Chapter 11
I love working with Ranger. Designing security systems would be a challenge. I had somehow managed to squeeze myself out of another tight spot, but I didn't know how long that kind of luck would hold out. I grabbed an apple and we rode the elevator down to three. Before the doors opened, Ranger pulled me to him,wrapped his arms around my waist and slid his hands under my shirt.
"Let me know when you are ready to make that bet." He said as his lips brushed mine. My heart was pounding. All I could think about was where his hands were. He let go of me and smiled as he walked out on to the floor of Rangeman. Ranger was in control. Play was over. Everyone now motivated to get the night into gear.
I pretended it wasn't a big deal, but it loomed in my subconscious like a little scary morsel of information. No way would Ranger ask me to marry him, so there had to be a secret compartment. Was Connie right? Was there kinky stuff in that drawer? What would that be exactly? Being Ranger, What would he think is actually kinky? It was killing me.
I have worked on the third floor countless times. Usually when night-time came, I went home. For now, this was my home. I walked over to the cubicle I was most familiar with. When I had worked for Rangeman; Ranger would give me menial tasks when I needed extra money. When I was on the payroll he did a pretty good job of not getting too close to me. I was an employee. He had will power that I would never have.
Rangeman took the entire third floor of the building. The walls were steel-blue and the carpet was gray and industrial. Office cubicles were on the right and the rest of the floor dedicated to monitoring equipment. Long desks lined the windows, large computer monitors hung in unison, four up and ten across. There were five employees watching these monitors and talking to guards and writing up reports. The monitors would change every few moments to other locations. The left side of the room was another section of computers with the same set up as the first. In the middle of the room the floor supervisor watched the screens and worked on his iPad. Ranger stood next to him,earpiece in, talking to one of the patrols.
I sat down at the desk. I was curious about what the FBI wanted from me, and I really wanted to know if they were the ones who shot at me in Scottsdale. Not that I thought they would give that kind of information away, but I was going to ask. Now that my life wasn't in extreme danger, I wanted to set up a meeting with them. I checked my bandage on my leg. The wound still hurt, and the pain medication I had taken was wearing off. I went to the break room and got a half turkey club and some coffee and went back to the cubicle. Last time I was in dire need of a paycheck, I ran searches, background checks, and did basic data entry for Ranger and the rest of the company for projects they were working on. You had to keep on top of it, or it would pile up. Whoever took over for me was doing a terrible job. The inbox on the desk was overflowing with paperwork that needed completing. I turned on the computer and logged into Rangeman. I started working on the searches that were the oldest. I looked over at Ranger. It looked to me like he had his hands full. No way would we be going to see that building tonight. He was immersed in wizardry.
Ten employees were working tonight. During the day, the office was in full operation, the night was all about monitoring, answering false alarms or sending people out to locations to check on problems. I was working on the fifth search when Ranger came over to the cubicle.
"That's not your job." he stood next to me, and picked up one of the files and opened it.
"You were busy doing your wizard thing. Plus, I am on my fifth one."
His eyes cut to the growing pile of unfinished work that was on the desk, and he dropped the file back on the stack.
"I'll be right back."
I continued with the search, but the office had turned from quiet movement, to commotion. I looked over the partition and saw that there were at least a dozen people talking to Ranger. They stood in a semi-circle and I saw the floor manager scratch his head and go through his iPad looking for something. He did not look happy. Either did Ranger. He looked over at me, walked into his office, and picked up the phone. Moments later, he walked back to the cubicle.
"I need to go and check on one of my employees. Come with me. Maybe we will get to see the building tonight after-all."
We took the stairs, and motored out of the lot before he spoke again.
"No one has seen Edward Montoya for a week. No one even bothered to find out why he hadn't shown up for work. I leave, and see what happens?"
His phone buzzed.. He looked at the display, and put it down. It buzzed again. He looked at it, and put it down. It buzzed a third time, and he turned it off.
Ranger was quiet. A concerned look was on his face. Rangeman was personal to him, and the men who worked there were family. I had found out just how close the team was when Ramon confronted me at the Dojo. I wondered silently about the messages that kept coming up on his phone. This was not the time or place for me to ask questions, so I kept my trap shut, but my mind was moving towards the conversation about the "other women".
"I hired this kid over a year ago." Ranger said. His eyes focused on the road as he spoke. We were moving away from Trenton and heading towards Newark. "He is smart and he is good with computers, but he's young. I gave him the research desk, like we do all new hires."
"How come no one noticed he wasn't at work?"
