Chapter Fifteen

He hit redial and pressed the phone to his ear, turning his back to me. He listened for a minute after the phone stopped ringing. I could hear a low bass voice on the other line and figured it was Tank. Ranger hesitated. He wasn't happy. "No. I need eyes on this." He paused. "Yes. We have someone nearby? Give me five minutes," he said and then disconnected. Dropped the phone on the bed. His face was hard to read when he turned to look at me. Searching me with his dark eyes. I thought for a second he was going to get back in bed, but instead he picked up his pants from the floor. "I have to go."

"Stark Street?"

"Yeah. Five gangbangers got popped. All of them employed by either Delgado or Marquez. I have a couple guys on scene, but I need to see for myself. Could be this thing just got ugly." He pulled his shirt back on and started buttoning it, his kissable mocha abs disappearing through the closing gap. He caught me staring and almost smirked. "You could always ride shotgun. I could use the extra eyes."

I thought about that for a second. Looking at dead bodies isn't my favorite thing. It drops even more significantly on the list when they're fresh. Not to mention the very high possibility that Morelli would be there. He was working the taskforce with vice, but he was still homicide. No way a drug related massacre wouldn't land square on his desk. It would be really awkward showing up at Morelli's crime scene with Ranger, no red dress, and my hair all mussed and frizzy. Might as well prance around naked screaming I just had sex with Ranger.

Omigod. I'd just had sex with Ranger. Again. What is wrong with me?

"Is it okay if I pass?"

He smiled, slipping his phone back into his pocket before he picked up his Glock from my nightstand. "It's fine. If you stop by my office tomorrow I'll fill you in and get you the new files." He leaned over and kissed me. Lingering long enough to gather my body against his. "Unless you'd let me drop you off at Rangeman on my way. Then I could fill you in when I get home."

"Is that another double entendre?"

"It's a promise," he said, kissing me again. Oh boy.

ooo

I ended up turning down his offer. Not because the idea of curling up in his dreamy bed waiting for an orgasm marathon wasn't appealing. It was more that giving in to a full on sexual relationship with Ranger again was asking for trouble. Ranger's role in my life wasn't clearly defined. There was no offer of stability or potential for growth. He was just an addicting, guilty pleasure I'd gotten used to in Hawaii. Seemed we'd both gotten used to it. Which was what made it all the harder to pull back like I should.

After a few hours of restless sleep I finally gave up and wandered into the kitchen. It was early. Well, early for me. Both Ranger and Morelli were often up before dawn. They had places to go and things to do. Me not so much. Especially on a Sunday morning. I made coffee and debated what to do with myself for the day. I had a few outstanding cases. Terry Kroychek and Ronald Walker were still at large. Not to mention Mini.

My stomach growled. First things first.

I opened my fridge to hunt up something to eat and froze. I'd had some milk in there when I left with Ranger last night. A little deli ham, some sliced cheese, orange juice and a jar of green olives. Now there were also individually wrapped sandwiches, salad, fresh fruits and prepared snack sized veggies, yogurt, healthy looking whole grain muffins that were probably full of zucchini or carrots. I looked in the cupboards too. The frosted flakes had company. Multigrain crackers and nuts and granola. My kitchen was looking a lot like Ranger's. And yet again, the fridge fairy didn't bring dessert.

I called Ranger. "I'm not pregnant!"

"Babe." Sounded like I'd woken him. He must have been up late on Stark Street. Good. If he could meddle, so could I. "Is this an official announcement?"

"No! I'm annoyed."

"You wanna be more specific?"

"Someone filled my fridge with healthy food."

"And that's a problem?"

"It is because I'm not pregnant. And there's no dessert."

"So the complaint is more that Ella didn't bring cheesecake."

Ugh! "You didn't tell Ella, did you?"

"I only told Ella to stock your fridge. She has no reason to think it's for any other purpose than that I've been spending more time in your apartment."

"Crap."

"Babe." I could hear the smile in his voice. "No one in my building will bat an eye about that. Any more than they would about you being at Rangeman." Because if they did they'd have to answer to Ranger. Not high on anyone's wish list. "What did you have in mind for today?"

