Chapter 49
SPOV
I'm very proud of my nieces. They had fun playing paintball and really warmed up to my Merry Men. Ram is obviously smitten with his surrogate daughters. Angie was embarrassed for being mean to him in the beginning. I explained her behaviour was perfectly normal and she shouldn't feel bad for expressing her feelings.
Steve was an absentee father, preferring to leave all the child rearing to Valerie. All discipline and encouragement was meted out by the same person. Growing up in the Burg, he really enjoyed how the men treated their wives. The women raised and disciplined the children, did all the cooking and cleaning while the man had an affair with another woman. When he hooked up with his 17 year old babysitter, Valerie and the girls were devastated.
I was furious when I learned Angie and Mary Alice caught them having sex. At first they caught him groping and kissing her. They thought he had a fork in his pants because the front was bulkier. He didn't seem to care his children were in the house to watch. Mary Alice coped by pretending to be a palomino horse. Angie buried herself in books. It took a long time to show them there was more to life than make belief and books.
Valerie's self esteem plummeted. I've seen pictures of the babysitter. She was pretty and a natural blond. He always preferred blonds and convinced Valerie to dye and straighten her curly hair. My sister did everything Steve wanted, but it was never good enough for him. When their second child wasn't the boy he wanted, he started looking elsewhere for comfort. I had proof he was cheating on Valerie since the day they said I do. While Valerie was sleeping after consummating their marriage, he snuck out and hooked up with the first woman he found.
So many times I tried to tell Valerie, but she said, 'A proper Burg woman ignores her husband's extramarital affairs.' I don't care about what is 'proper' in the Burg. A man should never cheat on his girlfriend or spouse. I remember her confession on her wedding day, 'I don't love Steve, but he's handsome, a lawyer and from the Burg. Marrying him will make mom happy.'
Albert Kloughn… now he's a very interesting character. She started dating him because he's a lawyer. I was frustrated because she seemed to be making the same mistake. Thankfully he left before they exchanged vows. Valerie didn't love Albert any more than she loved Steve. Albert did Valerie a huge favour by leaving. He was too afraid to marry her. She deserves to find happiness.
Ram is the perfect man for Valerie. He adores her children and treats them as though he was their biological dad. I could see him formally adopting the children. A few times during dinner I saw him rubbing her baby bump. They are such an adorable couple. I really hope Albert doesn't return to interfere in their growing relationship.
While Lucas and I were cuddling in bed, I told him everything I was thinking. He gave me a gentle kiss and said, "It's what I love most about you. When your friends or family need help, you offer them a helping hand. I love how much you care about everyone."
"Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough. Mal and I have been looking for Steve for way too long. It's as though he dropped off the map. Maybe I should start a Facebook account to see if I can locate the babysitter," I suggested. With my military career, I didn't want anyone stumbling across my profile picture.
As though he knew what I was thinking, he said, "You don't need to use your photo. We can set up your account so people can't find you from a name search. They can only add you as a friend if you send a request."
"Would I have to use my real name?" I wondered.
"To set up your account, but we can use a pseudonym and keep your real name private for you," he answered. It was definitely worth considering. I felt the only way to find Steve was through his new wife.
Our morning started the same way as all the others. We made love before taking a shower. Lucas had a light breakfast waiting for me. He wanted to make sure I was eating something before starting my day. When I asked him why, he said, "My sister started getting sick at five weeks. She was unable to keep anything down throughout her pregnancy. I want to give our baby every opportunity for nourishment."
Since I'm pregnant, I'll need to modify my exercise routine. Mallory and I came up with a plan to change our ab exercises to yoga. We placed a bet on the Merry Man to comment first when we hold the downward dog position. I said Lester would say something first. She said it would be her Manny. The loser buys meatball subs for lunch.
It turns out we were both completely off the mark. As we got into the downward dog position, Woody hollered, "Damn it Darlins, your sexy asses pointing up is messing with my concentration."
We fell over from laughter, I called out, "You owe us meatball subs for lunch Woody."
"You are one evil woman Rodriguez. Hearing you and Mal moan while eating is going to be the death of me," he groaned.
