Family Ties

Chapter 8

We drove a few more miles before parking in front of a small restaurant called 'Rosa's'. I looked at Ranger.

"Snake brought me here when I came out for the wedding. They have great Mexican food, I think you'll like it."

I smiled. "Sounds good."

We ordered, and I was thinking about Sonny and Ranger.

He asked "What's that smile about?"

"Just thinking about you and Sonny. Trying to imagine you as a kid."

He shrugged. "I was like every other kid, full of myself and convinced I knew everything. Wasn't until I joined the service that I got a clue on how much I didn't know."

"Did you just volunteer information? Hand me a calendar. I need to mark this down."

"Smartass."

I grinned. "Better watch yourself Ranger, if you're not careful I might actually get to know you."

The look he gave me was serious. "You know me better than you think."

I rolled my eyes. "Please. What I know about you I could fit on a matchbook cover."

The waitress arrived with our drinks, and some chips and salsa. I dug in happily. After a few minutes I noticed Ranger watching me. "What?"

"Last night at dinner you said I gave you bad advice."

I shrugged. "You did."

"About working it out with Morelli?" I nodded, and he continued. "It was the only thing I could tell you at the time."

I met his eyes. "It was still bad advice. Doesn't matter anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because in a way, I did take your advice. Joe and I finally have a relationship that suits us both. With none of the drama of the old relationship."

Our food arrived, and we ate in silence for a while. He was right, this was great food. I ate until I couldn't force another bite. Ranger looked amused.

"What? It's really good food."

"Nothing, just relieved you got your appetite back."

We left the restaurant, and I was glad for my recent weight loss. As uncomfortably full as I was, I still didn't have to unbutton my pants.

"We should go pack up."

I nodded agreement and got in the SUV.

Packing didn't take long, as I hadn't unpacked much. Ranger knocked on the connecting door shortly after I finished.

"Ready?"

"Just finished."

He took my bag to the SUV before checking out. As we were walking to the parking lot, he turned to me.

"It may surprise you to know that you're as much a mystery to me as I am to you."

I shot him a disbelieving look. "Ranger, your whole life is a mystery. Mine is an open book."

"There's different ways of knowing someone, Steph. You may not know my history, but I bet you could predict pretty accurately how I'd react in any situation. I know a lot of your history, but I can't predict how you'll react to anything."

I wasn't sure I agreed, but it was something to think about. I changed the subject. "What's next on the agenda?"

"We've still got some time before we're due to meet Sonny. We should check and see if Pat has anything new for us."

We arrived to an empty office. Ranger evidently knew the keycode, because he let us in without any trouble.

There was a note for us on Pat's desk.

Ranger and Steph,

Following up on a lead in an ongoing investigation. Didn't find much on the women you asked about, but what I have is in Brennan's file in the top drawer. If you leave before we get back, call and let us know where you're staying. Happy hunting-KQ

Ranger took the file out of the drawer, handing me pages as he finished them. Pat was right, there wasn't much. Nothing unusual in their credit report or employment histories.

Ranger handed me the last pages, "Look at this."

It was a medical record for Kendra Bainbridge. Seems she had a lot of 'accidents'. I read through it. Broken ribs, broken arm, broken nose. Multiple ER visits for bruising. Each time she claimed she fell. I sighed. The last entry had me curious. She was obviously badly beaten, and had been admitted for observation for a concussion. The primary complaint had been domestic violence. Had she finally admitted what was going on? That admission was two years ago. Nothing since.

I looked at Ranger. "So, did she leave him, or did he go to jail?"

Sonny spoke up from the doorway. "Both, and neither."

Ranger turned to him. "Explain."

Sonny walked toward the desk as he spoke. "Tommy had been beating her for years. He hit one of the kids, and she left him. He caught up to her after work, and that's when he beat her for the last time. She finally pressed charges against him. He only went to jail overnight, and she went into hiding. The night he was bailed out, he went out drinking, then went searching for her. He drove off the road and died. I think she was more relieved than anything else."

"Would she have stuck to her guns?" I wanted to know.

Sonny looked hard at me, thinking. "I'd like to think so, but she'd gone back to him so many times. That was the first time he'd hurt one of the kids though, so maybe she would have."

"And how do you know all this?" I was still curious.

"Please. The reservation is like any other small community. It thrives on gossip. Plus she and Luz were joined at the hip in high school, and Luz used to babysit my sister and I when we were small."

"Lot of babysitting going on," I observed.

He shrugged. "Not that surprising, really. When Kam, Gene and I were little enough to need one, there were three teenage girls in the neighborhood. Luz, Kendra, and Lydia. My mom felt that Luz was the most responsible of the three, so that's who she called."

"Kamia's mother didn't feel the same way?"

"Kam's mom was a single parent. She probably needed a sitter with more availability. Luz was only allowed to sit on the weekends."

I nodded, satisfied.

