Special thanks to trhodes9 who is officially the Dashcam Info Goddess! Thanks also to jenio1 who has been great about helping me bounce around some story ideas and has even come up with some awesome plot twists and turns. It's very much appreciated, Babes! ;)

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

We sat back and chatted casually, waiting for Lester to deliver our lunch. Tom was in the middle of a hilarious story about a mission he, Ranger, Tank, Bobby, and Lester had been on when Ranger's phone rang.

"Yo!" he answered, absently rubbing my arm.

Suddenly he sat straight up in his chair, and I almost fell off of his lap and onto the floor. He barked "Double check all of the equipment. Let me know immediately when you access the recordings!"

Ranger ended the call and threw his phone down on the table.

"Problem?" I asked quietly.

"When Hector and Hal got to the impound lot, Morelli was already there with a team. Supposedly they were collecting evidence, but Hal noticed that some of the wiring for the dashcam had been tampered with. He thinks Morelli erased the footage from earlier today."

Chapter 8 – If it Weren't for Bad Luck…

I gasped. "How did he even know the SUV had a dashcam?" I asked incredulously.

Ranger blew out a frustrated breath. "I'm not sure, Babe, but it doesn't really surprise me. We do a lot of work with the TPD, and a few times we've had to use our camera footage as evidence. I'm sure some of the officers here are aware that our SUVs have cameras."

I shook my head. "But how could he erase it? Isn't the hard drive protected somehow?"

Ranger nodded. "It's in a welded box that requires a key to open it. Unfortunately, the SUV you took had been having problems with the recording devices. Hector had been taking it out all week playing with the settings, and he left the key on the keyring so that he didn't have to keep hunting it down."

I groaned. If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. Honestly, what were the odds of me taking the only SUV that had the key to its dashcam attached to the keyring? Gah!

"Are they sure he tampered with it?" I asked, stunned.

"No, Babe. They aren't sure of anything yet. They called as soon as they got there and saw Morelli. They hadn't had a chance to look closely at the equipment. Hal just noticed that some of the wires were out of place and looked like they had been moved. It could be nothing, or it could be intentional. We'll just have to wait and see."

Let's just say that patience is not my middle name! I crossed my legs and jiggled the top one so much that Ranger grabbed my hips with an exasperated "Babe!"

I smiled guiltily at him and stopped jiggling. Instead I started tapping my fingers on the table. From the glare Ranger gave me, I guessed that was just as annoying. I glared back at him. "What?" I grouched. "If you want me to quit thinking about it, then help me keep my mind off of it!" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to take them back! When would I learn?

Ranger smirked and leaned me back across his lap. He tangled his hands in my hair and kissed me so thoroughly that I thought my curls might have caught fire! I could distantly hear Tom clearing his throat. Sensible Stephanie was mortified that I was making out with Ranger in front of my attorney. Stupid Stephanie straddled Ranger and moaned into his mouth as she ground against him.

Ranger pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine. "Still thinking about it, Babe?" he asked huskily.

"Mmm-hmm..." I moaned. I was so pulling the tiger's tail!

Ranger arched an eyebrow at me. "Really?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yep," I replied breathlessly. "Can't stop thinking about it."

He began nuzzling my neck. "Thinking about what?" he whispered.

"Ummmm…" My mind was swimming. What was I supposed to be thinking about?

I could feel his chest shaking with silent laughter as he nibbled on my ear. "What are you thinking about, Babe?" he growled.

"How many clothes we're wearing." I panted.

Ranger groaned and pressed me closer to him.

I was just about to suggest that Tom leave us alone for a few minutes, when Lester sauntered through the door. He smirked when he saw the two of us. "And how are the new parents?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "If you weren't holding a meatball sub, you would be dead, Mister!"

Lester gave me his wide eyed, angelic look. "Beautiful! How could you say such a thing to your favorite RangeMan?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and moved into the chair next to Ranger's, grabbing my sub in the process. I took a huge bite, letting out a long, appreciative moan.

