Recap: Ranger rescues Stephanie from the shower, where she has been suffering from hypothermia. He then enjoys warming her up, in the way that the scene really should have gone in the book.

Stephanie

I woke to the sound of paper rustling. I managed to pry my eyes open to see Ranger with a folder on his lap, reading by moonlight.

"What time is it?" I mumbled, my eyes too blurry to look at the clock.

"It's about 4AM. I hope you don't mind, the Morelli file was on the counter."

"I don't mind. Hope you'll have better luck with it than me."

He flipped through it some more. "So Morelli shoots Ziggy Kuleska, claiming he had a gun. But no gun is found. He was at Carmen Sanchez's apartment, but she hasn't been seen since, and has probably skipped town. If you want to catch Morelli, you might want to follow the people involved with Ziggy. If he's still in town he's looking for someone to clear him. Otherwise he'd be in Brazil right now."

"OK sounds good. Who would you recommend I start with?"

"Ziggy hangs out at a gym on Stark Street, runs errands for Benito Ramerez. You heard of him?"

"Boxer, right? Trenton's own budding Mike Tyson."

"That's him. If anyone knows what Ziggy was up to it will be him. And the witness Morelli claims was there might be connected as well."

"Didn't the body camera footage show if there was a gun or not?"

Ranger huffed. "Only patrol units have them. Not the detectives. So no video. And he was driving his personal vehicle, so not even a dash cam of the building."

I pondered a moment. "So tomorrow I should check out the gym where Ramerez practices."

Ranger nodded. "I'd like to go with you, but I have some stuff during the day. I'll give you a call when I'm done."

I nodded, then looked at the clock. "Could you spend the rest of the night? In case Morelli comes back?"

Ranger grinned. "I can stay for a bit, but I have to head out before too long. Do you want me on the couch or the bed? Can't make any promises about letting you sleep if I'm next to you."

That was the easiest decision I had made in a long time. I lifted the covers. "Hop on in."

I did not regret that choice in the slightest.


I woke to the sun shining in my face, but no Ranger. There was a note on the bedside table though.

"Had to get some work done. Please wait for me to go with you before checking out Benito Ramirez. I'll call when I can join you. -R"

I lay back on the pillow, still basking in the glow from the night before. I was warm under the comforter, warmer than I had been in weeks. Then I realized that the apartment was sweltering. I leapt out of bed and ran to the thermostat. It was set to 80. No wonder I was so hot. I pushed it back down to 58, just warm enough to make the apartment habitable. Ranger must have raised it while I was suffering from hypothermia.

My bed was calling to me, and I wanted so much to snuggle into it, and enjoy being actually warm and cozy. But heat wasn't free, and I'd need to pay for it by catching a skip. So I called Connie. "Hey, got anyone for me?"

"How's the Morelli hunt going?"

I groaned to myself. "I have a lead. Going to check it out with Ranger later. In the meantime, I was hoping there was something small I could do myself? Maybe something in a non-violent crime?"

I heard her shuffling papers. "I got one for ya. William Earling, old guy who hates wearing pants. Got in trouble for indecent exposure. And hey, looks like he lives in your building! That'll be good for a bit of quick cash. I'll scan and email you the paperwork."

I took a deep breath. You can do this Stephanie.

Five minutes later I was dressed and at his front door. I knocked and waited. He was home, I could hear the television. I knocked louder, then banged on the door. It opened with a jerk.

"What do ya want? I'm not deaf you know."

He was naked. Aside from glasses and a pair of worn slippers he wasn't wearing a thing. I stood there, gawping for a moment, before managing to get my thoughts straight, and my eyes lifted to his. "I, um, work for your bail agent. You missed your court date, and we have to reschedule."

"Ok, so reschedule me. But I have to go, Wheel of Fortune's on, and I think I've got the puzzle solved." He swung the door shut. I jammed my foot next to frame right as he was closing it, causing it to bounce painfully off my sneaker-clad foot.

"Oww!" I cried, surprised the old guy had that much strength in him. I needed to wear more solid shoes if I was going to keep doing this.

"Sorry chicky, didn't see your foot there." he said, an actual note of apology in his voice.

