Chapter 39

I still had no idea of who had set fire to my car and killed grandma and that was beginning to weigh down on me. Okay, it could have been Crocker who threw the molotov cocktail and it could have been Joe who put him up to it.

The thoughts that I'd had when I was at the cabin came back to me, greed could be a very strong incentive for Joe to have done that. I needed to talk to Ranger about that and decide what to do with those bonds because if anything were to happen to me now then my parents were my next of kin. I had no will because it just never occurred to me that I had anything of value.

What still concerned me was how anyone would have known where my car would have been. The phone number that had called grandma's phone was a dead end but I'd never looked at the significance of where she'd ended up. By the river at the docks in an area that was deserted with wrecks of other cars strewn around. Not really an ideal meeting place.

I started up the computer and opened up Google Earth to give me a satellite image of the area. How was that area allowed to stay in such a mess? Normally the Public Works Department made sure any abandoned cars were removed. Did someone own that area, so it was private property as far as anyone official was concerned? I enlarged the area and sent it to the printer and decided to find out who owned the surrounding property. Not an easy task for me to do because I wasn't sure how I could access that information.

"Looking good Annie"

I looked up to see Xander stood in the doorway smiling at me and was on my feet running over to him.

"Xander, how are you here? Are you okay?"

I pulled away, breaking the hug that we'd given to each other, trying to get a read of him.

"Never better. I passed those files onto Jenson like you asked me to and then asked Greg if he minded if I came and helped you out"

I was okay with that, no I was better than okay with having him here. In fact, I had just the job for him to do.

"How good are you at finding who owns property?"

"Wow, nothing like throwing me straight into work"

I handed Xander the map that had just finished printing and spent a few minutes explaining my reasoning behind my request. Xander was working at the computer a few minutes later which left me feeling a little redundant until he came up with some names. I would need another computer or maybe a laptop if both of us were going to be working. I left the room and ended up back in Ranger's office who was busy working himself but as always, he stopped and looked up at me.

"Did you know that Xander was here?"

I don't why I was asking, maybe his arrival had thrown me slightly. I knew that he'd left here after making a stupid mistake so wasn't really sure how I felt about his return. I watched as Ranger stood and walked past me, closing his office door before he pulled me down next to him on the couch.

"Do you feel uncomfortable with him being here?"

I wasn't sure. I suppose his sudden appearance hadn't given me any time to really analyze that.

"No, it's just that he doesn't really know anyone here and I'm not sure if I can cope with how intense he can be"

Was that what I was feeling? In some ways Xander was a bridge between what my life had been and what it was becoming now, except I had no idea what that was.

"Greg asked me if Xander could come over and help. From what Greg told me Xander has always been a loner, never one to make friendships or get to know anyone. Xander had been even more quiet which had Greg worried. It seems that you are the only person that Xander has ever made a connection with"

That made sense to me, knowing his history. I assumed that Xander feeling that he had let down the one person that he loved, was weighing down on him especially if he thought that he had let me down as well. It was actually sad that he'd closed off his emotions like that, well except for me. I knew there had only ever been an acceptance of each other between us, certainly nothing more. I sighed at my thinking and went back to Ranger's question.

"I don't want him with me all of the time because I feel that he needs to grow emotionally. He told me what happened when he was a teenager, so I understand why he keeps himself emotionally distanced from people"

"How about I use him in some of the rotas, partner him up with someone?"

I could see how that might work but for the life of me had no idea who would be suitable. Xander just wasn't a physical kind of guy, not like the rest of the Merry Men and I didn't think being with Hector would work out for either of them.

"Miguel is on restrained duty after a fall. His rota will be ars that wouldn't result in anything physical"

"So a bit of time on monitors, security installations and searches?"

Ranger nodding had me feeling so much better because Miguel would be an ideal person for Xander to get to know. I suppose Miguel was the opposite to Xander. He chatted easily and got on with most of the men, but he was also easy going.

"That sounds like a plan. Will Miguel be okay with that?"

A raised eyebrow told me that of course it would. Ranger's next question threw me though because it was one that had never crossed my mind.

"Do you trust Xander?"

I opened my mouth with the word yes on the tip of my tongue and then closed it. I suppose with everything that happened to me and the way that people had turned on me Xander wasn't the only one to be feeling the need to be emotionally distanced. I suppose that I was still feeling a bit fragile and vulnerable.

