Chapter 37
SPOV
I couldn't believe I was flying, I mean why did Ranger think it was such a good idea after our last experience had ended in disaster? Okay it wasn't a long flight and maybe we were in a private jet courtesy of Art, you know who I mean, the colonel. I fingered the necklace around my neck as I thought of him remembering when he had given me the necklace for one of my birthdays, maybe my fifth. On the chain was a small figure of a monkey because of our love for the books, Curious George, and how Art would make his visits an adventure. After that birthday he didn't visit very often and eventually I never saw him again, until yesterday. Whilst it had been good to finally catch up with him, I knew that now we had a lot to do and that there might still be some danger involved.
But I couldn't understand why I might be in danger still. The information from Jackson had been passed to the relevant agencies so a lot of people knew everything that I did, or did I know something and didn't realize it? Maybe I was quiet on the flight and maybe Ranger and my father thought it was because I was feeling anxious, I was, feeling anxious that is, but I was trying to go through in my head everything that had happened. That took some concentration because a hell of a lot had happened. I was trying to figure out when I had been on my own and maybe saw something or overheard something that could be important.
The problem was there were too many times when that had happened. What I needed to do was to go back to the beginning, the incident that had happened at the jewelers in Trenton and then the information from Jackson. At least I'd be at this house that Ranger had talked about. I couldn't wait to see it, to know where it was. Though I was confused how I could be part owner if there were records of it.
I looked down as my father's hand took hold of mine so knew I needed to pay attention to him.
"Ironic that we're flying again but I also did say to you if you fell off your bike then you had to get right back on it"
I smiled at his analogy remembering him saying that to me but being in a helicopter crash was a bit more serious than falling off your bike.
"Does mum know where you've been?"
Knowing that she wouldn't be pleased if she knew that he was meeting with Arthur.
"Yes, I told her that I needed to meet with him and that I'd be gone for a couple of days. She didn't like it of course, but maybe these past few weeks have shown me that I can't let her continue to control my life"
I raised my eyebrows at hearing that not really knowing why he would say that.
"How does she do that?"
"Everything has to be on her terms. She has a picture in her head of how things should be, just like she has for you. I've let her get away with it for far too long. I never realized at the time how she built a barrier between you and me, how she stopped us from doing all those fun things. Arthur reminded me of how we were and what I'd lost. So no more sneaking behind her back in case it upsets her or agreeing with everything that she says"
Wow, I never thought I'd hear my father admit to that. Then again, I'd never really seen how my mother controlled his life, no wonder he was always so quiet and never did anything that would upset her. She was in for a few surprises then.
It was evening by the time that we landed and the three of us walked down the steps of the airplane. The other men were driving the cars back from Washington in the hope of distracting anyone from where I would be so I wasn't sure how we were going to be getting back to Trenton. Imagine my surprise when two taxis were sat waiting for us and as my father greeted the drivers. I was pretty sure the two men were ones who worked with my father so maybe he'd arranged for us to be picked up. Only it didn't quite work out like that. I watched as my father and both drivers disappeared in one of the taxis leaving Ranger and I with the other one. I suppose that way no one would know where we were going, and a taxi was a pretty good way to travel undetected.
Ranger drove with me sat in the back to continue the illusion of us being in a taxi. I knew that he was being very thorough to ensure that no one was following us and as we moved away from the built up area surrounding the airport and onto unlit roads it became easier. I wasn't sure where we were, but I could feel the excitement building when Ranger pulled off the road onto a narrow, graveled track. It wasn't long before a gate was blocking our way that was opened when Ranger lowered his window.
"Retinal scan opens the gate and any access into the property. Yours has already been uploaded"
"How?"
Because as far as I knew I'd never been aware of that happening.
"Hector, he's used one of the cameras to collect a retinal scan of all employees because we're looking at using them for access into certain parts of the building"
I suppose it was safer than using fobs that could be lost or stolen. I didn't let what he'd said distract me as he stopped once more in front of what looked like garage doors. As the door behind the car closed lights came on illuminating a pristine area that could house several cars. At the moment Ranger's big Ford truck was the only one parked here. I opened the door to get out, too impatient to wait for Ranger to do it and met him in front of a white door.
