Chapter 5

Aziza checked her reflection in the doorway for the fourth time since arriving at the county morgue to meet Khari. She reached a hand up to fluff her partially flattened hair and stopped herself. What the hell was she primping for? This was business! This was Khari! Okay, so the reason that the butterflies were battering the lining of her stomach was because this was Khari. She felt ridiculous as a grown woman even thinking of what they had as a date but during the date she'd spotted Khari's gun and had just reacted. Guns meant violence to her. She'd been old enough to remember soldiers marching with guns in the train stations of the country of her birth. Her family had come to the United States from Libya to escape the cycle of violence, she would never put herself into it voluntarily.

The problem for Aziza was that whenever she saw a gun she was instantly transported to a childhood lived in fear. She'd would never forget the terror of cowering behind trash cans while police beat a young man to death. The streets of Marsa al Burayqah were the home of the vicious Revolutionary Command Council which Qadhafi had put into power after ousting King Idris in 1969. Aziza couldn't remember a time in Libya when it had been safe to walk down the street in the open. Men were forced into military service at 15 years of age and Aziza's family had left the country just before he could be drafted into military service.

It was like banging her head against the wall. Intellectually she knew that Khari was a good and kind man but when she saw the gun she saw the face of evil that once was. After much thought and self analysis she thought that she might be able to get beyond the gun if she knew it was there and knew what it was for. If only they'd been permitted to have a gun in Libya, maybe she wouldn't have been so afraid.

The reaction at the cafe in itself had been a gut reaction from which she'd never really had the chance to backpedal. Khari was a nice guy...one of the good guys. He didn't relish violence and only carried the gun because of the nature of his job...Aziza was almost sure of that. In the months since their "date" she hadn't found anyone that had affected her in the way that Khari had. She fluffed her hair absentmindedly as he walked up to the glass doors. Khari wasn't what you'd call classically good looking. He was tall and strong with rich ebony skin and close cut hair. His nose was a little crooked but, and Aziza could admit that it might be her building Khari and his honor up to herself, he'd grown on Aziza in a big way and now, to her, there was no man more handsome.

She pushed the door open and held it for Khari. He slipped by her brushing her slightly and sending little skitters of excitement up her spine.

"Hi," she said softly. He was shaking slightly. Nervous at being in the morgue. He was adorable. Such a big, strong, guy and he was afraid of dead bodies. Aziza suppressed her smile knowing that it wouldn't be appreciated. She led him to the elevator and he followed slowly.

"Maybe you should bring it up here," he said, stopping short of joining her in the elevator. Aziza smiled and took his hand. Khari allowed himself to be pulled into the elevator.

"You'll be fine, Khari," she said softly not letting go of his hand as she pressed the button for the sub-basement level. Khari wrapped his large hand around her smaller one and their eyes locked as Aziza smiled up at him. Maybe there was hope for them after all.

Joe turned his cell phone back on as he and Stephanie left the hospital and noted the animated envelope on the screen which indicated that he had a message waiting. Joe helped his wife into the car before hitting the button to retrieve his message and dialing his PIN.

"Hey Joe, Eddie here. Got a hit on the killer MO from down south. Chief wants to see you yesterday." Joe groaned. This was the break he'd been hoping for but there was no way he was going to leave Stephanie alone.

Akilah Manchester was on top of the world as she left the hospital and headed for the parking garage. At the end of her 12 hour nursing shift, the hospital director had called her to his office and offered her the position of head nurse in the ER. She had happily accepted and couldn't wait to get home and tell her mother. As a single parent, Akilah had relied on her mom to help with her now fourteen year old son, Jessie, while she'd struggled through nursing school and then finally achieved her goal of landing a position at Trenton General. Akilah had been tempted to call her mother right then and there but she decided instead that this was news to be given in person.

Gianni Lancionne, head of security approached her. Akilah and Gianni had what she thought of as a private relationship. Akilah liked to think that one day Gianni would defy his mother and her reservations about an interracial relationship and get serious with her, but then Akilah had her own mother to deal with. As it stood, they met when they could. Gianni ran up and hugged her.

"Congratulations, baby," he said. "Just heard the good news. I'm so proud of you." Akilah smiled broadly, her braids bounced as she ducked her head.

"Thanks. It was a huge surprise though. I can't believe he picked me!"

"Who's more dedicated than you? You were the only choice, honey. Can you get away tomorrow night? We can go celebrate." Akilah considered Gianni's request and then nodded happily.

"Jess will be fine on his own. That sounds great," Gianni kissed her again, this time on the lips.

"Cool, call me and let me know what time," he said. The radio at his hip crackled and he kissed her again more slowly. "Back to work," he said, leaning his forehead against Akilah's. They shared another lingering kiss before he turned to go.

