phone, I felt like a prisoner."
"Sophia, who is this friend?"
"He's called Isaac. It's not what you think, he's a bit older than me and has been the first true friend that I've ever had. That doesn't happen very often in my line of work"
"Did you talk to him about what you'd seen?"
"Not the details, though I did tell him about Morelli and what he wanted me to do. I called Isaac after Morelli told me that I should leave with him and Isaac suggested that I went with him, that he was a good cop and could be trusted. So here I am"
"How about we get out of here?"
"I'm all for that, but where would we go?"
"Oh I know exactly where we would go and be perfectly safe"
"What about him?"
We both looked through the doors to where Joe was squirming on the floor and shrugged our shoulders.
Between us we locked every door in the house that we could, and left Joe tied up on the floor. The drapes were drawn across the windows, which was when I noticed the bars, and made sure that nothing was left switched on. Once outside I was pleased that the front door had such a good locking system. He'd obviously had them fitted so that Sophia couldn't get out.
Parked in front of the house was a large brown truck, one where it was an effort to just climb up into the cabin. I drove, seeing as I knew the way and had some experience of driving a manual car. I have to say that it wasn't easy to drive, especially when my feet were missing socks and shoes. I discovered that we were in the outskirts of Trenton on the west side near to the river so had a fair way to drive through town.
I was eager to get back to Rangeman and find out what had happened to Ranger, I was so afraid that he was hurt or worse. What if he was in the hospital? The closer we got to Rangeman the faster I was driving. Thankfully Sophia hadn't said a word as we sped through the streets. I suppose I could have found a phone and called to let them know that I was on my way, but I was in such a rush just to get there that the idea just faded away from me.
As we turned onto Hayward I swore as I realized that I wouldn't be able to access the garage because I had no idea where any of my things were or the fob for the gate of the garage. That had me swerving away from the garage entrance and I admit that I misjudged where the sidewalk was. Then my foot slipped off the clutch and still being in gear we were almost lurched through the front plate glass window.
I threw the door open, shouting at Sophia to follow me and slammed through the front door into the reception area. I came to a sudden stop, with Sophia running into the back of me because stood in front of me with his gun drawn and aiming for me was a man that I'd never seen before. His Rangeman uniform told me was probably on reception but I was more pissed than frightened with the reception I was getting.
No one said a word, and that only increased the tension. Sophia was clutching at the back of my T-shirt, looking over my shoulder and the Rangeman was just staring at me. I honestly think that he had no idea what to do or say. As calmly as I could I began to talk.
"I, err, need to go upstairs"
"No Ma'am, no one gets past me"
"But I live here"
"Sorry Ma'am. I know we only have men working here"
I raised my eyebrows at that, I mean who the hell did this man think he was? Of course there were women here. There was me and Ella. Who the hell was this man if he thought that, did he have no idea what happened upstairs? That was when the doors to the stairwell opened and I saw Les starting to come through.
I felt myself relax and was almost smiling as I started to move forward, which thinking back was probably a mistake, because the Rangeman got nervous and his finger twitched on the trigger. Sophia screamed at the sound of the gunshot and fell to one side, taking me with her, but not before I was sure I felt that bullet whizz past my ear.
"Stand down"
Was shouted across the room by several voices, the loudness resonating around us. I didn't dare move and Sophia had a death grip around me which kept me where I was. When I eventually dared to look up all I could see was a sea of black and there coming toward me was Ranger.
I prized myself away from Sophia, pulling her arms and hands from her tight hold on me and ran toward him but came to an abrupt stop when I got a good look at him. There was blood running down from his hair onto his shoulder and blood on his arms and sleeves. I felt tears come to my eyes as I realized that he'd been badly hurt. I may have stopped but Ranger didn't and as he came closer to me his arms wrapped around me and lifted me from the floor. My arms went around his neck and my legs wrapped around his hips as I inhaled the air around him. My face was buried in his neck as I started to talk.
"Oh God Ranger, they hurt you"
"No, Babe. Only small cuts and scratches"
My head came up to look into his face to see if he was lying to me.
"Babe, I'm okay"
I unwrapped my legs from him suddenly remembering that Sophia was with me only to find that Bobby was helping her up from the floor.
"Babe?"
"Sorry, this is Sophia"
I watched as Ranger raised his eyebrow at me, okay so he would want to know what had happened and was maybe curious as how I had nearly driven through the front of Rangeman with Sophia with me. I had a feeling this was going to be a late night.
I never left Ranger's side as we went into the elevator and wasn't surprised when it stopped on the fifth floor. I was pleased when we went into an empty conference room and not the room where all of our information was pinned on the wall. I didn't know Sophia that well and to be honest I was very wary of totally trusting someone after my experience of Tasha and then Cassie.
I explained what had happened to me, trying hard to keep to the facts, though I could see that Ranger was fuming. To try and tamp down the testosterone flooding the room I then suggested that Sophia told her story. That had the desired effect of distracting any feelings to mutilate Joe. Once she had finished then I knew some decisions would need to be made.
"What are we going to do about Morelli Ranger?"
The million dollar question had come from Les. I think Les wanted Ranger to suggest a crate but even though I thought it was a good idea I knew that couldn't happen.
"Tank, take a couple of men and bring him here. Put him in a cell, but no restraints. I'll call the Chief in the morning and then we need a conversation"
"There's an empty apartment on four that Sophia can stay in"
"Can you arrange that with Ella, Bobby?"
I watched as Ranger looked at Sophia as though trying to decide what to do with her.
"Sophia. I know Morelli was trying to get you to tell him what you saw, maybe you do need to tell us what that was"
I watched as she looked down at her hands on the table and the way she visibly shuddered as she took in a breath. Maybe this was going to be more difficult for her than I would have guessed.
"I suppose, but I'd like someone here with me"
I nearly groaned thinking she'd ask for her lawyer"
"I'd like Isaac to be here, I trust his judgement"
"Isaac?"
"Isaac Newland"
Sophia didn't see the reaction from most of the men around the table when she said that name. I did and I was about to say something when Ranger took hold of my hand and squeezed it and then gave me a look that definitely said "Not a word" Okay, I was missing something here and looking at Sophia she didn't seem as though she had noticed, in fact she looked as tired as I felt.
All I wanted to do was to collapse on the bed and sleep and I was so relieved when Ranger called an end to the meeting. I noticed Bobby said something to Ranger before he left with Sophia. It wasn't until I was in elevator with Ranger that I realized that I knew nothing about what had happened to him or why the name Isaac Newland had caused a few looks around the men.
"What happened at the farm?"
"Later Babe, I'll tell you everything"
Later sounded like a good idea to me. Once in the apartment I walked straight through to the bedroom, one look at the bed and I just laid down on it. Maybe after a nap I'd have a shower and then Ranger could talk me through everything I needed to know to get caught up.
