Chapter Twenty Three

"I forgot that I wanted to talk to you about something," I explained as Ranger exited the bathroom. "Do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure, Babe. What's up?" He continued dressing in the day's uniform of black tee with black sweatshirt and black jeans. I was going to comment about the jeans, but left it alone.

"When I was talking to Anna last night, she mentioned a cop that she worked with who had a thing for her. I know it's a long shot, but maybe we should check him out. Suppose he found out about Morelli?"

Ranger looked at his watch. "Sound like more than a long shot, Babe. Are your spidey senses tingling again?"

He teased me about my gut feelings, but I knew that Ranger took them seriously. "Nothing too extreme, but for some reason it caught me attention. Maybe you can tactfully find out the guy's name and I can run some searches."

"Sure. How about joining me for lunch today? I wanted to show you the houses that I thought we could consider. I saw them yesterday and they both have possibilities."

Oh boy, he was serious about moving out of the office building. My heart was skipping beats and I wasn't sure if it was because of joy or terror.

"Earth to Babe," Ranger joked. "Look, they're just houses. Don't let the idea of moving into one with me freak you out. We can take things as slowly as you want."

"Sorry, Ric. It's a big move for us. Are you sure about this? I mean, you went from your life not lending itself to relationships to a house in the suburbs. I'm not out to change who you are, and I don't want you to change me." I hoped I was making sense.

"Stephanie, we love each other, right?"

"Speaking for myself, yes. I love you."

"And I love you, so stop worrying. We both need to accept that things change and people change. Maybe I'm not the same Ranger that helped you become a bounty hunter and you aren't the same Stephanie who blackmailed Vinnie into a job. We both have grown."

Wow, I thought. Batman could be pretty deep.

"Not Batman, Babe. Just Ric." He kissed me passionately and held me tight.

"You're right. We have changed, but I still don't know about the house in the suburb thing."

Ranger grinned. "Don't worry. I think I can change your mind."

He left for a series of meetings that involved his accountant and lawyer. I agreed to meet him in the garage at noon for our field trip to look at possible homes. That gave me a few hours to spend on tracking down this Brian from Richmond. While Ranger would make inquiries of Anna, I decided to backdoor it with Lester.

I found Lester watching some monitors in the control room. He had the late shift and was just getting ready to get off work.

"Les," I shouted across the room. "Can I see you in the kitchen?"

There were all kinds of snide remarks to Lester about hanging out with me, but I knew they were good-natured ribbing between coworkers. If I thought that any of the guys were seriously mocking me behind my back, I would have gotten even long ago. Ranger has instilled in his men that I was to be protected. They treated me with respect for the most part and I felt comfortable with them.

"Les, I have a question for you. Did you know about a guy by the name of Brian who was interested in Anna. He's also a cop?"

Lester considered the request for a moment and then it was as if a light bulb went off over his head. "Yeah, sure. I remember her telling me about him. Never met him personally, but yeah, I recall the name."

"Do you remember his last name?" I had my fingers crossed. Please let him remember. It would save me so much time.

"How could I forget, it was so common. Did you know that Johnson was the most common sir name in the country? Well, maybe that's change now, but it used to be." Lester seemed lost in thought.

So it was Brian Johnson. I now could run through several databases. "Thanks for the chat, Les. Have a great day," I patted him on the arm as I left the kitchen.

I ran several inquiries through the databases that Rangeman had access to. The name popped up in several places. I was able to review his service record. I printed out the good parts and started a file. I had learned over the past several months that there was a reason for the paperwork procedures. Ranger was a stickler about the details. I continued to run the searches that filled my in-box until I felt a familiar presence behind me.

"Don't tell me, I'm late." I knew Ranger was standing behind me.

"Okay, Babe, I won't tell you. Can you hurry it up?"

Ranger took me to the garage and chose the Porsche for today's field trip. He drove in general silence until I finally asked about the houses.

"So, are you going to tell me anything about these places?" I questioned.

He looked over at me only briefly, his eyes rapidly returning to the road. "What do you want ot know?"

"The ususal, how many bedrooms; what kind of bathroom? Does it have a yard?" I tried to sound casual, but I was a bit nervous still.

"Do we need a yard, Babe?"

I knew what he was implying. "Well, we might not need one now, but we might want one later. Better to be prepared, right?"

I got a grin at that one. "You know, Babe, you're right. Better to be prepared."

We drove into a gated community and ended up in the back of the development at another gated property. Ranger used a key card and got us through the gate. I wasn't prepared for the size and grandeur of the home we parked in front of . It was huge. It was a two story, stone covered Tudor style home. It almost looked out of place, as if it belonged on an English countryside.

"My god, Ric, this place is huge." I tried not to stare, but it was a bit overwhelming. "You think we could live here?"

"You'll like the inside, Babe. It's nice."

Okay, there's another one of those understatement's that he's so good at producing. He took me by the hand and led me into the foyer. It was very formal. I noticed that the place was furnished.

"Does someone live here now?" Maybe we were just touring the open housekind of thing.

"No, the house is being sold with the furnishings. The owners relocated overseas and didn't want to take everything. There are things we still have to provide."

He guided me through the first floor, before leading me upstairs. All the rooms were beyond spacious. It was a real mansion. There were servants quarters even. Ranger explained that the basement could be turned into a gym. There was a library which could serve as his office. When we finally made it to the master bedroom, I saw him pause at the doorway.

"Babe, I think you are going to like this. Wait until you see the master bath." With that he led me into the bedroom of my dreams.

I stood in awe of the beauty of the room. It wasn't just the furniture, but it was the way the light reflected of f the walls, the view from the terrace. It was so spacious that it made my apartment seem like a sardine can. Even Ranger's apartment couldn't hold a candle to this room.

"Well, Babe? What do you think?" He was looking around the room himself.

"Oh, Ric, it's wonderful," I sighed, "but the place is so big for two people and it has to cost a fortune."

Ranger laughed. "Well, it's not cheap, but we can handle it. As far as the size, I was thinking that we needed to have room for us and Elena. Of course, some of the guys would stay from time to time. Naturally, we might want extra rooms in case we ever decide to use the yard."

I laughed. "One of these days, we really have to talk seriously about the yard thing."