"When you log into your computer, it is like a punch card. It monitors the employee's time by the code you enter. I plan on having a conversation with the computer tech to find out just how his absence went unnoticed for this long. Usually an alert will come up telling the floor manager if someone doesn't show up for their shift. Somehow the alert didn't come up. There's a lot I need to talk to the techs about. As the company grows, so do the problems."
Edward Montoya lived in one of the nicer apartment building in Newark. We parked near a street light, and peered out at the four-story brick building in front of us. The street was well-lit; it was a large square building with concrete steps, and a security code box at the door.
"He is on the fourth floor." Ranger said as we walked across the street towards it.
I looked over at his Porsche. This wasn't exactly a good neighborhood to leave a tempting piece of candy unattended.
"What about the car? Will it be here when we get back?"
Cars had a tendency to disappear when I was around. I didn't think he needed to take any unnecessary risks. I had good luck since being back, why push it?
"No one around here would dream of stealing that car." He said.
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Because, this is my neighborhood. They know better."
There were concrete steps that led to a wrought iron gated entry with a security keypad. Names were written on small plastic plates next to buttons with apartment numbers.
"Maybe he just found a better job?" You ever think of that? "
"Edward Montoya is my hire, out of my neighborhood. He had wanted to work for Rangeman since he was sixteen and we started the company. I wouldn't hire him until he cleaned up his act, and finished school. He wouldn't just find another job."
"So, you feel responsible for him?"
"Something like that."
I watched as Ranger keyed a code on the keypad.
"You know the security code?"
"Babe, there isn't a lot I don't know."
I rolled my eyes.
There were stairs to the right of the door. I followed Ranger up. He got to the fourth floor. Ranger stopped and looked down at me.
I was behind him, but still one flight below. He raised his eyebrows.
"What?! I said, panting. "My leg hurts still. Geez . Give me a break."
My leg wasn't hurting all that bad, I needed to get back to running in the mornings to save face.
There was a cement walkway in front of each apartment. A railing looked out over a small pathway with partially green, partially dead grass that separated one side of the complex from the other. It was late. Kids were in bed. Dishes washed, and televisions were on as people caught up with their favorite shows and nightly news.
Edward Montoya's apartment was a corner unit. Apartment 4a was next to the stairwell. His door was painted light blue and matched the rest of the doors in the apartment building. There was a light on, and from where I was standing, I had a good view of his living room from a slit in the white curtains. Ranger knocked on the door. I saw a part of a running shoe. It was attached to a leg. The leg didn't move when he knocked. I didn't think this was a good sign.
"Ranger" I said, and motioned to the window.
He walked over and looked through the curtains, then broke down the door. Edward must have been dead for at least a couple of days. He didn't look all that good, and he smelled even worse. I noticed why we couldn't smell him until we opened the door. Someone had put towels around the door frame and turned on his window air unit to keep him from heating up and decomposing quicker. It was freezing in the room. Dried white foam still clung around his mouth. I think he might have ingested something bad. I covered my mouth and my nose and walked out of the apartment fast, trying to breathe something besides death.
Ranger backed out after me and threw the phone in my direction. I called 911, and waited. It took the police and ME an hour to get there. Ranger used the time to call in to Rangeman, and then walked away to call Edward's family. They arrived soon after the police did. Ranger quietly spoke in Spanish to Edward's distraught mother. The rest of his family stood next to her looking shell-shocked, staring at the open door. Neighbors in the apartment complex stood around watching the events unfold. No one likes death cooties. It looked to me like it could have been a suicide, except for the air-conditioning and the towels. That was suspicious. Edward was young. It didn't seem fair at all that his life might have been taken from him before it really began.
A detective for the Newark Police Department had taken our statements, and told us he would be in touch. I watched as the body bag descended down the stairs to the Medical Examiner's car. Edward's family followed behind in grieving silence. The apartment was still open except for crime scene tape that placed over the front door. Police were not ruling out foul play, but the general feel for the scene was suicide. It isn't all that uncommon for someone to stuff towels around doors and turn on the air to keep from being found; but it didn't sit well with me. Ranger said Edwards's mother was worried about him. He has been depressed, and stopped taking his medication a few weeks ago. He quit calling home soon after that. She said that he would slip into depression every once in a while, but he always snapped out of it. He had never been suicidal.
"Come on. Let's go." Ranger said, and he took my hand. It was after 1am. We walked back down the stairs, but instead of heading to the car, Ranger walked the opposite direction. There was a small park with a basketball court surrounded by grass and three cement picnic benches. The benches covered in gang symbols and half-hearted carvings. He sat on the table and looked up at the apartment building. This wasn't a quiet neighborhood. I could hear sirens in the distance, dogs barking and occasionally gunshots. Somewhere off in the distance a helicopter with a searchlight was looking for someone.
