Chapter 12:

Khari raced to the coffee shop. He briefly thought about calling Shiloh and asking her to meet them there. He'd told himself that he didn't want to take the time to call her and that she could probably benefit from a few extra hours of sleep. In the back of his mind he admitted to himself that he didn't want to introduce her to Aziza. He couldn't quite pinpoint the reason but there was something hostile within Shiloh. Khari knew that it was more than that. There was something about her that he just didn't quite trust.

Khari cursed as he circled the block near the county morgue and couldn't find a parking spot. When he finally found a spot he parked at an angle not wanting to take the time to straighten his SUV. He ran to the coffee shop to find Aziza sitting outside at a table waiting for him. She had ordered a latte for herself and a regular coffee with double sugar and double cream for him. Khari couldn't help smiling at how she'd remembered the way he liked his coffee. He fell into a chair conscious of the sweat that gleamed on his ebony skin.

"Thanks for meeting me. I know that this is a risk for you," he said when he caught his breath.

"No problem." He could have sworn that she was blushing. "I kind of worried about all these people dropping at Rangeman. I can't help but think..." She looked up at him and stopped speaking. He smiled warmly.

"Nothing is gonna happen to me, I promise you. I just want to wrap this up. I know that Ranger and Lester's deaths weren't accidents and I know I should be watching my back. I really appreciate the trouble that you're going to on this." Khari was aching to know what had happened to Baron but didn't want to rush Aziza. She seemed to read him and got down to business.

"Someone went to a lot of trouble on this one but wound up rushing it. The kill was quick. To me that shows that someone cared if he suffered. The wound is through the back and through the heart. He would have died within a minute. The rest of it...brace yourself, Khari," she said reaching across the table and grasping his hand. He took a deep breath and nodded. "The killer did not want this victim identified quickly. He pulled his teeth and attempted to slice the skin off of his face. The subject is missing a huge chunk of his left forearm and the killer sliced off fingertips. That's where he got sloppy. He missed part of a fingertip and we got a partial print. As Mr. Brown has been arrested we were able to quickly identify him."

"Shit," Khari said sincerely. He tried to absorb the information and was not liking the visual picture that it painted.

"I'm sorry, Khari, but you're dealing with someone who might just be killing for fun. This seems to be a game to him. He left the knife embedded in the base of his victim's spine. He had tried to filet the body like a fish but must have been interrupted." Khari drank the rest of his coffee quickly, the hot liquid burning the back of his throat. He stared at the bottom of the empty cup.

"Were there any drugs in his system?" Khari asked.

"Labs aren't back but if there were drugs they weren't what killed him," Aziza said. Khari appreciated the way that her eyes were shining. He hadn't been close to Baron in recent years but it still hurt to lose him like that.

"Has the next of kin been notified?" Khari asked.

"The next of kin is listed as Bobby Brown. We've tried to contact him but haven't had any luck. Maybe you know where he is?" Aziza looked hopeful.

"I'm sure I could track him down. You have time for another latte?" Khari stood and Aziza had to crane her neck to see his face.

"Sure." Khari walked into the shop and ordered a latte and coffee. He was waiting for his order when he saw Aziza take a piece of paper from a man and smile at him. Bastard was probably giving her his phone number, he thought. Sort of thing probably happened to her all the time when she was out with other guys - but then they weren't out together. His heart sank as he realized that Aziza was free to date whomever she pleased and probably did. One date didn't constitute a relationship for him why should it for her? He turned his mind back to the case.

When he made his way back to the table she looked up at him and he saw the worried expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked checking instantly for the small caliber handgun that he kept strapped in a shoulder holster. She opened her mouth to speak and then stopped.

"Are you carrying a gun?" she asked in a hushed whisper.

"Yes," he admitted.

"Why do you carry a gun?"

"Protection," he answered.

"Bullshit," she said flatly. "There is never a reason to carry a gun."

"Aziza, you work on the reason to carry a gun. If Baron had been carrying he'd..." he began.

"Still be dead," she finished.

"But maybe you'd have some blood with which to identify the other person." Khari hadn't meant to sound so irritated but she had no right to question his right to bear arms.

"Maybe or maybe not." She stood and tossed the piece of paper on the table. "Some guy came up and asked me to give this to you. I'll see you around, Khari."

"Aziza, wait," Khari pleaded. She turned around. "You must understand why I carry a gun."

