Stephanie pushed open the Tasty Pastry door, papers under her arm. She stopped at the counter and started to ask for a Boston Crème donut but changed her mind and made it two. She also ordered a cup of the hot chocolate they were famous for but she knew, from her days behind the counter, was a mix. She trudged over to a table and sat down with her sugary snack, not yet glanced at the skip order. How did she get herself into these situations? Not so long ago she'd had to beg and bribe Vinnie for a job and now she had two options, catch this psycho, who was probably worse than Benito Ramierz, or look into another line of work. Her mother had just that morning handed her the classified section with a help wanted ad for the personal product factory. Maybe she should go back and fish it out of their outside trash. Stephanie mentally shook herself and started sifting through the papers.

The skip was actually kind of good looking. Stephanie remembered seeing him somewhere before but just wasn't able to pinpoint where. The picture was just of his head and shoulders but his shoulders indicated good muscle mass. His eyes were bloodshot in the photo and his hair was in a standard military fade. She read the summary. Lester Santos was suspected of killing Jorge Perez. The victim was a Peruvian national but there wasn't any other information about him except that he'd been cut open and left on the banks of the Delaware River. Stephanie shivered at the violence of the death. She took note of his home address and his parents address knowing that those would probably be the best place to start. She felt a tingling awareness running up her spine and looked up to see Ranger standing across from her. He smiled and she hoped that the thrill of pleasure at that private expression wouldn't be noticeable to him.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the chair across from her. Stephanie nodded surprised that someone dressed as he was would be so polite. He sat down and Stephanie's memory of the skip clicked.

"So, why did you haul my skip out of Pinos?" she asked. Ranger paused and though he showed no signs of surprise, she knew that he probably was.

"He was drunk and causing a disturbance," Ranger said.

"So why put him in your car?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

"I'm not going to let him drive home," Ranger said. Stephanie crossed her arms.

"How did you know where he lives?" she asked.

"You're sharp. I've known him for a while," Ranger said, laughing.

"How?" Stephanie asked, leaning back in her seat.

"We were both at Fort Dix," Ranger said. Stephanie didn't know much about Ranger, except that he'd been a Ranger in the Army, so shrugged, accepting his response.

"How dangerous is he?" she said, awaiting the answer she feared the most.

"If he's drunk, you may have a little problem." Ranger said.

"If he's sober?" she asked.

"Then you've got the wrong guy," Ranger said, his voice devoid of humor.

"Good to know," she answered, with a deep sigh. This didn't sound promising. Ranger sat silently for a moment.

"This is your first big ticket?" he asked. She nodded and propped her chin on her hand.

"I can help you with this," he offered. Stephanie was tempted and did a quick mental calculation of the funds she'd need and realized that she couldn't take on a partner.

"Thanks, but I can do this on my own," she said.

"I'll make you a deal," Ranger said, tapping the table, "You help me with something and I'll help you with this, on the house."

"What is it?" Stephanie asked, sitting up.

"I have a…case…I'm working on and sometimes the way I look," he waved a hand at himself, "doesn't help instill confidence." She shrugged in acceptance. She could see that. "You'd be the friendly face, does that work?" Stephanie thought about it for a moment. She could use some experience and as much as Ranger had going for him, he also had experience in droves.

"Okay," she said. "Where do we start?"

"Have you read through the papers?" he asked, waving toward the table.

"Mostly," she said, looking down.

"Then perhaps you noticed the Homicide Detective in charge of the case?" he asked. Stephanie hadn't gotten that far so she looked toward the bottom of the last sheet and her stomach fell. Ranger smiled slightly.

"Joe Morelli," he said. "We start with him." Stephanie looked up in surprise. This was Ranger's case?