"I grew up coming to this park." Ranger said. "This was my park. I was a little troublemaker hoodlum here. When I looked at Edward's job app, and saw where he lived, I took a closer look. His school records were pretty clean, and he was at the top ten percent of his class. He was interested in law enforcement, wanted to join the Army but couldn't because he had been treated for depression. He had a good family life, and just looked like a great hire. I wanted to give him a chance to prove himself. I wasn't aware he was having problems."
I could have said the classic lines like, "you can't fix everyone" or,"you can't control what happens to everyone" or, "it's not your fault." I played them in my head, and none of those lines really seemed like something I needed to say. Instead, I just took his hand, and sat down next to him. What can you say to someone? "I'm sorry for your loss?" I hated that line. It never seemed appropriate, and it never fit. I felt it was like trying to put a square peg into a huge gaping round hole.
Ranger looked at me for a long moment. Watching me, deep in thought. His eyes held mine.
"There was no secret compartment, Stephanie."
My heart skipped a beat, I was lost. What was he saying to me?
Ranger stood up, and brushed himself off.
"Come on. He said. Let's go. We should get back."
I didn't follow him. I couldn't move. Ranger was already across the park when he noticed. He stopped and waited for me. In my mind, I had a lot of moments, just like most girls' do. Fantasies of a perfect person or a perfect place in time where your life would change. Most girls had visions of white stallions and young princes who whisked them away because they could no longer live without them. A love that was so great and so strong, that nothing could stop it from happening. I have moments where I wanted to be that girl. Wanting to be so loved and so needed, that the love story lived. Real life doesn't move to that beat. Girls are born with the need to couple with another. It was human. It was nature. It was our bodies telling us to find a mate and reproduce. All mammals had that continuing urge. We as people don't think it applies to us, but in the end, it always does. Love stories are few and far between. But sometimes, I wonder if there could be a reality to it all. I also knew that Ranger would be the very last one to ever be part of that type of scenario. It wasn't fair if he was playing with my emotions, and making me want something he could not give. It was cruel, and suddenly, I was angry he had said it.
Ranger continued to look at me. Finally, he walked over and sat back down, looking at his hands. We just sat there in silence. Finally I glanced over at him.
"You need to stop playing games with me. It hurts."
He took a deep breath. "I am not playing games, Stephanie. If you had called my bluff, I would have proposed to you. Are you coming or not? This place is not safe after the police go home."
It was hard to catch my breath, but I didn't have time to absorb what was just put on the table. Ranger grabbed my hand and was pulling me along, walking fast, holding it tight. There were some kids that were coming towards us, when they saw Ranger, they got out-of-the-way but said something in Spanish.
"Que' valoras tu vida?"
Ranger mumbled something back, and we left.
I was running to keep up with him. "What did you say to them?"
"They asked me if I valued my life, I told them, not as much as they valued their balls. Let's get out of here before they change their minds."
We drove back to RangeMan. Both of us silent. I didn't know what to say. On the 3rd floor, Ranger called a meeting, informing every one of what happened. He was angry with the entire office. They had all failed to pay attention to what was going on around them. He called the entire Rangeman workforce. Woke most of them up. Everyone was working overtime to get the reports finished. If they failed to come in, they would be fired. We each took a pile, including me, and worked on them until the sun came up. I was exhausted. Since we had gotten back from New Mexico, I hadn't had a chance to get anything done I needed to do, especially if I wanted to live outside Rangeman's gravitational force. I was still in limbo. I fell asleep in Rangers bed, waking up when another day was ending. Ranger was there with me. He must have come in sometime during the day. He had passed out with his clothes still on. He never slept with clothes on. He was out cold.
I took a shower and got dressed. I didn't want to think too much about what Ranger had said. I wasn't sure how I felt about it for one thing. The problem was, I think I was falling for it. Hook, line, and sinker. I could feel myself get all mushy and have those terrible "love" feelings that always screwed up your judgment and made you do stupid things, like take nude pictures of yourself. Things like that never are a good idea. Instead of thinking to hard about being a big dummy about love and stupid stuff, I decided to think about something else. For one thing, I didn't know if I should wear my Kevlar vest anymore. Did I want to just walk out on the street without protection? What if some yo-yo didn't get the memo that Stephanie Plum was not a target anymore? Then there's the other yahoos that may want to shoot me just because of the stupid website. I decided to wear the vest,the gun and bring my pepper spray. Connie had already told me that everything was A-OK and the Tool guy was after someone else the entire time,and not me. That was a relief. Everyone was happy in Mafialand, and according to her Uncle, they would have a great story to tell about women and their pocketbooks. It would keep them laughing for a long time.