"Stand in front of that screen and press the button"
I did as he said, a bit wary as a red line passed over my eye but pleased when a clicking sound came from the door, allowing me to open it. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, maybe a modern slick property or even an old fashioned styled place with antique furnishings. As I stepped into a room the lights came on giving me my first view of what the bat cave looked like. I had to blink to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating because I just wasn't expecting to see what I was seeing.
Wood, everywhere was wood. The floors, the walls and even the ceiling. It was like walking into a cabin in the woods but, well better. None of the furniture matched, yet it looked right, and the pieces looked to have come from different countries, some chunky and others intricately carved. If I didn't know better, I would say I was looking at a scene taken from Ranger's life. There was even color in the rugs on the floors, that looked to be oriental and expensive, color with the throw and cushions on the leather couch. Books set out on shelves with photos arranged in between them. I walked over to the shelves with the photos, tears coming to my eyes as I saw for the first time a part of his history. Faces of his family and of course his friends who I recognized as Rangemen now.
That was when I spied one of me and picked it up not sure how it had been taken without me knowing.
"Hawaii?"
I said to myself as I studied the background of blue sky, sand and turquoise sea.
"Yes. One of the staff who walked around taking photos of the guests gave it to me after you left. I've never forgotten that week with you"
I had to admit that I hadn't either.
"We never talked about it did we, once we got back. Even Joe didn't ask me what had happened. I tried to forget but couldn't, even though you'd told me that it was a week away to enjoy each other and that we'd have to return to the real world"
I felt as Ranger held me to him and kissed me on my head.
"At the time it was all that I could say. You were still seeing Morelli and I was still under contract. The time wasn't right, but it is now"
I turned and smiled up at him knowing that what we were talking about was in the past.
"I know. So are you going to show me the rest of this house?"
I was keen to know what the rest of the place looked like and after the initial glimpse of the first room I knew that I would love it because the atmosphere that was surrounding me was all Ranger, no it was Carlos. The next area was actually a large hallway with open stairs leading to rooms above us and then some doors opposite it. Carlos took my handand led me across to one of the doors which opened into a huge open plan space. Wood was still the theme but here was the modern space that I'd expected in the kitchen and dining area. Glass had been integrated into the materials with a glass topped table and huge glass windows that showed nothing beyond them because of the darkness outside. Here was a TV set onto a wall with the obligatory set of leather furniture and a glass topped coffee table. It was a living area, an every day space that was functional and comfortable.
As we came back out of that door Carlos pointed to the other door.
"That leads downstairs to an office and security room and a gym. You can look down there tomorrow and the outside when it's light"
That said he started up the up the stairs, yeah, my favorite place.
It was a bright light that woke me making me blink against it. When my eyes had grown accustomed, I was looking at a glass window that stretched the entire length of the room. How had I missed that last night? Oh yeah, because I got distracted with the bed and Carlos. I sat up, the sheet that had been covering me slipping down to my waist and looked outside. Trees greeted me so I slowly stood up with the sheet around me to get a better view of where we were. That was when a shriek left my mouth and I quickly backed away from the window because below were two men in black.
"Babe, what's wrong?"
I knew my face had turned red because I could feel the heat on my cheeks. I'd stood almost naked in front of the window for anyone to see.
"I didn't realize there was anyone down there"
I watched as a very naked and wet Carlos walked over to the window totally immune to the fact that anyone looking could see him.
"It's reflective and bullet proof glass so no one can see inside. Don't worry, Santos didn't get to see you naked"
I picked up a pillow and threw it at him before running toward the bathroom. Of course I never made it before I was being picked up and carried. Inside the bathroom the tub was full of hot water with bubbles floating on the surface which was where I was deposited.
"You must be aching so take a long soak in the bath. I'll be downstairs sorting out some breakfast"
I leant back and absorbed the heat of the water, the steam carrying a fragrance of lavender with it. It was relaxing and I knew that he was right, some muscles I didn't know existed were definitely aching and it was all his fault. We'd made love for most of the night, teasing and tasting each other, exploring and expanding different ways to satisfy each other. I had never experienced anything like it before, the feeling had been so euphoric and exotic, yet so loving and tender.
