A spider's web

by Leserei

The spider's web. The network spread by a spider. Tangles of silken threads of a spiderweb usually covered with accumulated dirt. Something that entangles, obscures, or confuses.

6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Wasp

My ideas of what I thought I should do changed from day to day. I still made my regular visits to her apartment with a box of food and some treats. I never the made the mistake of taking anything for the boy though, knowing that it would probably never be seen by him before his mother sold it. I spent time sat eating with them now more observant of her behavior and her moods.

I could see it now, how sometimes she would be quiet and almost mellow with how she treated me and even the boy, and then at other times when she would be anxious and nervous. The worst times were when she was angry, what at, I had no idea but put it down to when she'd last had her dose of drugs.

Over the next few weeks, I actually wrote down her moods on a calendar and found a pattern as to when each mood would present itself. Having that enabled me to predict when she would most likely need to leave the apartment. She never asked me again to stay at the apartment when she went out, so knowing that I decided that her excursions were probably during the day or early evening.

I cleared my desk of paperwork and using the excuse of visiting properties I used a disguise to keep surveillance of her building. Okay, maybe a disguise was a weak description but with a hat and glasses on and a long raincoat I was sure that she wouldn't recognize me. For some reason I also took my SLR camera with me, thinking that it would help me to remember who she met up with.

It was late afternoon when she finally emerged from her building, her edginess apparent in how she walked and looked around her. I followed her, recording her meetings and what she was given as best I could. It was very similar to what I'd seen when I'd last followed her, though this time I was curious how she knew where to go to next. Maybe the men she met up with gave her the next address along with a package. The men she met with varied in age and what they looked like. Some old, some young, some wearing gang colors and others in jeans and coats. All of them gave the demeanor that you wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley on your own. It amazed me how confident she was as she walked the streets.

Her last stop was with the young men she'd met up with so long ago. It was here that she passed them a box and received a small package from them. That was probably her vial with insulin in along with a syringe and needle. I felt a bit deflated as I watched her return to her apartment building and decided to call it a night. Returning home, I felt as though I hadn't accomplished anything because I hadn't learnt anything new.

I went through the photographs from my camera in order to better understand what was going on and where her position in this passing of boxes fit in. She'd had a busy day, covering a lot of ground but taking a logical view I started to label the men that she'd met. It seemed obvious to me that what I was seeing was the lower end of this organization. There looked to be 6 men who gave her packages and collected money, these men I called the suppliers with the men who received the packages being the pushers. I was sure they would be the ones who would provide individuals with their regular fix. It made me wonder how many other women were doing what she did? Did that mean that I was looking at a very large and organized group?

I decided that my next move was to try and find the men further up the ranks and for that I needed to follow one of the men who had provided one of the packages. Even now I don't understand my reasoning for wanting to do that. It wouldn't help the woman or the boy and certainly wouldn't stop her constant need for drugs, but for some reason I felt that I had to do it. A task that seemed daunting and that I was sure wasn't without risk.

Two weeks later I was ready to follow through with my idea and had focused on the first man who provided her with a package. Fortunately, I'd thought ahead knowing that being on foot might put me at an immediate disadvantage. I'd bought a cheap motorbike, using cash of course, through an advert in the paper. That meant I didn't have to provide the seller with any documents, and I wouldn't be posting anything off to make it legally mine.

Now that I knew her routine, I planned to follow one of the men who had given the woman a package to deliver to someone else. I suppose my idea was that if he was supplying the drugs then he must have a source. If I found the source, then maybe I would be able to work out who was heading up this operation. The man immediately walked around the corner onto the next street and got into a small blue van that advertised itself as a local plumber. As I'd guessed he made three more stops and met up with three more people to unload more packages off with. Two woman and what looked to me like a young teenage boy.

I continued to follow the man disappointed when he turned from the street and parked in front of a block of apartments. My immediate thought was that he'd done his job and had simply gone back home. I needed to rethink who I followed or even when I started to follow them. I wanted to find out who was supplying those drugs and who was running things and making a fortune.

The following week I was waiting for that man to make his move. I was banking on the fact that he wouldn't want those packages sat in his car overnight, that he would be collecting them some time in the morning. Though doing that in broad day light did make me wonder how secluded the place might be that he went to and how easy it would be to stay undetected. Let's just say I saw a lot more than I expected to see and witness.

SPOV

I could hear movement coming from the recess and decided that maybe Arthur was waking up. I'd found it really hard to sleep especially with the incessant snoring echoing around the small space. In the end I'd carefully and quietly moved away from Ed, who seemed to have moved until he was curled up next to me, and with the book and the lantern crept out to the seat. I felt almost disappointed that I was going to be disturbed because I was captivated in where the story was going. I watched as Arthur came out and then disappeared across the tracks feeling a bit like a voyeur even though I couldn't see anything.