One thing I was happy about was that my Jeep had arrived today. Thank you Ramon! I took a look inside. I was almost positive that under the front seat would be some sort of weapon. It was washed, and a new alarm system with paperwork was sitting on the front seat. I knew from experience that my Jeep was also now officially programmed into Rangeman and would have a tracking device armed and ready to go. I hoped I could keep this one from blowing up. I would be really disappointed if my jeep exploded. I motored over to my parents. My mother was at the door when I drove up. She was alone.
"Where's Grandma?" I said following her into the kitchen. Something was different.
"She lives at the new retirement community Shady Acres. I told you about all of this six months ago, Stephanie. You never listen to me. She only comes over for dinner on Sunday."
I said hi to my Dad. He was sitting in his recliner, reading the paper while the television blared away in the background.
"Without your grandmother here, it gets too quiet". She said. "I think I need a hobby".
"You could tell her you miss her."
"No she can't", My dad piped in, yelling across the house."This is the first quiet six months I have had since your mother got pregnant with Valerie".
My mom looked dismayed.
"What's for dinner?" I said looking for something,anything that looked like it resembled food cooking.
"I didn't make dinner. We never have a big dinner anymore."
I knew something was different! No dinner! No oven going, no comforts of home warmth from the stove, no good smells. This was terrible. A travesty. I was shocked. My eyebrows raised in disbelief. My eyes got big. I was counting on dinner. I had looked forward to it. I dreamed about the normalcy that was home. There had to be some law she was breaking in the mother book. I was hungry.
"No dinner?"
"Well, I thought we could go buy something. I didn't make dessert either. Without Grandma here, we don't need that much food."
I wouldn't panic. No dessert? Could this be an alternate Universe?
Just then I heard car doors shut and a lot of arguing and yelling. Grandma Mazur came barreling into the house, followed by no other than Grandma Bella. They had on matching light pink track suits with the words, "juicy" written out on the butt. Both had pink hair to match. They looked like poodles. They were arguing over who had the smallest behind, and shouting about playing by the rules. When they got in the door, Grandma Mazur saw me.
"Stephanie! Your mother told me you were coming over! I have so much to tell you! Helen, where is the food? Are you not making dinner anymore?"
It was like letting in a whirlwind. The house was back to normal. The Universe had righted itself in my mind. Grandma would fix it.
My mom grabbed her shoulder bag. "Stephanie. Come on, we have to go buy food."
When we got outside, she said "I called your sister too. I wanted a full house tonight.I had to pretend I didn't, for your father."
My mom actually missed the craziness. I did too. Once it is part of your life, it's just not the same without it.
We drove to Sal's. On the sly, my mother ordered enough food to feed three families. We walked out with boxes and bags. She said she was on the phone to Sal's the moment I called.
"Your father," She said. "he won't admit it, but life is just not as exciting without the house in chaos."
We got back to the house. Albert's car was parked at the curb. We carried everything inside. Val, and her growing family had arrived. My sister came up and gave me a big hug.
"You have to tell me all about Scottsdale, Stephanie. I heard that it was so hot there this summer, paint started to melt off cars!"
Before I could tell her that I hadn't seen anything that dramatic, she whispered in my ear that she had a surprise. She was pregnant again. I looked over at her Two month old baby boy and her two-year old daughter and wondered how many kids she would pop out before they were through with the herd. I hugged her. Me, I didn't know if I even wanted one, much less a dozen. Maybe I could just borrow one of hers once in a while when I felt maternal. I think she would have enough for the both of us.
Grandma and Bella were at the computer looking up websites of naked men. My father had retreated into the bathroom for some privacy. Mary Alice was cantering around the kitchen table, practicing at being a horse, and Angie was coloring pictures of princesses. The whole house was pure nuts. I found out Albert had joined a law firm. He had advertisements on television. He may have been an ambulance chaser, but he was great at selling himself. His business was growing, and so was the family.
I had successfully stayed out of Grandma Bella's tractor beam for an entire hour. Grandma Mazur and Bella were strangely fascinated by the internet. Then, it happened. I was caught in her radar. She saw me. I started to panic. Grandma Bella scared the crap out of me. She had visions, and there was a twenty percent chance that what she saw would come true. When it came to me, the visions were scary and about death and destruction. What was worse, some of those visions came a little too close to coming true. This time, she smiled and came over to me.
"Stephanie Plum. How are you?"
