Chapter 8
Stephanie sat on the curb beside her car, feeling numb. Her son was missing. She called Mary Lou, her mom, dad, and everyone else she could think to call. Nobody had seen her son.
Eddie sat beside Stephanie. "Sweetie, I know someone who could help. Do you trust me?" he asked.
"You know I do. Who are you calling?" she asked.
"Connie. She might know someone who could help find Jay. Connie works as the receptionist at your cousin Vinnie's bond office," Eddie replied. Stephanie nodded. Eddie put the call on speaker for Stephanie to hear.
"Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, how may I help you?" Connie answered.
"Hi, Connie, it's Eddie Gazarra. I have a favour to ask."
"Go ahead, hon. I'll see if I can help," Connie replied. Eddie explained that Jay Plum, Stephanie's son, had disappeared after school. "Do you know anyone who could help us search for him?"
"Ranger. He's ex-special ops and works as a BEA. He owes me a favour," Connie replied. "If anyone can find your son, Stephanie, it would be him. Give me a few minutes to call him. I'll call you back, Eddie."
Connie called Ranger. "Yo," Ranger answered. He noticed it was Connie at the bonds office. Ranger regretted offering a favour to get the higher bonds.
"I need a favour. Vinnie's cousin's son went missing after school today. Eddie Gazarra called asking for help. Can you meet with Vinnie's cousin to find the boy?" Connie carefully asked.
"Are you calling in your favour to make us even?" Ranger asked to clarify.
"Yes. We're even if you help Vinnie's cousin," Connie confirmed.
"Have him meet me at the diner a few blocks from the office at 1600 hours. Don't be late," Ranger said before hanging up.
Connie relayed the message to Eddie. He told Stephanie to drive to the diner near Vinnie's bond office on Hamilton. She parked in the lot beside a black Mercedes SUV. Stephanie smiled, remembering the cars Jay played with as a child. As she approached the door, a tingling sensation moved through her neck. She touched the spot and quickly looked around.
Shaking her head, she opened the door and walked to the back. Her body shook as she noticed the man at the back. She squared her shoulders and ignored the tingling moving down her back. "Hi, are you Ranger?" Stephanie asked.
The man looked turned to look at Stephanie. He said, "Babe?" when she asked, "Ricky?"
"Do you know each other?" Eddie asked as he entered the diner.
Stephanie grimaced. "We met fourteen years ago," she said as she sat across from Ranger.
"On the beach in Point Pleasant," Ranger added. He never mentioned their hookup at the Tasty Pastry. Stephanie looked into Ranger's face. His features resembled Jay, but his expression was blank as though he didn't have a soul.
"I'm sorry, Eddie. I don't think Ranger can help me," she said. Ranger examined Stephanie. She was more beautiful than his memory recalled. The woman sitting across from him was in excellent physical shape one could only achieve from following a rigid exercise regimen.
Ranger touched Stephanie's hand to stop her from leaving. Electricity shot through his fingers into her arm. Her eyes snapped to his. A flicker of shock entered his eyes before he locked his emotions away. How was Stephanie going to ask the man to help find his son? A child he didn't know existed. He wasn't the same person she used to know.
Eddie sat beside Stephanie, moving her across the bench seat, trapping her in the booth. "Steph, we need Ranger's help," Eddie said.
"I know, but I'm not sure how to ask," she whispered.
"Connie said you need my help to find your son. Do you have a picture?" Ranger asked. Stephanie's hand shook as she opened her purse to grab the wallet. Ranger couldn't understand why Stephanie was nervous. Her hand shook as she tried to remove the photo. Eddie steadied her hand and slipped the recent school picture from its place.
He gave it to Ranger and said, "Jay's thirteen, his birthdate is March 12, 2002. He's five foot five and weighs one hundred pounds. Last seen at school wearing his gym clothes."
"White shirt, khaki shorts, white socks and shoes," Stephanie added.
Stephanie could see Ranger's jaw clench as he stared at the photo. "His full name?" Ranger demanded.
"Jayden Ricardo Plum," Stephanie answered. Ranger slammed his fist on the table before leaving. Stephanie turned towards Eddie and cried.
"Is Ranger Jay's biological dad?" Eddie whispered. Stephanie nodded because her voice failed. "Oh, Stephanie. I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"I only knew him as Ricky. His family is Cuban, so I assumed his name was Ricardo. I called him Jayden because it didn't hurt as much," Stephanie confessed.
