Chapter 31
Morelli stayed in his apartment. It was 0300 and there was no activity since the blond mob chick left. Junior decided to update Ranger. "Yo," Ranger answered his phone. It was obvious he wasn't sleeping.
"Boss, we're still watching Morelli. There has been no activity since a blond named Terri Gilman left his apartment," Junior reported.
"Vito Grizolli's niece?" Ranger asked.
"One and the same. After they had sex, he mentioned having cupcakes at one of her uncle's warehouses," Junior ran down the events. "She remained with the detective trading small talk."
"When did she leave?" Ranger barked.
"2330 Sir," Junior replied.
"Stay with Morelli," Ranger ordered before hanging up. Ranger assembled his men. "We have a possible lead. Ram, Hal, search through the land registries for warehouses owned by Terri Gilman or Grizolli, Vito Grizolli or any other Grizolli family member. Check properties listed under his affiliates." They left to start their searches. "Cal, Vince shadow Terri. Tank, contact Juniak."
Joe Juniak arrived at Rangeman within thirty minutes. For a man dragged out of bed, he was put together quite well. "You found a lead?" he asked Ranger.
"We have. My men placed a bug outside Morelli's apartment door. They overheard Morelli telling Terri Gilman that cupcake was in her uncle's warehouse."
"Morelli calls Stephanie Cupcake," Tank added.
"This needs to be done completely by the book," Juniak insisted. He contacted Eddie Gazarra, Big Dog and a few more trusted cops.
Ram located six warehouses in Trenton and two in Pennsylvania belonging to Vito Grizolli. Men were divided in groups to search two warehouses each. Each team of four has at least one Rangeman and one cop. Ranger's group has Tank, Bobby and Juniak. Lester was with Gazarra, Ram and Binkie. The third group was mostly cops and one Rangeman.
After Ranger and Juniak gave the order, the teams dispersed to search the warehouses.
In the warehouse...
I'm feeling very tired. It took too long for my nose to stop bleeding. My stomach is growling since I haven't eaten since lunch. Before leaving, Joe tied a cloth around my mouth so I couldn't scream loud enough to be heard. I tried shifting the cloth but it was tied too tight and I was struggling to breathe through my swollen nose. If I didn't free myself soon, I could die from asphyxiation.
The rope restraining my hands started to loosen as I kept separating my wrists. I continued working the rope until I was able to free one hand. With my free hand, I grabbed the divorce papers on my lap and threw them. I managed to shake off the rope and remove the gag.
Using the picks I pulled from my braid, I started picking the padlocks around my ankles. Nausea hit while I was working on the first lock. Vomit splattered the floor by my feet. I sat up to take a few deep breaths. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on breathing and lowering my heart rate. A noise drew my attention. When I looked towards the door, dizziness struck and I passed out. The last person I saw was my gorgeous husband entering the warehouse. He found me.
"Here's the emergency pack," Bobby said, passing the duffle bag to Ranger. A few camera clicks sounded before I felt something cold on my left breast. It stung slightly. The bite mark was covered with gauze before a shirt was pulled over my head. I could feel the anger rippling throughout the room. The chain around my ankles were already removed.
"You're safe Babe," Carlos said before pulling me into his arms.
"Did you collect evidence before touching her?" Juniak asked.
Tank replied, "Yes, but we didn't know about the bite mark until the blood was washed off."
I struggled to push Carlos away from me. He reluctantly released me seconds before I vomited again. "She's going to get dehydrated if she doesn't stop getting sick," Bobby stated. He was gently cleaning my nose. "It's definitely broken."
"Joe Morelli," I whispered when Juniak asked me who broke my nose.
"Did he cut your cheek too?" Bobby asked.
"No. Helen Plum," I replied. "Divorce papers." Tank looked around the room and found documents on the floor a few feet from the chair.
"They were coercing you to divorce Ranger?" he asked disgusted.
"Yes. Helen said I needed to marry Morelli. I don't understand why she's doing this to me."
"Can you tell us what happened?" Juniak asked. "Do you mind if I record this conversation?"
"Yes and I don't mind," I answered. They listened as I recounted the events from my abduction to releasing the ropes. As I talked, Bobby attached an IV to my arm. I was dehydrated.
"We'll need visit the hospital to set your broken nose."
"No hospitals!" I shouted.
"Babe, we're in Pennsylvania. Please," Carlos begged.
"Okay, I'll go to the hospital only because we're not in Trenton," I said caving to Bobby's request.
Carlos lifted me from the floor and carried me to the waiting SUV. He carefully buckled me in then took the seat beside me. Bobby sat on my other side in the back seat. Tank drove and Juniak sat in the front. Juniak wanted to hear the doctor's report.
The ER doctor sent me for scans before he set my nose. No sign of concussion, but I needed surgery to remove the small piece of cartilage that broke free. A little local anaesthetic and a snip and stitch later, I was free to go home. He recommended I see my general practitioner for my post op check up. Bobby received written care instructions from the doctor.
I was too tired, hungry and sore to contribute to the conversation. We arrived at Rangeman by 1100. Juniak was given copies of the evidence our team collected. He admitted it would be difficult to prove Morelli was responsible. Morelli didn't leave behind any trace evidence at the warehouse. Bobby didn't realize he washed away the evidence when he wiped the blood from my left breast. They had a photograph but no DNA evidence. Proving Morelli was responsible will be a challenge. It boils down to his word against mine.
My stomach grumbled, reminding everyone I haven't eaten since yesterday. We took the elevator to our apartment. Julie was kept home from school so she could see me. She ran towards us when we entered the apartment. Carlos scooped her into his arms. "You need to be gentle with your momma. Why don't we get something for momma to eat?"
