Chapter 4

Back in the car I was passed the file, while Santos started the engine and pulled out into traffic. I was curious with the high bond so opened the file to read through the details totally surprised that it was full of blank paper.

"She gave you the wrong file"

I said, being the only conclusion that seemed to make sense.

"Nah. I don't know what the hell is going on but Connie was keen to get us into the office. Beats the shit out of me what the hell is going on, other than neither Connie nor Lula like that new woman"

"What did she say?"

Trying to work out why Connie had spent time talking to Santos.

"She wants us to check her out, her info is at the back of the paper"

I pulled the last sheet from the pile and started to look at the information on it. There didn't look to be anything unusual written down. Lizbeth Norton, age 34, born and raised in Hammonton Atlantic County, New Jersey, She'd worked for a small time detective agency and gave her reason for leaving as personal. I replaced the paper in the file and went through what had happened inside the bonds office. My instant reaction to her had been that I didn't like her but was that because she wasn't Steph and was replacing her.

Then again Lula's behavior had been totally out of character for her. There was no laughing or joking that was usual for her and it seemed to me that Lula didn't like this Lizzy either. I'd put that down to her not being Steph, her replacement and also the fact that Lula and Steph had been very good friends. Was Lula feeling hurt at Steph's sudden departure as well?

Back in the Rangeman garage it was only when I'd got out of the car that I suddenly remembered the move that Lula had made on me and as I stood by the car delved into that back pocket. In my hand I was looking at a small piece of card with writing on it, a message from Lula.

You've gotta meet me. Dango's diner at 4pm. Please Ranger

Walking over to stairwell I couldn't understand why Lula would want to talk to me, unless it was for the same reason that Connie had been talking to Santos. To be honest I didn't want to get involved in the politics at the bonds office, but as Lula had been close friends with Steph, then I'd make the exception and at least hear her out before I told her my decision. I threw the file from Connie onto my desk in my office deciding that I'd deal with it when I had the time and probably enthusiasm.

I spent time going through more paperwork from my in box. I was almost half way through it and felt that maybe it would only take me a couple more days to clear. A look at my watch told me that it was time to head over to that diner and meet with Lula anyway. The effect of the alcohol had disappeared so I was sure that I would be clear to drive, besides I was feeling hungry. Checking for the location of the diner I was surprised to find that it was in Ewing Township, not an area that I thought Lula would frequent.

I left my office to go down to the garage, I wasn't going to be telling anyone where I was going, hell I didn't need a babysitter with me and hopefully Santos was out of the building so wouldn't be checking up on me. I arrived early as was customary for me, checking out the surrounding area by driving past before parking in front of the diner. Walking in I saw no sign of Lula so made my way to the booth at the back, making myself aware of any exits and the people already here. Old habits die hard and doing that wasn't just habit it was also a comfort factor. I needed to feel comfortable with where I was.

I'd expected Lula to be late, hell she never arrived anywhere on time but had to look twice as I saw her walk in through the door. The bright orange and green spandex from this morning wasn't to be seen, instead she was wearing a dirty brown trench coat that was almost touching the floor. She dropped the hood that was covering her hair and smiled as she approached me making me wonder what the hell she was up to.

Was I suspicious, probably, but with Lula you never knew what her motives could be. That had me panicking slightly as the thoughts from this morning came to me. Was it a coincidence that she'd chosen a diner to meet me at, or was she trying somehow to get an in with me, after all it was in a diner where I had first met Steph in response to a call from Connie. As she took a seat next to me, I passed her a menu with the intention of feeding her, I knew the appetite that this woman possessed.

"Ta, and thanks for coming. I was almost worried that you'd just ignore me"

Maybe the thought had passed through my head, but I wouldn't have done that to Lula, plus I was too curious wanting to know her motives. If I didn't like what she said, then I'd be out of here after shutting her down. For once she was quiet as she studied the menu but at least when the waitress arrived, we were ready to order.

"Fries and burger and a chocolate milkshake"

Not a surprising choice for Lula. I ordered a chicken and salad wrap with water which Lula would think was normal for me.

