Disclaimer: The characters and settings we all know and love belong to Janet Evanovich. The plot, such as it is, and anyone you don't recognize belongs to me. Written strictly for enjoyment – so enjoy!

Chapter 3

I set our food out on the bar in the kitchen, thinking Julia would be more comfortable here than the dining table. I took the stool on the left to keep her on my right side. My left side was really starting to ache, and I knew I was going to have to look at it soon. I wanted to get Julia settled first. I thought about calling downstairs to tell them I was here but decided against it. Whoever was on watch would probably have seen me on the cameras and already reported to Ranger, anyway. I didn't know if anyone else knew about Ranger's daughter, except for possibly Tank, and I wasn't going to be the one that let that particular cat out of the bag.

It occurred to me as I watched Julia finish off her burger that I should probably see if I could get any useful information she might know before she went to sleep. Maybe even have her talk to a cop. It also crossed my mind that it'd be better all around if the kidnappers were in custody before Ranger got back to Trenton. They might live longer.

"Julia," I began tentatively. "Do you know much about what happened? Can you describe the man who had you?"

"I know a lot. Do you have some paper and a pencil?"

Well, hell. Where would Ranger keep that kind of thing? I checked a couple of kitchen drawers and found a small notepad and an ink pen.

"Actually," Julia continued as she picked at her fries, "I should probably tell a policeman. That's what Mamma and Dad always tell me. Are we in Trenton or Boston? Dad's mentioned a policeman in Trenton before, but I can't remember his name. Do you know anyone?"

"This is Trenton." Let me guess— "Was the cop's name Joe Morelli?" Did I want to know why or what Ranger had mentioned?

"Yeah, I think that sounds right. Do you know him?"

Yeah, you could say that. "I know him. I'll call him. Do you want me to take you to the police station, or would you rather have him come here?" Since Julia acted so mature and seemed to have a sensible head on her shoulders I gave her the choice.

She looked a little frightened at the thought of the police station. "Do you think he'd come here?"

"I think so." I flipped my phone out again and pressed another speed dial. "Hey, Joe," I said as soon as he answered. "Remember the phone call I told you about a few days ago?"

"Yeah. I haven't heard anything else, though. Have you?"

"I've found out a lot in the past hour, and I have someone that needs to talk to a cop. Can you come to the RangeMan building?"

"Sure. Give me a few minutes to get there. Where will you be?"

"Seventh floor. I'll either meet you in the garage or have one of the guys bring you up."

There was a little silence during which I remembered he didn't know about this apartment, then he said, "Okay."

I hope Ranger doesn't mind that someone else will know about this place. At least Joe can keep a secret.

"Joe will be here in a little bit." I said. I gave her the paper and pen. "Would you like to write anything down first so you don't forget?"

"Okay."

While Julia was thinking and writing, I called Tank's cell.

"Yo." I think all the Merry Men answer their phones the same way.

"Hey, Tank, it's me. Do you know Julia?"

"Yes."

"Good." I breathed a small sigh of relief. "Julia wants to tell a cop what she knows – her idea – so Morelli is coming over. Can you buzz him up the elevator, or have someone bring him up?"

"I'll go down and let him in the garage, and bring him up. Is she okay?"

"She's fine." I had to smile to myself, and added, "She's a lot like him, isn't she?"

Tank's reply was a short laugh before he hung up.

Julia had stopped eating or writing and looked on the verge of falling asleep sitting up.

"Are you finished eating?" I asked. She nodded. "Why don't you go rest on the sofa? If you go to sleep I'll wake you when Joe gets here, okay?"

She nodded, got down and headed straight for the sofa. She was probably asleep before she got her head down.

I tossed the trash and what was left of the fries but left the drinks on the counter. While I had a minute un-observed, I needed to see how bad the damage was to my side. I made a dash for the dressing room, grabbed a black t-shirt, and locked myself in the bathroom. Ranger kept a serious first-aid kit under the sink.

I had to take a deep breath before I could peel the sweatshirt and the tank underneath it off because they were partially stuck to me with dried blood. There was some blood on my jeans, too.

I told myself not to be a wimp and looked at my side. Ow. Ow, ow. Why hadn't I felt this? The bullet had grazed me just below the waist, leaving a long angry gash that looked almost like a really deep burn. Most of it had stopped bleeding until I pulled the shirt loose, but it was still seeping blood in the middle.

I cleaned most of the blood off the surrounding skin with a washcloth first, then I used an antiseptic from the kit to clean the wound. That hurt enough to make me light-headed and I had to sit on the toilet for a minute so the room would stop spinning before I could continue. Then I slathered antibiotic salve on a large gauze pad and taped it in place, hoping it wouldn't bleed any more.

Ranger's black t-shirt was big enough to hide the bulk of the bandage and long enough to cover the bloody spot on my jeans. With a little luck and the distraction of Julia, Joe wouldn't notice anything except that I was wearing Ranger's shirt.

I cleaned up my mess and rolled my discarded shirts up, cleanest parts out. I put the bundle beside my purse in the kitchen. I started to the living room to check on Julia when there was a soft knock on the door.

It was Joe, looking curious. Tank was waiting in the door of the elevator. He gave me a nod and stepped back, letting the doors close. I interpreted that as Tank-speak for "call me if you need me."

I motioned Joe inside and closed the door. Joe glanced around and was already starting to frown when he turned back to me. When he saw the t-shirt the frown deepened. I forstalled his questions by jumping right in.

"The call Ranger got was evidently about a kidnapping in Miami."

"How do you know?" he asked, successfully sidetracked.

"I sort of ran into the kidnappers," I explained. "The girl who was kidnapped is the one who needs to talk to you."

Pointing Joe into the kitchen, I went to wake Julia. She woke fairly easily, rubbed her eyes and stretched before getting to her feet.

