Calvin heard someone outside the back door. He grabbed his gun, then told his wife, Serena, to hide in the panic room. When he purchased their home, it didn't contain a room to keep them safe. But when he read the stories about Stephanie in the Trenton Times, he contacted a construction company to build the bunker in his basement.
"Where is she?" the masked man asked. Calvin was thankful that Savannah left the day earlier for Vegas. He appreciated Hank and Chester sneaking her out during the night.
"Who?"
"Stephanie," the man replied. "I followed her here from New York and I saw her at the mall. She had two of those goons following her." He had waited one day to ensure the goons weren't watching the house.
"She isn't here," Calvin said. He didn't want the man to know Stephanie had a teenage daughter. "Who the fuck are you?"
The man laughed maniacally. "I want that bitch to suffer. She put me in jail with pedophiles and murderers. Stephanie must pay," he replied.
"You never told me your name," Calvin said.
"And I won't. You'll call those goons to catch me," he replied. The man hit Calvin over the head, knocking him out cold. He searched the house for Stephanie's room. What he found was beyond anything he anticipated. "Well, look what we have here. Stephanie Plum has a daughter. Judging by her age, Joseph Morelli is the father." He laughed as he collected proof from letters and photographs.
~~~~~~~~~~
"What the fuck?" Joe screamed as he opened the envelope he received at the TPD.
"Joe?" Eddie asked, poking his head into Joe's office.
"I have a daughter," Joe announced. "That fucking bitch never told me."
"What? Who?" Eddie asked.
"My daughter is around seventeen," Joe replied. "Stephanie never told me about Savannah. That's my daughter's name."
"To be fair, you left for the Navy. Stephanie had no way to contact you. Where did you get the letters and pictures?" Eddie noticed the papers spread across Joe's desk. "She looks exactly like Stephanie. Don't do anything stupid."
Eddie thought back to September after the Tasty Pastry incident. He didn't recall seeing Stephanie pregnant. It's possible Joe was wrong about Savannah being his daughter, but deep inside, Eddie knew it was the truth. Savannah resembled Stephanie too much not to be her child.
Joe ran his fingers through his hair. It was a sure sign of his frustration. "Stephanie had plenty of time to tell me about Savannah. I found the envelope on my desk when I arrived today. I'll send it to get fingerprinted."
"Are you sure you want to open that can of worms?" Eddie asked.
"Whoever sent this parcel is after Stephanie or Savannah. They need protection," Joe replied. "My intuition says they're in danger."
"It's a good thing that Stephanie's out of town. She's far away from this mess." Joe nodded in agreement. He used the desk phone to call the forensics team to pull prints from the envelope. After the team lifted the prints, Joe gathered the pictures and letters. Helen and Frank had the right to know about Savannah. Eddie attempted to stop Joe, but he was a man on a mission.
Joe drove to Frank's house with the pictures and letters tucked inside an evidence bag. He was angry Stephanie never allowed him to be a father. Joyce was expecting a girl. Joe was excited, but it would break Joyce's heart to learn Stephanie had already given him a daughter. Joyce loved having something to hold over Stephanie's head.
"What are you doing here?" Frank demanded when Joe parked on the street. Joe didn't respond outside of passing Frank the bag. "Where did you get these photos of Stephanie? I've never seen them before."
"Her name is Savannah, not Stephanie. She's my daughter," Joe replied. Helen opened the door and asked the men to get inside. There was no need to air their dirty laundry in the street.
"She looks like Stephanie," Helen said. Tears ran down Helen's cheeks as she looked at her granddaughter's pictures. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I just found out today," Joe confessed. "Your mother knew." Joe pushed a few letters to Helen. She recognized her mother's neat writing.
"Why me?" Helen cried. Frank stared at Joe. He read poems around town. Joe's reputation had slightly improved since his teenage years. Frank had assumed Joe used protection. He was furious Joe had tarnished his favourite daughter's life in more ways than one. Joe had the nerve to uncover a carefully guarded secret to make Stephanie's life worse than taking her virginity on a dirty bakery floor.