"Yes. I suppose I'm finding it hard to let my defenses down"

Even now I was always on edge in case my bubble burst especially with Ranger. What he was always saying to me, was encouraging me to slowly allow my heart to start unravelling.

"Ranger? What if Joe knew that I'd inherit all that money from grandma?"

It was his turn to just look at me, so I was sure that he hadn't even considered that as a motive for Joe trying to force me into marriage.

"Hell, Babe. I never even thought of that. He wouldn't have wanted her dead just yet though, would he? He'd need to be married to you first before you knew anything about it"

Yeah, and then what, divorce or an accidental death for me? I didn't say that out loud because that thought had me grateful that I'd been able to escape from his clutches. He must know by now that I would never marry him so all of his schemes had gone up in smoke and hopefully that investigation that Willoughby was doing would land him in deep shit. Joe Morelli must be more than worried by now, but would he try to get to me anyway? I knew for a fact that if anything happened to me now my mother wouldn't give him a dollar.

"I need to write a will"

Came from me before I made to stand up.

"All of this thinking is making me feel depressed. I should check on what Xander's found out"

I left Ranger sat on the couch unsure of what he was thinking but I for one didn't want to think about Joe at the moment. Going back into the conference room I could already see some papers in the printer so assumed that they were from what Xander had found out. I picked them up and then ended up sat on one of the low chairs by the coffee table. The first property that I was looking at was owned by a man called Rufus Chambers so I turned to the next page which contained a search on him. Rufus had died several years ago and had used the property for collecting fish that came from the trawlers. The building had packed them before sending them out to respective buyers, I assumed people like restaurant owners. I dismissed him as I read the note that Xander had added that Rufus had no heirs and that the property had fallen into disrepair.

I was about to start on the next property when I heard Xander call out my name.

"Annie. You won't believe this but a property just east of that location, well it looks to belong to a guy named Jimmy Salowski. The deeds were transferred in 2002 but he was murdered in 1999"

I know that I was frowning because Xander was right. So who had done the transfer when the new owner was already dead?

"Who owned it before that?"

"No idea. It's a name that according to the records doesn't exist"

Was Salowski's wife still alive? Because she was the only other person that I'd come across who had that name. I went over to the board but knew that I hadn't followed up with her, hell, she'd be in her 70s if she was even still alive.

"There's a demolition order on it, it's due to be flattened in a few weeks"

I turned and looked at Xander wondering why someone would have done that then had a thought come into my mind.

"Xander what was the building used for?"

I waited as he started to work the keyboard hoping that maybe I could be right.

"It's down as being a storage unit for rolling stock and train engines. I don't understand this, but you, you've got that look. Spill it"

I wasn't sure if I was right with my idea, but I needed to check on something first. Not wanting Xander to know anything about us finding that tie pin I was rushing out of the room and into Ranger's office. He looked up at me surprised at why I'd suddenly run into his office and even more surprised when I went around his desk to stand next to him.

"Can you minimize that and go into Google"

I watched as Ranger did that and as soon as the page came onto the screen, I was typing a question. I think that Ranger was just curious to know what I was doing so he sat back and gave me the room.

"There, look. The small numbers on the side are the locomotive number. Every locomotive and every coach and freight car has a unique number assigned to it. That's it, those are what those numbers refer to on the back of the tie pin"

"Babe, explain why you are looking at train engine numbers, those numbers could mean anything"

"No. Xander found an old building down by the docks that is apparently owned by Jimmy Salowski, but he died years ago, and the transfer happened in 2002 after he died. It was used to house old engines but it's due to be demolished soon. I think that Chiconi possibly owned it under a false name and then transferred the deeds before he died, and then Trevor Peralta somehow made sure that a demolition order would go through"

I just knew that I could be right but why had grandma gone there?

"Oh shit. She was following the clues. Grandpa worked on the trains so she might have recognized what those numbers meant, and she could have known about the storage depot"

Why had she gone there without telling anyone? I sank backwards and sat on the edge of Ranger's knee with my elbows on the desk as the ramifications of what I'd said hit me. Grandma and me, well we were from the same mold, curious and inquisitive, independent and impetuous. She'd gone there on her own because she wanted to solve the puzzle. So what had happened when she got there? Who had set fire to my car and who had called her?

I knew it wouldn't have been Lawrence because he didn't have the tie pin with those numbers on it.

"I want to go take a look"