"Joe," I started the introduction to get his attention, "This is Julia. Julia, this is Joe Morelli, Trenton Police Department."

Joe took a good look at her and his eyebrows shot up. After a moment he gave me a questioning look; I nodded. I hadn't been sure Joe would recognize the resemblance so quickly. It certainly saved a lot of explaining, although the look he gave me meant he'd be asking me more questions later.

I'd never seen Joe around many kids, but he was good with Julia. He gave her a smile and suggested we sit back down, then he took out a small voice recorder and explained that he would record everything. He gave her a grin and his badge when she asked to see his ID – just to be sure, she said. Then he got down to business.

He asked for her name and gave his information for the recording. Her last name was the same as Ranger's, which answered one of my many un-voiced questions. She gave her mother's name and stepfather's name, her address and phone numbers. Her mother was a Dade county commissioner, and her stepfather was an assistant district attorney. Her father, she said, had businesses in Miami, Trenton, and Boston, and did Joe know him?

That got me a dark look, but Joe told her yes.

Joe gently led her through everything she remembered about her abduction, the kidnappers, their vehicle, etc. She really did know a lot. She'd kept her wits about her and paid attention.

One man's name was Diego Sanchez, the other was named Edward something that sounded like 'matches'. They'd grabbed her during a school outing, which meant they'd probably been following her or planned ahead. The van was a blue Econoline, a 1987 model with lots of rust, Dade County Florida plates, and the taillights were out.

How did she know they were out? She'd unplugged them when they'd left her alone in the back. The wires were easy to reach because the interior had been gutted.

She even gave a fairly detailed description of both men including a tattoo one had on his forearm.

There were more questions that needed to be asked, but Julia was leaning heavily on me and yawning. The poor girl probably hadn't gotten much sleep in the past three days. Joe noticed and called a halt, telling Julia that she'd done an excellent job and had given him plenty to work with to get started. He would need to ask more questions but they could wait until later, and that if she remembered anything else to write it down for him.

Julia surprised both of us when she thanked Joe and held out her hand to shake his. He accepted the gesture with all due seriousness, then shot me a rueful grin over her head.

"Do you want to go to bed? Or would you like to take a shower first?" I asked softly as Joe finished writing something and reached for his phone.

"Shower first," she mumbled.

I led her into the bathroom, got her a towel and Ranger's robe. She didn't seem to like the smell of the Bulgari shower gel so I showed her the drawer Ella had filled with travel-sized shampoos, shower gels, etc. Another one of Ranger's t-shirts would do for her to sleep in. I was pretty sure my underwear wouldn't fit her – and besides, I didn't think I wanted her to know I had underwear at her dad's place – so I told her if she'd leave her underwear outside the door I'd wash it out for her, and to yell if she needed anything. Then I left her to it.

Joe was waiting in the living room.

"So, is this Ranger's place?"

"One of them – the only one I know of."

"Is this where you were hiding during the Slayer thing?" When I nodded, he asked, "How did you get in? The security seems pretty tight in this building."

"When Ranger left his truck for me to use, he left this key and fob on the chain. I back-tracked the GPS in the truck and figured out how the security fob worked."

Joe just looked at me, and I knew there were a dozen things going through his head that he wanted to say. Like that Tank and the others had to have known I was here, had Ranger known? And what happened after Ranger came back? But he didn't voice any of them, settling for "You realize that wasn't an accident."

I smiled, both for Joe's restraint and his quick take on what it had taken me a while to figure out. "Yes, I know. I guess he knew I would figure it out if I needed to."

"Is he on the way back from Miami?"

"He said he'd be here in four hours, and it's been nearly two."

"She's a sharp kid. With what she's given us we might catch these guys before the night is over. The taillights thing was really clever. How old is she?"

"Ten, I think."

"How long have you known?" His question was one I'd expected.

"A year and a half, maybe two years. He told me she was eight, and lived in Miami with her mother."

He reached up and tugged on a strand of my hair, bending down to give me a quick kiss. "I'll be going. Ranger should call me or bring her in to finish up a more formal statement later. Call me if you need anything."

I walked him to the door and went back to check on Julia. The shower was running and her panties and little sport-bra were outside the door. I washed them out and used the hair dryer from the dressing room to blow-dry the panties, then started on the bra. She came out of the bathroom before I was done and we moved to the bedroom. Although the elastic was still slightly damp around the waistband of the panties, she put them on anyway.

"Do you want me to dry your hair a little, or do you just want to sleep? R—Your dad should be back in a couple of hours."

She gave me an odd look. "You don't call him Ricky, do you?" Even tired, she managed to sound disapproving.

Ricky? Hmm. "Never," I assured her. I'd used the name his family used – Rico – a time or two, but never 'Ricky." I preferred to stay on Ranger's good side.

She wanted her hair dried, so I climbed on the bed, she sat cross-legged in front of me, and I started the dryer. Her hair was long and thick. Although it was much lighter in color than Ranger's, the texture was the same -- silky soft. I ran my fingers through it gently, working the tangles out, careful not to pull. When it was reasonably dry I turned the dryer off. Her eyes were closed and she was swaying.

I pulled the covers back on the huge bed and tucked her in, but when I moved away her voice stopped me.

"Where are you going?" She sounded younger now, and vulnerable.

"I'm going to watch TV and wait for your dad. I'll be right outside on the sofa. Is that okay?"

She opened her eyes briefly, as if to see if I was sincere. "Okay," she said finally.

I made myself a nest of pillows and turned the TV on low. After about half an hour I checked on Julia. She was curled on her side, completely conked out. I watched her sleep for a few minutes but she didn't show any signs of nightmares. Ranger's daughter was a pretty resilient kid.