Dawn Tracy
The characters you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. I'm just borrowing them for fun and pleasure.
Rating: R
Spoilers: HS through EOT CHAPTER TWELVEI knew Ranger went to a meeting with Jude Ames and he took Tank with him. I completed the searches in my box and mapped out the locations of Bruzniak's other construction sites. One was right beside Fennick's deli on Lowman Avenue. I called Lula and asked her to meet me for lunch.
Thinking I could hardly get into any trouble a block away from the office, I told the security guard I was going to grab lunch and I walked out the door.
"You know anything about the construction going on next door?" I asked Lula, after swallowing my first bite of provolone and roast beef.
"It's going to be a day spa. Place used to be a Laundromat." Lula answered.
After we finished eating I followed her outside. "I want to take a look at this construction site."
"What aren't you telling me?" Lula stood with her hands on her hips.
"It's business for Rangeman."
"You doing some detective work?" Lula asked.
"Kinda."
"Does Ranger know about this?"
"I'm going to surprise him."
Lula smiled. "Okay I'm game. If he gonna kill you, I wish I was in your shoes to take the punishment. Let's take a look."
We were hardly subtle walking down the street. Lula was wearing a spandex pink skirt and a pink sweater with a fur collar and three inch heeled pink sandals. From the front the place just looked like a building under construction. Scaffolding and tarps covered the front. A few construction workers in hard hats wandered in and out of the building doing their thing. We walked around to the back and a fence blocked our way.
"Hey, there's a hole in the fence." Lula pointed out. "Someone could fit in that hole and take a look. I'm not gonna be the one on account of I'm wearin' a skirt. I could stand look out though."
I peered through the hole. It was large enough for me to slide my body through. I did not see anyone working behind the building. This side was completely deserted. I could probably take a quick look and run back out without being detected. Probably. It was probably a stupid idea and Ranger would kill me when he found out what I did. Of course I was going to do it. Curiosity always gets the better of me.
"Don't leave me here. Call out if you see anyone." I instructed Lula.
I crawled through the opening in the fence, landing awkwardly on the other side. I heard a tearing sound and I was fairly sure my pants ripped but I didn't stop to look. I saw no one to notice my presence. Not a soul was in sight other than Lula. I stayed to the edges and looked around. It looked like the back of a building that was currently under construction. Building materials were stacked up waiting to be used. I saw storage lockers with locks on them. Several of them were large and looked like small sheds.
I saw a door. I assumed that led to the inside of the building. I rushed past it.
"Stephanie, you better come now." Lula's voice sounded insistent. I ran to the opening and dove threw it.
Men were watching from the road. We ran. I ran all the way back to the Rangeman building. The security guard looked at me oddly when I came in. I realized in addition to panting heavily I had blood on my arm and my pants leg was ripped. My arm did sting now that I noticed it. I must have cut it on the fence. I gave a quick finger wave and took the elevator to the seventh floor to change. Hopefully no one would report me to Ranger immediately.
"What have you been doing?" Ranger found me in the dressing room.
Jeez did the man have the place bugged or what?
"Um, you're not going to like this. But I went to take a look at one of Bruzniak's construction sites. It's right next to Fennick's deli. Just a block away."
"You went by yourself?"
"No, I went with Lula."
"Oh that makes me feel better. How did you cut your arm?"
"I must have done it when I climbed through the fence."
"I assume that's also how you ripped your pants." Ranger was trying not to grimace.
"Yeah."
"I realize that anything I say to you at this point on the subject is just going to aggravate both of us." He kissed me. "Let me see your arm."
My shirt was ripped so it was easy to take a look. "I'll have Ella come up and take care of this for you. She can take you to the hospital if it looks like you need stitches. I have to go talk to Barnes and Tartino."
"Again?"
"Yeah."
"About what?"
"I don't know. They called me and asked me to come down and talk to them this afternoon." Ranger looked at his watch. "I should go. Promise me you will stay put."
"Yes I will."
Ella decided I should go to the hospital for stitches. I felt like part of a small parade with Ella, Louis and Tank all escorting me. Two hours and six stitches later we were on the way back to Haywood St. I thought my story about getting caught in the backyard fence was quite convincing. Lucky for me no one working knew me and knew I didn't have a backyard either at my apartment or at Ranger's.
I was wondering if I could convince Louis to stop for donuts when a loud snapping sound jarred the air. I heard it again and the Explorer jerked out of the lane and almost hit a parked car.
"Duck. Cover your heads." Tank called out.
Ella put her body over mine. I realized we were being shot at. Tank and Louis both pulled out guns and peered cautiously out the windows.
"Stay down." Tank warned us. He picked up his cell phone and talked quietly.
We crouched waiting for what felt like an eternity. My neck felt cramped. Cars whizzed by us and finally Tank got out of the vehicle.
"They got the front left tire." Tank announced, getting back in the vehicle. "Ranger and Hal are on their way."
Two Explorers and a Porsche pulled up behind us. Police cars started to arrive on the other side of the road.
Ranger opened up my car door. I stepped out and into his arms.
"I think you have had too exciting a day babe."
"You can say that again." I put my head on his chest and just stood there.
