Chapter 28

I spent the next forty minutes freshening up and changing into what seemed suitable for visiting grandma in. My mother had made me wear a black dress and long jacket for the funeral which may have been etiquette in her eyes but would not have impressed my grandma. I wasn't going to wear bright colored leggings or a track suit sporting a fluorescent band of color, but I did want to wear something colorful. In the end I chose some red hipster jeans and a pink T-shirt that sported the sequins that she was so fond of.

I sensed that I was being watched as I surveyed myself in the mirror and turned to see Ranger stood at the door. He didn't say anything but from the nod of his head I knew that he understood my appearance.

"She'd appreciate the colors, Babe. I've had some flowers delivered, they're in the car"

I was pretty sure as we drove from the garage that we had a shadow with us. Maybe someone was still looking for Chloe, and Ranger would always take my safety seriously. The cemetery that we were heading for was Riverview Cemetery, not the one associated with the Catholic Church in the Burg. Grandma and grandpa had bought a plot years ago because they had both loved the quietness and peacefulness that the place offered. It was an old cemetery with mature trees and seating areas, an ideal place to sit and contemplate the ones that you'd loved. I'd often been there with grandma to tend to grandpa's grave and to sit with her while she had a conversation with him. She held a strong belief that he could hear her so I was hoping that would be true when I spoke to her.

As Ranger parked the car I got out and then retrieved the flowers from the back seat. Ranger must have had the same idea as me because I was holding a bouquet that held every color possible to be found in wild flowers. Grandma would love them and even more if she knew that Ranger had chosen them. She had always been enamored with the sight of Ranger and had even managed to catch a glimpse of him naked. I smiled as I remembered that day and how made up she had been.

Ranger took my hand as we started to walk through the gates, it seemed that he knew the way as well as I did. I marveled that the day was bright and sunny as the leaves on the trees cast shadows across the path. It had the effect of lightening my soul as I looked upon some of the old statues adorning the path, almost as if they were watching us. I stopped when I recognized where I needed to be and was grateful that Ranger allowed me to walk by myself toward the two burial sites. I had tears in my eyes as I knelt down by grandma's brand new smooth gravestone. That the names inscribed only mentioned one granddaughter, Valerie, brought a wave of pain and heartbreak over me. How could my mother had alienated me from something like that?

"Here lays Edna Mazuur

Mother to Ellen and Frank

Grandmother to Valerie

Great grandmother"

"Your grandma knows how much you loved her. You don't need your name on a stone to know that"

Went through my mind because I was very certain that grandma knew that through the relationship that we had had. With a renewed enthusiasm I began to remove the decaying flowers that had been left and to replace them with the fresh flowers.

"Grandma, I'm so sorry for what happened but so confused why it happened. I know that you enjoyed the life that you had but now you're with your true love, Grandpa Harry. I'm sure that he'll love hearing all of your stories. I love you very much grandma and if nothing else I'll finish your story, I promise"

I sat back so that I was between my grandparents remembering when they had both been alive. I looked to the stone for my grandpa, now showing some signs from the weather and saw the small ornate set of hands that rested on the earth where flowers could be placed. The ones there were brown and withered which had me wondering if it been grandma that had placed them there. I couldn't remember a time when my mother had ever visited his graveside with flowers. She'd sometimes come with me and grandma and watch as we tidied up the surrounding area. As I read the inscription yet again, I now had a better understanding of it.

"I lie with angels

That keep me safe

Until my soul

Is complete again"

I now understand why grandpa had planned for those words to be written and wondered if grandma would have planned for something similar. The words for my grandma didn't hold any meaning for her and I was sure that my mother had made sure of that. If she had, then I'd find out what they had been and make sure that they were here with her. Yeah, sat here helped me to come to an understanding. I'd live my life with no regrets and be thankful for every day that I'd had with my grandma, remembering the good times.

As I considered that I was aware of shadow passing over me and looked up to see a man stood against the light from the sun. As he bent down, I made to get up but his hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"She was so spirited in life, wasn't she? A conundrum of contradictions. She spoke often about you, her Baby Granddaughter"

I wasn't sure what to make of the man squatted down next to me, a man that I recognized as Lawrence Peralta.

"Why are you here?"

Because to me it seemed too much of a coincidence that on my first visit here to talk to grandma he had shown up.

"To speak to you of course"

I tried to turn around without it being obvious, but I couldn't see any sight of Ranger. Why wasn't he here keeping this man away from me?