I was feeling a bit antsy sat here and to be honest was really hoping that I'd be able to get out of here and maybe start to sort out what Arthur had told me. I mean why would anyone think that I'd shoot someone. I was sure that with Ranger's help I could get to the bottom of it. Hell, I had no idea what time it was or even what the day was and felt disconnected from what was going on. Would people be worried about me or would they all assume that what the papers were saying was true.

If that was the case, then I dreaded to think what my mother was thinking. The phone would likely have been turned off and she would probably be renouncing me as her daughter by now. She was one of those people who always believed what other people told her and never ever listened to my side of the story. To be honest I was very envious of woman who said that their mother was their supporter because mine never had been. Ranger had always filled that role for me in the last few years. I missed him, missed him being there to talk through my ideas with, but I so missed the glancing touches that he gave me, and the way heat would shoot through me just with feeling him near me or seeing him.

Then there was Joe, I wasn't too sure what he'd be doing. The last month had been weird with him. It was only a few weeks ago, after a week from hell collecting skips that I had started to doubt why the hell I was a bounty hunter. Of course, Joe and my mother fed those doubts. The dinner at my parents, well let's just say that it consisted of them berating me for continuing with my job and the ever constant pushing for me to settle down and get married. I was upset when no one would listen to me and that was when every nerve in my body had started to go haywire.

I was questioning everything that anyone did, including myself, but asking advice from people didn't help. Either they didn't see what my problem was or like Ranger they had told me to work through it. I was sure that Joe would be cursing me for getting myself into trouble again. But would he be supportive of me, could I count on him to help me prove my innocence? I wasn't too sure about that. Hadn't I been the one to prove his innocence all those years ago? Would he do the same for me? My mind was remembering all of the doubts that I'd had and then the consequent information that I'd accidentally come across. Joe was a cop through and through, or so I thought, and maybe as far as he was concerned there was enough evidence to prove my guilt.

"You're looking a bit stressed there"

I turned to see Arthur heading my way with another bowl and a mug.

"Just thinking. I really need to get out of here Arthur and sort out what people are saying about me"

I took the bowl and mug from his hands and watched as he sat down next to me. I was waiting for him to say something, that he agreed with what I'd said and would make sure that he'd lead me out of the tunnel into the outside world.

"That's not going to be easy to do. Your life has become entwined with Wasp's now. To find the solution to those existing problems you're gonna have to finish what he started"

"Why?"

"Because you're involved now, Pipsqueak is involved, and I think the both of you will be in danger"

I opened my mouth to say something back, to tell him that what he'd said was a crazy notion, but then closed it as I thought through what he'd said. Charlie had been trying to help Katy and her son, to somehow help them to escape the situation that they'd found themselves in. To do that he'd started to investigate the causes and as he'd said been pulled into a web of underworld crime that had proven to be very dangerous.

And now, I was caught in that web as well. Arthur was right. I had to finish what Charlie had started if not for me then certainly for Ed. I couldn't, wouldn't let anything happen to him.

"What do I do next?"

"Wasp had a plan if anything happened to him, but I don't know what it was. All I know is that I had to give you an envelope when you leave here"

"What about Pipsqueak?"

I asked using the nickname that Arthur used for him.

"Well, he led you here to me, so maybe he'll lead you to your next destination"

I picked up the spoon in the bowl and started to eat the baked beans, not really tasting it as the realization of what Arthur had said hit me. I had never envisaged what would happen to Ed, maybe I'd thought he would stay here with Arthur but even as I thought that I knew that couldn't happen.

Having him with me though, that was a hell of a responsibility, hell I struggled to keep myself safe let alone keep him safe as well. I couldn't even look after Rex. As that name came to me, I felt tears come to my eyes as I thought of Rex. Would someone have been to my apartment to look after him? I had to believe that was true because the idea of him being on his own and probably starving to death was enough to have me nearly breaking down into tears.

As I finished the beans and my coffee I wandered back to the recess with the book in my hand. Ed took it from me and put it inside the rucksack along with an envelope that Arthur handed to him. No one spoke a word as we collected our things together, as though what we were doing was what was expected. It seemed we were leaving here, and even though it was what I wanted, I was feeling really nervous about it.

Arthur walked with us part way down the tunnel, stopping when we came to an opening. I felt saddened leaving him here.

"Arthur, when this is over, I'd really like to see you again"

And probably bring him a new supply of food.

"I'd like that as well, it sure would be good to know what happens"

I was about to turn around when a question came to me and leaning forward close to Arthur I whispered quietly.

"Arthur, what is Pipsqueak's real name?"

