They'd decided to take Ranger's car and they'd been sitting in front of the police station for 10 minutes. Ranger could feel tense waves rolling off of Stephanie.
"Everything okay, Babe?" he asked. She glanced sideways at him and then looked ahead again at the brick structure.
"You know, there are things my family expects," she said. He nodded. Ranger was Cuban, he knew family expectations.
"Not in your plans?" he asked, knowing they were talking about Morelli.
"Maybe once?" he asked, unable to stop himself.
"Maybe but not now," she said. She put a hand on the door handle. "Let's do this." Ranger nodded and opened his own door but waited while she hesitated. He reached out and took a hand, ignoring the awareness that raced through him. Her skin was so soft.
"I'll protect you," he said, dryly. She glanced at him again and burst into laughter.
"You're right, what's he gonna do that everyone doesn't already know he did?" Stephanie said. Ranger lifted an eyebrow. He didn't know and was pretty sure he didn't want to know. They walked into the station. Carol Corelli, biggest mouth in the East was at the desk. As Ranger walked toward her, her jaw gaped and the gum fell in a large wad to the desk. He smiled. Carol made a small choking noise and then smiled broadly fully showing the missing molar that Stephanie remembered Carol losing when Terri Gilman had punched her in the face when she came upon the older girl flirting with Joe in high school. Suddenly, and irrationally, Stephanie understood Terri's extreme emotion.
"We just don't see enough of you here, Ranger!" Carol said, batting her eyelashes, "I'm off in an hour. How about if we…." Stephanie cut her off.
"We need to see Joe Morelli," she said, clearly annoyed.
"Really?" Carol said, seeming only then to notice her. "Why don't I just see if he's here?" She lifted the phone not taking her eyes off of Ranger. He turned to Stephanie and shrugged. She frowned at him which inexplicable made him just a little bit happier. They turned back to Carol.
"Why don't you?" Stephanie grumbled. Carol talked for a moment before turning back to Ranger.
"He'll be right up," she said. Carol tracked them with her eyes as they moved to the side of the desk. Stephanie was solely tempted to offer an obscene gesture but held herself back.
Joe came from the back and pushed his way through the half door extended from the desk. His chocolate brown eyes expressed surprise as he took in Stephanie and Ranger together.
"Cupcake!" he said, "This is a surprise?" Joe looked from Stephanie to Ranger again.
"We need to talk to you about one of my skips," Stephanie said.
"We? Really?" Morelli said.
"Ranger and I," Stephanie snapped. "Do you have time?"
"What case," he asked extending a hand to indicate that they should come through the door and follow him to the back.
"Lester Santos?" she said.
"Lester, of course," Joe said, sighing sadly. "Right." He led them into one of the interrogation rooms and they sat down.
"Sorry," he said, "This is what passes for a conference room here. What did you need to know?" She turned to Ranger, silently offering him the floor.
"What evidence led you to Lester Santos?" Ranger asked.
"What business is it of yours?" Joe responded. Ranger weighed how much to say.
"Lester is a friend of mine. I'm trying to find the truth," he said. Joe nodded knowingly.
"You know I'm not supposed to talk about this with Civs?" he said. "Civilians," he explained for Stephanie. She nodded.
"Let's call this a friendly exchange and I owe you a favor," Ranger had been helpful to the department in the past and Joe knew that a case would come where a little military trained assistance would be handy.
"The obvious evidence is that the vic was accused of killing the perps girlfriend and he looked really good for it. Not too many people doubted that old Jorge had killed that girl. He was one bad dude. Rap sheet a mile long and all violent crimes." Joe explained. "I've got all the sympathy in the world for Lester if he knocked this guy off but justice is blind." Ranger shrugged accepting what seemed to be Joe's honest sympathy.
"You've got to have more than that to indict," Ranger said.
"We had a witness who saw them together before Jorge was found dead. Said that Jorge was taunting Lester about his dead girl," Joe explained. "Lester was kicked out when they got into a fight and Jorge has Lester's blood on him."
"That doesn't look good," Ranger said, "But how violent was the bar fight? Couldn't the blood transfer have happened then?" Joe accepted the point with a nod.
"But who else was fighting with Jorge that night?" he asked.
"You said he was a bad dude, he had other enemies?" Ranger said.
"Enemies a mile long but none he was seen fighting with that night," Joe agreed.
"Can you give me the witness' name?" Ranger asked.
"You know I can't do that," Joe said with a smile. "But just between you, me and that wall, I hear if you go to the Jazz bar over by Fort Dix, you might get some people who know something." Joe stood. "That's about all I can do for you." He said.
"Understood and appreciated," Ranger said, standing and extending his own hand. Joe turned to Stephanie.
"You have time for some lunch, Cupcake?" he asked. "We can get one of those cannolis over at the Tasty Pastry?" he waggled his eyebrows.
"Uggggg," Stephanie said as she turned and walked out of the room. Ranger shrugged at Joe and followed her. If he'd had any doubt as to the status of their relationship, all questions had just been answered. He suppressed the building smile that was begging to surface.