A/N: All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I use them for fun and not profit.

Chapter 20

It had been decided by the RangeMan powers that be I would be safe having lunch with Joe Morelli. Ranger and Tank didn't want me to go without an escort, but they didn't have a good answer when I asked who would come after me when I was in the company of a Trenton P.D. detective. After lunch I was to be returned to RangeMan where Howdy would become my shadow. I didn't mind. I found Howdy to be pleasant company.

Joe picked me up right at noon and we rode in silence to Pino's. It was strangely familiar to be sitting there with him. When we entered Pino's, I saw a few speculative glances. Word was already out about Ranger and me so I knew there'd be talk about my having lunch with Joe. I didn't care.

It was toward the end of lunch when Joe finally told me his news. "I'm leaving Trenton."

"Why?" I asked, truly surprised.

"Terry and I have no future here, and in spite of everything I want her in my future. A few months ago I was offered a job with the Cincinnati P.D. as a detective in charge of a new homicide unit. I turned them down, but yesterday I called and found out the position was still open to me. I don't know whether to believe Terry or not, but she's willing to leave Trenton and her family to be with me. I think it's our only shot at making it and we're going to take it."

"Wow," I said. I looked at his face and realized some of the tension I'd been seeing lately was gone. "I'll miss you, Joe. I'm happy for you and Terry, but I will miss you." I reached across the table and squeezed his hand.

"I'll miss you too," he said. "You're an original, Stephanie Plum, and I'll always be there for you if you need me…even long distance." He reached out and tugged one of my curls and it was a really bittersweet moment. Each of us was moving on and we both knew we wouldn't keep in touch even if we couldn't verbalize it.

I found Ranger in his office after my lunch with Joe. He looked up from his computer screen and smiled at me. He didn't ask, but I knew he was curious about my conversation with Joe. I walked around and plopped down on his lap. "Joe and Terry are moving to Cincinnati," I said. "They want to be together and he doesn't think they can make a life here."

"I'm sorry, Babe."

"Sorry, why?" I asked.

"Because he's been a good friend to you and I know you'll miss him."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

Ranger gave me a steady look. "Yes, I'm serious. You're my wife, but I don't own you. I wouldn't have kept you from seeing Morelli if he'd stayed in Trenton." The tiny seed of burgeoning joy I'd felt two days before sprouted.

I found Howdy and let him drive me to the bonds office. Connie'd left a message on my phone. Maria Fiorelli had once again missed her court date and needed to be rebonded. She was working the early shift at Giovichinni's. Howdy waited in the SUV while I ran in the bonds office and picked up the paper-work for Maria.

"Your grandma and her honey were just in here," Lula said. "He's a sexy old dude. I think him and your grandma are a perfect match."

"What were they doing here?" I asked.

"Looking for you. She wanted you to go with them to Kazmiski's formal wear store to help pick out tuxedos. Lester's gonna be his grandpa's best man."

I looked at my watch. "Kazmiski's is just around the corner from Giovichinni's," I said. "If Howdy hurries he might get me there early enough to help them out." I ran out and hopped in the SUV and told Howdy about the plans.

He made good time and I had half an hour to spare before Maria got off work. He kept looking in his rearview mirror. "Are we being followed?" I asked.

"No, I don't see anyone. I'm being vigilant, but Tank thinks Shirley will abide by the terms of the restraining order. Sometimes I just get a feeling, but there's probably nothing to it," he said, shrugging his shoulders. I smiled. Howdy had spidey sense. I made a note to be careful. Based on my own experiences, I knew better than to discount his feeling.

I walked through the door to Kazmiski's and saw Lester in a powder blue tuxedo. He looked at me with terror in his eyes. "Help!" he demanded.

I walked over to a similarly attired Osbaldo. "Where's Grandma?" I asked.

"She's next door doing some shopping while we're being fitted," he replied. I made an executive decision. I turned to the clerk. "We'll take basic black tuxedos," I said. I turned back to Osbaldo. "If Grandma wants color she can have it on the vests."