"No idea. Hurry up or he'll leave you behind"

He was right because as I turned to see where Ed was, I could see him already walking away from me with the lantern held up in the air. I put the rucksack on my back and pulled the hat onto my head before following him.

The tunnel we were walking through seemed newer than the previous ones and I was pleased when we came to some stone steps that led upwards. I probably shouldn't have been surprised when there were choices of which direction to take but it seemed, like before, that Ed knew which way to go. It made me wonder how many times Ed had been down here before or if Charlie had drawn out a plan of the route to take. I was going for the second option because I was sure that Arthur had said that Ed had only been down here once.

It was like déjà vu walking through tunnels again but at least it didn't seem to take us long before a doorway blocked our exit. I watched as Ed moved a stone in the surrounding arch and then pushed the door open easily. Once through he pushed the stone back into place, I assume so that it was now locked, and turned off the lantern. I wasn't sure why he'd done that because it still seemed too dark to see anything.

My stomach sank as the darkness engulfed me, all hope of ever escaping being underground and lost, receding as the seconds ticked by. I felt like screaming out loud, shouting how unfair this was, when I felt vibrations running through my feet and was about to take a step forward when Ed held me back. There was a sound that I recognized growing in loudness thundering toward us.

Even though I knew there was several feet between me and the oncoming train I pushed myself against the wall, with Ed secure in my arms. The sound and the air rushing around me had me holding my breath because I was so sure that we'd get pulled onto the tracks. I was seeing lit windows flashing past me, people sat in their seats, hopefully not seeing anything beyond the glass. Then as soon as it had started it was gone, the sound and the vibrations becoming weaker as the train sped away.

I let out a breath and released Ed from my hold as he turned the lantern back on. Without a sound he started to cross the tracks with me behind him, wondering where the hell we were. That's when I felt it, the cooler air on my face so looking up I was trying to figure out where we were.

It was only because Ed grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me forward that I even moved. I was too busy looking up, into the sky. No wonder I had no memories of a train line that went through a tunnel because we were outside. Out in the open, just as I'd wanted. The lack of light wasn't because we were inside somewhere, it was because it was night time and it was dark. We must have left Arthur sometime during the night.

Stepping over the tracks we soon reached the other side with me dreading the idea of going inside again. The air felt clean and fresh, okay this was Trenton, but the air was cleaner and fresher than I'd been breathing for the last few days. I felt so relieved as I followed Ed trying to decide on a plan for what I'd do next. I had to get a message to Ranger but doing that might be hard to do. I had no phone or money and I had to be careful because not only were the police looking for me but probably the bad guys as well.

Ed followed the tracks around a wide bend but then moved away from the main lines down an offshoot to the left. I couldn't believe that it was still nighttime, my body clock was totally screwed up because I was feeling that it should be morning. The line looked rusty as though it hadn't been used for a long time and as we came to an area of tall grass, I stopped for a moment to look at what was ahead of us. The wheels lined up on the old track looked to be rusted with what seemed to be a wooden carriage sat on top.

Maybe kids had once played here and left graffiti on the sides but other than the external signs of age it looked intact. That was where we ended up, inside that carriage and judging by what I saw inside I'd say being here was part of Charlie's plan. The windows were painted black, so I took the lantern from Ed's hand and held it high to take a good look around, sure that the light wouldn't be seen from the outside. There were a couple of boxes on the floor between the seats, one that held some food and crockery. Another box had some clean clothes, though if the previous supplies were anything to go on, I wasn't optimistic that there would be anything that would fit me.

Looking around the inside of the carriage at what was still left from its original use there was one table still upright with a seat on either side of it. Though with age the covers had cracked with long tears showing the padding underneath. Some seats had been removed from their original mountings and leant up against the side. At some point in its history, it looked as though someone had stupidly lit a fire on the floor, scorching the side of the wall and blackening an area on the roof.

I sat down at one of the tables and took off the rucksack, looking at Ed who sat down opposite me.

"You knew how to get here didn't you?"

A nod of his head confirmed my question and if I didn't know better, he looked very pleased with himself.

"What happens now?"

Stupid question really when I knew he couldn't answer me. What did surprise me was when he took the rucksack from in front of me and opened it up taking out the envelope and one of his books. He handed me the envelope and then sat back opening his book, intent on focusing on the pages. It seemed that he wanted me to look inside and find out what clues Charlie had left for me.

