Chapter 2

The darkness around me was interrupted by the brightness from the screen of my phone as a call came through. Picking up my phone I had no idea who could be calling because the number had been withheld.

"Hello"

I said tentatively now concerned that I had a cold caller on the line.

"Aunt Steph?"

I was sure that I was frowning because I could have sworn that it sounded like a male voice and I sure as hell didn't have a male nephew.

"Aunt Steph, it's Danny. I really need your help. Can you come get me? Please don't involve anyone else. I'll send where I am via Whatsapp, but then will delete the chat"

My mouth was open ready to ask where that was and why Danny had called me instead of someone in his family when I was aware of the phone going dead. Shit, I did not need this on top of everything else. Danny Morelli was Anthony's eldest son, so Joe's nephew. Why the hell had he called me and where was he? Because I'd had nothing to do with Joe or his family, thank God, for ages. I wasn't even aware that Danny wasn't at home where he was supposed to be. As my phone blinked again, I opened Whatsapp to see a new contact and message. Holding the phone in my hand I leant over to the bedside table for a pen and paper and then copied down the numbers that appeared. I had no idea what they meant but hadn't Danny said that he'd send me his location?

Once I'd managed to scribble down the numbers my phone went black plunging me into darkness. I opened the screen using face recognition to find that the message and contact were no longer there. Well shit, that happened quickly. I just hoped that I had managed to write the correct numbers down. First though I needed to catch up with some Burg gossip because I had no idea what was going on with Danny. I'd been too busy in my own world to even take notice if there was anything happening, and I never stayed long enough to chat in the office just in case Lula had turned up. I hadn't spoken to Mary Lou in an age and actually felt a bit guilty for that. No, I couldn't call her when I was fishing for information and debated who else might know something. Huh, who better to call than my grandmother.

"Hey grandma, how are you doing. I missed you at dinner tonight"

I could hear the sound of the TV in the background and then maybe some rustling.

"Hold on, just going upstairs"

I held on appreciating that grandma was getting old and sometimes struggled with her knees when she had to climb the stairs. It was so quiet that I was worried that she may have cut me off until I heard the click of a door closing.

"I was with Mildred tonight, we decided to gate crash a do down at that old folks center. It was a hoot and so were the hotties we talked to. I'd say they appreciated the company of some chicks like us"

There were times when I wanted to be just like my grandma, full of energy and life and so optimistic about life, but not at this moment. I wasn't sure being a sexually frustrated seventy something woman was something that I could fantasize about. Neither did I want to hear any details. Hell since when was the grandmother more sexually active than the granddaughter. When the older woman was Edna Mazuur, came my internal answer.

"Your ma was full of how you've decided to go away with that Morelli boy. What's with that? I thought you said that you wanted nothing to do with him?"

That made me smile because at least it meant that I wouldn't have my mother nagging me.

"Maybe that was how she wanted to interpret the conversation"

I heard a snort through the phone so knew that grandma understood what I'd done, yeah, it was scarily easy to manipulate my mother if she was hearing what she wanted to hear.

"Anyway grandma, I called about something else. I must be out of the loop because I just picked up something about Danny Morelli. Is he okay?"

"Oh my. How have you not heard about him? No don't answer that. Angie is so upset but she doesn't want everyone to know that there's trouble in the family. I mean what would the neighbors think?"

I laughed with grandma after she'd told me that. She was spot on though. Heaven forbid if there were problems with Danny that would be seen as a family failing and in turn a failure on Angie's part not to have everyone under control.

"So what's the story?"

I asked, now curious. It seemed that maybe Danny was in trouble, and he would be wise in not wanting to talk to any of his family.

