Zip entered the courthouse with Stephanie and Edna. He wanted to go alone, but the women insisted on accompanying him for moral support. Judith slipped into the courtroom a few minutes before the judge entered to preside over the family court.
"Judith Cook vs Adrien Spera. Please, approach the front," the bailiff called. Stephanie squeezed Zip's hand as he stood. Judith gasped when she saw Stephanie sitting in the space her husband had vacated.
She panicked. Of all the women Adrien could have brought, he had to bring the one who knew her original identity. Judith felt her stomach flip flop as bile threatened to rise. She swallowed, forcing it back down. What should she do? Judith never noticed her ex-husbands enter the court. She silently prayed Stephanie wouldn't recognize her. After all, she had a rhinoplasty to remove the bump in her nose.
Stephanie carefully watched Judith. She noticed her college roommate got plastic surgery on her nose and chin, making them less prominent. You didn't detect the difference when she looked at you, but it was evident from the silhouette.
"Your honour, may I submit documents supporting Adrien's infidelity to the court?" Judith asked. The judge nodded, letting the bailiff step toward Judith for the paperwork. Stephanie watched the judge peruse the documents before lifting a photograph. The judge's eyes landed on Stephanie.
"Miss wearing the blue suit, could you please approach the defendant's table?" he ordered.
Stephanie squeezed Edna's hand before walking up the aisle. The bailiff opened the small gate separating the spectators from the tables and bench. Stephanie took her place beside Zip and stood, waiting for the judge to speak to her. The judge passed the photograph to the bailiff. "Miss, is that you in the photograph with the defendant?" Stephanie looked at the image of Zip embracing her after a car explosion.
"Sir, am I permitted to explain?" Stephanie asked.
"Proceed," he replied.
"The photograph is from last year when my car got firebombed by a skip. That's a criminal who failed to appear in his court case. Anyway, my boss, Mr. Manoso, was out of town. He had assigned Adrien Spera and Woodrow Walker to shadow me while I captured and returned the criminals to the police station. On that day, I barely escaped the car to safety. Adrien comforted me as the car burned to our left. You can see the back of the car in the photograph. Adrien and I are friends. We have never been in an intimate or sexual relationship," Stephanie explained.
"Liar," Judith screamed. Stephanie wanted to shout that she was the liar but maintained silence. The judge ordered Judith to remain quiet.
"Your honour, Adrien has proof of his own. May we please present it to the courts?" Stephanie asked. When the judge agreed, Zip passed the folder to the bailiff.
The judge read the documents and viewed the photographs. Stephanie watched the judge's eyes narrow as he looked around the courtroom. He pulled the bailiff to the bench, showed him the pictures and requested the five men get brought to the front. The bailiff followed the orders.
Judith's eyes bugged open as her ex-husbands got pulled to the front of the courtroom. "Is Michael Morelli in the court?" the judge asked. Stephanie turned around as the bailiff guided Mooch to the front.
"Sir?" Mooch asked.
"Mr. Morelli, did you have a sexual relationship with the plaintiff on June 8th last year?" the judge asked.
"Yes, sir. We met at the Speakeasy Motel off route one in Trenton, New Jersey," Mooch replied. "Judy and I have a standing reservation at the motel, under Sydney Franco, for every Wednesday morning."
The judge referred to the picture of Stephanie and Zip embracing. Judith had the date and time stamped on the image. "Your honour, the photograph of Stephanie and Adrien was taken before my affair with Mr. Morelli," Judith said.
"Hmm." The judge shook his head. "The photograph is dated for August 8th of last year. Two months after your affair with Morelli."
"No. That's when I got the picture printed," Judith lied. Stephanie couldn't stop the snort. She did resist laughing at Judith's stupidity.
"Your honour, I included the article published in the Trenton Times," Stephanie replied. His eyes twinkled at Stephanie. Justice Ivan Henry liked Stephanie's tenacity. Even in New York, Stephanie Michelle Plum was known for catching her man. He recalled an event regarding Carlos Manoso, Stephanie Plum and Vlatko. She entered the Russian consulate in NY to gather intel on the man. Ivan was pleased to have met the brave woman.