"Thought I'd look in on Terry Kroychek. Maybe drop by a few bars." He was quiet a second. Trying to decide if that was a joke or not. "To ask about Ronald Walker."

"You want Hal?"

"Not yet. I'll wait until I'm ready for a takedown."

"Stop by when you have a moment and I'll get you the updated reports. After last night, the sooner I can go over it with you the better. Is it safe to assume you spoke with Mooner again?"

"Yesterday."

"You get the impression he knew anything else?"

"Not off the top of his head."

"You can brief me later then. Maybe over lunch?"

"We'll see."

He smiled again. Cocky bastard. "Babe."

I looked at the phone after he disconnected. Yep. Definitely infuriating.

I chose to go with one of the muffins. Making an annoyed grimace on principle. Didn't last long, since the muffin was actually delicious. Darn Ranger. Making me like eating healthy. I poured myself some orange juice and started organizing my day. I wouldn't be able to get to the bars until noon. There were some that opened up earlier, just in time for alcoholic brunch, but most catered to the stay up all night crowd. Or at least waited until church let out.

Ugh. Church. I completely forgot. Usually my relationship with mass was limited to Easter, Christmas, and the occasional prayer of forgiveness for missing it the rest of the year, but I did kind of make a promise to God, and I didn't think it was wise to break two promises in one week. I mean, the fact that I was still late might be an arguable point that I didn't have to fulfill my side of the bargain, but since I'd asked for the test to be negative and it was, it was kind of a weak argument. Maybe if I kept my promises this time, He might be more inclined to deal again.

I put on a nice blue cotton dress. The one I wore to family gatherings and parties my parents were likely to attend. Found myself a place in the back where I was less likely to be noticed. At least I knew I could stop by my mother's house after and pick up a jelly doughnut. My mother and grandmother were the pious ones in the family. It had become part of the Sunday ritual for them to bring home jelly donuts for the rest of us.

My mother was in the kitchen when I got there. The ironing board out. Uh-oh. That meant something was wrong. My mother always ironed when she was upset. More often than not, it was because of either me or my grandmother. We were a trial.

It's hard being the only sane person in a three generation crazy person sandwich.

"What is it this time?" I asked.

"I don't know what you mean," she said without looking up from my father's shirt. "I heard you went to mass today." Jeez. That was fast. I could only imagine what my mother was thinking I'd done to warrant enough guilt to drive me to mass. Then again, maybe she figured it was a delayed reaction to being with Ranger in Hawaii. Oh boy. That was a little too close to the truth.

"I thought I might see Terry Kroychek there." That seemed plausible enough. Terry was from an old Burg family. I'd seen her mother and aunt there. Stands to reason there was a chance she would have been there too.

"Are you looking for her for your low life cousin Vinnie?"

"Maybe. I thought you'd like that I went to mass."

"I'd like you to go to mass for the right reasons. Not use it to catch people for your no good cousin. And Terry Kroychek is a nice girl. What would people say if you arrested poor Terry right there in the middle of church?"

"I wouldn't have arrested her during church," I said, helping myself to a donut. I would have waited until after and nabbed her in the parking lot. It would have felt weird taking someone down in a church, what with the whole sanctuary thing. "And she can't be too nice, if she tried to beat up her boyfriend with a baseball bat."

"Did you at least talk to anyone? You could still meet a nice man there."

I tried not to grimace. Meeting a man wasn't high on my to-do list. I had one too many already. "Maybe next time."

"Are you sure nothing else is wrong? You're not in trouble, are you?"

"Maybe she's pregnant," Grandma chimed in.

"I'm not pregnant! Jeez!" Last thing I needed was for my mother to think that was a possibility. Especially since the next question would be whether it was Morelli's or Ranger's. Not a subject I was eager to discuss. I made some excuses and got out of there before the subject could grow feet. I was a pretty good liar, but I had a feeling that even I wouldn't be able to withstand the Inquisition.

I decided to stop at home and change into jeans and a t-shirt before I went to pick up Terry. She was in a little row house just outside of the Burg. Like me and Morelli, she'd moved outside of the boundaries once she'd reached adulthood. I didn't know Terry personally. She'd been a year ahead of me in school and we hadn't exactly traveled in the same circles. She was on the honor roll and the student counsel and ended up in an Ivy League school. I went the more avoiding responsibilities route.