I tipped the contents out of the envelope onto the table in front of me seeing a number of photographs. I picked up the first one surprised when it was showing a building. I'd expected to see photographs of people, because that was what was written in the book, that he'd taken photos of the people as he came across them. Looking at the building I was surprised when I recognized it. Maybe Charlie was trying to have a joke with me because I really couldn't understand why he would give me a photo of the library. I was quickly looking through the photos now and saw that some of the buildings were ones that I recognized. The frontage of the newspaper offices, The Trenton Times, who to be honest I hated for all the crap they wrote about me. How St Francis Hospital figured into this I had no idea, and I was totally lost with the image of The New Jersey State Museum that was located on West State Street. I was positive one of them was of the zoo that I'd been to with Angie and Mary Alice. Miracle Autosport a car dealership that looked to have a lot of beautiful sports cars, but what was so important about these places?

Why would Charlie have photos of these buildings? What the hell kind of clue were these?

As I placed all of the photos out in front of me, I tried to see if there was something in common with all of them. There were a few people in front of each one, but no one person in them all, in fact the people that I did see looked to be going about their daily lives. No one looked out of place or suspicious.

I set the ones that I knew to one side and placed the two that I didn't know in front of me, trying to find a landmark that I would recognize. I had no idea and was about to put all of them back in the envelope when Ed picked up one of them and turned it over.

There in writing that I recognized from the book was an address, with the words newbuild in brackets next to it. I remembered when these were under construction but hadn't been anywhere near them for a long time. They were close to the river off Lamberton Road in Hamilton, and it looked as though there were now new warehouses on that site. A finger landed on that photo and then pointed to me making me wonder what it was that Ed wanted me to do.

"Is this close to here?"

From the nod of his head, I had my answer but then was worried at what he expected me to do.

"You want me to go there and take a look around?"

"Why?"

Okay, I know trying to get answers from Ed wasn't going to work so I had to come up with a question that would have a yes or no response.

"Is this place important?"

Another nod almost had me repeating my previous question. Why was this place so important?

"Will I find something there?"

A shrug which meant that I had to refine the question.

"Will I see something there?"

Okay, a nod, so what was it that Charlie thought I might see? Ed stood up and looked at me and then pointed to himself and then raised his arms above him. Great, I never had been good at charades.

"A big boy?"

That had him looking at me as though I was stupid, come on Ed, give me a better clue. Then it hit me. In the book Wasp had mentioned that he was taking photographs of the men he was following.

"A man?"

He smiled at me and then raised his hand and counted off his fingers.

"Several men?"

As he nodded his head, he lifted up the rucksack and unzipped one of the pockets, curious I watched as he pulled out a small camera and held it up to his eye.

"You want me to take photographs of any men who are there?"

His answer was to push the camera into my hands and step out into the aisle. I hadn't expected that to happen. I mean as far as I was aware Charlie had already taken photographs of people that he was suspicious of. Or was this place one that he hadn't got to yet or needed it to be daylight when people would be around. I suppose if the building was brand new then Charlie would be waiting until whatever the business was, was up and running.

Shit, I hadn't signed up for this, I wasn't supposed to be the one collecting evidence, I was just supposed to look at it and try to work out what to do with it.

Walking up to where I was sat, Ed disturbed my internal ranting when he pushed my hair up under my hat and then pointed at the door. It seemed we were going out again. I turned the lantern off and followed him to the door, jumping down from the carriage onto the stone chippings below. If we were close to the railway line then I knew which direction to take, I'd head down to the river and then follow the river downstream.

I'd expected Ed to come with me and to be honest was relieved when he stayed in the doorway. I already felt nervous going to that warehouse but at least I wouldn't have to worry about him as well. It was bad enough keeping myself out of trouble without having to look out for him as well. I turned to him and not really knowing why I did it I held his head in my hands and pressed a quick kiss to the end of his nose. At first, he tensed up but as I said.

"Wish me luck"

He relaxed and smiled back at me.

Dawn was just beginning to appear as I turned away from the carriage, making me wonder what the day would bring. I wished for sunshine but as long as it didn't rain then I'd be happy. As I trudged across the grass until I saw the railway line, I was thinking what a mess I must look. At least my hair was hidden under the hat, but I had no idea how dirty I looked. Hell, I knew when I'd removed those stones that I'd managed to get dirt all over my face. That made me smile as I remembered how Ed had reacted to me teasing him.

Walking parallel with the track it wasn't long before I came to the embankment that looked over the dirty fast water of the river. That brought back memories and an involuntary shudder went down my back as I remembered when I'd fallen into those murky depths. I couldn't believe it when Ranger had shouted down at me from the bridge or as he dived in after I'd fallen. A lot had happened since then, and whilst our friendship and trust had grown, there was still a distance between us.

Focus on what you're doing, went through my head as I looked around for where I was. I stayed above the embankment knowing that joggers often used that path and started to walk following the river. It seemed slow going as I navigated the overgrown weeds and bushes, constantly looking around me to be sure that I wasn't seen by anyone.