When we finished our routines, we used my apartment to shower. "I told Ranger about the baby," I told Mallory.
"Because you're afraid he'll have a relapse?" she asked.
"Yes. I wanted him to have a plan in place to cope. Did you see him raise an eyebrow during our workout?"
She nodded before asking, "Do you think he knows about me?"
"I doubt it, but then again, he is Batman," I joked.
"Should I tell him?"
"Nope. Wait until you're out of the woods. If he suspects you're pregnant, he'll keep it to himself," I replied.
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LPOV
After my workout, I used the locker room showers. Steph and Mallory was using the apartment to get ready for work. It was still early, but I had the urge to start work early. I turned on my laptop and launched the Rangeman research program.
Hector knocked on my open office door to grab my attention. "Angel's program found a hit," he announced.
"Where?"
"La Romana," he replied.
"Dominican Republic. Are you sure?" I asked.
"Si, same face, eye colour, age and height. He dyed his hair black," Hector replied.
"The woman?"
"Matches photo little Mary Alice gave me," he replied. I followed him to his office to see the results. Steve was calling himself Stefan Santarri. His wife's name is Bethany. She looks identical to Elizabeth Stanton, the babysitter.
"Can we confirm with DNA?" I wondered.
"Si. Enrique should land soon. He can collect evidence during lunch," he replied. I listened as he told me the plan where Enrique will pose as the busboy at the busy restaurant they frequented for lunch. The samples will be immediately tagged and sent back for testing.
"How did you organize this so fast?" I asked.
"Hit came in at 0300. Enrique and Price were working monitors. Price flew Rangeman's private jet to the Dominican. Junior and Zip are monitoring the asshole while Price and Enrique bring the samples."
"It seems like a lot of travelling," I mused.
"Boss said to do everything possible to catch this asshole."
We heard the elevator chime down the hall. A squeal followed by, "Uk Ec," sounded outside the room. He opened his door and scooped the little girl into his arms. I laughed when Lisa touched his tattoo and started rambling in baby talk.
Stephanie arrived a few minutes later to collect her niece. "Sorry Hector, but she insisted on visiting you," she said as she reached for Lisa.
"I love her visits," he confessed. "Now Lisa, you need to go with your Tia Steph to find your Tia Ella. I heard she made special pancakes for you."
She squirmed while reaching for Stephanie. "Come on Lisa. Tia Ella will feed you then take you to the park. Would you like playing in the park?" Steph asked. Lisa nodded so fast it was making me dizzy.
In Spanish, Hector asked Stephanie to return after dropping off Lisa. She quickly agreed and left carrying her niece.
Five minutes later, Stephanie returned. "You got a hit," she stated.
"Si. Enrique is collecting samples," he admitted.
"Good. We need irrefutable proof it's him. He needs to pay for his actions."
"Valerie and the girls need closure," I added. She nodded absentmindedly.
I could tell her mind was working a mile a minute. Something she saw in the photos Enrique sent triggered a memory or thought. My wife's mind works in remarkable ways. She doesn't follow the typical thought pattern as everyone else. It's what separates her from the rest of us. Recognizing her expression, Hector pushed his laptop towards her. She took a seat in the spare chair and started typing away.
After a few minutes, Mallory arrived. She asked Steph questions that went unanswered. Taking Hector's offered chair, she sat next to her sister. "Is that what I think it is?" Mallory asked me.
I nodded, "Her program returned a hit. The restaurant called Crema Pasteleria recently added security cameras. They keep a database of all their wealthy patrons. It was pure luck their owner is an old friend."
Stephanie checked their employee roster and smiled. "I should have known. He always said he'd move to the Dominican and open a restaurant," she muttered.
Mallory read out the name. "Matthew Bronson. Who is he?" she asked.
"His real name is Matthew Gazarra," Stephanie answered without providing more information.
"Any relation to our cousin's husband Eddie?" Mal asked.
"Younger brother. He attended police academy for a few months before quitting and going to culinary school in California. Never contacted his family since leaving," she answered.
Hector opened an email to show me. It was from Eddie asking his brother to keep an eye out for Valerie's ex-husband. Reading through the email exchange, Matt asked Ed if he should install cameras. Ed gave him the specs for ones used by Rangeman. Another link forwarded from Steph was in the email.