I sighed as the memories replayed through my mind because the water was getting cold and I was definitely hungry. With a towel around me I returned to the bedroom and walked to the closet, Carlos had pointed it out to me the night before as somewhere to find some clothes. But yikes, a closet with enough space inside that I could choose my clothes and dress in here. I was amazed at the range of clothes that were there, everything from jeans to dresses to Rangeman uniforms. Shoes, boots to trainers. Everything that I would ever need.
Dressed in joggers and a sweat top, okay and a really pretty set of undies and bra, I went down the stairs and into the living area. Les and Hector were already sat at the table so I joined them seeing as it looked as though there was already food waiting for me. I helped myself to some coffee and spooned some scrambled eggs onto a plate, wondering what all the bits were that were in it. Further inspection revealed peppers, spinach and mushrooms, though I wasn't sure of the rest. It tasted delicious so that was all that mattered.
"Are you going to start looking through the information from Jackson Beautiful?"
Looking up at Les I frowned because I had other places that I wanted to look first.
"Could I have a look at that information from the break in at that jewelry shop?"
"I've downloaded everything we have on a laptop downstairs. The break in and any searches that we've done and all of the information from Jackson"
I was impressed but not surprised that Hector had done that for me, then again if I was going to be staying here then I needed to keep myself occupied. I wasn't sure what the others were going to be doing so after I helped to clear the table after breakfast, I made my way into the hallway and the second door that I hadn't explored beyond. It opened into a set of internal stairs that went down with two doors opposite each other at the bottom. Opening the first door had the lights coming on revealing a large gym area which seemed to have all sorts of equipment inside. I knew that I'd promised myself that I would exercise and maybe I would later after my breakfast had settled. The second door led into a large office space that had a couple of desks set against the wall and a long table that held monitors. I watched the monitors and realized that the images must have been from cameras surrounding the house.
The area surrounding the house seemed to be surrounded by trees, the branches swaying silently in the breeze. An image changed and I watched as the taxi drove out of the garage and down the track, not sure who was in it, but certain that I wouldn't have been left the house on my own. Clouds looked dark and ominous above the trees and then as the image became darker, I assumed that it was raining outside. Turning I found a laptop on one of the desks with a note on top that gave me a list of the files that were on it.
I spent some time looking at the titles of the files before deciding where to start. I knew the contents of the search files that had been done while we were in Italy but Jackson's file seemed so big I was reluctant to open that first. Instead, I went into the one that detailed the break in here in Trenton. Files from the arrest interested me the most so I went into those first. I was sat just looking at the mug shot of the man who had been named as Roberts when I heard the door open so turned to see Carlos come into the room.
I went back to the mug shot because something seemed wrong. It looked like the American man that I'd seen, but didn't. Minimizing the screen, I looked for the image that we'd seen from when he'd broken into the house outside Milan and eventually found it. I now had two images side by side to compare. Okay the image from the house wasn't brilliant but there was something that was niggling at me.
"Babe?"
"They look to be the same man but they're not. I don't think that Roberts is the same man that I saw in Milan"
The eyes looked the same and maybe the shape of the face but to me Roberts's nose was a different shape. Their hair was different lengths but even I knew that he could have had it cut, but it wouldn't have grown so quickly between being in Trenton and Milan. Was it possible that there were two men, maybe brothers who looked alike? I felt Carlos stood behind me, his hands on my shoulders as he studied the two photos.
"Brothers, maybe?"
At least he hadn't said that I was seeing things but how did knowing that help us? I had a vague feeling that maybe I'd come across them before but, yeah it was a big but because I had no idea where that thought had come from. Could it be possible that I knew them from ages ago? I knew that I'd never come across them as skips, in fact I couldn't ever remember just seeing them about town or on the Burg. Was it from when I was a kid and used to play out on the street with Mary Lou? That had me remembering why I'd suggested to Torres about the exhaust being responsible for the helicopter crash and the stunt that we'd done with that nasty man who'd lived on our street. He'd had two boys, a couple of years older than me, who were always causing us problems. Maybe I was making too much out of it and it was just me grabbing at straws but on the other hand it might account for why they wanted me out of the way because I could identify who they actually were.
"There's smoke coming out of the top of your head, what's causing that?"
I'd forgotten that Carlos was still behind me and almost jumped as he spoke and interrupted my thinking.