Sonny dropped Pat's keys on her desk, and the three of us got into the SUV.

Sonny was again giving Ranger directions when another thought struck me.

"Hey Sonny?"

He looked at me, waiting.

"Did you know Lydia back then too?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I mean, I knew who she was, and that she sometimes hung out with Luz and Kendra, but I don't think I ever spoke to her. Besides, she left the reservation before I was ten."

"Where did she go?"

"New York, I think. Her sister was going to school out there or something. I don't really remember."

Ranger spoke up. "That would fit. Tomas met her in New York."

We pulled up in front of a small but well kept house. As we walked toward the door, Sonny turned to Ranger.

"Kendra's a nice lady, and she's just now getting her life back together. Try to go easy on her."

Ranger gave him a dark look.

I decided to intervene. "Sonny, why don't you talk to her? Ranger and I won't interfere unless we have to." I was looking pointedly at Ranger as I finished speaking.

Sonny looked from me to Ranger. At Ranger's nod, he answered. "Works for me."

Kendra answered the door, looking slightly mussed. "Sonny?" She was obviously surprised to see him. "What's up? And who are these people?"

Sonny smiled. "This is Ranger, and this is Stephanie. We need to talk to you. Can we come in?"

She stepped back from the door. "Oh, sure." There was yelling coming from further in the house. She let out a sigh, and said. "Give me a minute. They're supposed to be doing their homework. Meet me in the living room."

The noise level died down in what I assume was the kitchen, and Kendra joined us a few minutes later. "Sorry about that. They tend to run wild if they think I'm out of earshot." She smiled, and suddenly looked five years younger. "So is anyone going to tell me what this is about?"

Sonny leaned forward. "We're looking for Lydia and her boyfriend. Have you seen or heard from her?"

She looked at him for a long while before answering. "Yeah," she said slowly. "They camped out in my backyard for a few days. What did he do?"

"What makes you think he did anything?" Ranger asked softly.

"I didn't like him." She turned back to Sonny. "Something about him reminded me of Tommy."

"You have good instincts, Kendra. Brennan beat Lydia's little girl. She's still in the hospital." I chimed in.

She closed her eyes, and shook her head. "I knew I shouldn't have let them stay here." She sighed, and opened her eyes to meet Sonny's. "What do you need to know?"

"How long did they stay?" asked Sonny.

"Three days. Friday through Sunday. Lydia said they had an appointment on Monday. When I got up Monday morning, they were gone."

Ranger took over. "Did they say what kind of appointment? Or give any indication of where they were going next?"

"No, sorry. She just said they didn't have enough money for a hotel for the weekend, and they needed to stay in town until after the appointment on Monday. And your role in this?"

"I'm Samantha's uncle."

She raised her eyebrows at that. "And when you find them?"

"They'll be escorted to Trenton to face trial."

She nodded, then sighed. "Lydia was never the most stable person. When she wrote and said she'd married and had a child, I was so happy for her. She seemed happy, and I was glad she'd settled down. I would never have imagined..." she trailed off.

Sonny picked up the questioning. "Kendra. Is there anything at all you can think of that would help figure out what that appointment was, or where they went after they left here?"

She opened her mouth, then stopped, hesitating.

"Please." I asked her.

She nodded. "This is just my impression, okay?" We all nodded, and she continued. "Lydia's boyfriend seemed... wired."

Ranger lifted an eyebrow and asked. "Wired on drugs?"

Kendra nodded again. "I think so. And I wondered if their appointment had something to do with drugs. Lydia seemed like she expected to have money afterward, so.." She took a deep breath. "I don't really know anything, but that's what I was thinking."

"Thank you." Sonny told her.

Ranger wasn't finished. "Kendra? Did anything make you suspect she was with him against her will? Or that he abused her in any way?"

"No. She didn't seem afraid of him at all."

Ranger blew out a breath. "One last thing." He pulled out a card and wrote on the back of it. "The numbers on the front are friends who are helping with the investigation. On the back are my and Stephanie's cell phone numbers. Would you be willing to call one of us if you hear from her again?" He handed her the card.

She reached out a hand to take it, nodding. "Lydia sent me a picture of Sam once, on her first birthday. Beautiful girl. She'd be, what, three or four now?"

Ranger nodded. "She'll be four in a couple of months."

"I hope she's okay."

"We think she will be, thanks."

We all stood, and the three of us prepared to leave.

Kendra escorted us to the door, looking thoughtful. "Sonny?"

We all turned back to her.

"Check with Luz and Victoria. She might have gotten in touch with them too."

"We will, thanks."

We all piled in the SUV, none of us speaking. I didn't notice we were driving back to Pat and Jack's office until we were almost there.

"Ranger?" I looked at him, not understanding.

"Want to see if Kendra's hunch is right. Snake may have the contacts on the reservation, but Kap has them in the city. If Brennan had drugs to deal, she'd know how to find out."