"Mr. Morelli, you may return to your seat. Mr. Anders, Mr. Fowler, Mr. Parker, Mr. Easton and Mr. Smith, what brings you to the court today?" Justice Henry asked.
"To set the record straight," Trent Anders replied. "When I spoke to the other men, I realized we had married and divorced the same woman. Each of us lost our jobs after our ex-wife claimed we harassed or abused her."
"Were any of you charged and convicted of assault?"
"I got charged with harassment. The others got charged but not convicted, your honour. The charges got dropped after her name change got approved," Trent replied for the others. They each passed the bailiff documents for their arrest and the charges she dropped. "Due to the false charges and her subsequent name changes, we were unable to sue her for wrongful claims or defamation of character."
"Miss Judith Cook, your name is now flagged with all branches of the government in every state, preventing you from changing your legal name. Every piece of identification you maintained, including your bank accounts, is frozen. You deserve to get punished for abusing a system the government established to protect the legitimate claims of assault and harassment. I'm asking the bailiff to remand you into custody until you appear before the courts for fraud, misrepresentation and other illegal activities the DA decides to throw your way," Justice Henry ordered.
Judith's mouth opened and closed several times like a fish. She had to move the money from her other accounts to an offshore one. Judith had too much money stashed to lose everything now.
"Mr. Adrien Spera, I grant you the divorce from Judith Cook. Any money Ms. Cook has in her bank account or investments belong to you. The house you purchased is yours to do as you see fit. Ms. Cook, you receive nothing from the marriage. Every piece of jewelry is to get sold to pay for the court case today. Case dismissed." Justice Ivan Henry slammed his gavel on the block.
Judith screamed as the bailiff escorted her from the courtroom. Everyone heard Judith threaten to make Stephanie pay. The other bailiff waited until Judith got removed before opening the gate for Zip, Stephanie and the other men to leave the bench.
"Thank you, Steph," Zip said as he hugged Stephanie.
"I'm happy to help. What about the money for the other men?" she asked.
The first bailiff returned after removing Judith, interrupting Zip's reply. He called the men into a room across the hall from the courtroom. "Men, these are for you. Ms. Cook cannot access the accounts," he said, passing them official documents.
"Seriously?" Cody Fowler asked. "We get everything in her accounts and investments?"
"For the name she used while married to you, yes," the bailiff replied.
"How?" Cody asked.
"Thank the young woman with Mr. Spera. She did this for all of you." The bailiff left the men standing in the room with their jaws dropped to their chests.
Trent Anders, Cody Fowler, Kyle Parker, Peter Easton and Jordan Smith waited outside the women's washroom with Zip. They wanted to thank Stephanie for helping them get justice. "Is she single?" Kyle asked.
"Nope," Zip replied. "She's engaged to my boss."
"She isn't wearing a ring," Peter replied.
"We're travelling to complete a bucket list for her dying grandmother. Steph left the ring at home to prevent drawing attention to herself," Zip lied. He didn't want those men chasing after Stephanie.
Stephanie was smoothing out the invisible wrinkles when she exited the washroom. Her grandmother was at her heels. "Sorry, dear," Edna said when she bumped into Stephanie's back.
"What's going on?" Stephanie asked when she noticed the six men waiting for her.
"We wanted to thank you for getting our money back," Trent replied, once again speaking for the others.
"What he said," the other men added.
She blushed as she replied, "It's not a problem. I've known your ex-wife since college. We were dorm roommates. She always knew how to play men to her advantage. I'm happy to have stopped her from taking advantage of more men."
"The judge is having the false charges expunged from our records," Jordan said. Stephanie was happy for the men. It should make finding a job easier. Most companies don't like to hire people charged with assault or harassment.
"I'm truly happy for you. If you could please excuse us, we should leave. My grandmother needs her rest," Stephanie politely said before walking away with Zip.
"Her fiancé is a lucky man," Jordan said, sighing. The others quickly agreed.
On the drive back to the hotel, Edna asked, "Who was married to what name?"
Stephanie giggled. "Sydney Franco married Trent Anders. When they got divorced, she changed her name to Paige Summers. Paige married Cody Fowler. After their divorce, she became Michelle Masters, who married Kyle Parker. Then her new name Roseanne Connolly married Peter Easton. When they divorced, she changed her name to Bethany Adams, who married Jordan Smith. We know her newest name was Judith Cook, and she married Zip," Stephanie replied.
