Recap: Stephanie sees Joe as she drives away in his car. She considers using the car as bait, but can't get ahold of Ranger. Ranger is in the basement of the still being built Rangeman building, and misses her call. He comes upstairs to a call from Stephanie asking him to rescue her from the shower she's handcuffed to.
Stephanie
I don't think I've ever been more embarrassed in my life.
I had hoped parking the car a couple blocks away would delay Joe finding it. I had been unable to reach Ranger, and decided it would be much wiser to wait until I had him as backup. So I'd parked, removed the distributor cap, and hustled home, wincing in the now freezing rain. And then I'd slipped on the stairs to my apartment building, dropping the damn thing behind the bushes I had planned on hiding behind if I had gone through with my plan. Deciding that fate obviously meant it to be there, I'd given up on finding it and trudged up to my apartment.
To try and save money on heating, weeks ago I'd set the thermostat to 58, so the only real way to warm up had been by taking a hot shower. The warm water had been a balm to my frazzled soul, and I had finally warmed up and was starting to relax when my shower curtain was ripped open. And there stood Morelli, his eyes livid and his nostrils flared.
"Where is it?" he said in a tone that was filled with menace.
"Where's what? And what the fuck are you doing in my shower? How did you get in here?" I yelled at him, trying to cover myself with the torn remains of the curtain.
"Where is the distributor cap? I found the car. Did you think I didn't have a fob to set off the alarm? Took me less than 15 minutes. And the window, your fire escape is damn slippery in this weather."
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. "I don't have it." Which was sort of the truth.
"Fine." He grabbed my wrist and roughly handcuffed me to the shower bar. As I tried to free myself he grabbed my purse, dumping the contents onto the floor. Finding no cap he stormed out of the bathroom, and I heard him methodically tear my place apart. For once I was grateful that I had so little stuff, there wasn't that much to search. After what felt like hours, but was probably more like 20 minutes, he stormed back in.
"One last chance, where the hell is it?"
"I don't have it." I growled, with all the indignation of someone who was technically telling the truth.
"Fine. Stay there then."
"You're going to leave me here? Just let me starve to death?"
He stared at me. Stared at me in the same way he had when I was 16 at the Tasty Pastry. But I wasn't 16 anymore. I was an adult, he had invaded my home, and I was pissed.
"Shit." He dug in the detritus of my purse and pulled out my cellphone. He held it just out of reach, and I couldn't move because the handcuff was jammed closed in a decorative end of the shower bar, keeping me in place. "Stop following me, stop looking for me. You can't catch me. I can't clear my name if I'm stuck in jail, so stop making it harder for me to do that."
He put the phone on top of the toilet tank, just out of reach. "Find another line of work. You aren't cut out for this."
And then he left, out the front door.
I fumed for a moment, then set myself on the task of reaching the phone. It was a few inches beyond my grasp, so I grabbed a shampoo bottle and carefully, oh so carefully edged the phone closer to me, praying all the way it wouldn't fall off the tank onto the floor.
There was really only one choice about who to call. No way I'd let my dad see me naked. Same with cousin Vinnie. My best friend had kids and turned her phone off at night. I needed the respect of the police if I was going to be a bounty hunter, and didn't want to be gossip around the station for the next month. So of course I called Ranger.
It was a brilliant plan. Except that he still wasn't picking up. I texted him to call me as soon as he got the message. Then that it was an emergency. I called again. Left a message. Soon I was frantic. Morelli had left out the front door, and entered through the window. He hadn't fully closed either, and the cold air was filling the apartment as the crossbreeze circulated it. I was still wet from my shower, and my damp hair clung to my skin. I couldn't reach the taps to turn on hot water to add some heat to the room, so I just got colder.
So I called, and called, and called, desperate for him to pick up. I was about to give up and call 911 when he answered.
"Yo"
"Ranger!" I felt such a wave of relief my legs got wobbly.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
I didn't want to go into it. I just wanted it over with. "It's a long story. Short answer is, Morelli broke into my apartment and handcuffed me to my shower bar. Can you please come here and let me out?"
"I'm on my way. Are you hurt?"
Not exactly. Cold more than anything. "No, just upset and embarrassed. And besides, I'm naked."
"I'll be right there."
He hung up without saying goodbye, which struck me as rude, but I wasn't in a position to be picky. But the room was getting cold fast. I tried to cover myself with the curtain, the clammy plastic providing a modicum of protection against the air, but my mind was starting to get a little woozy. I wasn't running on adrenaline anymore, and there wasn't anything to do but wait for Ranger to get there. I hoped he wasn't too far away.