Lester snickered. "I could make you moan like that!" he teased, wagging his eyebrows up and down.

Ranger growled at him. "Mine!" he barked. "Get your own woman, Santos!"

I just rolled my eyes at them.

"So what's the deal, Beautiful? Did you blow up the mayor's office or what?" Lester asked, unwrapping his own sub.

I glared at him. "Not quite." I mumbled around a big bite of meatball.

"So what are you being charged with?"

I ticked my offenses off on my fingers as I listed them out loud. "Running a red light, assaulting a police officer, and a drive by shooting."

Lester's eyes got huge, and his mouth dropped open. A hunk of meatball fell out and landed on his lap, but I don't think he even noticed. He shook his head. "Damn, Beautiful! You sure know how to keep things interesting!"

I rolled my eyes and told Lester about Joe's traffic stop this morning.

"Too bad you didn't tag Morelli with your stun gun!" he snickered. "I would've paid to see that!"

"Well, if Morelli didn't erase the SUV's dashcam, I'll let you see what happened later, OK?" I offered.

Lester raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean if Morelli didn't erase the SUV's dashcam? When the hell would he have had access to our dashcam?"

"He impounded the SUV. Supposedly it's the one I drove when I shot up Stark Street at 3 am this morning. Ranger sent Hal and Hector over to download the footage off of the hard drive, and Morelli was there with a crew gathering evidence. Hal thought it looked like the wiring had been moved, possibly tampered with. We're waiting for a call back to see what they found."

Lester sat back, looking deep in thought. "There's gotta be a way we can nail his ass to the wall." He paused. "Where did he pull you over?"

"The intersection of Market and Elm. Why?"

Lester chewed while he thought. "Just wondering if any of our accounts were nearby. Maybe we can get some security footage from one of the nearby businesses."

I brightened. "Really? Do you think that's possible?"

Lester shrugged. "Anything's possible! The angle is what will be tricky. Were you guys on the sidewalk or in the street?"

"In the street."

"That may be too far for a lot of the cameras. Most are set to record the front of the building, including the sidewalk, but most don't stretch as far as the street."

The hope I had felt when Lester suggested the security cameras vanished when he started talking about technicalities like angles and which side of the car we had been on.

Lester finished his sub and pulled out his phone. He dialed and started barking orders to whoever answered. "I need all of our accounts near the intersection of Market and Elm sent to my phone ASAP. List whether or not they have exterior cameras and the range of those cameras." He ended the call and sat back, waiting for the information.

Ranger sat silently, munching on his salad. Blech. I didn't know how someone as manly as my Cuban Sex God could survive on leafy green stuff. In my opinion, lettuce is the food that food eats. In other words, I am a carnivore.

He caught me looking at him and raised an eyebrow. "Deep thoughts, Babe?"

I shrugged. "Just wondering how likely it is that we'll be able to find any evidence." Just then a thought hit me. What if we didn't find any evidence? What would happen to me? Tom had said that Ranger would be fine as long as I didn't press charges against him, which of course I wouldn't. But would Joe press charges against me? And if he did, would I be out on bail? Or stuck in jail? My eyes widened at the thought of spending the night in jail. Or several days. Or months. Or years. I started hyperventilating.

I looked up at Ranger with panicked eyes as he jumped up and knelt down by my chair. He pushed my head down between my knees. "Deep breaths, Babe. Push up against my hand."

Lester leaned over and rubbed my back, crooning "It's OK, Beautiful. Come on, deep breaths. That's it. Relax." I got my breathing somewhat under control and sat back up, taking in a shaky breath.

Ranger and Lester exchanged a glance and looked back at me. "What brought that on, Babe?" Ranger asked softly, rubbing my knee.

