Chapter 2

When I was 5, I met 2 of my platonic soulmates. Mary Lou was playing in the sandbox when a red haired chubby girl threw sand in her face. I grabbed my water bottle and spare T-shirt from my backpack to help her clean her eyes. "I have some water and a shirt for you," I said as I sat beside her.

"Thank you, you're very kind," she replied.

"Those words are on my leg. Let me help you clean your eyes."

"Okay. I'm Mary Lou Molnar," she said as I helped her bend over to rinse her eyes.

A boy was watching and rushed over to help. "Hold her hair and keep her in this position," he said as he repositioned Mary Lou. "That's it. Now wait until I finish." Mary Lou flinched. "Keep your eyes open. We need to get rid of the sand," he added when Mary Lou tried closing her eyes. When the water bottle was empty, the sand was finally rinsed from her eyes.

"How did you know what to do?" I asked the boy as I passed my shirt to Mary Lou to dry off her face. He gasped.

"My dad's a police officer. I need to see my words," he demanded. I pulled up my pant legs to show Mary Lou her words on my right leg and the boy's words on my left leg.

"I'm Stephanie Plum. You are?" I asked the boy.

"Eddie Gazarra." He showed me my words on his left arm. Mary Lou used the opportunity to show me my words on her left leg. I was extremely happy. I found 2 of my platonic soulmates on the very first day of school.

"Why did you have your backpack?" Mary Lou asked me.

"Oh. I have special permission to keep it close. If I don't drink enough water, I get too dehydrated. Dad says it helps keep me stay focused," I explained.

The red haired girl shrieked and laughed. She stopped laughing long enough to say, "It's because you're too hyper. My Mom says if you're busy drinking water, you can't open your mouth to spill out all your thoughts. It also stops you from running around pretending to be Wonder Woman." I had no idea what her problem is. She doesn't seem like a very nice girl.

"I used to play with her until she started getting mean," Mary Lou whispered. "Her name is Joyce Barnhardt."

I heard about her family. Her dad left when she was a few years old. I overheard Mom tell someone on the phone that he discovered he wasn't her biological dad. She said one of the other Burg fathers was really her dad. Mom talks, I mean gossips, to the other mothers in the Burg. They've been working together to figure out who is Joyce's dad. I'm so glad she isn't my sister.

Shaking my mind from the memory, I looked at my romantic soulmate mark written below my breasts. I twisted to read the marks on my back. Two new marks appeared recently. I was concerned about one of them. Who says those words to people?

I quickly showered and dressed to start my day searching for Morelli. After an embarrassing conversation with his mom, I decided I could use more help.

Before calling Connie for assistance, I called my best friend Mary Lou. "Hey Lou, I've been thinking about you today."

"Hi Steph. I've been thinking about you too. I was remembering the first day we met," she added.

"Me too. I met Eddie that day too. Do you remember that case involving Morelli?"

"Yes. I heard he missed his hearing the other day. A bounty hunter was hired to locate him. Your cousin Vinnie is his bail agent. What have you heard?" she asked. I knew she was asking out of concern, not gossip fodder.

"More than I wanted to hear. I finally found a job."

"You did? That's amazing. Where do you work?" She was genuinely excited for me.

"I work for Vinnie. I'm the agent he hired." I was reluctant to say anything else.

"Oh Steph. I'm so sorry. Do you need any help?" she readily offered, proving herself to be an excellent friend.

"Honestly, I don't know if I do. If I can't find him or capture him, I'll ask Connie for help. Maybe she can ask one of the other BEAs to help train me. I'm afraid of having another relapse," I admitted.

"You haven't had a relapse since that incident with your ex-husband. I've been waiting patiently for you to tell me what happened. It's been 3 years."

"I know Lou. A month before I caught him with Joyce, he tried forcing me to have anal sex. He put something in my drink. My vision got all fuzzy and I felt him cuff my wrists to my ankles, forcing me to bend at my hips. He pushed me onto the bed and pulled up my skirt. I felt him cut off my panties. He lubricated his fingers and pushed them into me... there. Before he could press his penis into me, the phone rang. Dad left a message informing me Grandpa Plum died and he was on his way to pick me up. I was fortunate Dickie stopped and unlocked the cuffs. He helped me dress and took me to Dad's car. I decided to enter denial land while I grieved for Grandpa. When I caught Dickie and Joyce doing the very act I refused to do with him, I broke. You remember what happened next. What you don't know is after I left the house, I went to my parents' house. Mom told me to fix my marriage. Dad wasn't home. I went to Grandpa Mazur's house and broke down. It took them several days to convince me to tell them what happened. Grandpa was furious and helped me find a lawyer. Dickie still managed to get the house and all the money in our joint savings account. I was left with all the legal fees and his student loans."

"Sweetie, you could have talked to me. You know I would do anything for you."

"I know, but you were having a difficult pregnancy with Michael. You didn't need any additional stress."

I told her about trading my TV, VCR and microwave for my POS car. "We need a girls night out. I'll make the plans and give you a call, alright Honey?"

"Thanks Lou you know how to get my mind off my issues. I'll call you later okay?"

"Okay. Stay safe. Promise you'll ask me for help when you need it."

"Bye Lou. I will," I said before hanging up the phone.

It was time to make the necessary call to Connie. "Hey Connie. Have you found more information for me?" She knew exactly why I was calling. I only had one case so far.

"Yes. He's not staying in his apartment, but nobody is willing to say where he's currently hiding. Mooch is rumoured to know where he is. If you can follow Mooch, he may lead you directly to Joe. Good luck Steph," she said before ending the call.