"That's a lot of name changes," Edna said. Stephanie nodded. She didn't know anyone who changed their name and applied for new social security numbers. It was truly an abuse of the system.
When they returned to the hotel, Zip asked to borrow the Rangeman laptop. Stephanie readily gave it to Zip, expecting him to run a search. Zip surprised Stephanie when he opened the YouTube website to search for songs. After logging into his account, he complied with a few tracks to play. "Edna, press the play symbol when I give you the sign," Zip said. Edna agreed to help the young man. "Stephanie, may I have this dance?"
Stephanie took his hand and laughed when Edna played the song. Fall Out Boy's song Light 'Em Up, played through the laptop speakers. Edna watched Stephanie and Zip rock out to the music. She placed the laptop on the coffee table to join their dance.
They crashed on the couch after eating dinner. It was an emotionally exhausting day. Edna kissed Stephanie's cheek before retiring to the bedroom. She left Zip and Stephanie sleeping on the couch. Stephanie did a wonderful thing for Zip and Sydney's other ex-husbands. Edna couldn't be more proud of her granddaughter.
The sound of the Batman theme song woke Stephanie from her sleep. "Babe?"
"Hey, Batman," Stephanie said sleepily.
"Is Zip available?"
"Yup." Stephanie shook Zip's shoulder. He jumped to his feet and asked what was wrong. "It's Ranger. He needs to speak to us." Stephanie put the phone on speaker.
"Zip, I received a call from the women's prison. Your wife, Judith Cook, was found dead in her cell."
"Ex-wife. What happened?" Stephanie asked.
"She was spouting off about hurting you, Babe. Another woman shanked her," Ranger replied.
"Her cellmate?" Zip asked.
"Yes. Incarcerated for first-degree murder. She killed her husband after he uncovered her new identity. The guards told cell block E why got Cook imprisoned. They didn't appreciate a woman abusing the system set in place to protect vulnerable women and children."
"Good. Sydney Franco and her other aliases can't harm anyone else," Stephanie said. "Thanks for the update."
"I'll talk to you later, boss," Zip said. He excused himself, leaving Stephanie and Ranger to have a private conversation.
"Proud of you, Babe."
"I'm proud of me, too," she confessed. Stephanie spent the next hour telling Ranger how she stumbled across Judith Cook's scheme. Ranger grinned as he listened. He was astounded Stephanie made the connection between all the names and ex-husbands.
"Go to bed, Babe. You've yawned for the past few minutes. I'm dropping Cal off at Laguardia on Saturday morning. I'll see you then," Ranger said. He quickly added, "Avoid Smurfette. She'll pickpocket you," before hanging up.
Stephanie grinned as she walked into her room. She shed the yoga pants and pulled Ranger's shirt over her head. Ranger's comment about Smurfette made her laugh. In a way, she was the Smurfette in Rangeman.
The following morning, Zip, Edna and Stephanie went to Rockefeller and Times Square. "It smells like piss," Edna commented.
"Reminds me of Stark St," Stephanie joked. Edna grinned when the street performers approached them, then quickly retreated when Zip stood to his full height. They got intimidated by Zip.
He noticed Smurfette sneaking up behind Stephanie, reaching toward the messenger bag Stephanie always carried. Zip was about to intervene when Stephanie turned around. "Back off, bitch," Stephanie snarled. Smurfette held up her hands and feigned innocence.
"I think I'm done here," Edna announced. Zip and Stephanie couldn't agree more. Stephanie pulled her messenger bag to her front. She held onto Zip's arm as they pushed through the crowd in Times Square. They walked several blocks to their hotel. Edna asked Zip to push her into the bedroom. She wanted to take a nap.
Stephanie sat on the couch and cried. Zip sat beside Stephanie, then embraced her. He waited until she stopped crying before asking, "If I ask you a question, will you be honest?"
"Yes. Was that your question?" Stephanie joked. She used a tissue to wipe her face and blow her nose.