"Be careful," he called as an afterthought. Akilah laughed. She watched him walk toward the hospital for a moment before turning back to the hospital parking garage. Her feet ached. When she got home she was going to use the foot bath that her mom had gotten her for Christmas. She was deep in thought when she reached the doorway of the stairwell and didn't have time to scream as she was grabbed from behind and pulled back into the shadows behind the bushes that lined the walls of the parking garage.

Her last thoughts as the killer cut her throat were of her son, Jessie, and how she hoped that her mother would raise him to be a good and responsible man.

Stephanie watched the houses of Chambersburg change from semi-detached to detached to...downright affluent.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked Joe suspiciously, half afraid that she already knew the answer.

"I'm taking you to someone that I trust to keep you safe," he said, eyes never leaving the road.

"How long do you intend to leave me in this safe place?" she asked looking around.

"As long as I need to, Cupcake. This guy is after you and I'm gonna make damn sure that he doesn't get you," Joe promised. Stephanie would deny it if asked but the shaky feeling she'd been battling all night needed Joe around to keep it at bay.

"I'd be safe with you," Stephanie said, sharply.

"I need to focus on the case and it's not gonna happen if I'm worrying about you," Joe argued.

"This person must be pretty damn powerful if you're not going to worry about me while I'm with him," Stephanie grumbled.

"I'll still worry about you, Cupcake, I'll just know that the killer isn't going to get you," Joe said as he turned into a driveway. A perverse smile on his face. "And it's not a 'him' it's a her." The door opened and Jeanne Ellen Burrows looking tall, dark and super-cool stepped out onto the portico.

"Oh hell no," Stephanie breathed. Joe smiled. This will be interesting, he thought.

The killer stripped off his gloves and dumped them into the hospital incinerator. He fit in well at the hospital with blood on his clothes and, for once, didn't have to be so careful of who saw him. He'd known that he would find Stephanie Plum at the hospital but when he'd arrived the man that he'd assumed was her husband was with her. Not many people made him nervous but Stephanie Plum's husband was one of them. He had the look and smell of a cop. When they'd left he'd followed them to the parking garage but hadn't been able to get to his car to follow them. No matter, he knew where they lived. He'd just have to wait the husband out. No way was he approaching Stephanie Plum with her man around.

He was leaving the parking garage when fate smiled on him and he saw the red light of sin again. This time it hovered around a beautiful, young, black, woman, shining from a tiny point on her chest and lighting her with a blinding red aura. The woman was stunning with caramel skin and long braids. She was so pretty and young that he wanted to let her live but couldn't. The red light wouldn't allow her to live. This was a mercy killing. The red light would suffocate her. It was with great regret that he pulled her back into the bushes and slit her throat. As always, he was careful to drop the red bead. The red bead would be her redemption.

The psychiatrists hadn't believed him when he'd told them about the red light. The tall one who was always sweating had laughed and told him that people having auras was New Age bullshit, but he knew better. Everyone had an aura that told him what sort of person they were. Travis, for instance, had a beautiful aura that was cool blue and told everyone that he was one with his maker. He'd make the mistake killing his mother. Her aura hadn't been a true red and he'd been deceived. Grandma said it was okay, just the devil playing tricks on him, andthat he shouldn't mind because mama was fast on her way to a rocky road to hell and that he'd probably saved her soul by killing her. He liked that idea, it made him feel good.

He finished washing his hands and arms and stuffed them into his pockets whistling as he headed for the sliding exit doors. He didn't dare let anyone know about the pretty young girl, no doubt they'd find her soon.

The killing had gone so well that he couldn't help but smile. A man in a lab coat smiled and nodded and the killer smiled and nodded back. Despite losing Stephanie Plum again, the night had been a true success. He had helped the beautiful young girl by freeing her. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and his euphoria was marred at the wounds on his palms. The signs of his failure. He had actually been unable to stop Stephanie Plum from gouging his hands with her keys. He stopped walking as the marks started to bleed again and realized the awful truth. They were the stigmata. Stephanie Plum was a sign from God. She would be the end of his quest to godliness. He had the stigmata now and with her death he would be at God's right hand.

Aziza lead Khari to her office and to a table where she had a metal pan arranged with a standing magnifying glass. Khari examined the glass bead. There were gold marks bisecting the bead but otherwise it was fairly normal.

"It's crystal. A good quality," Aziza said informatively. She picked up a photo while Khari continued to examine the bead through the magnifying glass.

"What's it from, do you think?" he asked. Aziza handed him the picture and he glanced at it before doing a double take and stopping cold.

"Holy shit," Khari whispered as he noted the gold marking was actually a cross.

"Exactly," Aziza said, a nervous laugh escaping, "It's a rosary bead."

"So the real question," Khari said as he rubbed his eyes with forefinger and thumb, "Is how to stop a killer who is on a fucking crusade."