"Well, you know that Anthony never has time for those kids of his and his wife is busy with the younger ones. It seems that Danny has run away, left the house in the middle of the night and vanished. Of course, Joseph has been helping to look for him. Diedre told me that he asked her daughter to search through any hospital admissions and then Muriel's son was checking his phone and computer. They didn't find anything because there was nothing to find apparently. Anyway, Zook, he's telling everyone that Danny was into some chat thing. The whole Burg knows that he's disappeared and there's all sorts of rumors going around"

I could well imagine that and shivered at the thought if any of them might be right. Chat lines were all well and good if you were sure of who you were talking to, but too many times you heard of men grooming kids or activist groups trying to brainwash them. That he had reached out to me I suppose didn't surprise me and I suppose I felt flattered that he trusted me. I'd been at Joe's when his family had descended. That was a scary memory just remembering the mayhem of all of the kids and adults as they'd settled themselves down to watch a game on the TV. Bella was central in that family event with her cooked tongue, and I must admit that I'd done what I could to sink into the background. Danny, he just didn't fit in with his family's antics so I'd sneaked him upstairs and into Joe's office giving him the password so that he could go online with his friends.

"Anyway, no one has heard anything from him. That Morelli family has a lot of contacts but nothing. Maybe he's on a ship destined for Saudi and being some man's plaything"

"Grandma! I hope that you aren't spreading rumors like that. His family must be worried sick"

I shivered just at the idea that she'd put into my head because there were so many horrible things that could happen to children. No, not even going to think about that because I knew that Danny was okay.

"No not me, but Anthony's a drunk half of the time and doesn't seem to care. Apparently dear Joseph is fed up with it all and has told his mother that all that he can do is report him as missing"

I'd definitely be going to find Danny now, it was the least that I could do, especially as he'd called me asking for help.

"Okay grandma, let me know if you hear anything"

Grabbing the piece of paper with the numbers on I pulled my old robe on and went through to my living area. Lights were switched on as I made my way over to the kitchen and filled up the kettle. I needed a coffee for what I was about to do.

I sat staring at the numbers in front of me as my laptop booted up. I wasn't even sure what 3365754.6 930652.3 meant, but assumed that if it was a location then maybe they were coordinates. Going into Google maps I input the numbers and then was staring at the screen again. I rechecked that I'd input the numbers correctly.

"Shit Danny. What the hell are you doing all the way over there?"

As I sipped at my coffee, I knew that I couldn't let Danny down, but getting to where he was wasn't going to be easy.

Sheesh, how was it that people assumed that they could rely on me to help them. That thought flitted through my mind before I gave myself a mental head slap. Because you always do and not because you have to, but because you want to, that it's the right thing to do. Looking again at where Danny was and the distance and route that I'd have to take was more than daunting. I was damned sure that I'd never driven that far on my own before and was actually considering if there was anyone that I could ask to go with me. My first choice would have been Ranger because he was discreet, but he wasn't here to even talk to. At one time I would have conferred with Joe, but not now. Besides he was going to be working out of town so wouldn't be able to help. Besides Danny had been quite specific that I didn't tell anyone that he'd contacted me. That had me second guessing why Danny had said that, but I decided to be optimistic and think that he'd said that because he was embarrassed.

Maybe this was an ideal opportunity for me to get out of town and I actually smiled at the idea of what gossip would be spread around the Burg. If both Morelli and I left town at the same time, then everyone would jump to the conclusion that we'd left together. At the moment that wasn't such a bad rumor to have to deal with. My mum would be ecstatic and wouldn't be worrying about me and I would have some time to think. You see the problem that I was having might be a lot bigger than dealing with rumors, my mother or even Joe. It all went back to Rosner and how many people I'd talked to when I was looking for him and then afterwards when I suppose I felt so guilty about his death. Yeah, I was spooked, so leaving Trenton amongst a raft of rumors was in my best interests.

As the sun rose casting shadows through the drapes, I felt pleased with the plans that had begun to take shape. After doing some research on the area where Danny was located, I knew that my beautiful silver Mitsubishi SUV wouldn't blend in enough. Not with the norm of transport used down there. I'd need a truck, old enough to blend in but reliable enough to get me there and back. I still had the balance from Rangeman's skip, Tank had been adamant that I kept the money, and he'd paid me well for the work that I'd done with the searches and interviews. Clothes, well that was easy as I had enough old jeans and T-shirts along with some warm hoodies. In fact, I was surprised with how little I would need to buy and if need be then the charity shop might cover the rest. I sat back with a to do list in front of me, scanning down the bullet points to make sure that I hadn't forgotten anything. It wasn't a long list, but I knew that I'd need to be leaving Trenton as soon as possible.