"Why don't you want kids?" Stephanie had expected him to ask the question sooner. She shared the story of Savannah and Frankie. "Is that why you have the pillow?"
"Binkie made it for me," she replied. Zip was surprised. "I have pictures of Vannah. Would you like to see them?" Stephanie didn't wait for Zip to respond. She opened the laptop to log into her cloud account.
"She's beautiful. Savannah looks like you," Zip said. "Do the others know?"
"Only the men who visited before you. Ranger knows, but not Lester though. He wasn't in our hotel room when I shared the story. Eventually, I'll tell everyone, including Joe," she replied. Zip thought Lester would have known. He wasn't shocked that Stephanie refrained from sharing the news with Morelli.
Zip ordered room service when Stephanie's stomach grumbled. All the walking made Stephanie burn too many calories. "Has anyone told you how amazing you are?" Zip asked.
Stephanie shrugged. "I'm nothing special. I hate seeing you guys suffer when I can do something to help." She rested her head on Zip's shoulder. Her phone rang as she closed her eyes. Stephanie answered it on speaker without checking the caller ID.
"Hi, Steph?" a woman asked. "Am I calling at a bad time?"
"Oh. Hi, Hanna. No, it's good. I was sitting with a friend talking. How are you?"
"Great. I'm staying in the Hilton near Central Park. I heard you're in New York," Hanna replied. Stephanie started laughing. "What's so funny?"
"I'm in the same hotel as you," Stephanie replied. She gave Hanna her room number. "Come on over."
Less than five minutes later, Stephanie heard a soft knock on the door. She opened the door to a beautiful blond with grey eyes. "You look great, Steph," Hanna said.
"So do you," Stephanie replied. "Grandma's asleep, but I can introduce you to Zip. We're expecting room service any minute."
Hanna followed Stephanie into the room. She stopped in her steps when she saw Zip. Hanna's heart rate sped up when she looked into Zip's eyes. Butterflies fluttered inside her stomach. She had never seen a more attractive man. Something about him felt like coming home.
Zip stared at the gorgeous blond. She looked vaguely familiar but couldn't place where he'd seen her before. Stephanie looked between Hanna and Zip, then started laughing. "Oh my gosh. Hal is going to kick your ass, Zip." Stephanie knew that look. It was the same when Stephanie met Ranger.
"What? Why would Hal do that?" he asked.
"Hal is Hanna's brother," Stephanie replied. Zip blushed. Stephanie felt the need to explain. "Hal has Hanna's picture inside his Rangeman apartment." Zip knew exactly which photograph Stephanie mentioned.
"Hi, Hanna. My name is Adrien Spera, but everyone calls me Zip," he said. Zip extended his hand for Hanna to shake. She grabbed his hand. Sparks flowed between their palms. Hanna gasped but couldn't release Zip's hand.
A knock on the door interrupted their nonverbal exchange. Zip reluctantly released Hanna's hand to answer the door. He pulled the food cart into the room, refusing the delivery boy entry.
Stephanie lifted the covered dishes from the cart and placed them on the table. By the time they were ready to eat, Edna entered the room. "Hello, Hanna. What are you doing in New York?" Edna asked.
"I just returned from seeing Aladdin," she replied. "I'll be here until tomorrow morning."
"Where are you going in the morning?" Edna wondered.
"I'm the attendant on the flight from Laguardia to Seattle," Hanna replied.
"Why isn't that a pip? Stephanie and I are heading to Seattle on the 8 am flight." Hanna grinned. It was her flight.
"Are you heading to Seattle too?" Hanna asked Zip. She hoped to spend more time with the man.
Zip frowned as he replied, "No. I'm driving the ladies to the airport, then driving back to Trenton." Hanna seemed disappointed. "When do you get your next break?"
"I fly from Seattle to Boston. Then from Boston to the UK. I'm there for a week before flying back to New York," she replied. Zip asked for her phone. He entered his number and asked her to call when she had time. Hanna blushed, but promised to call. She entered her phone number into his phone.
Stephanie planned to introduce Zip to another friend of hers from high school, but it seemed he found the woman he was meant to meet. Hanna stayed for dinner, then excused herself for the night. Zip offered to drive her to the airport the following morning. Hanna accepted, much to his pleasure.