"Your friend is otherwise detained. I'm sure that you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him, so I need to have that conversation with you"

I frowned as I turned to look to where I'd left Ranger and took in a breath at the sight of a man bending over a prone Ranger. There was a knife in his hand that I was sure he would use if ordered to. How did I know that? He had a smile across his face as he looked at me, a smile that made him look even more evil. He was an older man, battle worn with a scar down one cheek that gave him an odd appearance, distorting his face, maybe that was why he looked to be smiling. I felt a hand under my arm pulling me to my feet. I wanted to be sure that Ranger was okay but didn't dare to aggravate anyone. No, I didn't want anything bad to happen to him because if anything happened to Ranger because of me, I'd die.

I felt myself being dragged across the grass toward a set of gates set into the iron fencing. I was so expecting one of the Merry Men to appear, to get me out of this mess, but it never happened. So where were they? Surely Ranger had ensured that we weren't alone, hadn't he? I was so busy looking around and trying to pull free that being pushed into a car came as a surprise. Another man was already sat in the back seat and very adeptly turned me away from him and slapped cuffs around my wrists.

"What the hell do you want. You can't just"

"Miss Plum, we can do anything we want"

Was the last thing that I heard before I felt the prongs and a zap against my neck.

I hated being stunned, the way that my nerves felt on fire, so I knew exactly what had happened to me. What I didn't know was where I was or why Lawrence Peralta wanted to talk to me. Moving slightly, I opened my eyes to be looking at a set of windows, windows that had drapes hanging down on either side of them. The walls were painted a soft yellow color and I noticed the dark grey material underneath my cheek. As I moved, I was aware that my hands were free, but I had something around my neck. I panicked, sitting up quickly as I held a small black box in my hands.

"No touching. It's that around your neck or I get Drew to remove all of your clothes"

I turned to where the voice had come from not surprised to see Lawrence Peralta sat watching me. I let the box drop onto my chest and took in the rest of the room.

"Nice place, where are we?"

Okay I didn't think that he'd tell me, but it was worth a try. The room was nicely furnished with couches that matched the drapes and a low coffee table that matched a unit holding a TV. I just had the feeling that we were in a hotel room, which to be honest surprised me.

"I brought you here because we need to have a conversation"

I'm sure that he'd said that when we were at the cemetery. When he'd threatened to hurt Ranger.

"Is Ranger alright? Did you hurt him?"

I watched as he pulled out a silver case and removed a cigarette, pretty sure that smoking wouldn't be allowed inside here. Maybe he had second thoughts because he didn't light it.

"He's probably back in that building of his. I left a message for him, that after our conversation I'd send you back"

Okay, that was a weird thing to say and do, so what was the catch?

"What is it that you want to talk about because I don't even know who you are"

No way was I going to let him know that I knew who he was because that would imply that I knew of his connection to my grandma. As I looked at him, I could almost imagine why grandma had thought that she'd have caught a live one. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't the best looking guy that she'd had her eyes on before, but he had a certain charisma about him.

"Your grandma had something that belongs to me"

That was not what I was expecting, and it was so out of character for her. She'd never stolen anything in her life.

"Are you saying that she stole something?"

"No, not exactly. I don't think that she realized that she had it and to be honest neither did I, but I want it back now"

She was dead, how the hell did he think I was going to get anything back?

"Look, I hadn't spoken to her for over a week, so I have no idea what you are talking about"

He started to tap the end of the cigarette against the silver case, which to be honest was making me nervous.

"You're gonna have to give me a bit more information, like who you are and what it is that you think she had"

I sat on my hands to stop myself from fidgeting and to wait him out. I had to believe that he was serious when he said that he'd send me back to Ranger. The problem was that I was sure that there would be a catch to him doing that and one that I wasn't going to like.

"She somehow managed to get hold of a family heirloom"

I just sat and stared at Lawrence Peralta waiting for him to continue. How would grandma have done that?

"I didn't know until afterwards. Hell, I didn't know that my damn stupid brother would try to stop me having it"

"Your brother?"

The only brother that I knew about was Trevor and he was dead. How had my grandma managed to have an heirloom from him? She'd only ever seen him at the wake, when he was laid out at the funeral home. Then I remembered what she'd said in that message. Something about it being an accident.

"It was almost laughable, what happened. That was when I first set eyes on Edna Mazuur. Then when the will was read out and my brother had the gall to put in a letter to me that the, the heirloom had been cremated with him, well I just couldn't believe it. There was nothing in his ashes to prove that and believe me I had them checked thoroughly. So, I started to think back to that night with your grandma"

Christ he was making this into a long story without actually saying anything, but it had me thinking. Grandma had ended up tipping the casket over so maybe whatever it was that Lawrence Peralta was looking for somehow ended up on grandma.