"Stuff it," Frank snapped. "Joe, you have some nerve coming here today. Does Stephanie know you're sharing this news?"
"No," Joe replied. "I left her a message."
Frank rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. "You were never good enough for Stephanie. You sit here feeling hurt and betrayed because my daughter never mentioned you were a father. What about Stephanie? How do you think she felt having her choices taken away at the young age of sixteen? We both know Helen would have forced you to marry Stephanie. I know my daughter made the best decision. Do you know the extent of the damage you had just caused?"
"What about me?" Joe yelled.
"I don't give a fucking damn about you, Joseph Morelli. You ruined my daughter's reputation from those sick poems you wrote all over town after stealing her virginity. Every time my daughter gets ahead in life, there you are, following close behind to fuck her over again. I refuse to let it continue. Get the fuck out of my house," Frank ordered. "Those pictures and letters stay with me. They belong to Savannah, not you."
Joe dropped the evidence bag containing the photographs and letters. Helen waited for Joe to leave the house before she turned on Frank. "How could you say those things to Joseph? He didn't deserve to receive that wrath from you. Why me? Why didn't Stephanie tell us she was pregnant? Stephanie is such a disappointment."
"Helen! Enough! Joe deserved every word. He was expecting a daughter with his wife, Joyce. Coming here today with these photos was stepping over the line," Frank replied. "I'm going to the lodge."
Frank left the house carrying the evidence bag. He planned to give them to Ranger for safekeeping. Once he turned around the corner, Frank called Stephanie. "Hey, daddy," Stephanie greeted.
"Hi, Pumpkin. I have something important to tell you, and I beg you not to shoot the messenger."
"Joe knows," Stephanie said with a sigh. "Does mom know too? Is that how you found out?"
"Your mother knows. But I've known before you got the pregnancy test results," Frank said, surprising Stephanie. "A father knows, Pumpkin."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Stephanie asked.
"I didn't want to embarrass you, and your grandmother had it handled," Frank replied. "Joe left a message on your mobile phone."
Stephanie sighed. Hector had possession of the device. Everyone in Rangeman would know about Savannah within the hour. "I'll call Tank. He knows my story, daddy. Hey, Savannah's visiting right now. Would you like to say hi?"
Frank rubbed his eyes. "If she doesn't mind," Frank replied. He waited for Stephanie to ask Savannah a few questions.
"Um. Hi," Savannah said. "Mom put you on speaker."
"That's fine, sweetheart. Do I get to meet you?"
"Sure. Can you get to Vegas in three days?" Savannah asked.
"What's happening in Vegas?"
"Sorry, grandpa. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," Savannah joked. Frank smiled. His granddaughter had Stephanie's sharp wit. "Grandma Edna says it would be worth the trip."
"Should I bring Helen?"
"No," everyone shouted.
"I'll be there," Frank promised.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hector listened to the message Joe Morelli left on Stephanie's phone. Angelita has a child? With Morelli? How did none of them find this in her background check? He grabbed the phone and ran up the stairs to the fifth floor. Hector entered Tank's office when the phone rang.
"Yo," Tank answered. He motioned Hector to enter the room and close the door.
"Hey, Tank. I have to warn you. Daddy's on his way with evidence proving I'm Savannah's mother. He mentioned that Joe had called my cell phone. Hector has the phone," Stephanie quickly explained.
"Hector's in my office," Tank replied. "He listened to the message."
"Can you call an emergency meeting? I want to tell everyone about Savannah before they hear it through the Burg grapevine. I'll call back in five minutes on Skype," Stephanie said before hanging up.
Tank called over the system for everyone to meet in the conference room. The men on the monitors could use one screen to connect to the call. Everyone wondered why Tank called all men, including those off duty, for an emergency meeting. They knew Ranger was travelling to Vegas to meet Stephanie and automatically thought he had trouble entering the state.