"She was having trouble making a decision," Osbaldo said. "We want everything to be perfect because this is the last time we'll ever do this. At our age we're grateful to have found one another. She'll be glad of your help." I looked at my watch. I didn't want to miss Maria. I still had twenty minutes.

"I'm going to head over to Giovichinni's" I said. "Maybe I can find Grandma." I gave the groom and best man a hug and went to tell Howdy where I'd be.

"I think I'd better go in with you," Howdy said. "You might need help with your skip."

"No, wait here," I said. "I'll be perfectly safe in the store. I'm going to find my grandma and then wait for Maria to get off work. She'll be cooperative." I could tell Howdy wanted to be more hands on, but he stayed in the SUV, his eyes focused on me as I entered the store.

I saw Maria immediately and walked up to her checkout lane. She turned, grinned and ducked her head. A small flush spread across her cheeks. "I know. I've been bad. I'll be off work and ready to go in a few minutes."

I grinned back at her. "Okay, I'll just browse. I think my grandma is in the store. I'm going to see if I can find her." Maria was a nice change of pace. I wasn't going to make much bringing her in, but I wasn't going to be wearing anybody's lunch either.

The store was small and I made my way to the back. I figured I'd find Grandma at the meat counter. As I rounded the corner the little hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I didn't see Grandma anywhere. I sensed someone behind me and swung around to face Anthony Fenoglio.

"Anthony!" Surprise was evident in my face. "What are you doing here?"

"I've actually been following you. I need to talk to you. Shirley has told me a lot and there are things I need to ask you. Can we go someplace and talk?"

I didn't think going anywhere with Anthony was a good idea. His eyes were nervously darting back and forth as if he was afraid someone would see him. There was no restraining order against him. Why should he be nervous, I wondered?

"I can't right now," I said. "I'm here to pick up a skip. My partner is out front waiting for me."

"We need to talk, now," Anthony insisted. He reached out and grabbed my upper arm attempting to pull me to him. I jerked my arm back.

"Not now, Anthony. If you want to talk to me, call me tomorrow and we'll schedule a time."

"I'm sorry, Stephanie. I insist we talk now." His hand was in his jacket pocket. "I have a gun in my pocket and I'll use it if necessary. I don't want to hurt anyone. Don't make me." He had little beads of sweat on his upper lip, and his eyes continued to dart side to side. This was not the Anthony I knew. I decided to cooperate with him. Howdy was outside and there was no way he'd let me get into a car with Anthony.

"Fine," I said. "Let's go." I turned and headed to the front.

"Not that way," Anthony said. He motioned toward the exit to the back parking lot. I felt the first tremors of real fear. Going out the public but seldom used back entrance was not good. As I walked with Anthony I tried to calm down and think clearly. I didn't think he would hurt me. He'd never shown any propensity for violence before. I had to get a message to Howdy. I knew my car had RangeMan trackers, but I was uncertain if there was anything in my pocketbook. As we got closer to the door Anthony stepped into position directly behind me. The gun that'd been in his pocket was now out. I could feel the hardness of the barrel pressing against my jacket. He was very close to me. I reached up to push the door open and saw my grandma standing on the other side.

She pulled open the door and said, "Stephanie, I came over here to find you. I went back to Kazmiski's and Baldy told me I'd just missed you." I felt Anthony's hand tremble as he pressed the gun deeper into the folds of my jacket. He was nervous and that wasn't doing anything to calm me down. "Can you come over and look at the black tuxedos?" she asked.

I needed to somehow get a message to Grandma so she'd know things weren't right. Lester and Howdy both were nearby and if they were alerted something was wrong I'd feel better. "Grandmother Edna," I said using a name I never called her. "How nice to see you. I'm sorry I can't help you now. Anthony and I are late to a meeting. You remember Anthony, Grandmother? He's my former boss from E.E. Martin."