"Momma is hungry?" she asked.
"She is," he answered.
"Okay." She squirmed until he placed he on the floor. I was slowly making my way towards the couch. Julie placed her hand in mine to help. "I help you momma."
"Thank you Baby," I replied. Mama entered our apartment when I sat on the couch. Robbie was sitting on the bottom shelf of the cart.
"Momma home!" he yelled before running towards me. He stopped when he saw my face. "Momma has owwie Julie. We kiss better," he said before carefully climbing on the couch beside me. He gave my cheek a wet kiss. "All better Momma?"
"Yes Robbie, it's all better. Thank you." I stroked his cheek, not wanting to get my nose close to his face.
"Your turn Julie. Kiss momma nose," he directed. I watched Carlos instruct Julie how to kiss my nose. He is such a wonderful dad. After she practiced a few times on him, she was ready to kiss me.
Like Robbie, Julie approached me carefully and straddled my lap. Her hands cupped my cheeks as she slowly moved her face towards mine. Just like her papa taught her, she gave me a feather light kiss on the tip of my nose. "All better momma?" she asked.
"It's all better, thank you Baby."
"I love you momma," Julie and Robbie said at the same time. Robbie knows I'm not his mom, but having him call me mom warmed my heart. I smiled before returning their affectionate words. Mama moved the kids to the table to eat lunch. She placed a plate of macaroni and cheese on my lap. Comfort food was exactly what I needed.
"Hija, what happened?" Mama asked. Carlos spoke Spanish to tell her the story. Neither of us expected Julie to understand so much. Mama took Robbie with her to finish her chores.
When Julie, Carlos and I were alone, Julie asked, "Papa why did big hairy man hit momma?"
"We are trying to find out," I told her. I knew exactly why he hit me, but she doesn't really need to know. She cuddled beside me on the couch as we watched animated movies.
Chief Joe Juniak contacted Carlos and said exactly what I already knew. There wasn't enough evidence to prove Joseph Morelli kidnapped me. The evidence we gathered was circumstantial at best. It was a bit disappointing, but not surprising.
"Julie, hija, momma and I need to have a meeting with my men. Would you like to visit with Tio Hec or Tia Jee Jee?" Carlos asked.
"Uhhh... Tio Hec!" she shouted. She held our hand as we made our way to the IT room on the second floor. Julie was very excited to spend more time with her uncle. Hector smiled when he saw Julie enter his office. I could see how much he loved this amazing little girl. The feeling was mutual; she loved him just as much.
Ranger called the men to the largest conference room for a meeting. Only the men on the monitors weren't in attendance. When each man entered the room, they looked at the bandages on my face and slammed down blank faces. I knew they were very angry.
Tank called order to the room. He projected the evidence they gathered on the screen for the men to see. Pictures of my SUV and state in the warehouse was clearly visible. Someone was kind enough to colour over my bare breasts. "Yesterday after lunch, Stephanie was abducted from Quaker Bridge Mall as she was loading her car. Witnesses were not able to positively identify the woman or man seen near her car prior to her abduction. Fingerprints matching officer Joseph Morelli was lifted from the hatch. Taser barbs were found beneath the vehicle. Intel from bugs placed outside Morelli's apartment led us to the warehouse where Stephanie was discovered restrained to a metal chair. Ropes from around her wrists was found on the floor. As Stephanie attempted to pick the locks on the ankle chains, she vomited. Stephanie, continue."
"I was placing my purchases in the back of the SUV. When I leaned into the car, I heard a shopping cart pass very close to me. I straightened up and felt something hit the back of my neck. Pain followed by an electric shock passed through my body. I was frozen to the spot and yes, I pissed my pants. The shock lasted for a couple of seconds and stopped when I heard Morelli say, 'Got you Cupcake.' I blacked out and didn't come to until I was already restrained in the metal chair. My jacket and boots were missing. Helen plum started ranting about divorcing Ranger and marrying Morelli because he was the father of my first child. She even had legal documents for me to petition for divorce. When I refused to cooperate, she backhanded me, cutting my cheek with her ring. She left to allow Morelli to have his turn." I took a few minutes to reign in my emotions.
"He fondled my breasts before finally unbuttoning my shirt and cutting open my bra. Morelli touched me and put his mouth on my breasts. I told him to stop so he bit me. He feels some sense of ownership regarding me. The more I resisted his actions, the angrier he became until he backhanded me. My nose broke and bled over my breasts. He eventually got bored and left," I told them my perspective. "I managed to loosen the ropes from my wrist to grab my picks from my braid. When ever I bent over, I was nauseous and dizzy. I almost had the one lock picked when I vomited."
"Why were you dizzy and nauseous?" Ram asked.
"I'm not sure. It could be from a combination of being tased and hit," I replied.
"How did you find her at the warehouse?" Junior asked.
"During your surveillance, Morelli mentioned having Cupcake at the warehouse. Only Tank, Bobby, Lester and I know he calls her that derogatory name. The blond is Vito Grizolli's niece Terri Gilman," Ranger answered.
"So he's literally in bed with the mob," Lester stated.
"Why does he claim ownership over Stephanie?" Binkie asked.
I sighed before saying, "Long story short, Morelli was eight, I was six when he lured me into his garage and stuck his fingers in me. As a result, Helen promised him I'd marry him at twenty-five. Fast forward ten years. I was sixteen, Morelli raped me first, his buddy Dickie raped me next. I ended up with a baby and a lot of stitches. Morelli was the biological father of my son Stephan."
"Helen and Morelli are seriously fucked up," Vince said. I couldn't agree with him more.