She never talked this way to me. I held my breath, waiting for her wrath to come boiling out.
"I am so happy you finally let my Joey go. He is much happier now that he and Trisha are engaged. The curse is over, I can feel it. My visions are happy now". Then she picked up a wine glass and downed it.
I was eating a piece of roast chicken; I inhaled when she said that. The chicken lodged in my throat and I started to choke. Albert smacked me on the back and chicken flew though the air, landing on the lampshade. I picked it up quickly so no one would see. Was it true? Engaged? Joe was engaged? I really didn't feel all that well anymore. I think I was starting to get a headache. It took me a good twenty minutes to gather myself back together and walk into the living room again. If I was a smoker, I would have taken that time to go sit on the back stoop and light up. Engaged. Someone named Trisha? Engaged? Holy crap. That was it. Joe was officially taken. No more Joe. No more flirting. No more making up. Shit.
Both Grandma and Bella had been drinking wine. Grandma was already on her third glass. My mother was hitting the sauce and actively trying to stay in the kitchen, probably thinking, "Why did I want this back in my life?" My father grumbled as another of his favorite T.V. programs was interrupted, ruined by family. Grandma was over next to the computer, still looking at websites and gazing at men's behinds.
"Stephanie! Come over here, quick!" She said excitedly.
I managed to take a very deep breath, gather myself back together to walk over to the computer, only to be greeted with my very own impending doom. The website I thought had been taken down was still there. More videos than before broadcast out at us from the monitor, this time not of me. They were of other people pretending to be me. I scanned down the page and found a hotline number, a chat-line, downloads, t-shirts, autograph pictures, and a book that was coming out. I had a fricken' fan club! This was going beyond rational. I had to curb Vinnie and Joyce. So I decided to hire Albert. I walked him over to the computer, and showed him the website. I told him what had been happening. He was very interested. Joyce was responsible, and she was rich, too. It could turn into a big case, I told him. This would be my chance to get back at Joyce without even hitting her. He told me he would look into it, but it wasn't really his field of expertise. I encouraged him enough to let me keep him on retainer.
Dinner was happily normal for our family. Mary Alice still thinks she is a horse, She was learning how to jump hurdles, and she wanted her room painted like a horse stall. She did decide people food would be ok to eat. Her best friend Debbie had told her so.
"I am going to be in the talent show at school." She said proudly. " We will be jumping hurdles and galloping around. I even made my own saddle."
My sister tried to hide a grimace. But I saw it before she wiped it away with a proud smile. I don't think Valerie understood Mary Alice all that much. I thought she was great. Maybe I should learn how to canter.
Grandma and Bella told everyone how they had gotten a group of seniors together and on Friday night they all skinny dip at the pool. I noticed Grandma was on her fourth glass of wine. I watched my mother as she took the bottle off the table and hide it under her chair. I still was having a hard time understanding how Grandma and Bella ever decided to live together. One thing for sure, they would need a ride home.
It was after 10pm by the time we had the dishes done and everything cleaned up. My sister said she needed to get home. She had eaten too much pineapple upside down cake and it was late for the kids to still be awake on a school night. I hugged both her and Albert, congratulating them again, and walked them out. As they drove off, I heard a thunk. I ducked, knowing it could be a bullet. Then I heard cackling laughter. Bella and Grandma were snookered. They were outside throwing rocks at cars and hiding. What! Oh no. This was not good. The phone started ringing in the house. I could hear my mother talking to one of our neighbors. I heard sirens in the distance. Someone probably called the police.
I knew it was only a matter of time before Grandma would need bailing out if she stayed at Shady Acres. I piled both her and Bella in the Jeep. I just needed to figure out where to take them. I didn't want to deliver them to the retirement apartments when they were out of control. Security would call the police on them for sure.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Joe. It was instinct. I was surprised not only that I remembered the number, but that it was such an involuntary move. I could already hear sirens getting closer. Not good.
As the phone rang, my nerves jumped. This was going to be awkward. I had not spoken to him in over a year. He was engaged according to Bella. There was a recording for his cell phone. I tried his pager; it was now a phone number for someone named Stanley. I dialed his home number. The phone picked up after two rings. A woman answered. I was stunned. I took a deep breath, I asked for Joe.
"No, I am sorry. He is at work." She said sweetly. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Do you know his cell phone number or pager or something? His old numbers don't work anymore."
"I am sorry, that's private information." She continued "Unless you could tell me what this was about, I am not about to tell you anything."
"Boy, you're a pistol."
"What!?" she screamed at me through the phone .
Oops, I had said that out loud?