A gray Toyota Camry was in Terry's driveway. I parked behind it to keep her from fleeing and marched up to the door to ring the bell. Nobody answered for a few minutes. I peeked in through the windows. Lights were on in the hall. The television still on in the living room. I rang the bell again and then tried calling her from my cell. The phone rang through the house. She picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" The voice was weak. Death's door weak.

"Terry? It's Stephanie Plum. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…" and then she hurled. I grimaced and yanked the phone away from my ear. There are some things that are just better not being heard. I waited until she'd gotten a hold of herself before I chanced listening again. "I'm sorry. I just can't seem to keep anything down. What did you call for?"

"I came to check on you. You missed your court date."

"I did?"

"You didn't know?"

"No. To be honest, I don't even know what day it is."

"It's Sunday."

"Oh god. What do I do? Are the police going to come get me? Am I going to jail?"

I didn't really want to tell her that was why I was here. She sounded close to fainting. "I'm at your front door. If you let me in might be able to help you."

She thought about that a second. Or maybe she was just trying not to throw up again. Either way, it took her a few minutes to make it down the stairs to the door. She was very pale. Her light, wispy blonde hair falling down from the haphazard knot on the top of her head. She was still in pajamas and a bathrobe, but given the way she clung to the doorframe, bed was probably the place she should have been anyway.

"Jeez. How long have you been sick like this?"

She thought back, counting on her fingers with what little consciousness was left. "Three weeks?"

My jaw dropped. "Three weeks?"

"Mostly. It comes and goes, but it's been worse since I was arrested. I think it might be my nerves."

Her balance swayed and I grabbed onto her arm to keep her from falling. I helped her inside and sat her on the couch. "You need to see a doctor."

"I've seen one. He said a little nausea was normal in the first trimester."

"You're pregnant?" Cripes, was there something in the water?

She looked embarrassed for a second, and then she sighed. "Everyone's going to find out anyway. That's why I got arrested. I told my boyfriend Tony and he freaked out. He broke up with me and started grabbing his stuff to leave and I just kind of lost it. I'm not a violent person," she assured me. And then she started to cry.

I've seen Val when she was pregnant. Crying at the drop of the hat comes with the territory. Just like eating everything in sight smothered in gravy. I reached into my bag and pulled out one of the candy bars I'd stashed. I offered her the snickers and the tears turned grateful. It might come back up after, but she looked happier all the same. "Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head. "I don't even know where to start. Any minute now they're going to send someone out to pick me up, I just know it."

I bit my lip. "That would be me, actually."

Her eyes went round. "What?"

"I work for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. It's my job to pick people up and help them reschedule their court dates."

"Really? You mean I can just reschedule?"

Now, I realize that I could have told her yes and driven her down to the police station without a fight. Trouble was, unless there was someone waiting there to bond her out again, she might end up staying in a holding cell until she could get a new court date on Monday. Not exactly ideal for a pregnant woman who was spending all her time bent over a toilet.

That and I didn't want to take the chance she'd ralph in my new car.

"I'll tell you what. Vinnie doesn't forfeit the bond until Thursday. Why don't you rest and I'll come back tomorrow morning to give you a ride. We'll see what we can do to get you into a judge first thing."

"You can do that? That would so great, you're a life saver!"

A welcome change from what people usually called me. I gave her the payday I still had in my bag before I left. Made a mental note to call my brother-in-law Albert. He wasn't the most successful lawyer, but he might be able to do something to help Terry.

God, I really hoped I wasn't pregnant. I was starting to feel nauseated just at the thought of getting morning sickness. At least I didn't have to face being abandoned by the potential father when he found out. Ranger wasn't exactly jumping up and down about the possibility, but his reaction could have been worse. He actually seemed to have some interest in following the pre-prescribed rules of pregnancy, even without confirmation. It made me wonder what he would do if I actually had a baby.

I pushed that away and decided to call up Lula to see if she wanted to canvas bars with me. After seeing Terry, I didn't really feel like being alone. It might encourage too much thinking. Lucky for me, Lula was free. She was waiting for me outside the pink and purple house where she rented a room. Her generous curves stuffed into a too tight tube top and booty shorts. She was in various shades of lavender today, matching the purple streaks in her bright blonde hair. It was pretty spectacular.