"It's no wonder I thought Ranger looked familiar. Jay looks like his dad with blue eyes and curly hair," Eddie stated.
Ranger entered the diner and pulled Stephanie to her feet. A Hispanic man got into Stephanie's car and drove away. "Where is he taking my car?" Stephanie demanded.
"To Rangeman. Babe, you're coming with me. Gazarra, I'll contact you when my team has a plan," Ranger said before guiding Stephanie from the diner.
"Let go of me," Stephanie screamed. "I'll come with you. You don't need to manhandle me."
Ranger released her arm. He placed his hand on her lower back as he guided her to his car. When he started driving, he asked, "Is Jay mine?"
"Yes. I got pregnant that night at the Tasty Pastry," she replied.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Stephanie's face blushed as she said, "I washed my clothes when I got home. But I forgot to grab the paper with your number first. Why didn't you call me?"
"I lost your number on my way home," he confessed. "The phone number your friend gave me went through the wash." They didn't talk during the rest of the drive. Ranger got into his driving zone while Stephanie tried to figure out what this meant for Jay. She saw a line of expensive SUVs along the back wall of the parking garage. Near the elevator were three Porsches. A 911 turbo, Boxster and Cayenne, all of them were black.
Ranger held her hand as they took the elevator to the third floor. He opened the conference room door. She heard a couple of men yell, "Stephanie?"
When they approached, she recognized them. "Cal? Hal?" she screamed as Ranger released her hand. She jumped into Cal's arms to kiss his tattoo.
Hal grabbed Stephanie to hug her. "Hey, handsome," she said and kissed his cheek.
"Where's Jay?" Hal asked. Stephanie squirmed in his arms until Hal put her on the ground. She sunk to the floor and cried.
Ranger moved quickly to lift her into his arms. He sat in his chair and announced, "Our son is missing."
Cal and Hal looked at each other, then Ranger. They both mouthed, "Ricky?" The men weren't surprised Ranger was Jayden's father. Their resemblance was too striking.
Stephanie buried her face into Ranger's neck. His hand rubbed circles on her back. "Miss. Plum and I have a thirteen-year-old son. His name is Jayden Ricardo Plum," Ranger said as he relayed the biometrics. He gave the photo to Hector to project onto the screen. "Babe, do you have anything to add?"
"I've called my friends and family. Nobody had seen him. I recently lost my job at EE Martin for helping the FBI collect evidence against the CEO," Stephanie stated. "All morning, I felt as though someone was watching me. When I drove to the school, I knew something was wrong."
Ranger lifted her chin to see her beautiful eyes. "Babe, how did you know?"
"Stephanie has a sixth sense about things. Hal and I called it her spidey sense," Cal replied. Ranger raised an eyebrow. Cal looked for Stephanie's permission before telling the men how he met Stephanie. "We attended the last two years of high school together. She tutored Hal in math. I pretended to be her boyfriend to stop the girls from teasing her and the boys from taking advantage."
"Babe?" Ranger knew Cal lived in Chicago before joining the Navy.
"After taking the pregnancy test, I moved to Chicago and lived with my grandparents. When I graduated, I moved to Newark," Stephanie explained.
~~~~
"I thought you wanted to talk," Jay said, tugging on the restraints.
"Talk is cheap," Dickie snapped. "I want the files Stephanie stole from EE Martin."
"My mom doesn't have the files," Jay stated. Jay didn't know if he was lying or telling the truth.
Dickie dumped Jay's backpack on the floor. He rifled through the notebooks and papers, finding nothing. "Are the files on this?" Dickie asked, holding up a thumb drive.
"No," Jay replied. "The drive has my homework and assignments."
Jay was relieved when Dickie left the room. It wouldn't take long for Dickie to discover he told the truth about the drive contents. Several minutes later, Jay heard the door slam. He closed his eyes to concentrate, attempting to recall the instructions from Eddie.
"Wiggle your hands and try to separate them. It should relieve the tightness of the rope around your wrists. Good job, Jay. Now shift the rope up your arms far enough to reach the knot with your thumb and index finger. Use both hands to work the knot," Eddie instructed.
"Eddie, why did you tie up Jay?" Stephanie asked, her eyes dark blue from anger.
"I'm teaching your son how to escape if he gets restrained," he explained.
"And do you think someone would tie him to a chair?" Stephanie asked.
