"You piss anyone off lately?" Detective Mia Brookline asked me as we drove to the local precinct in her police-issue Crown Vic. I had originally met her when her name was Nicole Burch and she was my best friend at age eight. She left my life after a year and for the last twenty years I thought she was dead. She came back to Trenton about eight months ago and she has been annoying me as my friend for the last five. She's also seeing my ex-boyfriend, Joe Morelli, with my strong approval.
"Not that I know of."
"Anyone suspicious hanging around? You know, besides your Latino boy toy?" She didn't care for Ranger, mostly because it was her job but she tells me that she's a little protective of me as a sister-type.
"Nope." She rolled her eyes at the lack of my response. We pulled into the cop shop lot and she rubbed her forehead with the tips of her fingers. "Hey, c'mon, it's not so bad." I said gently, touching her shoulder.
"Your car just got stolen." She pointed out.
"It could have blown up."
"How is this better?"
"Because there's hope. There's always hope."
XxXxXxXxX
Mia dropped me off at the office, with the donuts that I made her overly healthy butt stop to get.
"Morning, ladies." I breeze in, plopping that box of hard earned goodness on the desk.
"It's after one, Steph." Connie pointed out, typing something on the computer.
"Nah, it's always morning in Steph-land." It's nice to have friends that understand. Lula is a former 'ho and one of my closest friends. We share souls but not clothing styles. Her clothes range in the tight, bright and wildly screaming type and today, she was in true form. Electric spandex mini skirt topped by a sequined top, hair and nails dyed to match.
"Got anything for me, Connie?" I asked as I lounged next to Lula, savoring my first donut of the day.
"Yeah, two. Ones a pretty high bond, but I thought you could handle a twelve year old kid." I took them from her.
"What did he do?"
"She, actually." I flipped open the first folder to a girl named Mallory Benedict. She looked like what I always thought a Mallory would. Red hair, freckles, thick glasses. Cute kid, except the scowl.
"What did she do? Steal a lolipop?" Lula asked, looking over my shoulder.
"Close. Cars. She's a car thief." My jaw dropped.
"You're kidding."
Connie shook her head. "She is involved in a chop shop ring."
"Holy smokes."
"Girl, she lives pretty close to you, doesn't she?" I look at the address and she did infact live in the Hamilton Township, in an apartment complex a block from me. I groaned.
"My car just got stolen this morning."
"She is a bad girl." I nodded, swallowing. I opened the second file.
"Marcus Wright. 32. Interesting fellow. He's deaf and evidently he got charged with assaulting an officer because he was signing threats and some pretty nasty insults at the arresting officer. He didn't know that the officer could understand what he was signing."
"What was he getting arrested for?"
"Traffic violation. He hasn't paid his speeding tickets for a long time and he drives fast a lot."
I closed the folder, noting that Marcus also lived in Hamilton.
"I could use some help with Miss Mallory the car thief and I don't have wheels. You want to ride?" I turned to Lula.
"Let's do this shit."