Lula slid into the passenger seat of my Audi. "Now this is what I'm talkin' about. This here's a real nice car. Not one of them rusted out pieces of junk you usually buy. And it's not even from Ranger."

"Nope. I picked it up all by myself."

"Good for you. That shows some real good personal growth. Not to mention faith, seein' as how your cars have a tendency to meet with unfortunate ends."

I didn't like the idea of my cute little Audi meeting an unfortunate end. "Maybe that won't happen this time."

"That's the spirit."

The first couple bars we went to were barely opened. Only one or two diehard barflies in each to ignore while we spoke to the bartenders. Going to a bar during the daytime is always a depressing experience. Once the sun went down they would be full of life and excitement, but walking from bright sunlight into a dank den of darkness just made it all the more obvious these were places people went to hide from their problems.

It was almost one when we walked into Pete's, a little dive a couple blocks from St. Francis hospital. There were a few more patrons inside. Pete's was one of the places that opened early. Catering to a customer base that had more reasons to need unwinding. There was a group of nurses fresh off a shift. A tall man with ginger hair bent over the bar like he was sleeping. A couple guys playing a friendly game of pool. They eyed us when we came in. Whispered to one another with obvious smiles. I got the sinking feeling it wasn't just the way Lula was wiggling around in her too short shorts, though. I thought I saw one of them mouth the word bounty hunter.

I was going to strangle Vinnie harder next time.

The bartender was wiping a glass behind the bar. He tossed the rag back onto his shoulder and put the glass away. Tipping his head to acknowledge our presence. "What can I get you ladies?"

"Actually, we're looking for someone. I was hoping you might be able to help me."

"Anything, beautiful. You looking for someone specific? Or will any handsome guy do?"

I tried really hard not to roll my eyes. It wasn't professional. I failed miserable, but he laughed anyway. "We're looking for Ronald Walker." I showed him the photo that came attached to the bond agreement. "You seen him?"

The bartender looked at the picture and frowned. Darted his eyes to the tall guy at the end of the bar. He'd perked up when I'd said his name. Turning to look at us with sharp eyes. Ronald Walker. And he looked pissed. I was suddenly wishing I'd taken Ranger up on the Hal offer.

"You got a lot of nerve coming in here," Walker said as he stood. All six and a half feet of him. He reminded me of Tank with the way he was built. Rip-you-in-half expression and all. And from the way he was looking at me, he knew exactly who we were and why we were there. Gulp.

"You look busy. I'll come back later."

"The hell you will. I'm not going back to jail and there's no way that a couple little girls are gonna make me."

"Huhn. Who you calling little girls? We here are some grown ass women. And we ain't got no problem taking you down. You ain't that big."

"Actually," I said, leaning into Lula. "Maybe we should wait. Ranger promised I could borrow Hal later."

"We don't need no Hal. You think we can't take down Paul Bunyan on our own? What kind of feminist are you?"

"The kind that doesn't want to get beat up?"

Lula thought that over. "Yeah, I could see that."

Walker was stalking toward us and I was trying to decide if I should go for my phone or my stun gun. One would get me some backup in under five minutes. The other would be a more immediate measure, if a little temporary. I ended up going for the stun gun. Fishing for it before Walker could reach us. I found the stun gun and aimed for Walker's arm. He yelped, but he didn't go down. Surprising, since it should be able to drop a 1,500 pound bull. In my panic, it was hard to remember if I'd charged it. I tried again and he batted it away. I heard it hit the wall on the other side of the room. Crap.

"Run!" I said to Lula, but before I could scurry away, Walker's meaty hand closed around the front of my shirt. I squeaked, knowing he was going to shake me like a rag doll. Lula bowled into him and bounced off, but it was enough to make him lose focus. I kicked out and he grunted. The hand around my shirt released.

"Fuck! Crazy bitch!" He started for me again and I heard the ratchet of a shotgun. It was a little faint from where I was gasping on the ground, but I was pretty sure it was the bartender. By the time I looked up again, Walker was gone.