I was so nervous that I started talking a mile a minute. The words came tumbling out of my mouth almost as soon as I thought them. "What will happen if we can't find any evidence? It'll be my word against Joe's. I'll say that I pulled out my stun gun in self defense after he slapped me. He'll say that I attacked him. I'll end up getting charged with assaulting an officer." I took a deep shaky breath. "Will I end up in jail?" I squeaked out.

Ranger looked over at Tom who hadn't said a word since Lester arrived with our lunch.

Tom shook his head. "First of all, it would be attempted assault since you didn't actually stun Detective Morelli. Although still serious, that is a lesser charge. You have no prior record, so I imagine the judge would grant a low bond. Maybe $5,000 or $10,000? I'm assuming that Ranger would be willing to post that for you." He looked at Ranger questioningly.

Ranger nodded. "Of course."

I bit my lip. "What if I have to go to trial? What would my sentence be?"

Tom just smiled reassuringly. "By then I'm sure we'll have evidence to show that your actions were justified."

Lester rubbed circles on my back. "We'll get him, Beautiful. No worries."

A sharp knock sounded on the door before it opened to reveal Eddie and Carl. Eddie nodded at me. "Steph, we're here to talk about the charges Joe has filed against you."

I felt the color drain from my face as I nodded.

Tom spoke up. "And where is Detective Morelli? Shouldn't he be here for this?"

Carl looked over at Tom. "He's working on a case right now. We're filling in for him."

Tom nodded. "Is my client being formally arrested and charged with anything?"

Eddie and Carl locked eyes. With a long sigh, Eddie finally stepped forward. He looked at me with pleading eyes, needing me to understand that he was only doing his job. I nodded, took a deep breath, and stood up. Eddie wrapped me up in a bear hug, whispering, "God, Steph, I'm so sorry."

I hugged him back, squeezing tight. "I know, Eddie."

I felt tears trickle down my cheeks and reached up to brush them away. "Stephanie Plum, you are under arrest for the attempted assault of a police officer. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?" I nodded.

Eddie wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I don't have to cuff you, do I?" he tried to tease. I shook my head no.

He turned towards Ranger and Tom. "I have to take her down to booking. Then I'll bring her right back. We should be able to get her in front of a judge today to set bail so that she doesn't have to spend any time in a cell."

"Thanks, Eddie." I whispered.

Ranger stood up and crossed the room. His eyes were full of emotion as he leaned down and kissed me urgently. "We'll be waiting right here, Babe. As soon as you're done in booking, Eddie will bring you right back to me." He looked up at Eddie. "Right, Eddie?"

Eddie nodded. "Absolutely." He pulled gently on my hand, and I followed him out the door and down the hall to be photographed and fingerprinted. As the door to the interview room shut, I heard a loud curse and a horrendous bang that sounded suspiciously like a hard plastic chair being thrown against a wall.

During the booking process, Eddie and I told Carl what had really happened with Joe, but I could tell that Carl didn't believe my version of the story as readily as Eddie had. I understood his dilemma. Two people that he considered friends were telling him two completely different stories. And neither story was especially pleasant. Either Joe was guilty of assaulting me, or Ranger was guilty of abusing me. In a situation like that, which version do you hope is true?

They gently walked me through the booking process and were ready to return me, as promised, to the interview room. Carl stopped me in the hallway and looked pleadingly at my face. "Steph, are you sure you want to go back in there with Ranger?"

I gently touched Carl's cheek. "Yes." I whispered softly.

He held my shoulders and stared into my eyes. "If you need anything…" he started.

I smiled gently at him. "Ranger loves me, Carl. He would never hurt me."

Carl looked like he wanted to believe me in the worst way. But he just couldn't. "He's so cold and quiet. Dark." He protested.

"Not with me." I said simply.

I opened the door to the interview room and saw Ranger sitting with his elbows on his knees, cradling his head. His hands were fisted in his hair. Carl took in his frustrated pose and looked back at me.

"Ranger?" I said quietly.

He looked up, saw me standing in the door, and relief flooded his face. He crossed the small room in a few steps and gathered me into his arms.