"I think you broke it." I was exaggerating, but hoping the guilt would get him to cooperate. "Look, this won't take long. We just go down to the station and reschedule you, Vinnie bails you out again, and you're home in time for Jeopardy."

"I suppose that wouldn't be so bad, seeing as I did hurt you. But I'm not putting on any pants! I'm old, I'm retired, and I don't have to wear pants anymore!"

If he had worn pants none of this would have happened to begin with. "You don't want to leave the house naked. It's freezing out there. How about a bathrobe? Do you have a bathrobe? That would be comfortable and keep you a little warmer, but wouldn't be pants."

He pondered a moment. "I suppose a bathrobe would be OK." He shuffled off, returning a moment later with a threadbare robe that barely got to his thighs. Then we waited forever while the elevator came, since he said his knees couldn't take the stairs. Quite frankly I didn't want to jostle his skimpy outfit any more than necessary anyway.

Then we got to the lobby I scanned the parking lot, looking for the Jeep. Then I groaned.

"What's wrong?" asked William.

"I parked a couple blocks away."

"I'm not walking out in that weather! I'm in just a bathrobe!"

Like that's my fault. "OK, you wait here. I'll go get the car. And don't leave until I get back!"

I had gotten about 10 feet out the door when I remembered that I had to get the distributor cap out of bushes where I had dropped it. But when I turned around I saw him shuffling back to the elevator. I rushed back in. "What are you doing?"

"Going back to watch Wheel Of Fortune."

"No, you said you would come with me to reschedule your court date."

"I'm not waiting here while you go gallivanting all around town."

I was torn. I had my handcuffs in my bag. But if I cuffed a senior, I'd look like a bully. And since I was in my own building, that could actually cause some real problems. I didn't want Ben-gay smeared on my doorknobs.

"OK, here's the deal. You stay in the lobby, and when we are on the way to the station I'll get you a coffee from Wawa. But if you leave, or give me any problems, no coffee."

He looked thoughtful. "I suppose that would work. But hurry up, I'm not standing around here all day. I got things to do, and not too much longer to do them!"


It took longer to find the car than I had expected. The road was still slippery with ice, and it took forever to clean the distributor cap, since it was crusted with ice after a night outside. It was half an hour by the time I puttered back to the building. I nearly jumped for joy when I saw he was still sitting in the lobby, chatting with Mrs. Mullins, a widow with such poor eyesight she couldn't tell he was sitting with his legs spread and Mr Winky hanging out.

"Time to go!" I said, staring at the ceiling, trying to protect my eyes from the sight.

"Where are you going?" Mrs. Mullins asked. "We were having such a nice chat."

"Wawa" I said before Earling could spill the beans. "I said I'd get him some coffee." I hoped he wouldn't blow my story. I really didn't want ben-gay on my doorknob.

"That's so nice. Isn't it nice to see young people helping their elders, William?"

"Yes, very nice" I muttered as I shooed him to the car.


The Wawa, a chain of convenience stores combined with a deli, was warm and familiar, but something was niggling at the back of my head. Something out of place. Then I spotted it. Next to the display of TastyKakes was a new sign advertising the latest item the store stocked. "Tru Blood, Next Best to the Real Thing!" the sign boldly proclaimed. I studied the stack of bottle six-packs, proudly listing the blood types. I guess those had different flavors?

"Something you want to tell me Stephanie?" I heard behind me, making me jump. It was Carl Costanza, my friend and cousin-in-law. I gave him a hug.

"Just looking. Is it true vampires are real?"

Carl shrugged. "That's what the briefing we got at the station said. Honestly, it would explain some stuff I've seen over the years."

"Stuff like what?"

"You don't want to know. Let's just say I've seen some shit I really didn't want to see."

A horn honked outside and I could see his partner Big Dog waving from the car in the parking lot. Carl waved to me and walked out. "See you later Steph."

I got two coffees with the change at the bottom of my purse. Luckily Connie told me I could get paid right after I brought Earling in, no need to wait for payday. Shockingly, he was still in the car when I got back. He sipped the coffee and sighed. "That's the good stuff. Way better than the stuff Mr. Coffee makes."

I imagine it was also better than jailhouse coffee, but I decided not to mention that as I pulled out of the parking lot.