Grandma shot a look at me, then at Anthony. "Sure, I remember you. Nice to see you again. Too bad you don't have time to help me today, Granddaughter Stephanie. I'll be giving you a call real soon," and she winked at me.

Anthony and I walked through the door and into the parking lot. He leaned forward and, in a voice that seemed to be as fear-filled as I felt, he said, "Get in the grey car and don't try anything. I don't want to have to hurt you." I walked forward to the passenger side of the car. The windows were tinted, but I thought I saw movement in the back seat. As I opened the door Anthony leaned in even closer. His hand came from behind me and slipped inside the car where a female hand shot forward over the seat and grabbed the gun. "Get in," he said, and I did with a sinking feeling. The gun was now being held by Shirley Blanco and it was pointed at the back of my head.

Anthony said he wouldn't hurt me. I believed him. I wasn't as sure about Shirley. We were headed west and so far no one had spoken. I decided to change that. "What's going on?" I asked. "Where are you taking me?"

Shirley pressed the gun against the base of my skull and I almost stopped breathing. "Don't talk," she growled. "You'll figure it out soon enough."

"Shirley, be nice!" Anthony admonished. "When I agreed to help you with this you said no one would get hurt. You can put the gun away. I know Stephanie will cooperate."

"I will," I said, thinking I'd do about anything to get the gun away from my head. We were in Trenton. If we hit one pot-hole it could be all over for me.

"Stephanie," Anthony said. "Who was that man who was with you in the office?"

"I introduced you the other day," I said. "It was Carlos Mañoso. "

"You forgot to tell him," Shirley chimed in from the back seat, "Carlos Mañoso is her husband, Anthony, ask her. Everything I told you last night is the truth. The woman you think you're in love with is married to another man. She was just leading you on. When you were having your romantic dinner she was cheating on her husband. She's no different than your cheating ex-wife. I'm the one you should have fallen in love with. I'm the woman who would have given you everything." Shirley was yelling and the gun continued to press into the back of my skull.

My tongue was caught between teeth that were clenched so tightly I could taste blood. I took a slow breath and told myself to relax. It didn't work. I began to think I wasn't going to get out of this. I tried to look in the side mirror without moving my head. I saw no RangeMan vehicle following us. My hope was Grandma Mazur had realized something was wrong, but even if she had the chances of being found were growing less and less the farther we went from the Burg.

Anthony never took his eyes from the road. His voice was soft as he asked, "That's not true, is it, Stephanie? You aren't married to that man. You know how much it hurt me when my wife was unfaithful. You're not married, are you?"

I'm known for my ability to lie. I can come up with a good story any time I need to and I'm believable. What caused me to tell the truth is something I still don't understand. I heard myself talking and I couldn't believe what I was saying. "Yes, we are married, but we were separated. We weren't living together as man and wife."

"That's a lie," Shirley shouted. "He was with you yesterday when I was arrested. Mooch told me you're living together."

"Are you living with your husband?" Anthony asked.

"I am, but…" I jerked against my seatbelt as Anthony sharply turned off the road and pulled to a stop.

"Stephanie," Anthony said, turning to face me. "I'm afraid I can't be your friend anymore. You should have been honest with me." His expression was grim, but his eyes were tear-filled. "Shirley is right. You're nothing more than an unfaithful adulterous bitch, just like my ex-wife." His words were harsh, but his head hung in defeat.

He turned to the back seat and looked at Shirley. "I'm sorry. I owe you an apology, Shirley. You've always been faithful to me and I've been blind to it. I hope it's not too late for us."

Shirley moved the gun from the back of my head and said, "Get out of the car, Stephanie." She didn't have to tell me twice. I opened the door, thinking I'd jump and run. I had one foot on the ground when I heard Shirley's softly spoken words, "I'm afraid it is too late." The sound of a gunshot reverberated in the cold winter air. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a red cloud of vapor I was sure used to be Anthony's head.