"I'm sending Ella and Louis somewhere safe." Ranger told me when we were back at the apartment. "I would like you to go too."
I knew he was going to do this. He was going to go all security crazy. I would fight him on it. I wasn't going to be locked up.
"Ranger we are supposed to be living together. We're trying to be partners. We can't do that if I'm hiding in a safe house. It's very safe here. I want to be here with you."
He took a deep breath. "I don't know how safe anything is anymore."
"You can't keep the whole world safe."
"I don't want to keep the world safe. Just you and my family."
"I'm not going to the safe house unless you come with me. I want to stay where you are."
Ella came to give us hugs good-bye and she left us dinner.
"I saw Jude today and I think he's hiding something. He was very nervous when I talked to him about the bribes. Tank is going to talk to him with Wendy his wife tonight to see if he can get something more out of him." Ranger told me.
"Do you think it is possible he could have taken a bribe?"
"Anything is possible." His tone was grim.
"What happened with Barnes and Tartino?"
"They wanted to know more about where I was the night Ken Thomas was killed and if I knew him. They asked some questions about the party you and I went to. I think they were on a fishing expedition mostly. They asked me a lot of the same questions I've been asked already."
"Did you tell them about the shooting today?" I asked.
"Yeah I called them, but they don't think it's related."
"You should call Morelli."
"News travels fast, I'm sure he knows."
"I almost forgot." I said. " When I was searching further for Teddy Sanchez, I found out that he was in the same prison as Homer Ramos. When I did my initial search for him one of the newspaper articles mentioned that he may have done some work for the Ramos family. Do you think it is possible that they knew each other?"
Ranger looked at me. "Yes, I do think they know each other. They could be working together. Homer has been on the outs with his family for a while. The feds were worrying about a power play between Hannibal and Alexander. But their fighting is minor. Homer has been planning for a long time. Going to jail is probably just a minor set back for him."
"That is scary to think about." I said. I could still remember Homer standing in my apartment shooting me.
Ranger looked at me and our eyes met. I knew he was remembering the same thing.
"Homer's not getting out of jail for a long time." Ranger assured me.
We were having breakfast when Ranger's phone rang.
"Fuck. When? Where is he?" Ranger stood up quickly a look of shock on his face.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Tank was shot outside his condo this morning." Ranger answered, sounding like he did not quite believe it himself.
"Omigod. Is it bad?"
"He was hit in the shoulder. They are bringing him into surgery now."
"Are you going to go to the hospital?"
"Yeah."
"I'll go with you." I offered.
At the hospital we sat with Wendy, Tank's wife and waited for four hours while they operated. Ranger took and made phone calls. I ran into several people I knew both hospital staff and patients.
Wendy was tiny, about 5 feet three inches. But she seemed to have an attitude about her that said she could hold her own in any situation like I would expect for the wife of a big lug of a man like Tank. I would have been falling apart if I were in her place. She seemed upset, but mostly angry.
"This is all Jude's fault." She told Ranger. "He thought he could bring your men in and they would save his ass. But he was being stupid."
"What are you talking about?" Ranger asked her.
"These men were coming to Jude and offering him money." Wendy said. " They wanted him to look the other way when they brought certain shipments through. He said no, but he let the man keep talking to him and the man got to threatening him. So finally he agreed. Jude thought that if he brought you in that you would never stand for something like that and you would stand up to the criminals. "
"Jude never mentioned this to me." Ranger said.
"No" Wendy said. "He was waiting for you to be approached by them. I guess he figured there was no point in drawing attention to himself."
"How long have you known about this?"
"I guessed that something was going on, but I didn't know for sure until me and Tank bullied it out of him last night."
Tank came out of surgery fine and Ranger went in to see him for a minute. We went back to the Rangeman offices.
I touched his arm. "Tank is going to be fine. Don't worry. It is not your fault."
"Are you a mind reader now?"
I grinned. Good to know I had a little of that ESP thing too. "Maybe sometimes. You are too hard on yourself. Tank would not want you to be blaming yourself. He is not the kind of guy who expects to be taken care of is he?"
"I guess you are right about that."
"Once you told me that if I wanted you to be superman that I should spend a night with you. Maybe you should keep your superhero aspirations in the bedroom."
Ranger laughed. "What are you saying? I should retire and spend the rest of my life pleasuring you?"
"Hmm, that wasn't what I meant but that does sound like fun."
Later that night with a takeout pizza and beer we sat making lists of our clues.
"I think that Smith was running guns through his messenger service on a small time basis to local Slayers. This is how the Sanchez brother got the Slayers hooked on their service. They brought the guns in through Bruzniak construction sites and then the messengers would pick them up from there." Ranger told me.
"But why kill Rodney Smith?" I asked.
"Hannibal or Alexander could have done it because they feel threatened." Ranger said.
"Won't someone else just keep the operation going?"
"I'm sure they will but it may take time to transfer things."
"So Perry Bruzniak must be involved in this somehow. Do you think Ken Thomas knew what was going on?"
"Its very likely. He was a foreman and had run of all the construction properties."
"There was another name on your list, Ken Wesetern. What about him?"
"I think he may have done one or some of the killings. He is a friend of Teddy Sanchez."