Grandma Bella was in the front seat, buckled in. She had found a radio station she wanted. Rap music boomed through the speakers making it hard to hear the person on the phone.
I yelled another approach, trying to turn the radio down. Bella slapped my hand.
"Can you at least call him, and tell him to call this number back?" I said trying to get a handle on Grandma Bella. She was trying to put the eye on me now, and Grandma Mazur was trying to distract her. "It's sort of an emergency."
"An Emergency?" She sounded reproachful. "What is this about?"
"Joe's Grandma Bella is kind of drunk, and needs a ride." Geez. I thought. I couldn't believe this was happening.
"I am sure your mistaken," she said doughty. "His grandmother is a lovely lady, and she doesn't drink."
Grandma Mazur took a sip from something in her pocket. I turned and grabbed it.
I started the Jeep, and took off.
"Just hurry and call him. I said as we turned the corner. I don't know where to take them! "
"Who is this! "
I hung up. She was impossible. Joe must have his hands full with that one.
I couldn't drive them home like this. I couldn't leave them with my parents. I also couldn't drive them around much longer, either. Bella was hanging out the window, yelling at people. I needed to get them off the street. There was no way I was taking them to Rangeman, and my sister didn't need this right now. So I took a deep breath and drove over to Joe's. I made them promise to stay in the car, and I ran up to the porch. The front door flew open. I stopped short. I couldn't catch my breath. I couldn't breathe. The woman standing defiantly in front of me was very pretty. She was in Joe's house, and Bob was there. He saw me, and ran, knocking me to the ground. Getting slobber everywhere.
"Hi Bob!" I said, trying to get back up.
I pointed to the Jeep, as I struggled with the huge orange dog beast that was licking me to death.
"Please.. Call.. Joe!" I yelled. "This is turning into a nightmare! They've already caused property damage at my parent's house."
I was trying to keep Bob from slobbering all over my face and he was winning. I tried to continue talking as I pushed him away, he pushed me down again.
"Listen!" I said struggling to get up. "I can't bring them to Shady Acres. I'm afraid they would get kicked out." I screamed. "For God's sake! They will throw up in my Jeep. I'll never get it clean! And get Bob off of me!"
"Shit.. Ok." She said and dialed a number, spoke softly into the phone, and hung up. She shrugged her shoulders and said "Okay. He's coming home." She pulled Bob off me.
"I'm Trisha." She said as she helped me up.
"Stephanie." I said shaking her hand trying to catch my breath as I pulled grass, dirt and slobber out of my hair.
She looked at me again and said, "Of course you are."
I glared at her. "What is that suppose to mean?"
"Nothing." She did some eyeball rolling thing.
The Grandmas were on the ground now, lying there looking at the stars, and Trisha and I were sitting on the porch. She had dark brown hair pulled up into a ponytail. She was tall and thin and very pretty, in a girl next door kind of way.
"I knew I would have to meet you eventually." She said "I just didn't realize that it would be like this".
I still didn't know what to say, I felt like she was in my space. Joe's house was personal. Agh. But it wasn't anymore. I struggled with it as we sat there.
"I heard stories about you." She said. "They seemed impossible. Looking at just what happened tonight, I think I changed my mind. Did you really blow up Stiva's Funeral home, and destroy that many cars?" She said laughing.
"Pretty much." I said. "But it has petered off. Pretty soon, maybe, it won't happen at all".
She laughed "Yeah-good luck with that one. Every time we have football Sunday here, all the boys talk about you. It is annoying. But now that I met you, I can see that it probably caused a lot of problems."
"Yeah." I said as Joe pulled up in his truck. "Like being called a walking disaster."
Joe walked over. He looked good. Frighteningly good. I thought back to when I lived here with him, woke up next to him, had good wild and crazy sex with him. I had to push the thoughts away. He checked on his Grandmother, and eyeing us suspiciously he walked up. I could actually see panic on his face. It was kind of insulting. He looked at Bella on the grass again, and Trisha and I having one on one time.
"Please tell me Stephanie is not recruiting you into the world of chaos. I would just have to shoot myself in the foot."
She barked out a laugh, I stared at her in disbelief. What was so wrong with my life?
"No way." She said getting up. "I try to keep distance from walking disasters."
"You heard that one, huh?" He looked at me and smiled. "Stephanie, this is Trisha. She is a criminologist from Newark."
I shook her hand, nice to be introduced. "We met." I said, still shaking her hand.
"Trisha, can you give me about ten minutes? I need to talk to Stephanie." Joe said.
"Bob needs to go for a walk anyway. Take your time." She kissed him, looked at me with a warning glare and left.