After passing Mercer County Waterfront Park I knew I'd have to head up toward Lamberton Road. As the light became brighter, I noticed that it was going to be a cloudy day, maybe that would be better than sunshine because I was already feeling too warm with the thick coat on that I was wearing.

I didn't feel at all happy being on the road, I was too exposed to any traffic that might pass me by. Okay I didn't look like me but that didn't make me feel any less exposed. When it became possible, after buildings that seemed to stop waterfront access, I cut back toward the river and continued using the cover of trees and bushes where possible. The closer I got to where that warehouse was, the more nervous I became. I had no idea what to expect, if there would be a lot of people there or only a few. In some ways I was hoping that the place would be deserted but knew the chances of that were pretty slim.

As I approached the new set of buildings it became obvious that the entire site was surrounded by a tall fence that looked impossible to get through or climb over. Maybe that meant that whoever was using this building wasn't far off from starting up their business or had even already started. The only thing that was in my favor were the trees and bushes that surrounded the fence. They would give me the cover that I needed as I started to follow the fence around the site.

Coming closer to the warehouse I could see the tall rolling doors that ran down the side of the building and would no doubt be used for loading and unloading trucks. At the moment it was empty but of the five rolling doors one of them was open. At first, I thought that the building was empty because there was no noise coming from the place but as I continued to watch I saw as two men jumped down from the concrete bay and lit up their cigarettes.

They moved away from the building, maybe knowing the smoke might activate any smoke alarms. It meant that they were closer to me, which was good for me seeing and hearing them but meant I had to almost lay down under some bushes in the hope that they couldn't see me.

"How long do we have to wait?"

Came from a man wearing a denim jacket.

"As long as it takes"

"What's Jackson doing then?"

"He's meeting that fella again"

I had the camera out, pleased that for such a small camera it had a good zoom. I focused on the second man as he turned to face the denim jacket man and made sure that I got a few closeup shots of his face. I was getting worried that I wouldn't get one of the denim jacket man when his words suddenly had me listening to what they were saying.

"You reckon Manoso will cooperate?"

"Don't see why not. The boss is keen to get him on board"

As they threw the ends of their cigarettes on the ground they turned around, I knew that I needed to get some photos of the other man. It sure as hell was preferable than thinking about what they'd just said.

"Why aint the boss here then?"

"Have you ever seen the boss?"

"No"

"Well neither have I. Hell I just take my orders from Jackson, like you. From what I can work out there are a few bosses above him"

By now the men had returned to the loading bays and this time used the steps to make their way inside. I stayed where I was still trying to compute what I'd heard. I assumed that they were referring to Ranger, as he was the only Manoso that I knew about, but what did they mean when they thought he would cooperate and that they were keen to get him on board? On board with what?

It was Charlie's idea of coming here, did that mean he thought that this place was part of the group that he was looking at? Did that mean that Ranger was one of them? That didn't make sense, I mean I trusted Ranger, trusted him to be honest and fair or was this what he meant by one of his grey areas? No, Charlie must be mistaken.

The thoughts running through me had me shaking and it was the sound of a door opening and slamming closed that brought me back to my senses and reminded me of where I was. I couldn't see the door from where I was, but that slight tingle down my neck was enough to realize that Ranger was actually here. I had to get out of here before anyone saw me so as quickly and quietly as I could I started to wriggle backwards from under the bushes.

As soon as I felt that I was away from the fence I was on my hands and knees scurrying through the undergrowth. I knew I was far enough away from the fence that the small sounds that I was making couldn't be heard but I froze at the sound of an engine starting, an engine sound that I knew too well, that of Ranger's Porsche 911 Turbo.

As the sound of the engine continued, I'd expected it to drive away so I think I stopped breathing when I heard the door opening, praying that Ranger wasn't as aware of my presence as I was of his. I had no idea if he was alone and was so afraid of being found. That I'd spent the last few days needing Ranger and he was so close yet so far. I didn't dare shout out or reveal myself. Maybe Ranger was here because he suspected something was going on here, yeah, I'm sure that was the reason. After what seemed like an age the door slammed shut and as I heard the sound of the engine disappear down the road, that was when I started to breathe again.

I returned the way that I'd come not really taking any notice of my surroundings. I was almost past caring as I had an internal debate with myself. One side of my brain was saying not to be stupid, that Ranger probably had a very legitimate reason for being there and that he would always keep me safe. The other side of my brain was asking why he would be here meeting with a man who could be part of an illegal organization. He'd have sussed him out through the background searches, wouldn't he?

I was quiet as I entered the rail carriage and I saw that Ed was sat reading one of his books. All I could manage was a weak smile before I took off my coat and sat down opposite him. I needed to read more of the book, because I had to believe that Ranger couldn't be part of this, that Charlie had made a mistake when he'd highlighted that building.