"I love you." I whispered softly.

"I love you, too, Babe." He whispered back, lifting me into his arms and walking us back over to sit down in his chair.

I glanced over at Carl, and he nodded at me. He was seeing a different side of Ranger. He was seeing Carlos, and I knew he believed me now.

Tom and Eddie were holding a quiet conversation about getting me in front of a judge before the end of the day so that I didn't have to spend the night in jail. I was hoping they could work it all out. It was already after 3:00.

Eddie stepped forward. "In Morelli's paperwork, he also listed that you were to be ticketed for running a red light and questioned in conjunction with a drive by shooting on Stark Street. I think we can take care of those two things pretty quickly and get you in front of a judge this afternoon. Sound good?" I nodded gratefully.

Eddie walked over to sit down. Carl pulled out a chair next to him. "Now as far as the drive by shooting goes…"

Before he could continue, Joe sauntered into the room. He took one look at me sitting on Ranger's lap, and his jaw tightened. "Cupcake, Manoso." He ground out.

He turned to Eddie. "Did you get her processed yet?"

Eddie nodded. "We were just going to talk quickly about the drive by shooting so that we could get her in front of the judge before 5:00."

Joe shrugged his shoulders. "The questioning comes first. If she misses the judge today, she can appear first thing tomorrow."

It's a good thing Ranger had his arms wrapped around my waist. That's probably the only thing that prevented me from flying across the room and upping my charge from attempted assault to actual assault. I growled at him. "You're a jerk, Joe! There is not a thing to tie me to that stupid drive by and you know it. I have no motive. Plus I have an alibi! Now let me get bonded out so I can go home! I am not spending the night in jail!"

Tom stood up and held out a hand to Joe. "Detective Morelli?" he questioned. When Joe nodded his head, he continued. "I'm Tom Anderson, Ms. Plum's attorney. I'd like to request that this questioning be put on hold until after Ms. Plum appears before the judge. After she is bonded out, I guarantee that she will return to the station voluntarily for further questioning."

Joe looked like he wanted to argue, but Eddie and Carl immediately agreed with Tom. There was no way that Joe could argue without looking like an ass. Well, he was an ass, but still. He didn't want everyone else to think that, too.

A quick appearance in front of the judge and $5,000 later, I was officially bonded out. I almost collapsed with relief when the judge set the amount. I don't know why, but in the back of my head I half expected Joe to protest the bail and try to make me stay in jail overnight.

Unfortunately, instead of heading home, I was headed right back down to the same damn interview room that I had spent the entire day in! I felt like a caged animal. I was ready to climb the walls. Or throw something. Or both!

Lester had left to follow up on the text he got from Junior. Several Rangeman accounts in the Market/Elm area had exterior cameras. Lester wanted to personally look through the footage to see if the stop or any portion of it had been recorded.

Hal and Hector had called back while I was waiting to appear before the judge. They had finally been allowed to pay the impound fee and access the SUV. After waiting most of the day while the police crawled all over it, they decided to take it back to RangeMan and work on the dashcam there. We were still waiting for word on whether or not anything had been recorded. In my mind, that probably wasn't a good sign. It probably meant that Hector and Hal were doing their computer geek thing and trying to retrieve hidden files that were buried in the hard drive.

I felt useless, sitting here while everyone else ran around trying to prove Morelli's guilt. But instead of helping them, I was getting ready to be interviewed for an absolutely ridiculous charge!

Ranger had pulled some strings and arranged for the Chief and Eddie to sit in on the questioning with Morelli. I knew that he wanted the Chief there so that Morelli was forced to behave and follow procedure. Eddie was there because he was one of only two police in the entire station who believed Ranger's innocence.

The chief looked at me. "Let's get the easiest part out of the way first, shall we?"

I nodded.

"You admit to running the red light that Detective Morelli pulled you over for, correct?"

I nodded again.

He looked over to Joe. "Write her the ticket. That's taken care of."