Stretching my arms above my head had an enormous yawn coming from me and I knew that I needed to try and catch a few hours of sleep. Looking at the couch I decided that just a few hours would be enough to rejuvenate me because if I went to bed, I'd probably not wake up soon enough to get anything done. Besides maybe I wouldn't have another nightmare, I could hope couldn't I.

Waking was filled with a mixture of fear and confusion. My arms were in motion swatting away flies from around me and I had no idea where I was. You're on your couch in your apartment was repeated several times as I tried to slow down my breathing. Once calm enough my eyes opened realizing that my robe was tangled around me and some of the cushions were on the floor. This whole dreaming of finding Rosner had to stop. The ongoing dreams were leaving me tired and jumpy as it was, and I didn't have the luxury of relaxing today. I had things to do.

A hot shower made me feel better, so by the time I'd dried and dressed I was better prepared. Stood in front of the mirror to dry my hair I decided that it was definitely a full face makeup day today. I looked pale and had the start of dark circles underneath my eyes which I'd have to cover up. The clean black jeans along with the thin sweater looked good, even if it was me who was saying that. So along with some black ankle boots I felt ready for whatever the day threw at me. Once in the kitchen I made some coffee, using up the last of the creamer, before rummaging through the bag that I'd brought home from my parent's. Yep, even day old cookies could fill the space as breakfast. My one moment of sadness was when I automatically broke off a small portion of the cookie and then was looking at the empty space on the counter. No Rex. I'd woken up one morning a few weeks ago to discover no movement from his soup can. After a panicked attempt to get to him had sat on the floor with his limp cold body in my hands.

He was in his soup can buried in my parent's garden, so I hoped that he was enjoying his after life with a never ending supply of food and a large exercise wheel. I sighed as I popped the piece of cookie in my mouth before going to look at my list. Yeah, maybe Rex would have some peace and quiet as well.

Money was at the top of my list because I'd need cash for a truck and for my journey. I'd come to the decision last night to leave anything of importance behind but had procrastinated where a safe place would be. This apartment just wasn't safe, anyone could break in and destroy my things. So I needed to be sure that any documents were secure. That was a job for first thing in the morning, now I needed to move seeing that it was later in the morning than I thought.

I had no problems withdrawing the cash from my account at the bank, well apart from the questioning glances from Mandy who was serving me.

"Going away for a few weeks"

Had been my response, because I sure as hell wasn't going to expand on that. How I wished that the cash machines that would have been anonymous would have allowed me to withdraw what I needed. Cash in hand, okay it was safely stored in my bag, I set off to drive north toward Whitehead Road. Whitehead motors were advertising a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LS Crew Cab Short Box 2WD that was ready to drive away. Pulling into the forecourt I parked my car before getting out to look for the truck. Of course the salesman must have been watching me and was immediately walking toward me. Now don't get me wrong but I'm not that good at haggling over the price of something but having spent the morning with Tank looking at cars I had a new appreciation of exactly what could be negotiated.

"Ma'am, see something that you like?"

Yep, he assumed that I was going to be his next pay day. Not happening.

"I'm after a cheap truck for moving things around"

Don't let him assume that you're desperate and start the conversation with how you won't be paying over the top.

"I might just have what you're looking for"

Of course he did, because the truck was advertised on their website and had been there for several weeks. Another bow to my arsenal for later on. I followed the man between some other more expensive SUVs until we came to the silver truck. Weird that I was looking at another silver vehicle. It looked the same as it had on the advert, but I spent my time inspecting it. Tires looked to be in good condition and whilst there were small pit marks in the paintwork probably from stones on the road it looked pretty good. Opening the door, I looked inside at the basic controls.

