THE NEXT DAY

I woke up in Ranger's bed. Yikes!

I could hear the shower running, then stop. I closed my eyes. I didn't want to accidentally see something that I shouldn't. Then I peeked them open slightly, so I'd know if I was missing out on seeing something that I shouldn't.

After a few minutes, Ranger came out of the ensuite, fully dressed. What a relief. I think?

"I thought you going to take me to bed!" I said to Ranger.

"I did."

"I meant my bed!"

"You should be more specific, babe. With all the compliments you've given my sheets, I thought you'd want to take advantage of me while you could," he said, then the corners of his mouth quirked up. "I have a sofa bed in the den. I got a few hours rest there in between work."

I got out of bed, pulled my jeans on and followed Ranger out to the kitchen.

"You worked all night?"

"Some information was delivered late last night on gave me a new lead."

"A snitch texted, huh?"

"Yeah. I have to go out of town to pick up a skip. Let Tank know if you need anything," he said, passing me over keys. I looked down. Porsche and apartment keys.

"The last time you gave me these I wound up kidnapped," I reminded him.

"That won't happen this time."

"Promise?"

"Tank will make sure of it. I'll be back home soon," Ranger told me. "Any news from Mary Lou?"

I'd forgotten to check my phone! I was too distracted by the idea of Ranger in the shower mere feet from my head. I checked my phone, and smiled.

"It's a girl!" I told Ranger. "Mom and baby all fine. I get to visit this morning."

"Tell Mary Lou congratulations from the Rangeman team."

There was a knock on the front door of the apartment.

"Ready to go?" Hal asked him from the doorway. Ranger nodded. I wondered what sort of skip it was if Ranger found the need to take Hal-o-saurus as back-up.

Ranger picked up his bag and they walked out together.

I stopped by Ella's apartment to change clothes, and then wandered down to the into the Level 5 kitchen to say good morning to Ella and what was on offer in the break room this morning. Healthy muffins with some passable fruit cups were out on the counter. There was a condolence card for Zip and his family on the table in the kitchen and I signed it, blinking back tears.

Ella appeared from the kitchen and gave me a hug. "It's so sad. Zip and Ziggy were so close. Their whole family is. I'm cooking meals for their family. Tank is going it drop the food and card over to them later when he sees Zip."

"I'm sorry. I didn't even know Ziggy. I shouldn't be crying," I said, wiping my eyes with my hands. Ella pulled me into the kitchen and handed me a tissue.

"It's okay to be upset. It's a sad and worrying time. Any news about Dickie?" Ella asked me.

"No. No news," I told her.

"Hang in there. Ranger is looking into it. He'll help you find out what has happened."

I wiped my eyes with the tissue and tried to pull myself together. Ella squeezed my hand, then went back to work. "If you stay any longer I'm going to put you to work chopping onions," she warned me.

"I already look like that's what I've been doing," I said, trying to joke about my red eyes. "I've got to go soon, I'm visiting Mary Lou in the hospital this morning."

Ella's eyes lit up when she realised what that meant. "And?" she asked.

"It's a girl but that's all the details I have," I told her. She made me promise to update her tonight and show her a photo of the baby, then I left the kitchen.

Lester and Bobby were in the break room when I came out.

"So, Ranger says I'm in charge of not letting you get kidnapped," Lester informed me.

"Stephanie duty? How did you get that one?"

"How could I not volunteer for the company of such a lovely woman as yourself?" Lester asked. Bobby coughed. I looked over at Bobby.

"He's in the sin bin for being too charming to one of our female customers. Her husband objected and nearly pulled their rather large corporate account."

"I was just being myself!" Lester protested.

"Yourself is too flirty."

"I have natural Latin charm."

After a few more rounds their bickering subsided and Lester looked at me.

"So rescue me from a boring work day - what are we up to today?"

"First up, I need to visit Mary Lou and meet the new baby. Then I need to go to work for a few hours. Then, I have some things to look into."

"Aha. A mystery. Let's go, Nancy Drew," he said.

"Nancy Drew?"

"I grew up with all sisters. I was lucky to not have hand me down dresses, so I didn't complain about the books."

I grabbed a muffin and we set off for the hospital. Mary Lou had told me to come early before her family decided to visit all day. Her mom had taken Kenny and Mikey in for a quick to meet their new baby sister, but they'd gotten bored quickly and left.

Mary Lou was beaming. I gave her a hug and told her that for a woman with a newborn baby, she looked fabulous.

"I had a night to myself with dinner made for me and only a newborn to look after. It's like a vacation. I don't want to leave," Mary Lou told me. That sounded like a pretty crappy vacation to me but I didn't want to burst Mary Lou's bubble.

"What's her name?" I asked Mary Lou, looking at the sleeping bundle.

"Aurora. We're going to call her Aurora because she's our little princess and I'm hoping for a good sleeper this time. And, if it's okay, we'd like to give her the middle name Stephanie. You're my best friend, Steph, and the strongest woman that I know. I want to name her after you."

I didn't know what to say so instead I burst into tears and hugged Mary Lou and baby Aurora.

"I've never had anyone named after me before," I told Mary Lou.

"That's not true. Alfie Meyers named his pet frog Stephanie after you."

"Well I've never had anyone non-amphibious named after me before then," I told Mary Lou. I heard a noise outside and Mary Lou rolled her eyes.

"That sounds like the welcoming committee coming. I hope you're ready, Aurora. Better cover your ears," she warned her.

"That must be my cue to go," I said.

"Yeah, better get out of here for your own sanity. And get to work! Make sure the company doesn't fall apart without me, I'm going to need a place to escape to in a few months time."

I left the room as Mary Lou's large family started arriving. There were a lot of people there eager to meet the latest addition to their family.

"Where to now?" Lester asked me.

"To Plum Lingerie to package up orders for a few hours and do some marketing. Then lunch. Then… I dunno. I was looking for Dickie but since he's disappeared with 40 million dollars, maybe I should give up on that one," I said.

"He what?" Lester said. While we were driving to Plum Lingerie I filled Lester in on all I'd discovered about Dickie – the firm, the partners, the 40 million dollars missing from the bank account, the fact that Ziggy had been the accountant for the firm, and finally, that Dickie might have been kidnapped or might have made a run for it before his partners came after him for emptying their bank account. I was finishing up the story when we arrived and I let us into the office area.

"He took 40 million dollars out of a law firm account that he shares with lawyers who represent third world drug barons and gun smugglers?" Lester asked.

"Yeah."

"Your husband is a dumb ass."

"Seems like it."

"Well luckily for you, I love numbers even more than Ranger. Why don't we look at what you've found over lunch?"

"You're on. But first, packages and keeping this company running," I told him.