Morelli pulled out a ticket book and filled one out, signing it with a huge flourish and smirking as he slid it across the table to me.

"Now, it's my understanding that Dr. Weston and Officer Russell finished documenting your injuries earlier?"

I nodded.

"In addition, Dr. Weston performed a rape kit?"

I blushed. "Yes." I agreed.

"Dr. Weston and Officer Russell have prepared the paperwork here for you to file charges of assault, abuse, and rape against your attacker. We just need you to name him and sign the paperwork."

"That won't be necessary." I said, glancing over at Tom.

Chief Doyle looked at me, unbelieving. "You don't wish to press charges against the person who did this to you?" he asked.

Joe muttered under his breath then, just loud enough for the Chief to hear. "Get Manoso out of the room, and she may file charges against him."

A muscle near Ranger's jaw jumped and he clenched his fist, but he didn't say a word.

Tom spoke up then. "I still haven't been given a copy of Stephanie's exam. I would like to see everything that was documented. I would also like a copy of the paperwork you have here. I will speak with my client at a later date about pressing charges. If she changes her mind, I'll be sure to let you know, but for now, she is not interested in filing anything."

Chief Doyle looked straight at me. "Is that correct, Ms. Plum?"

I looked him straight in the eye. "Yes." I said in a firm voice.

He shook his head. It was clear that he disagreed with my decision, but he was ready to move on. "Alright then. As far as the drive by shooting on Stark Street this morning, Detective Morelli mentioned that the car you were driving matched the description of the car seen leaving the scene. A pretty generic description was given for the car. Just that it was a black SUV, most likely an Explorer. Any number of cars would match that description. I highly doubt that you had anything to do with that, Ms. Plum, but by any chance do you happen to have an alibi for this morning at 3 am?"

I nodded and looked up at Ranger, blushing. "I was with Ranger last night and this morning. I was asleep at 3 am."

Joe addressed the chief. "Unfortunately, if Ranger was also asleep at 3 am, he will be unable to serve as Steph's alibi. He could have slept through her leaving and coming back." Joe gave a smug smile.

Ranger looked right at Joe and smirked. "She was in my bed at 3 am alright, but she was definitely not sleeping. In fact, we were both very much awake."

I gasped.

Joe's mouth was set in a tight line, and he glared at Ranger. "How do you know what time it was?" he bit out.

"Because at 3:30 I got a phone call about a break-in."

Joe looked like a raging bull. "And?"

And he was still inside of me when the phone rang.

Ranger grinned at me and kissed my cheek. "Babe!" he growled.

Shit! I evidently said that out loud! Again! Chief Doyle was looking down and straightening some papers, trying to hide the grin that was threatening to spread across his face. Joe had snapped his pen in half at my accidental declaration and was trying, unsuccessfully, to reign his temper back in.

"You're willing to sign a statement to that effect?" the chief asked Ranger.

"I'd be glad to." Ranger smirked as Joe got up and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Chief Doyle nodded then and asked Eddie to take our statements. "Once they're signed, you're free to go." He told us, walking out the door.

Eddie quickly wrote down the information about Ranger's 3:30 break-in call and had us sign the statements. "I'm assuming that if there are any further questions about Steph's alibi for last night, you would be willing to release the name of your client and any other documentation that supports your statement."

Ranger nodded. "Whatever you need."

Eddie reached over and shook our hands as Ranger's phone started ringing. He looked at the readout and raised his eyebrow at me. "Report!" he barked out and put the phone on speaker.

"Uh, Boss." Hal stuttered. "I think you're going to want to see what we found on the dashcam."

TBC

Steph is finally free to go! She's spent the WHOLE DAY at the police station while the Burg grapevine has been going full tilt (thanks to Morelli).

Sooooooooooo…

What did they find on the dashcam?

And will Steph remember that she was supposed to try to make it to her parents' house for dinner? Hmmm…. That could make for an interesting meal! ;)

Please review!