"I'm not sure, maybe an idea"
No way was I going to jump to any conclusions until I knew for sure. What I needed to do was to remember any names but for the life of me the only name that came to me was Edgar. I remembered that because he hadn't been as nasty as his older brother, in fact at the time I almost felt sorry for him because he seemed to be constantly being bossed around by the older brother. Who would remember them, that was something that I was asking myself when I realized that the one person who probably would do was Joe. He'd been as bad as them in those days but no way was I going to be talking to him. Would my father know? Maybe not, he tended to be working during the day and rarely took notice of what was going on in the neighborhood. Grandma had lived a few streets over and at that time wasn't as concerned with the gossip being passed around which left my mother. Was I ready to see my mother so soon again? Would she try to blame me for my father being away? Probably, which only really left me with Mary Lou.
"Do we have a phone so that I can call Mary Lou?"
I turned to see what Carlos's response was to that and caught as his eyebrow rose. I suppose he would think that it was a random question and request, but as I continued to look at him, he took a phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. I waited until he had left the room before inputting Mary Lou's number and just hoped that she would pick up the call.
"Morning"
Was all that I got which surprised me until I realized that she didn't know who was calling her.
"Hi Lou, it's me"
"My god, Steph, are you home, are you doing okay?"
And that was why Mary Lou was such a good friend. She was always concerned for me and never got annoyed when we didn't talk for ages.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm sorry that I haven't been in touch"
"Word is that you were abroad, somewhere in Europe. Did you know that the rumor going around is that you're a super model?"
I closed my eyes at that snippet of information because it never occurred to me that the news from Milan would ever reach Trenton. Now all I had to do was to talk my way out of it without letting Mary Lou know too much.
"Not exactly true. I did do some shots for my cousin's business, so maybe that's what's being banded around"
"Honey, don't lie to me. Lula found this photo in one of her magazines and it looks just like you. Are you home, you know home to stay?"
This was the hard part because I didn't want to have to lie to Mary Lou, she'd see through it anyway.
"Close but you know me, trouble follows me around"
I heard a chuckle through the phone and laughed along with Maru Lou, how true were my words.
"What do you need from me? Your mother's awfully quiet at the moment and Joe, well let's just say that he still thinks that you're coming home to him"
"No chance"
I said immediately hoping that Mary Lou didn't believe that particular rumor.
"I know, don't shout at me, I'm just saying what he's telling folk, though from what I hear anyone with any sense knows that he's talking a load of rubbish. Especially with the number of woman that he's been seen with"
That didn't surprise me so why would he say that he was waiting for me to come home? Then it came to me. He was a detective first and he was the one who had an open murder investigation for the three men from the jewelry break in. Roberts would be FTA by now so I was betting that Joe would think I'd go back to Vinnie's and be handed the file for Roberts. I bet he was banking on me leading him to his murder suspect. Why was it that I attracted policemen who only wanted to use me for what I could find out for them?
"Not happening Lou. Do remember my uncle Art who used to visit?"
"Yeah, it was fun when he used to visit"
Okay so maybe I could use that to get around to the question that I really wanted to ask.
"I met up with him recently and as you'd expect we got talking about the past. He reminded me of when I put that potato in that neighbor's exhaust, do you remember that?"
"Oh god yes. Your mother grounded you again for that one while my mum thought it was a hoot"
"Can you remember his sons? Art was asking me what happened to them, because he reckoned they'd turn out bad as they got older"
I waited and heard some rustling before the sound of a spoon in a mug. Mary Lou was thinking which was a good sign so maybe she might remember something. That was when I was sure that I heard talking in the background and was worried that Mary Lou had got sidetracked by one of her kids.
"Lenny said that the family moved out not long after that. What the hell were they called? It's bugging me that I can't remember"
"The younger one was called Edgar"
I said hoping that might jog her memory.
"Edgar and Eldrich"
Was Mary Lou's immediate response.
"Lando"
Came from the background from Lenny no doubt.
"Lenny said they were called Edgar and Eldrich Lando. He hated them as much as we did. He says the boys always skipped school and were constantly getting into trouble. Do you remember what name we called Eldrich, no wonder he was horrible, he probably had everyone calling him that"
"Yep, we used to call him el dick"
Thinking about it now, we were probably as mean to them as they were to us. I think if someone had called me by a name like that I'd soon learn to fight back. Was that how the man knew me, had he remembered as well?