Joe and Stephanie watched Jeanne Ellen as she leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers in front of her face. She'd sat quietly while Joe had relayed every bit of information about the killer as it related to Stephanie and then had asked that she allow his wife to stay in her home and under her protection until the killer was caught. Attracting a possible serial killer to her home was a big thing. Joe waited anxiously.

"I'm not sure about this," Jeanne Ellen said slowly. "Basically you're asking me to put the people who rely on me for protection at risk to take care of your wife. Let's bottom line it, Joe, what's in it for me?"

"We have a little money..." Joe began. Jeanne Ellen laughed.

"I'm sorry, Joe, but I have a lot of money. I don't need your money," she said.

"What do you want?" he asked seemingly desperate to get her to agree at any cost. Joe hoped that he and Jeanne Ellen sounded convincing and that Stephanie didn't suspect the real reason he'd brought her to Jeanne Ellen's home In the midst of the horror of Stephanie's attack, Joe remembered the police background report on the first victim mentioning that the deceased had been a friend of Jeanne Ellen Burrows. It was information he'd decided to use to his advantage. Stephanie needed to be a safe haven. She needed the best protection. He had worked with Jeanne Ellen before and knew that she could be trusted to do the job properly. He would give anything to keep his wife safe.

Joe had called Jeanne Ellen from the hospital while Stephanie had been signing the paperwork to be discharged and had quickly explained the situation to the bounty hunter. Joe had insisted that his wife not be told that everything had been pre-arranged. Stephanie hated being told what to do and would balk at Joe taking this upon himself. If she found out he'd deal with whatever anger was aimed at him when the psycho was behind bars.

"The first thing I want is every piece of information you have on this killer. Every document, every picture down to every hint of gossip at the station. I will not take this on without whatever information you have on this person," Jeanne Ellen leaned forward as she spoke.

"I can't," Joe said, balking slightly.

"You will," Jeanne Ellen disagreed, "I also have some rules for your wife's visit at Chez Burrows."

"Which are?" Joe asked, trying hard not to betray how nervous he was.

"You don't come back here until the job is done. The man, if he's been following Stephanie, will know you and can possibly follow you here," she stipulated. Joe started to agree but she held up a hand. "I also want you to limit contact to your cell phone. The line isn't so easily traced." Joe nodded.

"No," Stephanie said.

"No?" Jeanne Ellen questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Think about it, Cupcake," Joe warned. "What she's saying makes sense."

"We don't know that he's been following me, Joe," Stephanie argued. "He attacked me behind the office in the alley. Anyone could have been in that alley. No, Joe, you're over-reacting. I'll be fine." Joe's eyes turned dark as his temper flared.

"And we don't know that he hasn't been following you. I know you saw the pictures, Cupcake. I will do whatever I can to keep you from winding up in one of those crime scene photos. I will ask Jeanne Ellen to lock you in a room if..."

"But I wouldn't do it," Jeanne Ellen interjected coolly, "You stay if you both agree to the rules." Joe started to speak again but she held up a hand and sent him a look that had "shut up" written all over it. "Will you leave us for a moment, Joe?" Jeanne Ellen waited until Joe had left the room before she turned to Stephanie. She leaned foreword slightly in a confidential manner.

"It's not that I'm not grateful, I'd just feel so helpless just sitting here while..." she stopped as her throat tightened.

""We're not just going to sit here." Jeanne Ellen said laughing. Stephanie sat up, more than a little surprised.

"What?" she asked, feeling like a flounder looking for a line.

"With your luck and my skill this guy can be behind bars in no time," Jeanne Ellen said slowly.

"But you said..." Stephanie stammered.

"I know what I said. That was for Joe. If you're not up for this you can head out of the door with him but he's right, he needs to focus, which means he hears nothing about this. The first victim was a dear friend of mine," Jeanne Ellen explained, Stephanie saw a flash of sadness in Jeanne Ellen's expression before she covered it with her customary expressionless gaze. "You understand?"

"Hell, yes" Stephanie agreed. As Jeanne Ellen called Joe back into the room, Stephanie was struck by how different Jeanne Ellen seemed to her from the days that she'd run with Ranger. Joe walked over to the couch and wrapped an arm around his wife.

"I'll stay, Joe," she said softly.

"Thank you, Cupcake," he said, kissing her lightly. "We're going to agree to your terms, Jeanne Ellen."

"You'll have nothing to worry about, Joe, Stephanie is safe here." Jeanne Ellen said. She walked out of the room to give them some privacy for goodbyes.

"You do what you need to do, Joe, I'll be fine here," Stephanie said in a whisper.

"I sure as hell hope so," Joe said, hugging Stephanie tighter. Stephanie smiled over Joe's shoulder.