Chapter 7 Stephanie's Choice.
"Okay, Tim, are you ready? Remember, we are going to take apart my old bed and frame and put together my new frame." Joe told his cousin
"Yeah, I heard you," Tim told him.
"All right, let's get moving." Joe Morelli and his cousin Tim went up to Joe's bedroom.
They took off the beat-up mattress and put it against the wall. Joe gave Tim a hammer. Tim started to hit the bed rail to try to get the frame off. Just then, he hit the wall and missed the rim.
"Tim, what the hell, man?" Joe yelled at his older cousin. "There is something in the wall," Tim said as he took out a few papers. He blew dust in Joe's face and read them in shock.
Joe looked at Tim's face. It was white as a ghost. "What," Joe said.
"These papers say that I am Philip Plum and that Rose Morelli adopted me and gave me a different name for a lawyer's fee of three hundred fifty dollars," Tim said in shock. He handed the papers over to Joe.
"Holy shit," Joe said. "Helen Plum yesterday morning called the station, saying some people were trying to take her son Philip away. But It was just Stephanie and Pierre trying to get their son Chris back."
"Frank told me that he and Helen had a son, firstborn, that got separated from Helen at the grocery store when he was three." Joe sat on the hard floor in shock.
"I remember now, I was in the grocery store, and I had a fight with some lady over cocoa puffs and I ran off. And Mom saw me and took me out of the store saying she was going to take me home. But when I got home. The man told her to take me to the police station. Instead of doing that she took me out for ice cream." Tim continued talking to Joe.
"Okay when we got back to the house, she told the man that my real mom did not want me. So Rose and dad took me in. It must have been a repressed memory or something" Tim finished
Joe got on his phone, "What, Morelli," Ranger said.
"I need help. My older cousin and we found something big, and we need a blood test done on him and cupcake."
"I don't have time for this," Ranger spat.
"I think we found Philip Plum, and my aunt illegally adopted him," Morelli told Ranger.
"I will let you in," Ranger said, shaking his head as he hung up the phone. "Babe, I need you downstairs with Bobby. Bring Tank and Chris." Ranger said and then hung up the phone.
Stephanie we have to go to see Bobby, and I don't know why." Pierre told her
"Okay, let's go," Stephanie said. She picked up Christopher, and they took the elevator and got off on two.
It was then that Stephanie saw him. "Are you Philip?" She asked him.
"I have no idea. I was helping Joe with his bed, and we found these." Tim handed over the papers to Stephanie.
"Holy shit," Stephanie said.
"Yeah, that is what we said," Joe stated.
"Joe, what are you doing here?" Stephanie asked.
"Come to think about it, mom always wondered where you came from. She keeps telling me that you look nothing like the Morelli boys" Joes said while he was standing in a corner.
"I need to sit down," Stephanie said.
"You are sitting, Cupcake," Joe said.
"So, what am I doing down here?" Stephanie asked.
"We need your blood cupcake. To prove these papers wrong." Joe told her.
"Ranger, hold your future godson." Tank handed Chris over. He was bawling up a storm.
"Wow, he has Colic," Joe said out loud.
"Yeah, we know," Pierre told everybody. He walked up and kneeled next to Stephanie. "Little one," He told her softly.
Stephanie stuck out her arm and put her head in Pierre's chest.
Bobby took two blood tubes, and but one in a needle, and stuck Stephanie's arm.
"Get it out," Stephanie screamed.
"It is out," Bobby said. Stephanie looked and her arm and saw Bobby putting a band-aid on it.
"You are next, Tim," Bobby said
"Shit, maybe I am related to her." Just then, Tim fainted.
"He never did like needles," Joe said and then started to laugh.
"Take the blood while he is out cold. Otherwise, you will not get the blood," Joe said.
Bobby took another needle and stuck Tim. "All done, I will get some smelling salts."
A few minutes later, Tim was awake.
"This is not a dream, is it."
"Nope," Stephanie said and then started to laugh
"What is funny about this," Tim asked her.
"That is easy. I remember you now. My sister Valerie snuck out of the house to go on a date with a Tim Morelli. She told me after that it was a weird thing. Because you reminded her of Dad."
"Oh shit, I remember now. We went to the movies together and made out. Then she did say that I reminded her of her Dad. We broke up because of that." Tim said in shock.
'Now that you think about it, it is kind of funny." Tim said and then started to laugh with Stephanie.
Just then, Stephanie's phone rang, "Hi Mom,"
"Hey, Stephanie, I was wondering if I could come over and talk to you. I am already here, along with your Dad, sister, nieces, Albert Jr, and grandma Edna."
"you are all here, as in in the parking lot" Stephanie's mouth dropped open.
"Yes, now please, can we come in?" Helen asked sweetly
"Pierre, go let my mom and the rest of the family in, please."
"Okay, little one," Pierre said, and he walked to let his in-laws inside Rangeman.
A few minutes later, the Plums were escorted down to the medical lab with Pierre in tow.
"Holy shit" Was all Frank got out when he saw Tim Morelli.
"Okay, that is uncanny. You look almost exactly like Frank Plum Tim," Joe said out loud.
"That is because he is Philip Plum. There is a 50% genetic match to Stephanie's blood sample." Bobby said and then added, "Blood does not lie."
"So, I am Stephanie's older brother," Tim said, opened mouth.
"Most definitely," Bobby told him.
"Good, then I can do this," Tim said. He smacked Morelli right in the eye, and Joe went down hard.
"Tim," Joe said down on the floor.
"That's for playing choo choo with my sister," Tim told him.
"What's is choo choo" Helen asked.
"I can tell you that, grandma," Stephanie's nephew said.
"How do you know about choo choo?" Joe asked Albert Jr, as he was getting up off the floor.
Everyone in the room looked at Albert, "It is when a girl around six years old gets down on all fours, and you slide under her and look at her underwear." He said smiling
" Once again, How the hell did he know that?" Joe asked with his mouth hanging open.
"I learned how to do it from George Morelli junior," Albert Jr said, smiling
"I did not do, it but I did watch him do it to a girl at school. The poor girl was turning red," Albert Jr said.
"So, I hit George," Albert Jr said.
"Okay, now the truth comes out," Valerie said.
"Okay, he needs to make friends, huh, Mom," Valerie said, looking her mother in her eyes.
"I did not say to let him make friends with Morelli boys," Helen replied.
"I am going to talk to my brother," Joe said as he was walking out of Rangeman.
"Pierre, can I talk to you for a few minutes" Stephanie asked him
"Sure, Ranger can you stay with Chris?" Pierre asked him.
"Sure" Ranger told him.
Pierre and Stephanie walked out of the lab and into the hallway.
"Pierre, I don't think Joe set up Hal and Lester. He loves his job at the station. Why would he do that. You saw him just now. That would not be his style. Especially after he was set up for murder all those years ago."
"I think you are right little one, maybe we should talk to him about it. Let's see if we can catch him in the parking lot." Pierre and Stephanie got in the elevator and hoped to catch up to Joe.