Chapter 27

Detective Carl Costanza stood outside the restaurant reading the preliminary report before he went inside. Carlos Mañoso and a cop's widow, Cally Edelman. It had been a long time since he'd been on an investigation involving Ranger. He'd been a patrol cop back then and arrived on scene to find Stephanie in the center of the mess. Joe and Ranger arrived shortly after he had. The tension between the two men was so thick it was palpable. Once Ranger had made sure she was safe he'd backed away and left Joe to take charge.

Carl wasn't surprised when they'd finally married. It wasn't so much that Joe had won Stephanie's heart as it was that Ranger took himself out of the running. He still missed Stephanie and Joe. Ranger had never been the same, he knew. He'd dropped out of the street scene in Trenton and gone his own way with his security business.

Now it was Ranger and another woman. Maybe he'd finally moved on. Shaking off old memories, he opened the door and entered Mosconi's. He was almost knocked over by an angry looking man on his way out of the door.

"Hey," Constanza said. "Hold up." He looked at the man and said, "Aren't you one of Ranger's men?" He remembered the guy, but the guy hadn't aged at all. "Lester Something?" he asked.

"Luke. Luke Santos," the man said gruffly. "Lester is my dad."

Carl held out his hand and Luke shook it, "Detective Carl Costanza. You look like him. For a minute I thought you'd discovered the fountain of youth. You're not trying to escape from the scene of the crime, are you?"

Luke shook his head disgustedly. "No, I'm being kicked out. I wasn't here when the incident occurred. I came to see if I could be of any help to Ranger and Cally, but that guy…" He turned and pointed at a cop standing back in the restaurant, watching. "That guy is kicking me out," Luke finished.

Yeah, and you're involved up to your eyebrows, Carl thought. "Well, let's keep him satisfied," Carl told Luke. "Why don't you hang around outside. If I can get you back in, I'll call for you."

Carl looked back to where Ranger was standing, mid-restaurant. He could see the back of a woman, hunched over in a chair, and he could see Ranger standing close to her. The widow Edelman, he presumed. There was something in the way he was looking at the woman. Protective. Involved. Yep, maybe Ranger had finally moved on. He avoided them for the moment, making his way back to the private dining cubicle. The area was cordoned off by yellow tape, but the body was on display for anyone who cared to look, not that many were looking. It was a testament to the number of murders his team saw that it was just another day at the office.

The victim, John Smith, according to the credentials that had been carefully lifted from his pocket, was lying near the wall with multiple entry wounds. Carl grimaced when he thought of what Smith's back would look like. Near the body, he saw a purse which looked as if had been carelessly dropped. There was a large hole in the bottom of the purse, through which the barrel of a gun was partially visible. He'd never seen that before, but he'd heard about something similar.

He nodded to the officer who was waiting for the word. "Call CIS and the coroner," Carl told him. He turned and perused the restaurant. Several officers were getting contact information from the patrons who hadn't been able to exit the restaurant before the police had arrived.

"Hey, Gazarra," he called to the young rookie standing at the fringe of people around Mañoso and the woman. He watched as the kid walked toward him. The son of a long-time friend, now retired, was following in his father's footsteps. Jeez, he was old. Most of the old guys were gone, either dead or retired. He was considering his own retirement very seriously. "Anybody question the suspects?" he asked as the officer stood next to him.

"Yes sir. Just the basic stuff. I was waiting for you. There was one other person involved who fled the scene. Mr. Mañoso—that's the man right there…"

"Yeah, I know him," Carl said.

"Mr. Mañoso said the woman with him," he pointed to the dead man, "who ran out of here was Terry Gilman."

"Terry Gilman?" Carl asked with a groan.

"Yessir."

"Well, shit!"

This was going to be interesting in a way he didn't want. He looked toward Ranger and the woman and realized that one of the people crowded around them was a paramedic.

"Was the woman injured?" he asked.

"Yeah, she has a wound on her neck."

"Gunshot?"

"No, a knife wound," Gazarra junior said. "From Terry Gilman. She took the knife with her when she left, according to Mr. Mañoso. Ms. Edelman's refusing to go to the hospital. She told the paramedic to steri-strip it. She's wearing scrubs. She might be a nurse."

Carl took a moment to observe Ranger. Ranger seemed totally focused on the woman, unaware of anything else going on. Even though it had been a while, he knew Ranger. He'd bet money that Ranger was aware of every single thing going on in the room including the fact that Carl was getting ready to come talk to them. Ranger was retired too, but he didn't look old. He was wearing old jeans, a sweatshirt and a ballcap. He didn't look like he'd been looking for trouble. He didn't look like the Ranger of old all decked out in swat gear. He kind of looked like an ordinary guy… just one who was in great shape. Carl looked down at his protruding belly and grimaced. Maybe he should retire.

Over thirty years on the force, the last half of which he'd been a detective, he'd seen it all. Almost. The purse on the floor with the gun barrel protruding took him back to the early days of Stephanie's bounty hunting. She'd been the talk of the department, bringing in Joe. By the grace of God, she'd managed not to get herself killed chasing crazies, and then in a rotten twist of fate had been killed in a car accident. He abandoned his memories as he reached his two suspects.

He nodded to Ranger and then dropped to his haunches in front of the woman. Her hands were covering her face. "Mrs. Edelman?" he questioned softly. "I'm Detective Costanza. I need to ask you some questions."

"I've already answered them," she said. "I told the officer what happened." As she lifted her head, he saw the bandage on her neck.

"I see the paramedics treated you," he said. "Do you need the hospital?"

"No, I don't," she said. Her hair, which was only half contained in a ponytail was falling into her eyes. She reached a hand up to push it off her face and Carl Costanza found himself staring into eyes he thought he'd never see again. His breath caught. He stared at her for long moments. There was a protocol. A list of questions every suspect was asked, but suddenly his mind was blank.