RPOV

I managed to catch a few hours of sleep after leaving Hector and had showered and changed into one of my suits in my apartment. I'd just come out of the stairwell door on five when I saw Tank heading toward me. I just assumed he was on his way to the morning meeting so was surprised when he stopped me.

"We've got a problem"

I just raised my eyebrow at him waiting for him to tell me what he thought was a problem.

"We've got two detectives downstairs with a warrant to search the building"

"Shit"

Was my immediate reaction as I agreed with his assessment of the situation. We'd never before had a warrant being used to enter the building and for some reason the nerve of the officer responsible was really pissing me off.

"Who?"

"Detectives Rosbourne and Jeffreys, out of Hamilton Township"

"Have you read the warrant?"

"Yeah, to be honest the warrant seems to be in order but I've got Hanley on his way"

I didn't rush to get downstairs because I wanted those detectives to know that them being here was an irritation and that I had better things to do. Though I had messaged Ella to tell her to hide any of Steph's personal things from my apartment.

Entering the reception area, I was pleased to see that Hanley had already arrived and was currently reading through the warrant. If there was a loophole in it then he would find it. The two detectives were stood looking out of the window quietly talking but turned to face me as I entered. I recognized them as the two men who had been arguing with Morelli outside the house where Watson was shot.

From the way that they presented themselves it seemed that one of the men was going to take the lead because it was him who was first to walk toward me. He was maybe my age with short brown hair, prominent eyebrows that gave him a hard face. His clean shaven skin showed the appearance of shallow mottled depressions and scars probably from the after effects of acne. He was as tall as I was and probably heavier and whilst he might keep fit, he didn't have the muscle definition to show that he took it seriously. The second man was older and was definitely carrying excess weight. He was the one who was taking in everything around him and looked to be the more astute of the two of them.

"Mr Manoso. You're wasting our time, unless you've got something to hide"

I didn't like the attitude of the man who spoke to me and ignoring him I walked over to Hanley.

"What are they specifically looking for?"

"Stephanie Plum"

I suppose I should have expected a visit from the police when they couldn't find her.

"It specifically says the business premises of Rangeman so they can't enter any personal living space"

"So no apartments?"

"No. I wouldn't take them downstairs either"

I'd had no intention of doing that, the area below the garage had a workroom that held most of our weapons and ready bags for missions. The police had no idea what work we carried out beyond security and bringing in FTAs and I wasn't about to show them areas of Rangeman that would have them asking unnecessary questions.

As I turned back to the two men, I wanted to see their id's, to be sure that they were in fact the men that had been originally assigned to the case.

"I need to see some form of identification please and for you to sign in before I show you around"

The man in front of me showed me his, identifying himself as Detective Rosbourne, though as he signed in his name it was very obvious that he was annoyed. The second, older man held up his badge as he walked over to the reception desk and looked at the signing in book. Give him his due, he took his time, obviously scanning through any names that were already written down. Of the two, Detective Jeffreys was definitely the better cop.

I turned to the two men who by now were looking impatient and led them to the elevator. We started with the garage, all of us maintaining a silence before I showed them the conference rooms behind reception. It was as we were in the elevator going up to the next floor that I asked the question that had been bugging me.

"Why here?"

It was Rosbourne who answered me, a smirk on his face, as though he saw no need to hide how clever he thought he was.

"It's well known that you help her out and if she's in danger she hides out here"

I could agree with the first statement but not the second. Yes, it was true I helped her out and I suppose most people would know that, but the second assumption wasn't common knowledge. Whether Steph had a stalker, or someone was out to get her then I'd suggest she stayed at Haywood, usually with me. But that wasn't known by a lot of people, probably her friends and the men here at Rangeman, they all knew that part of what kept her safe was that no one knew where she was.

"Who said that she'd stay here?"

I watched the detectives as I asked that knowing that they themselves wouldn't know, hell I was sure that Steph had never come across them before and neither had I.

"Part of our investigation"

I saw that the question had made Jeffreys uncomfortable and was almost certain that someone had gone out of their way to let them know.

I missed out the fourth floor as that was where the men's private apartments were located and only allowed them cursory views of the offices and monitoring room on five. On six they looked inside the kitchen and laundry room and were about to open Ella and Louis's apartment door when I stopped them.

"I'm sorry but that's a private apartment"

"We have a warrant to search the place Mr Manoso"

It was times like this that Hanley was worth every dollar that I paid him.

"No. You have a warrant to search Rangeman Security. Not private apartments"

I could see that they weren't happy about what I'd said but to be honest I wanted them to leave. I'd wasted enough time already chaperoning them around while Tank had made sure that the men knew what was happening. I'd missed the morning meeting where I was hoping someone might have had something to report and looking at my watch I would have to leave soon for that meeting with Jackson.

