Because you love her- by jersey girl in oxford (sue)
Chapter 10
One of Ranger's men led Morelli to a studio apartment on the 4th floor. Morelli dropped off Bob, Rex, and his duffel before heading up to the conference room on the 5th floor. He was way too keyed up to sleep. While it was true that Stephanie's murder did have a Tales from the Crypt feel to it, he never in a million years dreamed anything like this was even possible. He reviewed the police and medical examiner's reports again. Knowing what he did now, the evidence smacked him in the face. "Jesus," he muttered. There were bite marks on her neck. She had been drained of all her blood. The casket. He swallowed hard as he remembered what the inside of her casket looked like after it had been exhumed. He looked through some of the missing person cases and unsolved murder files. There had been a few murders that were similar but none of the bodies had been completely drained of their blood like Stephanie. Morelli sat back in his chair and rubbed his face with both hands. Coffee, he said to himself, I need some coffee. As if almost on cue, Ranger entered the conference room with a mug in his hand.
"Thought you could use this." He placed the mug in front of Morelli.
"You read my mind," Morelli replied and sipped from the mug. Ranger sat across from him. "So…what do we do now?" Ranger continued to stare at Morelli.
"We find them and…..take care of it."
"You mean kill them."
"You can't kill something that is already dead, Morelli," Ranger told him. "Why do you think she came to see you tonight?" Morelli gaped back at Ranger with his mouth open. "You were an easier target. Would have been harder for her to get to me."
"Maybe she just wanted to see me," Morelli mumbled. He was trying more to convince himself what Ranger said wasn't true. He wanted to believe that she came to him because she loved him. Ranger nodded.
"I'm sure she did want to see you, but that doesn't change what she wanted to do." Ranger leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "This isn't easy for me either." Morelli nodded back.
"How are we going to do it? What…like do we drive a stake through her heart? What if this isn't like the movies? Do we need crosses and garlic? Fuck! I can't believe we're even talking about this!"
"The wooden stake through the heart was the most consistent with all the information on the internet. I have a lot of contacts but don't know any experts on the occult or vampires. I was never into horror or science fiction growing up," Ranger explained.
"Why do you think he wanted her? I mean….I don't think picked her out at random. What's their connection?" Ranger shrugged.
"The last time I saw her was when I got back from Miami. She told me she found her soul mate, and they were meant to be together. I never believed in reincarnation before either. Now….who knows?" Morelli sat up.
"You think they knew each other?" Ranger shrugged again. "Like in another life time?" Morelli sat back and took in this information. "So he finally finds her again and….wants to keep her?" Morelli gazed at Ranger with raised eyebrows.
"I know….this sounds crazy," Ranger agreed. "If you have another explanation, I'd be willing to hear it." Morelli became somber. Ranger slid another file across the table for him to review. "I think this is where he lives." Morelli grabbed the file and ripped it open.
"Rumson?" Ranger nodded. "Christian de Beauvoir. How'd you find this?"
"Starlite, as we found out, was a dummy corporation. I traced it through the auction house that was affiliated. Then, I found the antique dealership and the mansion. If all the other legends are true, we need to get there before sun down. I take it you want to come with me." Morelli nodded. Ranger stood up and stretched. "We'll get what we need first thing in the morning. I know it's not going to be easy but try to get some sleep. We'll need it for tomorrow."
Ranger stared at the ceiling of his bedroom for hours. He assumed that three floors below him, Morelli was doing the same thing. In the span of a few weeks, he lost the woman he loved and his best friend. Seeing her tonight nearly destroyed him. She went to him first. He consoled himself with the fact that she would not have been able to get in his building discreetly. Then again, she didn't show up in pictures. Would she have shown up on the monitors? He knew what had to be done. It was the only way to set her soul free, he told himself over and over. He would have to be strong. He made a promise to himself that he wouldn't fail her again.
By the time Ranger and Morelli collected what they needed, it was almost noon. The drive to Rumson was a little better than an hour. This would still give them plenty of daylight to do some reconnaissance when they arrived. Ranger handed Morelli another file to review during the drive. "How do you get this stuff?" he asked when he saw aerial photos of the property. "Forget it. I'm not sure I want to know." Ranger smirked.
"It's not really all that hard. You can get just about anything over the internet," Ranger answered. The house was set back off the road. There was plenty of cover from the surrounding trees. It was not gated. That was a plus. No fence to scale. Looked like a quiet neighborhood. There was no security system sign posted but that didn't mean that one was not in place. The drive way made a circle in front of the house and snaked around to the garage behind it. Ranger pulled in the driveway and parked behind the house.
No one came out to greet them. There was an eerie calmness all around them. "Do we just break in there now?" Morelli asked. Ranger gave him a slight nod. Morelli took in a deep breath and slowly blew it out. "We'd be killing her. Isn't there another way? I don't know if I can do this."
Ranger stared at Morelli until he met his gaze. "There is no other way. She needs to be at peace. This is the only thing left that we can do for her. We will do this, Morelli, because we love her." This time, Morelli nodded. Ranger extended his right hand to him. He took it. "She needs you to stay strong. This isn't going to be easy."
"I know. Let's do this," Morelli responded. They exited the SUV. Each grabbed his duffel bag that contained the tools they thought they needed. Ranger made quick work of the lock on the patio door and let them both inside.