Connie gave me a lot to think about. I decided to try my luck at Morelli's apartment. As she predicted, Mooch led me to an apartment complex on State Street where Joe was staying. It didn't take me long to realize I had no clue how to apprehend him. I had no gun, cuffs or stun gun. "What the hell are you doing here?" he growled before pulling me into the apartment. "Are you trying to fuck up my life more than you already have?"

I saw red before shouting, "When did I fuck up your life? You, Joseph Morelli, fucked up my life. I was 6 when you first sexually assaulted me, then you raped me 10 years later." When he made to deny any wrong doing, my knee connected with his crotch. He doubled over in pain before pulling out his gun to threaten me. Without the skills or means to disarm him, I quickly retreated and drove away. I was shaking hard when I arrived back at my apartment.

Mrs Bestler, my neighbour, noticed me shaking and watched as I attempted to unlock the door. She gently removed the keys from my hand to unlock my door for me. "There you are my dear. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you Mrs Bestler." She retreated to the elevator to continue her daily 'job' of being its operator. I closed and locked the door behind me. Once I undressed and got into the shower, I started crying. I dropped to my knees as gut wrenching sobs overtook me.

The water ran cold by the time I was able to pull myself together. My apartment phone rang. It cut out when the answering machine played my greeting. Before a message was left, the person hung up and tried again. I ignored the calls and turned off the volume. My cell phone rang. I checked the display. Grandma was calling me. I connected the call, but remained silent.

"Stephie. Please talk to me. I was dreaming about your Grandfather. He said you needed me. If you want me to come over instead of talking on the phone, tap a number twice." I pulled the phone from my ear and tapped two numbers. "I'll have your father drop me off with my overnight bag. Hang in there baby granddaughter, I'm on my way." She ended the call. I sat with my back leaning against my apartment door, waiting for Grandma to arrive.

A few minutes later I heard Dad say, "Pumpkin, move away from the door. I'm unlocking it to let your Grandma in." I stood up to move. He saw my expression when he opened the door. "Oh Pumpkin," he quietly said as he pulled me into his embrace. I let him hold me until Grandma asked him to leave.

"She'll be fine with me Frank. I can help her. I'll update you tomorrow pending Stephanie's approval. Thank you for the ride. Goodbye." Dad kissed my forehead before giving me another hug and leaving. Grandma closed and locked the door behind him.

I allowed Grandma to lead me to my couch. She found a soft cream coloured chenille knitted blanket in my linen closet to cover me. I heard her in the kitchen banging a pot on the stove. Grandma hummed as she pulled items from my fridge and cupboard. I wondered what she was making when I smelled chocolate.

She carefully carried 2 mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows and whip cream to the living room. I smiled as I reached for a mug. The second mug was placed on the coffee table. Grandma disappeared back into my kitchen and brought out a plate with chocolate chunk cookies. "I made these for you," she said, handing me the plate.

"Thank you Grandma. You know exactly how to cheer me up."

"I heard you're working for Vinnie as a bail enforcement agent," she stated.

"Mmhmm," I answered. I wasn't sure how to tell her my first case was non other than Joseph Morelli. As I waited for her to continue, I drank my hot chocolate.

She took a drink from her mug before continuing our conversation. "Your first case is that asshole who violated you," she spat out. I couldn't find the words to tell her how I feel about chasing down Morelli. "I heard your mother promise Angie Morelli you'll drop your search. She was raised better than that. I can't understand why she isn't supporting your decision to take on his case. He deserves to spend time in prison. If he's as innocent as Angie claims, evidence will eventually turn up to vindicate him. I personally hope they locked him up and throw away the key. They should bunk him with the biggest, meanest criminal and see how he enjoys being violated."

"Grandma, if he's innocent of murder, he deserves to be free. I will never forgive him for violating me, but he shouldn't go to prison for a crime he didn't commit. I'm not defending him," I added when I saw anger flash in her eyes.

We drank more hot chocolate and ate a few cookies. "You should have filed charges when you were raped," she said.

"I know. It's too late now." I started laughing. I placed my empty mug on the coffee table before I dropped it.

"What's so funny Stephie?"

"I doubt he'll be able to get it up any time soon," I said between laughs.

She smiled and asked, "Why? What did you do to him?"

"I used that defensive move Dad and Grandpa taught me. My knee hit his balls so hard I'll be surprised if he doesn't need help extracting them." She joined in my laughter.

Tears streamed down my face from laughing so hard. Grandma pulled me into her arms. "Grandpa would be very proud of you," she whispered in my ear. I nodded in agreement.

We decided to watch my favourite movie, Ghostbusters, to pass the afternoon. I ordered Chinese food from the restaurant around the corner. Grandma paid the delivery boy. "Your father gave me money for dinner," she explained. As she handed me some cash she added, "He wants you to have this." I counted out the money.

"This is way too much. There's over 500 here. I can't accept this money from Daddy."

"Keep it for a rainy day," she insisted. When I forcibly returned the money, she sighed before going into the kitchen. I heard the unmistakable noise of my cookie jar lid being replaced. "It's tucked away in your safe."

"Thank you Grandma. Daddy really didn't need to give me money. I would have been just fine on my own." She quickly dismissed me before putting another movie into the DVD player. It took us watching the second movie for me to realize I had a TV with a DVD player and DVDs. "Ummm... Grandma? Where did this DVD player come from? When did I get Ghostbusters on DVD?"

She smiled and patted my cheek. "I ran into your friend Mary Lou earlier today. That nice man Dillon gave us your spare keys to bring these into your apartment." I could almost hear my Grandpa Mazur warning me not to get mad.

"Thank you Grandma. I don't know what I would do without you and Daddy."

"I hope you'll never have to find out," she easily replied.