"Detectives Miss Plum isn't in this building. The last time she was here was over a month ago"

"She worked here didn't she?"

"Occasionally"

"Doing what?"

I raised an eyebrow as my answer because that was none of their business and would have nothing to do with their case. I led them back down to reception where I asked Cal who just happened to be there to show them out. Then after a quick stop at my office I was driving across town for my meeting.

I knew as I drove that I needed to calm down, but I was pissed off with my day so far and I had a feeling that this meeting would just add to it. The day was cloudy as I drove down Lamberton Road and the view of the river caught my eye. It was brown and dirty as it meandered its way toward the sea reminding me of the time when Steph has ended up falling into its swirling depths. I hadn't even thought about what to do, it was reactive for me to dive off the bridge after her, never considering my own mortality, but focused on saving her. I shook my head to rid that thought from my mind because it only had me worrying about where she was now and whether or not she was safe.

As I drove through the open gates toward the warehouse unit my attention was drawn to what I was seeing. There was a tall metal fence surrounding the whole site and there was the facility of having the gate manned when Jackson started production. That had me remembering the layout of the unit. Two doors that led to offices and loading bays down one side of the building. Why would someone who was into producing packaged food think that he needed so much security? Okay, maybe from vandalism, but the place was secluded and not an area that vandals were known to frequent.

As I parked the Porsche by what seemed like a main entrance I watched as a man walked out toward me. He was smartly dressed in a dark blue suit and looked to be older than me, maybe late thirties, with dark hair cut into short layers. I could see from how his jacket bulged under his arm that he was armed, curious, why would Jackson need armed men here. Once out of the car and locking it I walked over to him not surprised when he simply turned around and led me through the door. Once upstairs, in what seemed like an under furnished office, he turned and left the room. To one side was the man that I recognized as Jackson, small squat with dark greasy hair and a smile on his face that had my hackles rising. I decided that I just didn't like this man.

"Mr Manoso. I'm sorry that I've asked you to meet with me again. I was certain that we would have had the equipment up and running by now"

Interesting that he seemed to be in hurry for that to happen, or did he think he could push me into doing something to tie in with his timeline.

"That never happens until I decide that the contract suits both the client and us"

"What has to happen for that to work"

"I need to feel confident with you as a client, your product and the risk factors involved and the best way to ensure that this site is secure. If we fail to cover an area, then that becomes a weakness that could be seen, and I'm not prepared to accept the liability of that happening"

Jackson obviously didn't like the answer that I was giving him which had me wondering what the hell was so important to have security from us but not for it to be effective.

"I've given you the details of what we're going to be doing, what more do you need?"

"You're going to be producing packaged meals, is that correct?"

"Yes. They're mainly Asian recipes where we provide several of the ingredients that a lot of households might not usually buy. Spices and sauces specifically'

"So why the disagreement on the location of the cameras?"

Because to me leaving out certain areas seemed remiss, and it still didn't assuage my concerns as to why packaged food would need such a high level of security. That Jackson never answered me didn't surprise me, instead he unrolled a schematic of the site and placed it on the table. He'd labelled the position for where he wanted the cameras to be and what sensors would be used on the accesses. It was blatantly obvious to me that there were too many blind spots, especially with regards to the loading bays.

"That's where I want them"

He told me, and that was his first mistake. If we were going to be in charge of security, then we would be saying where the equipment would go.

"With the security we'll have, we'll be covered"

That was his second mistake, because he'd told Miguel that he didn't see the need for teams to include the site in their patrols.

"Then we'll have to agree to disagree Mr Jackson. I'm sorry if I've wasted your time but Rangeman Security obviously isn't what you need"

With that I turned and walked out of the room, feeling a sense of relief with my decision. Tank was right, there was more going on here than was first assumed and one thing I vowed when setting up Rangeman was that if we felt uneasy about a job then we walked away from it. I heard Jackson shout out from behind me but having taken the stairs quickly he never had the chance to catch me up and fortunately for him he didn't try to stop me from leaving.

I was soon in my car and had started the engine, partly annoyed for wasting time here and partly annoyed that we hadn't pinpointed what was causing the concern, when I had the strangest feeling come over me. It was a familiar feeling that almost had me calming down and I only knew of one thing that had that effect on me.

Leaving the engine running I got out of the car to look around, because the only thing that came to my head was that Steph was close by. Her presence had that effect on me, when I walked into the bonds office I would know if she was there or not and when I felt really stressed out then I'd sneak into her apartment when she was asleep and just watch her. Maybe it was knowing that seeing her meant that she was safe, I didn't know.