"Ranger is fine. The charges against him in Nevada got dropped. He did not get arrested. I called the meeting on Stephanie's behalf. She has something to share," Tank announced.
Hector connected the call when the Skype icon flashed. "Hi," Stephanie said. She sat on the couch in the Vegas hotel. Lester sat to her right. "I'm sure you're wondering why I asked Tank to gather everyone today. Joe Morelli received a parcel today. Inside was a collection of letters and photographs." Stephanie paused to wipe a tear off her face. "Les, I don't know if I can do this."
"I'll tell the story," the men heard another woman replied. They gasped when a younger version of Stephanie sat on the couch. "Hi. My name is Savannah Mazur. Stephanie Plum is my birth mother. Joe Morelli is my biological father. When Joe took advantage of my sixteen-year-old mother, she got pregnant with twins."
Hector looked around the room as Savannah made the announcement. Bobby, Tank, Ram, Binkie, Woody and Zip were not surprised by the news. "Twins?" Manny bravely asked.
"Yes, twins. Unfortunately, my brother Frankie didn't make it. I was raised by my mom's cousins, Calvin and Serena Mazur. They gave me a good life. Frankie and I were born prematurely in a Cincinnati hospital which is why you didn't find information in Stephanie's background checks. My family never kept my birth mother or father a secret from me. I understand the sacrifices Stephanie made to give me a better life. Please, don't hate her for not sharing the secret before now. She would have told you all in time, but Joe forced her hand by taking the evidence to Helen and Frank Plum," Savannah explained.
Stephanie had turned her head to bury her face in Lester's neck. They heard a knock on the hotel room door. Edna excused herself to answer. Ranger filled the frame as he lifted Stephanie from the couch, then onto his lap. She buried her face in Ranger's neck to cry.
"As you can see, mom is a bit overwhelmed because we don't know who sent the parcel to Morelli," Savannah continued.
"The person is either after Vannah or me," Stephanie added.
"Are you safe?" Tank asked.
"For now," Stephanie replied.
"Savannah?" Tank asked.
"I'm old enough to make my decisions and decided to live with my mom before going away for college. I have two Rangeman bodyguards, Hank and Chester, to keep me safe. Can someone check on my adoptive parents?" Savannah rattled off the address. Tank promised to get someone to check within the hour.
"Do you guys hate me?" Stephanie asked.
"No," everyone replied.
"We can't wait to meet you, Savannah," Manny stated.
"My dad should be there with the letters and photographs he confiscated from Joe. Tank, could you lock them inside the Rangeman safe? I don't want them to get circulated around town," Stephanie said.
Frank entered the conference room when Tank replied, "Will do, Little Girl." Savannah whispered something into Stephanie's ear. It was too quiet for the laptop microphone to pick up.
"Hey, daddy. Can you show us the pictures? Savannah wants to ensure they're all there," Stephanie asked.
One by one, Frank showed the pictures to Savannah. He lifted a picture frame containing three photographs. Before he put it down, Savannah asked, "Grandpa, can you show me a close-up of each picture?"
Frank did as his granddaughter requested. "What's wrong?" Tank asked when Savannah's face turned white.
"The third picture is wrong. That frame had mom holding me, then mom holding Frankie, then Frankie with me in the incubator. I had that frame on my nightstand," Savannah said. Joe had replaced the third image with the school photograph of Savannah.
A phone buzzed in the conference room. Tank glared at the men. They weren't supposed to have their phones with them during meetings unless they were on Bombshell duty. "Sorry," Frank replied. "Eddie Gazarra sent me a text. He said the prints on the envelope came back for Eugene Brown."
"Ram, Manny, Junior and Binkie, find him. Now!" Ranger ordered. The four men ran from the conference room to locate the criminal. Eugene Brown would pay for harming Stephanie.
"Um. Sorry to interrupt your discussion," Savannah said. Everyone immediately stopped talking. "But can someone find the missing picture?"