"It was a simple request a few weeks ago," Steph started, "I didn't realize it was to track Steve." How she knew what I was reading surprised me. "Lover, you were reading the emails out loud." Stephanie returned to her work.
As I read the final exchange, I noticed there was a link to a database file asking Ed to forward it to his contact. "Is this how you found the connection?" I asked Hector.
"Si. Bronson gave me full access to his database," he answered.
"Found it," Stephanie announced.
"The account link to Steve?" Mallory asked.
"Yes. Take a closer look at the photo Matt's waitress, Sissy, took of their table," she redirected us. Elizabeth, aka Bethany, was using Steve's phone to access their accounts. The photos clearly showed the bank name, account number and password. Bethany stupidly toggled the password to view. Sissy timed the photos perfectly. One final photo showed Steve obviously flirting with another young waitress, oblivious to what Sissy and Bethany were doing.
Stephanie started laughing. It took a few minutes for her to calm down enough to tell us what she noticed. "Elizabeth is transferring funds to her personal account. She's pulling a Steve," she said.
"Karma," Mallory said on a laugh. Tracing back the transfers, we discovered she's been siphoning funds since her first sexual encounter with Steve. It really didn't look good for her. If she wasn't careful, Steve could easily throw her under the bus to save his own ass.
After another hour of digging, Stephanie found the exact piece of incriminating data she wanted. It was what people refer to as the smoking gun.
She grabbed her phone to call our FBI contact. Once she sent him all the incriminating evidence, he said men will be dispatched when we confirm his DNA. In the meantime, we needed to wait.
"You did it Steph," Mallory stated as she pulled her sister into her arms. "What's going to happen to the money?"
"Every cent he stole from Valerie's account, the equity in their house and money she spent for her divorce will be returned to her with interest. The remaining money will be returned to Valerie's retirement fund and the girl's education fund," Steph replied.
"What about support payments?" Mallory asked.
"He signed over his rights when he filed for divorce. The girls belong solely to Valerie," I answered.
Mallory's stomach rumbled a few seconds after Stephanie's rumbled. "Time for lunch," the announced.
"Woody's taking us for lunch," Stephanie stated before giving me a kiss. She grabbed her sister's hand and left Hector's office.
I listened to their conversation as they took the elevator to the garage to meet Woody. They laughed whenever their stomachs rumbled. It was like they were communicating to each other.
Woody blushed when the women leaned in to kiss his cheek. They climbed into the back of his car together while he took his spot in the driver's seat. I cut the feed before locking my laptop.
Ella always had prepared sandwiches for lunch. I went to the break room to grab a turkey sandwich on rye. Ram was sitting at the table far away from the door. Lisa was sitting on his lap happily eating macaroni and cheese. She was making a mess, but he looked very happy.
"How was the meeting with the principal?" I asked.
"Pretty good. Frank, Val, Mal, Manny, Steph, you and I are the only ones permitted to pick up the girls from school," he said before looking down at Lisa. His face expressed his anguish before he spoke in Spanish. "Albert signed over his rights to this beautiful little girl," he announced. "He got married last night to the Jewish woman his mother arranged for him to marry."
"Is that why he left Valerie and the girls?" I asked in Spanish.
"Yes, he knew his mother would never accept a Catholic daughter in law."
"And her baby?" I wondered.
"We've agreed to list me as his dad on the birth certificate. I'm planning to ask Valerie to marry me," he confessed.
"Isn't it too soon? You've only been dating for about 5 minutes," I joked.
"A few weeks, but it feels right. She's the only woman for me."
"Congrats buddy. When are you going to make all this legal?" I asked motioning between Lisa and him.
"As soon as possible. I'm ready for the responsibility of raising the girls. For being Lisa's dad." On cue, Lisa reached up with her pasta covered hand to pat Ram's cheek.
"Let me know if you need anything," I offered.
"Be my best man?" he asked.
"Absolutely. Just text me the date and time," I replied before leaving the room. Wow, they are really progressing along… at warp speed. I certainly hope Ram knows what he's getting himself into.