When she was out of ear shot, he started in on me. He didn't even bother with "welcome back" or "nice to see you."
He stared at me.
"What are you doing here?"
I looked over at Grandma Bella and Grandma Mazur, suddenly feeling stupid that I brought them here.
"No." He said. "What are you doing in Trenton? And more specifically, out on the street at night? Are you looking to get killed?"
He touched the Kevlar vest. "I suppose you are carrying concealed now too, right?"
I glared at him.
"The hits have all been called off. I'm in the clear. Things weren't working out in Scottsdale. I came back."
"If the hits were called off, Stephanie, why the vest?" His arms crossed in front of him.
"Just in case." I said defiantly.
Joe looked down. Clearly trying to be alright with it.
"Ok. What the hell happened? Why is my Grandmother and your Grandmother drunk and passed out in my front yard? And how did it even come about that they decided to live together? My mother is freaking out over this. The whole family is in a state because she is not only dating, but also going to strip clubs." Joe said, trying to get a grip on the situation. He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground.
"Trisha doesn't really know about my family history. I was sort of trying to keep it from her. She thinks my family is great."
"I heard you were engaged." I said.
He looked up. "Yeah, it sorta just happened."
So it was true. It hurt my heart to hear him say that he had moved on. But I tried not to think about it .
"You shouldn't start your life with lies, Joe. Tell her the truth, or you will regret it."
"What? Tell her my Grandmother is a nutcase? That my brothers and I were complete assholes, deviants and delinquents and that they all run around on their wives? Great advice, Stephanie."
Joe paused for a moment, staring at the ground.
"Shit. I suppose it really wouldn't matter."
"Do you love her?"
He looked at me for a moment. "Yeah. I do."
"Then you should be honest with her."
I hugged myself. I was afraid I would lose my dinner if I sat here any longer.
He looked at me for a long moment, and smiled.
"You look good, Stephanie. Arizona was good to you. Stand up."
Standing up still was a little painful. My leg was not fully back, and I limped a little. I tried not to let it look as bad as it felt. For some reason I was trying to be tough. I didn't think it was working.
"I can tell your leg hurts, stop trying to hide it." He said. "I can't believe you got shot again. You are going to get killed one of these days, Cupcake."
He was still staring at me. Wheels were turning in his brain. His smile faltered.
"You're seeing Ranger." His eyes narrowed. "He didn't just go get you. You're sleeping with him. Son of a bitch!"
It was none of his business who I slept with. Why did he care who I was seeing?
"Fuck, are you kidding me?" He continued. Clearly agitated. "Why can't you be seeing someone safe, like a serial killer?"
"Well.." I said, getting a little pissed off that he was acting this way. "Look at you! You went off and got engaged!" I blurted out. "And, she's beautiful!"
We both just stared at each other.
One thing I did know. Someone else had his heart now.. I could see it in his eyes.
"Okay." He said. Realizing that no one was going to win this battle. We both had made our own beds, and neither of them together.
"What are we going to do about them?" He said, looking over at the Grandmas. "We need to get them at least a little sober."
We both picked them up and got them into the house. Letting them lean on us as they both talked about men and other things that I did not care to know about. We made them drink some coffee and water.
Ranger called as we had them on their second cup of coffee. I knew that he wasn't the most trusting soul, especially when it came to Joe. Not only did he have a tracker on my car but probably in my bag as well. He also had a strange sixth sense when it came to me.
"Yo," he said. "Your car is at Morelli's, and police were called to your parents address. You okay?"
"Yeah, I am. Thanks. Can you come over? I need help getting Grandma home."
I wanted Ranger to trust me; I thought this was the only way to do it. He drove up to Morelli's just as Trisha walked Bob back up the drive.
When Trisha saw Ranger, she flushed. When Ranger saw Trisha, he smiled and walked over to us.
"Trisha." He said. "This is interesting."
Joe looked at Ranger.
"What am I missing here?"
"Not a thing. " But he laughed when he said it.
"Trisha went to school with my little sister, Carmen."
Ranger was still watching her. He looked completely surprised.
What the heck was going on? Joe and I were both lost to what was happening in front of us.
Trisha's cheeks were red. She turned to Joe.
"Carlos and I know each other from the neighborhood. Don't we?" Trisha said smugly.
Ranger's phone went off and he answered a page and said, "Yep". As an afterthought.
"Listen." He looked at me. "Where do you want to take Grandma Mazur? The coast is clear at your parents. Do you want to take her there?"
