We pulled up in front of the address I had given Lester. It was a large house on the edge of the 'burg.

"Wonder if she'll keep the house," I mused, looking up at it. It was well taken care of and even to my untrained, ungirly eye, it was beautiful. Lester shrugged beside me.

"You think she will really leave the guy?"

"Who knows? I did, but everyone's different." We nodded, thinking about women that stayed with stupid, cheating men. I took a deep breath and opened my door. Lester followed me up the front walk and I pressed the door bell. The door swung open to a young boy. He was around ten. I was thrown for a loop. Carter had a ten year old kid?

"Yeah?" The kid asked. He looked me over then he looked behind me to Lester. The kid had Jenna's complexion, a very light brown. They looked like the ancient Egyptians that I had been so fascinated with as a kid. Golden, almost. Very exotic compared to my own pale, Hungarian complexion.

"I'm looking for Jenna Carter, is she here?" I leaned down a little, unconsciously trying to be less threatening.

"Who's asking?" He demanded. I noticed that he has a hand behind his back. Hmm…

"My name is Stephanie Plum and I need to speak with her about some of her personal business." Evidently, he didn't like my answer. He brought his hand around and I was faced with a spray paint can. He sprayed down my face to my chest.

"Get her!" He shouted. Three other older kids came out of the woodwork from somewhere. One looked like he could be the first kid's older brother. Two had squirt guns and the third had a gun with a long muzzle. The two with squirt guns shot first. Guess what? It wasn't water in there.

Orange and green paint hit me at the same time. Lester was getting some too. "C'mon!" He grabbed the arm not blocking my face. I followed him out, but the brats were relentless. They splattered my head and back. Then the third boy got into it. He shot the first paintball at my leg then started moving up. Those things freaking hurt. We finally got to the safety of the car, covered in paint and those brats followed us out. They were creaming Lester's car. He quickly got the car in gear and accelerated out of the war zone.

"Well, boss?" I looked at Lester. He was covered in orange paint and his once black shirt was lime green. I couldn't help it, I laughed. He looked at me like I was insane. "You know, you're just as bad as me." He flipped down the mirror. I nearly shrieked. That was an understatement.

"Take me home. I have to wash this crap out."

"Yes, boss."

"Lester?"

"Yes, boss?"

"Call me boss one more time and I'll send you back to those kids."

He grinned. "Yes, boss."

XxXxXxX

There are potholes all over Trenton. Most of the roads need fixed and there are still a few dirt streets left in the city limits. No joke. Road work is a thing that is rare in Trenton. Yeah, our mayor sucks. I have no idea why he's reelected every year. It's probably mafia related.

So with our lack of street upkeep, the natural assumption is the road construction would be a rare and unusual thing. You're completely right, it is. That's what makes it so mind blowing that we were stuck in traffic for an hour. An hour. I have tie dyed hair and I couldn't wash it for an hour.

When we finally got back to my apartment building, I sent Lester home to wash up and I ran up to my apartment. I was stiff and my hair was totally dry. I nearly sobbed when I got in the shower. I made a discovery about paint pretty fast after that. If its oil based, it water doesn't affect it too much. I scrubbed my body and hair until I turned pink then got out to see if I had accomplished anything. I showered four times and let the water run until it got cold each time and I was still multicolored. By the time Ranger got home, I was hysterical.

Halloween was the day after tomorrow, I didn't have a costume and now, I was orange and green.

"Babe?" Ranger said outside the door.

"Go away." Yes, I sound like a child but I was not going to let Ranger see me like this. He was Batman, he was the wizard, the shit, the wind. He was the bad ass bounty hunter and the guy that had seen me mess up a thousand times. He was not going to see me with matted orange hair. That was just too far.

"Let me in, babe."

"No, just leave." I cried. I'm a tough girl, that's just me. I don't cry often and I don't cry in front of the men that I am involved with. It's just my natural defenses kicking in there. But this was just the last freaking straw. I felt like a loser. Ranger jiggled the lock and did his magic thing and suddenly the door was unlocked. I knew it and he knew it. But he left it closed, waiting for me to open it for him.

I sighed, stood and wrapped the towel tighter around me and opened the door. Ranger was leaning against the door frame, looking me over. His eyes darkened and he looked me up and down. I laughed, you're kidding me right? He thinks this is sexy? I felt like a clown.

"Got anything for paint?"

He held up a paper sack from a hardware store. I raised my eyebrows. He pushed my back in the room and sat me on the toilet. He grabbed a wash cloth and pulled out a tin jug from the bag. Over the sink, he fix the rag up and kneeled down in front of me.

"Close your eyes." I obeyed. He gently rubbed the cloth over my face. It had a strong chemical smell, but it wasn't totally unpleasant. After a few moments of rubbing, he told me to look in the mirror. My jaw dropped. My face was completely clean. My hair and chest were still covered, but my face was pale and clean.

"What is that stuff?"

"Turpentine."

Who would have thought? The Man of Mystery is handy, too. He helped me clean my hair, then sent me to shower with a kiss. When I got out, he was fixing a salad to go with the subs he got from Pino's.

"You're a genius." He chuckled at me awed response.

"Good to know," He leaned down and kissed me. I sat and watched him move around. I had learned nothing today, but I felt different somehow. More secure in myself and in him.

"I need to find Jenna."

"I think I know where you can find her."

"Oh, yeah?"

"I'll send Tank with you tomorrow."

I nodded and grabbed my sub. We ate at the counter.

"Did you find anything out about the head?"

"Mia called in the middle of my breakdown. It was Marie Anderson. The red wasn't blood. It was some kind of dye," I frowned. "that's used on the bodies."

"So it was someone who works around dead bodies." I nodded.

"Andy thinks its probably someone on the inside."

"Good chance."

"How's Lester?"

"Colorful. I haven't heard that much cussing since basics."

I laughed. "I think my clothes are ruined."

"Shopping?"

"Tomorrow with Andy."

XxXxXxX

Just before I fell asleep curled up with Ranger, something nudged my memory. Before I could retrieve it, I slipped in to my dreams.