"I gotta go, honey, Lenny promised to take me to lunch. Will I see you soon?"
"Of course and then I can give you the full story"
I promised as the phone went dead. Of course, I had no idea if I was on the right path so was quickly inputting their names into the search program. Forty minutes later I was heading back upstairs ready for something to eat and to find Carlos. In my hand I had the printout from the search and was feeling pleased that my hunch had been right, though I was also feeling pretty guilty for how I'd behaved as a kid on the streets of the Burg.
I tried to reason with myself that I'd been called all sorts of names, like Dumb Plum, and Plum Pudding, and let's not forget the things said about my hair, and that probably every kid alive had been called by some nickname or other. People still did that with me now, Bomber, Bombshell, Pumpkin and Cupcake. I hated that Joe called me that and its reference to what had happened in the Tasty Pastry in the poems that he wrote all over town. I didn't feel as guilty when I walked into the living area and saw Carlos sat at the table with a laptop in front of him.
"I'll be there at ten in the morning"
"Yes Mr Friedman, it's just a routine check"
I waited for Carlos to finish talking, seeing an earpiece on his ear so assumed that he'd been speaking to someone through his blue tooth. Walking over to the table I sat down opposite him and waited, hoping maybe he'd have some good news for me.
"I'm visiting Mr Friedman in the morning to look over the area where the thieves were caught. I've also asked him to go through his records and find out whose jewelry he had in the store at the time"
I could only hope that the exchange hadn't already been made but then again if the police were there to arrest them, they would have been searched and nothing was found. I wondered if Carlos was thinking the same as me, that just maybe the real or fake jewelry had been hidden somewhere.
"I know who the thieves are, and they probably remember who I am"
I didn't give Carlos the opportunity to ask, I just continued with my explanation.
"They are two brothers who lived on the Burg when I was a kid. Edgar and Eldrich Lando. They only lived there for a short time, and they weren't very nice to the rest of us kids on the street. I ran a search but there's nothing after they were both released from prison, though I have some searches running through some ideas on that"
I handed over the printouts for Carlos to read through, pretty sure that he would agree with me that the faces staring out from the papers were a damn good match to those that we had for Roberts and his brother.
"That accounts for why Jackson thought he was on the wrong track. He was sure that he'd identified the thief and knew where he was when another burglary would take place miles away, in a different country"
I had to admit that I hadn't even started to look through any of the information from Jackson yet, but it seemed that Carlos had been.
"Have you found anything else from Jackson?"
"If we can find those brothers and some incriminating evidence there are photos, emails and accounts that should be enough to arrest them"
I frowned because if there were accounts then surely there would be names, wouldn't there? Of course, Carlos knew exactly what I was thinking.
"Any name that Jackson found was Alan Golder, so we need to find the link"
I wrote the name down on the sheet in front of me and was drawing concentric circles around it when I stopped and looked at the letters. Alan Golder, was it a coincidence that Edgar Lando could be made from rearranging the letters?
"There's nothing from a search of that name and the accounts are based in the Caymans so we can't access them. Babe"
I looked up at hearing him say Babe wondering if he thought that I wasn't listening to him.
"I'm listening"
"News came through to the colonel that Tomas Mele has given himself up. Apparently he says that he's scared of who he's got involved with. The only names that he gave upwere Allegro Frusco and Adrian Decker. The colonel is waiting for a statement to come through with any other information"
Did that mean that Tomas didn't know that there were two brothers involved? From what I could see from the old photos I wasn't sure which brother I'd seen in Italy but as I'd said to Carlos that was a work in progress. I was also interested to know what lies Tomas would come up with for kidnapping me and allowing me to be imprisoned.
"Can I go with you in the morning?"
I smiled my sweetest smile as I asked that because I really wanted to go and not just to get out of the house for a short time.
"I may have some more on the brothers soon and they won't be going back there where they're known. Please"
I watched as he sat back in his chair and was looking at me, no doubt trying to find the words to argue why it wasn't a good idea so when he nodded his head, I was ready to start planning out how I could be incognito.
"I'll change my appearance and . . . ."
"Carry your gun and a tracker"
I conceded that he was right and to be honest I wouldn't have argued, having that watch on me had taught me that maybe he did know best when it came to my safety.