"I need to talk to Ranger, too. I'll give you a chance to rest a little before we talk. I'll start with him. You stay here and I'll be back shortly." Carl stood and motioned Ranger to follow him and they walked to the front of the restaurant, crossing under the crime scene tape which blocked the foyer from the main restaurant.

"What's going on here?" he asked Ranger. "Who's that woman?"

"Her name is Cally Edelman," Ranger said.

"I know what her name is. I want to know who she is."

"She's my physical therapist," Ranger said. "I was at Jamestown for rehab recently after an accident. She took care of me."

"I know about your accident," Carl said. He looked directly at Ranger. "She's got her mother's eyes."

Ranger's face showed no emotion. His expression didn't change.

"You didn't notice that she has Stephanie's eyes?" Carl asked.

"It's true that she does have eyes that resemble," Ranger paused. He'd almost said they resembled her mother's. "Her eyes do remind me of Stephanie. What are you implying?"

"Quit the bullshit, Ranger. Let me tell you what I know, and then you be straight with me. Stephanie's eyes were unusual. I don't know if it's the color or the shape, but they were unique, and this girl's eyes are identical." He held up his hand for a moment, not wanting Ranger to talk, but needing some time to organize his thoughts.

"I think that girl is the daughter of Stephanie and Joe."

"Stephanie, Joe and their daughter were killed in an accident more than twenty years ago. You can't assume that Cally is their daughter just because she has blue eyes," Ranger insisted.

"It's more than the eyes," Carl said. "If memory serves me correctly, Joe and Stephanie's baby girl was named Cally. I think she's their daughter and I think you know it. There's more. Except for the eyes, that girl is the living breathing double of Cathy Morelli."

Ranger's eyes widened slightly, and Carl thought he saw surprise in them. "You probably never met Joe's little sister, Cathy. Cathy married right out of high school and moved to Philly, so it's not unusual you never met her. The only time she ever comes back to Trenton is for an occasional family dinner. I dated her before I hooked up with my wife. She was my first love, and that girl sitting in there is the spittin' image of the girl I was in love with. She looks more like Cathy than Cathy's daughters do."

Both men were silent for a moment considering what had just been said. Then Carl squared his shoulders and said, "So I'm going to ask you to be straightforward with me. What the fuck's going on here, Ranger?"

The door to the restaurant opened and a group of people walked in. Ranger and Carl stepped aside to let them pass under the tape and into the restaurant.

"All right," Ranger said. "I'll tell you what I know, but it has to be off the record."

"I don't think I can do that. That group was the CSI team and the guy leading the way is the coroner."

"Off the record," Ranger insisted. "I give you my word it won't interfere with your investigation. You're right, she is Stephanie's daughter. This has to be off the record for her sake."

Carl groaned. "Shit. I'm gonna regret this. Talk fast."

"What I told you is true," Ranger said. "Her name is Edelman. Her husband was a Newark patrol cop. She is the daughter of Joe and Stephanie, you're right. I don't know exactly how or why the baby was reported as a fatality. We met just as I told you. I was drawn to her and we became friends, and she confided in me, not having any idea I had known her parents." Ranger stopped to reconsider what he'd said. It was the truth, with a few key parts missing.

"I know she was in the WITSEC program, but I don't know why. I really don't know much about her on a personal level, but we became close during my stay at the Jamestown Center. We've continued our friendship since my dismissal."

"You're dating?" Carl asked.

Ranger ignored him and continued his story. "We came in here to have lunch today and saw Terry Gilman with some guy. We went back to say hello and they went berserk. Terry held Cally at knife point. That's how she got the cut on her neck. The other dude pulled out a gun and aimed it at me. He fired and missed and the next thing I knew Cally had shot the shit out of him. I started after Gilman, but she had a head start and ran like hell out of the restaurant, so I stayed with Cally."

"And both you and Cally just happened to be armed?" Carl asked.

"I'm always armed, and I'm licensed to be. Cally also has a concealed carry permit. I had no idea until today she was armed."

"Now give me the rest of the story," Carl said.

"That's it. The story will stand up because it's the truth. There are witnesses. People who will have heard the gunshot from the guy followed by gunshots from Cally. She was armed and she has a concealed carry permit, but today was the first time she's ever shot at anything but a target. Are you done with me?"

Carl took a minute to look at his notes. "Hardly, but I guess I'm done with you for the time being. I need to talk to her."

"Fast track this, Carl. This was self-defense, plain and simple. We both know there is more to the story. I'm sure talking to Gilman might be enlightening for both of us. But right now, get this over for Cally. She's in rough shape. This is the first time she's killed someone. You must remember what that feels like."

"Fifteen years as a cop and fifteen years as a detective. I've never killed anyone. I'll be as easy as I can with her."

Ranger waited until Carl was near Cally before he slid unobtrusively toward the door. He needed to make his escape before Carl could tell him not to leave the area. He found Luke outside, pacing back and forth.

"I need your keys," Ranger said. "Cally's jeep is in the lot. Get back inside and stick with her. Tank will be back in town soon. The two of you can coordinate the watch, but I want someone with her at all times."

"I'll stick with her," Luke said. "I told her not to play tourist, but did she listen? I'm gonna kill her!"

"You might want to reconsider your choice of words," Ranger said. "The fact is someone does want to kill her. Terry Gilman is a powerful woman and she'll be after Cally. I'm not going to be here, so I'm counting on you to be vigilant. Tank will be in touch as soon as he's in town."

"What do I do if she's arrested?" Luke asked. "Should I call Plum Bail Bonds where Dad's been working?"

"Fuck no!" Ranger exclaimed. "Tank has access to my funds. He'll put up the bond. Now give me your keys and you never saw me."