"No blue tooth"

Came as a sigh from me, though I knew that didn't matter because I wouldn't be taking my phone with me.

"Older model. We can have a system installed if you want"

Yeah right, was my thought as I pulled myself up into the driver's seat. The seat was comfortable and moved to give me a good driving position. The seats were okay, maybe a bit worn and dirty looking, but it looked immaculate in the rear seats. I suppose whoever had owned it had only used the front seats. Looking at the controls I knew that I was frowning as I tried to work them out.

"Wipers, indicator and that controls the lights"

Okay, I could work that out, hell I'd owned enough cars to be smart enough to know what the stalks would control.

"Air conditioning?"

I asked because I'd really hoped that would be a feature of the truck. Was it a deal breaker? No, I needed a truck quickly so windows would have to suffice.

"Sorry, no. There's a radio though and jack point"

I took the keys from the man's hand as he offered them to me and after finding where they went fired up the engine. For a car with so many miles, 150,000, it sounded smooth and quiet even after I revved her up a bit. 8900 dollars seemed a lot to me so switching off the engine I pulled the lever at the side of the door to release the catch on the hood. At least the salesman lifted the hood up for me and then just stood and watched me.

Now I may be hopeless at keeping cars, but I'd learnt a thing or two from my dad when I used to help him in the garage. The engine compartment was pretty clean and inspecting the dip stick for the oil showed a clear viscous liquid so no water in there or old oil. No apparent leaks were evident so nodding my head I walked around the truck but this time bending down to inspect the wheel arches. That was where the age of the truck showed with signs of rust coming through, but what did I expect.

"Okay, let's say that I'm interested. Cash deal, drive away. It's an old model, two wheel drive so possibly not something that a lot of people would go for"

His eyebrows shot up as he listened to my spiel so I waited as he weighed up what he might expect me to pay.

"Looks good, runs smooth. It does the job that it's meant for. How about I let you have it for 9000 dollars?"

I smiled at his obvious gall for saying that. Hell, that was only 500 dollars below the advertised price. No way was I prepared to pay that much.

"The way I see it, you have an outdated truck that's been taking up space on your forecourt for several months. It runs, but then it should do. I'll give you 7000 dollars, cash"

I knew that was a lot lower than he'd suggested but hey, bartering meant throwing in a low price first. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned to walk away from him waiting for him to give me some counter offer.

"8000 dollars"

I didn't turn around because I wanted to keep him worried.

"7500, my last offer"

Came from me without bothering to turn around.

"Okay, okay. Just for you, because I can see that you know your vehicles"

I was close to jumping up and down and fisting the air, but I refrained. Okay so now I was the owner of a truck but had the problem of how to get the truck to where I needed it. In the end we agreed for me to pick up the truck at close of day when it would have a full tank of gas and the tires, oil and water would all be checked over for me. Driving away I was on a high as I mentally ticked off the two most important parts of my to do list.

Driving back into Trenton I knew that I needed to call in and see Mary Lou. I needed to have someone who knew what I was doing and where I was going just in case the shit did hit the fan. Mary Lou was my best friend and even though our lives had taken different directions we still had that strong bond between us. I could trust her not to tell a soul anything that we shared.

"Okay, let me get this straight. You've bought a truck"

"Yeah. It's okay for the money that I paid, but I'm beginning to worry that it doesn't have air conditioning"

Especially for where I was heading to. Never mind it was done now. I'd coped before without air con so would use the old fashioned method of opening the windows.

"You're going to drive south and meet up with Danny because he called you and asked for your help"

"Correct"

I hadn't told Mary Lou exactly where I was going, only that it was south of Trenton. She never questioned it which to be honest was probably for the best because even thinking about the location had me feeling a bit nervous.

"On your own. That's the bit that worries me Steph. What if something happens, you break down or have an accident?"

I knew the risks but had chosen to ignore them. I couldn't let Mary Lou worry about me though, so I came up with a possible strategy.