"I've got it," Hal replied. "I'll take Hector and Bones with me. Bones and I can distract Joe or Joyce while Hector searches for the picture."
"You think Joe has it?" Savannah asked.
"Yes," Stephanie replied. "He definitely has it."
~~~~~~~~~~
Joe sat in his home office using his computer to create an age-enhanced image of the boy. He was happy he remembered to snap pictures of each image. Joe plugged in the USB cord to connect his phone to the computer. He used the difference between Savannah's baby picture and her current photo to extrapolate how the boy would look. Joe was disappointed to see the boy resembled Frank more than him.
Now, all he had to do was locate his son. Joe entered the modified image into the database for the company responsible for the Cincinnati school board photographs. It would take time for them to get processed. He left it running, then checked on Joyce.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Joe asked.
"Fine," she moaned. "I still can't get comfortable. I'm used to sleeping on my stomach, but the baby gets in the way."
"I'm sorry, honey. Would you like me to buy a body pillow for you? Angelina said it helped during her pregnancies."
"It's worth a try. Thanks," she replied. "Why are you home?"
"I had research to do. You know I have to keep my investigations out of the TPD computers. The other detectives always claim credit for my collars."
"Don't let them steal your promotion," Joyce warned. She rolled out of bed with Joe's help. "You should get back to work. I know you're busy with the double homicide from last night."
Joe kissed Joyce when she got to her feet. "I'll stop by Walmart to buy the pillow. See you tonight." Joe left Joyce to handle her business for the day. She was curious why Joe had come home. He never did that before, so why now? What was Joe hiding from her?
When Joyce heard Joe's car pull away from the curb, she entered his home office. She moved the computer mouse to pull up the screen. Joe never thought to lock his computer or log off when not in use. The screen got set to dim after a few minutes.
He never considered setting the screensaver to kick in after five minutes of inactivity. For an intelligent man, Joe was stupid regarding computer safety. Then again, that wouldn't matter since his fucking password was Cupcake.
Shocked couldn't begin to describe how Joyce felt. On the screen was the image of Stephanie as a teen. Joyce examined the image closer. It wasn't Stephanie. Who was it? She went through the other photos on Joe's computer. One made her blood run cold. Stephanie sat in a chair, holding a child wrapped in a pink blanket. Joyce flipped back to the picture of the girl. "Fuck! The fucking cunt keeps fucking with my fucking shitty life!" Joyce screamed. She pushed the keyboard, uncovering another picture. Tears ran down her face. A blue cap covered the head of a premature baby boy. "I'm not the first to give Joe babies." Joyce cried as she held the photo. Her tears landed on the image, causing the paper to bubble and distort the picture.
"I'm going to make that fucking cunt pay. Aunt Helen will help me," Joyce said. She went to her bedroom to pull on socks. Joyce ran down the stairs and slipped. Her legs flew from beneath her as she tumbled down the steps.
Joyce felt fluid pool between her legs as she lay at the base of the stairs, broken. She could feel the excruciating pain before her world turned black.
~~~~~~~~~~
The call for an ambulance chirped through the police radio. Joe's face paled when he heard his home address. "Joe, let me drive," Carl Costanza said when Joe ran from the TPD. Carl used his Kojak light to get the cars out of their way on the streets. He parked in the emergency drop-off zone.
Joe jumped from the car without thanking Carl for the ride. His mind wandered as every worst-case scenario filtered through his head. Joe's mother sat in the waiting area for Joe to arrive. She pulled Joe into her arms and cried. "I'm sorry, Joey."
"Is Joyce Morelli's family here?" the doctor asked. His scrubs were covered in blood. Joe and Angie Morelli stepped forward. "I'm sorry. Joyce and your daughter didn't make it. She lost too much blood." The doctor waited for them to calm down enough to add, "The paramedics found this in her hand." He gave the picture to Joe.
"What is it?" Angie asked.
"A picture of my son and daughter with Stephanie," Joe replied.