I couldn't see or hear anything beyond the fence, the trees and bushes were too dense and to be honest I felt stupid for jumping to that conclusion. I'd certainly not felt an awareness inside the building so maybe it was the relief of kicking Jackson into touch. I got back into my car knowing that if she were here then I would have expected her to alert me. Maybe I'd add this place to the daily patrols just in case.

Back at Rangeman I was hoping that the day would improve, that it couldn't continue the way that it had started. Thinking about the reason for those detectives searching the place had me wondering who they'd talked to about Steph. Probably all of her friends, but I was pretty confident that they wouldn't say anything that they thought would lead the police to me, they were too loyal to Steph to help the police. That only left one person and to be honest with what had been said by Connie and Lula I was thinking that it might have been Morelli. The only argument against that was why, if he cared for her as much as he professed to do then surely, he'd want her to be safe.

Once in my office with my computer switched on, I was pleased to see an email from Silvio and opened it straight away hoping that he had found something.

"Ranger. Delved into the history of that house. Seems that at one stage it was bigger, encompassing the two houses next door. During 1900's it was split up into three. Interestingly I found some old documents and am thinking it might have been a station house. Nothing to do with railways. During early 1800's slaves used routes, called underground routes but not necessarily because they were under the ground and stopped over at these stations before moving north. I wouldn't be surprised if there are passages leading from those houses. There's no record or documentation that show them"

I sat back after reading that email, what Hector and I had found supported what Silvio was saying. Maybe Hector would have something more concrete soon. I wrote "Refused" across Jackson's file with the intention of giving it to Tank for filing and decided to do that straight away. Passing the conference room, I could see that the boards were still covered up from the police visit but was surprised to see Tank, Santos and Hal sat at the table looking at a laptop.

Curious I went in and stood behind Santos to see what had them so focused. On the screen were two images, one looked like an image from a camera and was moving in what looked to be a tunnel. The other was a map of the area with a series of blue lines crossing streets and through houses.

"Hector is transmitting this from the first level under the house. He sent in droids with cameras to follow the passages so that he could map them out. Miguel's had to follow the droid and boost the transmission"

"The blue lines?"

I asked curious and amazed at how they intercepted with each other or seemed to suddenly stop.

"Those are the tunnels they've mapped out. There were more doors that they had to tackle and if Miguel hadn't been down there then they'd have missed a grill in the floor"

What Hector was finding certainly fit into what Silvio had messaged me, but I was wondering where the hell it would come up to ground level.

The camera was stationary in front of another locked door and I was as absorbed as the others listening to the large battery operated still saw. Once the sparks and sound stopped, hands could be seen pushing the door forward.

"Holy shit"

Came from Miguel as the beam from his flashlight swept ahead of him. To me it looked like a small room with a lot of makeshift shelving.

"The box to the right of the door"

I said as the beam passed over it. Miguel had obviously heard me and pulled down the lever that I saw, because suddenly there were a couple of light bulbs lit up.

"Those shelves, look, cans of food and water similar to what we found in the kitchen"

"So Watson had organized an escape route with supplies on the way"

I nodded to Santos, thinking that maybe that room could have served as a safe place to hide in as well.

"There's another door at the far side, bolted from the other side"

Which meant that someone had travelled through here, bolting the doors shut as they went.

"Miguel is there anything to indicate that Steph was there?"

Miguel set the droid down so the camera was covering most of the room and started to look at some shelving that was held in place by ropes. The top shelf was almost at the ceiling, but I watched as he brought down a bundle of material.

"Clothing that looks to be for a kid and a man"

The next shelf held lots of books, mainly children's books and some board games while the next shelf seemed empty.

"There're blankets and pillows on the floor underneath and"

I watched as Miguel bent down, seeming to be looking more closely at one of the pillows. He stood up holding something between his finger and thumb, but the light was too dim to see what he was holding.

"Miguel?"

"I'd say this is one of Steph's hairs. It's brown and curly. I'll bag it and keep looking"

I almost felt relieved at the idea that Steph had escaped down there, though was at a loss as to how she'd found her way through the tunnels. If there were clothes that belonged to a child in that room and his toothbrush had been at the house maybe he could have led Steph there. Did that mean that Steph had the child with her? It made sense and I was cursing myself for not thinking about where the boy had been. That he'd been with Watson, his father, was obvious now, especially as his mother was dead and had been for a while.

"Ranger"

I turned to Santos as he called my name, effectively stopping my line of thought.

"Zero has a date with Robyn Russell tonight. He's taking her to a nice restaurant"

I had no doubt that Santos had some say in the choice of location so hopefully Robyn might divulge something to Zero, but on their first date, I didn't think so.