"I call a breakdown service and if the truck is dead, well I get a bus. Look Lou nothing will happen. I'll drive there, find Danny and then drive back home with him. Two weeks tops"

Even as Lou took a sip of her coffee, I could see from her expression that she was already worried.

"So if I'm the only person that knows this, what the hell have you told your mother or work?"

I pondered long and hard over this and decided that the less that I said then the more people would make up their own version of where I was. As long as they had no idea where I was going or why, then I really didn't see the harm.

"My mum will think that I've decided to go away with Joe. Apparently, he's working away from town for a couple of months on a joint case. If that's what she wants to think then that suits me and I'm damn sure that she'll be sure to tell everyone that"

"That is so sneaky Steph. Why would she think that?"

I took a few minutes to describe the dinner at my parent's house where Joe had also been invited and how I'd not actually agreed or disagreed with anything that had been said. By the end of my rendition Lou was struggling to keep herself from laughing.

"Lou. I would have talked to Ranger if he'd been home. He's the only person apart from you that I trust. What I'll do is to leave him a note in my apartment because he's sure to go there just to catch up with me"

I was so close to sighing as I said that because I had to believe that was what he would do, he had done in the past. Would he this time, I didn't even want to think about that. He might be away for months or even decide to stay in Miami for a while or have even decided that he just didn't want to be bothered with me anymore.

"Cut that out Steph. He'll be back and when he is he'll look for you. I just hope that he doesn't think that you've got back with Joe and gone off with him"

Shit, I hadn't even thought of that. How was I going to let him know that Joe was no longer a part of my life. I mean it wasn't as though Ranger would jump at the chance to replace him but I hated the idea that he'd see me as this woman who couldn't know her own mind. I'd have to come up with something that ensured that Ranger knew that I'd left on my own.

"Steph, he's not stupid"

No, he definitely wasn't stupid, though there were some other choice words that I could think of to describe him.

"You know the truth Lou but please keep it to yourself, let the rumors run and I promise that if I end up in any trouble that I'll call you"

I couldn't think of any other way to leave town without having to explain myself and that wasn't going to happen. I didn't want anyone to know where I was going so maybe by the time that I got back things would have settled down. Did I believe that? Maybe not. I still had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach but for the life of me couldn't work out why. I hadn't had anyone call me or follow me so maybe the time away would settle my nerves.

"I'll pick you up at 5 then and drive you over to that garage"

I nodded my head as my mug went onto the table in front of me. Standing I was so grateful for Lou and how she always took what I said in her stride. It was hugs and a few tears as I left her house in the Burg and made my way back over town. I had a stop to make before going home, a girl has to have plenty of snacks and drinks for driving.

By 7 o'clock the truck was parked around the corner from my apartment building and my bag was packed with essentials ready for when I left in the morning. I felt at a loose end seeing as it was still early so in order to get rid of the nervous energy that I was feeling I made sure that the apartment was clean and tidy. The leftovers were heated up and devoured so the fridge was empty and clean, and I'd written a short letter in case Ranger did get home before me and did try to look for me, though I'd kept it concise just in case someone else decided to break into my apartment.

Sleeping, well it wasn't exactly restful. Between the dreams and the nervousness for what I was about to do I spent most of the night tossing and turning. I kept thinking of anything that I'd forgotten or missed so ended up getting up at dawn just to be sure. After a hot shower my wet hair went into a ponytail, and I began the task of moving things down to the truck. There wasn't much but as I climbed the stairs back up and entered the apartment, I was suddenly picking up items, you know just in case. A pillow, a blanket and for some reason my laptop and charger. It had my searches and a route downloaded so even without a signal I'd be able to refer to it. The last thing to do was to check my bag. I cleared any rubbish out and placed an envelope with any important documents inside along with my bank cards. I knew how easy it was to find someone through those and besides there was no money in my account anyway. Lastly. I pushed my phone and charger into a zipped pocket and decided I was done.