I dropped him off at the station, then took my body receipt to Connie. She wrote me a check for $50, and even offered to cash it for me. I left grinning, and tried to decide what to do next. The money in my pocket was nice, but wouldn't pay the rent. I needed to find Morelli. But the only lead I had was Benito Ramirez, and I was going to wait for Ranger before I attempted to talk to him.

I went to the power company and handed over $30, forestalling having my electricity cut off for at least the next week. The bills were piling up on my dining room table, but this was the one that had the most FINAL NOTICE stamps on the envelopes, so I figured it was the closest to getting cut off. Then I puttered, waiting for Ranger to call. I shivered a bit, thinking back to the night before. Ranger was...magic was the only work I could come up with. The night before was far better than any of the nights I was with Dickie. Possibly better than all of them combined.

Focus Stephanie. Fantasizing about the amazing sex you had last night won't catch Morelli.

I needed to find something to do that was productive before Ranger called. He hadn't given me a time. I considered texting, but didn't want to seem needy.

Finally I decided to do some research. I'd hocked my laptop a while ago, as well as my cell phone, so I went to the library. In 5 minutes I had a library card and was researching online. There wasn't a lot about Joe Morelli I didn't already know. The initial shooting had garnered some press attention, and Morelli had only been charged after large amounts of public pressure. But all the articles repeated the same info. So I switched subjects and Googled Benito Ramirez. Mostly I got stuff from the sports pages, glowing puff pieces that told me almost nothing. Honestly, it all seemed a little too polished. No guy who makes a living by beating the crap out of people can be squeaky clean, can he? Otherwise why would Ranger want to go with me to talk to him so much?

I was halfway through yet another article detailing his fitness routine when my phone buzzed, causing me to jump. I scampered outside, brazing against the cold temperature as the sun dipped below the horizon. "Hey Babe. You ready to go talk to bad guys?"

"Sure. Though I can't actually find anything bad about Benito Ramirez online."

Ranger paused for a moment. "There are rumors about him. But any time an allegation gets made, the witness stops talking. Sometimes they disappear. So nothing gets proven."

I shuddered.

"You sure you want to do this?"

I didn't really have a choice. "Yeah. Let's get it over with. Meet me at the Cluck-in-a-Bucket on Stark."


Ranger

I had a bad feeling about this. Nothing I could put my finger on, but still, something niggled at the back of my brain. Stephanie seemed nervous too. I'd worked out a plan, which usually calmed me down. But the idea of her in danger at all was really bothering me.

Still, I pushed my nervousness down as I pulled into the parking lot of the Cluck-in-a-bucket. I looked around. No POS car with graffiti. No red Jeep either. I went inside and decided to order. She'd be more likely to take food from me if it was already on the table. I found a booth next to a wall instead of a window and waited.

5 minutes later she walked in, looking like a goddamned angel in a stretchy t-shirt and jacket. I felt a momentary tightening in my pants as I remembered being with her the night before. The feel of her skin, her hair, her…

"Hey Ranger. So how do we do this?"

I pushed the Clucky-meal towards her. I'd opened it and moved the food around, but not actually eaten anything. She hesitated only a moment before grabbing a wing.

"Ramirez is probably more likely to talk to you if I'm not there. I would be perceived as a threat."

"And I wouldn't, I assume?"

How to phrase it and not be insulting?

"That may be one of your biggest assets. People will talk if they are comfortable. I don't make them comfortable."

She looked at me from beneath long lashes. "I don't know, I feel pretty comfortable around you. Safe. Warm. Protected. Like nothing could hurt me."

She was the only one who felt that way about me. And my pants were getting uncomfortable again. "Let's just say skips tend to see a different side of me." I ran one finger down the back of her hand, feeling the veins beneath.

She laughed. "Glad to know I'm special." She had no idea. "So, I waltz in there and start asking questions about Ziggy?"

I nodded. "Essentially. Though I'm going to be listening in." I pulled a wireless microphone out of my pocket. "You go in the front, I'm going to sneak in the back. You wear this and I can keep track of what's going on, even if you can't see me. The range on the transmitter is 2 miles, though I shouldn't ever be more than a couple hundred feet away."

She nodded, looking worried.

"You don't have to do this. There are other ways to make money."

She shook her head. "I'm going to do this. Show me how to work the mic."