"I'm not sure where to begin"

Lula said on a sigh. Not knowing what this meeting was about I said the obvious.

"Start at the beginning"

"Yeah right. Steph was real settled after you left. We managed picking up skips okay. I knew that she was pissed with Morelli, though she wouldn't say why other than to say that she was keen to avoid him. The number of skips went down and to be honest that was when I noticed that she was preoccupied with something else"

"Any idea what it was?"

Because I was becoming curious as to where Lula was going with her story.

"No. She just said that it was a favor for a friend. I called to see her grandmother, but she didn't know what it was about. A week later Morelli started coming into the office, complaining that he couldn't find Steph. I just told him that maybe it was because Steph didn't want to see him. Man, was he pissed. Next thing I heard was that she'd gone and got back with him, even followed him down to this new job of his"

What Lula was saying was no different to what I'd already heard but from the way Lula's eyes watered up I could tell that she was upset.

"She never called or even spoke to me, that aint her, I don't care what people say"

Hell, what Lula was saying was reminiscent of what Edna Mazuur had said to me.

"Will you check and see that she's alright, please?"

I had no idea what to say, how was I supposed to do that? If Steph had wanted to cut all ties here in Trenton to start a new life with Morelli, who was I to burst that bubble? Maybe that was why Morelli had been to Rangeman to see me, to warn me away from interfering with him and Steph. He wouldn't be immune to our friendship, and he would know the trust that ran between us. Yeah, he was probably as jealous as hell about me and the connection that Steph and I shared.

"Will ya do that for me, Ranger. If I know that was what she wanted then I can forget all about Steph, well maybe. I thought we were good friends, the best friend I ever really had"

"Okay. I'll see what I can do"

I said as a way to calm her down, I knew that her and Steph were good friends, Steph had been the one to pull Lula away from her previous dangerous life as a ho. She always stood up for Lula when Lula did something stupid so maybe this was Lula trying to move on just like I was.

"Any idea on who this friend was?"

Wondering if that was at all important or if it was just a coincidence, but then I started to think of other times when Steph was just helping out a friend, thinking that maybe something had happened to scare her, and she'd sought out Morelli for help. Isn't that what happened when a neighbor asked Steph to look for her daughter and granddaughter and Steph had become the focus of Abruzzi? When Lula just shook her head, I asked the next logical question, thinking that maybe they'd been the one to upset her.

"Who was Steph's last skip?"

"Eula. I never go with Steph to pick her up. She don't like me, but she always goes with Steph"

Eula was the homeless woman who was usually found at the train station. I'd heard Steph talk about her in the past and how Steph would go out of her way to make life easier for her. I wasn't sure that a woman like Eula would ask Steph to do a favor for her but then again Steph was the type of person who would help anyone out.

"Then that woman turned up. Vinnie hadn't even advertised that he needed a new bounty hunter. She aint as naïve as she makes out either. She can hold her own with some of the skips, at least when she thinks no one is watching her"

So why had she been so keen to ask me for help if she needed it? Was this Lula being jealous of her because she wasn't Steph or maybe Lula didn't find her as friendly toward her as Steph had been. I wasn't too sure what Lula expected me to do about the new bounty hunter or if finding out more about where Steph had gone was something that I wanted to do. I was curious though as to why Lula had chosen this diner.

"Why her Lula, you don't normally hang around this neighborhood"

"I was worried that woman would follow me. She were asking all sorts of questions about you"

Maybe I'd totally misjudged Lula's reason for disliking that woman and felt that Lula was actually looking out for me, not something that I was used to from her.

Our meal finished I threw some money onto the table and made to leave. Lula stayed where she was finishing her drink, though I was pretty sure that she had her eye on the menu. For some reason my parting words kept repeating themselves to me "I'll see what I can find out" Maybe she was thinking about ordering dessert but all I got was a nod as I left. I was almost cursing myself for having agreed to what Lula had asked.

Driving back to Rangeman my thoughts were in a quandary. I wasn't sure that I wanted to find out that Steph was happy and settled in Atlanta with Morelli. Though that would be the first place to start, from a distance. Hadn't that always been my role with Steph, watching from a distance?