"No. But you could always be prepared," Eddie stated.
"I got free, Eddie," Jay announced.
"Great job, Jay. We'll keep practicing with various rope thickness and tight knots," Eddie said.
"Thank you, Eddie," Jay mumbled when he freed his wrists. He bent over to untie the rope at his ankles. Jay moved around the dark basement. The room was windowless. He tried the door, but it got locked when Dickie left. Jay could pick the deadbolt. He found his backpack and grabbed the lock pick. When he checked the door, there was no external mechanism on the inside of the door. "Damn."
Dickie got his friend to open the lock on Stephanie's apartment. He tore everything apart to find the files. "Where are the files, Plum," Dickie said as he ripped the mattress on the sofa apart. After searching every inch of the apartment, Dickie left to question Jay again.
~~~~
"I see smoke, Babe," Ranger said when Stephanie moved off of his lap.
"Did someone grab my purse?" Stephanie asked. She looked around the room at the men, looking for the one who drove her car.
"Hector will get it, Beautiful," Lester stated. He held out his hand to Stephanie. "Lester Santos."
Bobby Brown, Tank, Vince, Zip, Zero, Binkie, Manny, Ram and many other Rangeman employees stepped forward to introduce themselves to Stephanie. She stopped Cal and Hal. "I already know you two goofballs," she said.
Stephanie felt a man enter the space behind her. "Hector," she said. He nodded and gave her the purse. "Thank you," she whispered before kissing his teardrop tattoo. She heard the men gasp but ignored them.
"Babe?" Ranger asked. Stephanie grumbled unintelligibly before dumping the contents of her purse on the table.
"I'm looking for a tube of lipstick," Stephanie said, sorting through the mess.
"Now isn't the time to fix your makeup, Beautiful," Lester stated.
"Shut up, Santos," Stephanie snapped. "I'm not fixing my makeup, which must look horrible from crying."
Hector picked up the item that rolled under the table. He pressed it into Stephanie's hand, "Angelita?"
She held it to her chest. "May I borrow the laptop?" she asked Ranger. Hector waited for Ranger's nod before he grabbed the computer for Stephanie to use. He pushed Lester from the chair to sit beside Stephanie. "As you can see, this is not an ordinary tube of lipstick."
Stephanie carefully twisted the bottom off to reveal a flash drive. Hector grinned and unlocked the laptop. She plugged the device into the USB slot and ran a virus check before accessing the data. Someone mentioned, "I hope you know Spanish because Hector doesn't speak English."
"Babe?" Ranger asked.
"It contains all of the evidence I gathered on Edgar Martin. I gave a copy to the FBI, but these files are mine," Stephanie explained.
"Why do you have a copy?" Tank asked.
"Grandpa Plum told me to protect myself from getting indicted by the Feds. He gave me the lipstick for my birthday last year," Stephanie said as though the reason was obvious.
A man, Stephanie thought was named Rodriguez, ran from the room. He returned a few minutes later with another laptop. Rodriguez opened the Rangeman search programs to run a background check on Stephanie Plum.
He discovered her grandfather Plum was none other than General Frank Plum. "Hey, that's Stephanie's grandpa," Cal said when Rodriguez projected the image on the screen.
Stephanie went through the pilfered files with Hector. She whispered to him in Spanish before switching to English when she couldn't think of the Spanish word for espionage. Stephanie smiled when she uncovered his secret. "I won't tell," Stephanie whispered before kissing his cheek.
"I think Stephanie found a new friend," Cal stage whispered.
"What are you looking for?" Ranger asked.
"A connection," Stephanie replied.
Rodriguez continued to display details of Stephanie's life on the screen. "That's strange," Rodriguez announced.
Stephanie took her eyes off the laptop screen to look at the projected images. "Nope. It looks right to me," Stephanie said, smirking.
"But your information got redacted," Rodriguez explained.
"Yup. My file should say I graduated from a Trenton high school, graduated from Douglass near the bottom of my class and no children," Stephanie said as she continued to pull names from the files. "Shit!"
"Did you marry and divorce Dickie Orr?" Bobby asked.
"No. I left him at the altar. If you read further, you'll see the marriage certificate never got filed." Stephanie replied before getting Hector to project the data from her laptop. "Speaking of Dickie. I think he has Jay."
"Officer Gazarra called him," Tank said, reading the report from Eddie.
"He lied," Stephanie replied. "I doubt he took Jay back to his house."