"I really don't follow why you think that grandma had anything or what it has to do with me"

"It was a tie pin, a very special tie pin and I need for you to find it"

I'm sure that I rolled my eyes when he said that.

"Why would my grandma have a tie pin and why do you think that she had it?"

"Because she fucking told me"

I sat back as Lawrence Peralta shouted at me unsure if he was telling me truth or not.

"Then she must have told you where it was"

Seemed a logical point to me. Had this tie pin somehow got tangled up on grandma when she'd fallen on top of the body? That would make sense and knowing her she wouldn't know where it had come from or who it belonged to. Surely though if he'd just asked her for it, she would have handed it over, it would have been a genuine mishap on her part.

"I got annoyed at her. I suppose that I lost my temper and I threatened to hurt you if she didn't return it"

My eyes probably went wide as the ramifications of what he'd said hit me. What was it she'd said? It's safe until I'm sure you are. This was the man who was mad at her a man who probably had a very short fuse so not someone you wanted to annoy.

"She died, she never told me. Were you the one who told her to go down to the docks?"

I saw the surprise cross his face as he realized what I was asking, I mean it would make sense to me.

"No, of course not. I didn't want her dead. I thought it was some guy who killed her?"

So who the hell had enticed her to go there? I suppose that Lawrence had a point. If he wanted that tie pin back, then he'd want her alive and the fact that he was still looking for it probably meant that he just wanted to scare her.

"This is the deal sweetheart. My men can find themselves a girl and make sure that she suffers. They'll leave a message just for you, just to remind you that every woman who dies will be because of you"

I opened my mouth to say something, to say that he couldn't do that, but I had no idea if what he was saying was just an idle threat. Did he know me that well? Know that I would do anything to save someone regardless of who they were?

"Yeah, Edna told me all about you and how soft hearted you were"

Shit, I needed some way out of this, but I had no idea what to bargain with, unless?

"I don't know where that tie pin is, maybe it's at my parents?"

"I aint stupid. I had a mate of mine offer to clear out all of her stuff, yours as well, and it was searched thoroughly. Hell, we even went through that shitty apartment that you lived in and found nothing. She said that she'd put it somewhere safe, and that she was going to fetch it for me"

Then she'd died before she could sort out the mess that she'd found herself in.

"I'll try to find it, on one condition"

I watched as he sat forward in his chair, almost trying to intimidate me, sure that he found me amusing by trying to barter with him.

"Go on"

"I'll try to find it, if you find out how she died and who was responsible, the man that the police thought did it was innocent. Look at it this way, whoever was responsible for that fire is also responsible for you not having your precious heirloom"

It was a long shot but hey, this was a man who still had influence and power even though on paper he looked to have retired. He sat back in his chair which was a relief, and I was beginning to feel hopeful that he might just agree with what I'd suggested.

"Okay. I'll see what I can find out, but you have two weeks before dead women start showing up on the streets"

I wasn't too sure whether to feel relieved or not. I also wasn't too sure what the hell Ranger would say to me for making that deal. At least it would stop people trying to grab me and give me an opportunity to work out what was so important about that tie pin and where grandma had hidden it. Would I hand it over to him if I found it? That would depend on what it was. I was sure that Ranger would have a plan, at least I hoped he would.

"How will I get in touch with you?"

I asked hoping that maybe he'd give me a phone number.

"You won't. Wouldn't want that man of yours trying to find me, now would we. I'll find you"

He didn't give me a chance to say anything back to him, like what would I do if I did find it and I wasn't going to say that Ranger would probably do his best to find him anyway. That would imply that I knew exactly who he was. Though I was pretty sure he wasn't so stupid not to have figured out that I already did. I watched as he got up from his chair and walked over to a cabinet that had a selection of drinks and glasses on it. He poured something into two tumblers and walking back to me, offered me one.

"Let's drink to our new understanding"

As he raised his glass to his lips I watched and waited and seeing as he drank all of the contents did the same with mine. The drink tasted like bourbon, not something that I particularly enjoyed, but I decided the sooner that this meeting was over then the sooner he would let me go.

Lawrence just watched me which was making me feel very nervous and it was a few minutes later when I realized what he was watching for and the mistake that I'd made. I watched as the glass slipped from my hand, landing with a thud on the carpet below me. Everything seemed to be slowing down. Sounds became low noises, mixing together, and I was blinking my eyes trying to focus on the blurred images in front of me.