"No, Khari, I don't," she turned and headed toward the morgue. He sighed heavily. Of all the issues to come between them basic protection had seemed the least likely.

"I'll call you," he called with typical male selective understanding. Aziza didn't turn or acknowledge him at all.

Joe had brought Stephanie home. She chose to ensconce herself on the couch among throw pillows happily eating ice cream. The price for the ice cream had been that she would try not the speak. She wasn't doing a great job.

"Do you want some help, Joe?" she asked. She was leaning over the end of the sofa so that she could see into the dining room.

"No thanks, Cupcake, just sit back and eat your ice cream. Didn't you swear to me that if I bought you some Ben and Jerry's you would never speak again? I knew the deal was too sweet to be true." He was staring at Ranger's phone records. Ranger had several calls in to his lawyer. The lawyer said that Ranger had constantly made appointments to change his will and just as constantly canceled them. Sometimes he canceled the appointments as little as five minutes after making them. He picked up the phone and dialed.

"I'm bored, Joe," Stephanie called.

"Read a book, Cupcake," he suggested.

"I have a better idea," she called. She appeared in the doorway of the dining room wearing his baseball shirt. He groaned and looked down at his paper. A receptionist answered the phone and he asked to speak with Nico Marachelli, Ranger's lawyer in the Burg. Joe had known Nico since they were kids. Stephanie made her way over and attempted to straddle Joe in the chair.

"Nico!" Joe said when his friend answered. He was trying desperately to keep his voice even. "I know the will reading isn't for a couple of weeks but I was wondering if you could break some rules for me."

"Not sure I can do that, Morelli. You got a court order on this one?" Nico's Jersey accent was more Bronx. Joe knew that he'd never spent more than a few weeks at a time in the city so never could understand how his accent had become so thick. Seemed odd for a man to affect an accent at Nico's age. On the other hand Nico was known as the Grizolli's lawyer and probably felt that the New York accent was good for business.

"No, personal favor. I need to know how Manoso would have changed his will. Why call you all those times to change it only to cancel?" Nico sighed heavily.

"This is strictly confidential, man. My clients know I'm feeding the cops I lose the business. Maybe more."

"Sulla vita della mia madre," Joe swore.

"Shit, Joe, you're a braver man than I am. Don't let your mama hear you going around swearing on her life," Nico said reverently. "I asked him once why he was doing it and he said that he had this chick who he'd promised to bequeath his business. He said that she always made him a little nervous at the way she insisted and sometimes he had to call the office to make an appointment for her to give it up. She wanted to see it in writing and he obviously couldn't produce it. He finally asked me to make a fake will to show her."

"Did you?" Joe asked.

"Hell, yea. He was a big client and he paid me well to do it. I wasn't gonna turn him down," Nico said incredulously. "I was gonna call you anyway. The reading is this Friday and your chick needs to be there?"

"Stephanie?" he asked. He'd been temporarily distracted by her sucking on his earlobe. She stopped and stared at him.

"No, Bella...Stephanie, who else? You got some other chick you didn't tell anyone about?" Nico asked. "Friday 1pm. Be there." The other end of the line went dead. Joe held Stephanie with one hand on each side.

"I need to call Khari and then we need to talk about why you'd be in Ranger's will."

Shiloh's phone rang and she rubbed her eyes before sitting up in bed to answer it.

"Hey,"

"Hi, Shiloh. It's Khari."

"What's up, Khari?" she asked blearily.

"I'm gonna be late picking you up," he said. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was 11:30am. "A road crew found Baron early this morning. He was dead. I'm trying to find Bobby right now. I'll give you a call and let you know what I find. Meet me at Joe's house at 5:00pm, okay?"

"Okay," she answered lying back. "I'm sorry to hear about Baron. It must have happened just after we left."

"Yea, it's all kinda scary, you know?"

"Yea, it is," she agreed. "I'll see you later."

"Okay, and Shi?"

"Yea?"

"Be careful," Khari's voice had a serious edge that caused Shiloh to shiver.

"No worries here," she said trying to add a smile to her voice. She hung up the phone and stared at the ceiling. Bobby Brown had been lying next to her in bed and brought himself up on one elbow. It was too dark for Shiloh to see the expression on his face. He silently hovered over her.

"Baron has been found dead," she said with a slightly mournful tone to her voice. She reached up and caressed Bobby's cheek.

"Has he now?" Bobby asked. His smile expanded in the dark so that he looked like the Cheshire cat.