I headed up to seven, messaging Ella to cancel dinner. The food that I'd had at the diner was sitting heavy in my stomach, or maybe it was what I was about to do. Working from my office in my apartment afforded privacy from anyone walking into the office on five because I wasn't too sure they would agree with what I was about to do.

I opened up our search program and input Steph's name and details, watching as her information appeared on the screen. I knew all of it, so scrolled to the bottom interested to see if it gave a new address for her or even a new job. I couldn't imagine Steph sat at home, she'd be bored to death. Strangely there was no new information there, so I pulled up her bank records. I'd always kept an eye on those, wanting to be sure that Steph wasn't in debt and when the balance seemed low then that was when I would ask her to do some work here at Rangeman, wording it so that it seemed that we were desperate for the help. At least then Steph wouldn't see it as me trying to support her or as a pity job. Well, I hoped she didn't think that, though why I did it I was never too sure. No that was wrong, she was a friend, and I would always help a friend out. Plus she was developing into one hell of a researcher.

I was surprised at the final balance, healthy for Steph, but on reading the amounts going in and being withdrawn there had been no movement on the account for weeks. I would understand it if the account had been closed and the money transferred to a new bank, somewhere more convenient to where she was living. But that there had been no transactions at all puzzled had me actually considering that maybe everything was not as it seemed, that Steph leaving Trenton as she had done wasn't like her. But then why hadn't she called me? I needed to find out more before I let my imagination run wild with me.

I went into the site for Atlanta PD, remembering that Santos had said that that he'd checked to see if that was where Morelli had gone. Sure enough, there was a Detective J Morelli assigned to the homicide department, but of course there were no photos. I suppose that was standard procedure so criminals couldn't recognize them and maybe target them. I closed down the computer after writing down the phone number for the station and sat there looking at it. What the hell was I thinking of doing with that? I couldn't be responsible for breaking Morelli and Steph up if she was happy.

Sleep that night was hard to find, thoughts running through my head with the day's events. I had to make a decision on what to do next. Forget about Steph as I'd tried so hard to do. Would my annoyance with her let me do that? Could I live with the sorrow displayed by Mrs. Mazuur and then Lula? Did I owe them to find out what they needed to know? Did I owe it to myself? I had no idea, but in the end, I decided to follow up with Morelli, after all, it was him who had been at Rangeman wanting to speak with me. That would be a way in, and the excuse of following up his visit was a legitimate reason to call him, even if he did tell me to go to hell.

The following morning after getting back into my routines at the gym I was showered and dressed for the morning meeting. To be honest I was anxious and could only put it down to the impending call to Morelli. Business was ticking along, the men assigned to positions were handling things which was how I had structured the management system. That way when I was away from Trenton, I was sure that my absence wouldn't interfere with business or hold anything up.

Back in my office I opened my phone and found Morelli's number in my contact list. At hearing the recorded message that this number was no longer in service I swore and actually hesitated with my finger above Steph's name. Shaking my head, I decided that would be a bad idea, so found the number for the Atlanta Police Department and typed that in.

"Atlanta Police Department, how may I help"

Came a very snotty voiced female.

"I'd like to speak with Detective Morelli please"

"One moment while I see if he's available"

Some horrendous jingle came over the phone while I was put on hold so I leant back in my chair hoping that this wouldn't last for long. I was surprised when the voice came back to me so quickly.

"I'm sorry but Detective Morelli isn't in his office, please call back later"

I was left looking at my phone as the woman disengaged our call, wondering how the hell she could be so dismissive. Surely, she should have asked to take a message or even transferred my call so that I could leave a message on an answering machine. There wasn't much more that I was prepared to do until I'd spoken with Morelli so replacing my phone on the desk went back to the paperwork in my in box.

I called that number throughout the day. Either Morelli was on the phone, he was in meetings, or he was out of his office. It seemed the watch dog of a woman was always too quick to finish the call once she'd delivered her message and to be honest it was beginning to piss me off.