I was trying hard not to notice the tension in the air. Trisha stood silently next to Joe with her arms crossed. She was apparently in a situation that she was uncomfortable with, Joe was confused, and I was too. We were all at a standstill. Ranger was pretending like whatever was happening had nothing to do with him. We were all in some kind of holding pattern. No one willing to speak.
I fumbled for an answer to his question.
"Um, Yeah." I said. "You'll have to help me get her in the Jeep."
"I'll put her in the Porsche, but she better not pinch me. You drive it, and I will follow in your Jeep.
He cut his eyes to Trisha.
"Good to see you, Trisha. You look good." He said smiling.
He turned to Joe. "You need any help with Bella?"
"No." He said. "We're good."
I could tell Joe was pissed. He was eyeing Ranger with contempt.
I think there was a good chance he was figuring out that not only was I seeing Ranger, but that his current girlfriend had history with him also.
"Congratulations, Joe." Ranger said. "Trish is a really good woman. I know you guys will be happy."
He used the million dollar smile, and was texting, not paying attention to what fire was still being thrown at him as he walked over and got into the Jeep. I got behind the wheel of the Porsche and drove away with Ranger following.
I looked in the rear view mirror as we drove away. Joe had Bella in the car and Trisha was helping him. I thought they looked good together. I was actually hoping I didn't fuck it up.
We got to my mother's house, and dropped off Grandma. My mother had told the police that they had no idea who was throwing rocks. Must have been kids.
Ranger was waiting for me by the car. Grandma was well on her way through the second round of 100 Bottles of Beer before the door closed and I was free to go. I told Ranger about the website and how I decided to hire Albert to look into it for me.
"You know his slogan on T.V. is "Don't mess with the Kloughn." You think he can help you?"
"It's possible." I said. (Well, maybe.)
"It's your call." He said, and I followed him over to the Porsche.
He turned to me. "You just find out about Joe being engaged tonight?"
I nodded, and looked down. He put his hand on my chin picking it back up to look at him. "You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay." I said smiling. "So," I said. "Trisha?"
He nodded, "She was one of the three. I Hadn't seen her in over a year. I had no idea she would hook up with Morelli. He is a good guy, good for her."
Ranger put his hands in his pockets and looked out into the night. "We still haven't walked through the Gatskil Building." He said, "You up to checking it out tonight? We've put it off. I would like to do the walk through without employees, and this is a good time."
I needed to get my mind off what had happened tonight. My grandmother was acting like a juvenile; Joe was engaged to Ranger's…Ranger's what? Booty Call? Wow.
Ranger called and set everything up with the team and with the owners of the building. We drove over and parked next to one of Rangeman's SUV's. From a distance, we could see the building with a greater perspective. The parking lot had a security guard in a booth. Entrance and exits had drop down bars, stopping each car. The Gaskil building had 12 stories and an underground parking garage. It was set apart from other buildings with a large parking lot and grassy areas meant to be pleasing to the eye.
We drove in, and met at the front security gate. They had a single security guard for the front entrance lane. He watched the entire parking lot and was responsible for walking the perimeter every hour. He said he was the only night guard. No vehicle security was assigned to the building. There was one main entrance in the front, one maintenance entrance on each side and a back entrance with a loading dock and back stairwell. The loading dock had a door that led into the main hallway and from there, access to the stairs and the rest of the building. The underground garage had two stairwell entrances and an elevator. There was a helipad on the roof with a stairwell entrance to the building.
During the day, there were two guards at the front desk greeting people and just being there for key card mistakes, and general office security. All entrances had a key card passage. If clients came to the front, the security guards would buzz them into the lobby. The system in place had been installed over 10 years ago. Except for some minor issues, there were no problems with it. The building itself had been up for several awards for being "Green". Its entire roof and one side were covered with solar panels, not including the helipad. The building's lights all worked from these panels. The security system was on a different circuit. The placement of solar panels was part of a study the University was doing to see how effective they would be in a working environment. The study for the building was also missing from the break-ins, possibly making the rest of the theft a cover for what someone was really after, but no one knew if this was connected.
Ramon and Hal were taking notes as we walked the floors of the building with the guard. The stairwells in the building could not be key carded because of fire safety issues. You had to be able the get downstairs if there was an emergency. But, you could not enter the stairwell from outside or downstairs in the lobby without one. The elevators did not have any card access. Once in the building, you could come and go as you pleased. It was open to the public, the law offices had clients. It had to be easily accessible to normal individuals. The Helipad on the roof was key card access only. The freight elevator and the service doors were also key card. All the security was in place for the tenants. The Law firms here dealt with high profile clients, and not only did the firms request the security, so did the clients themselves.
I asked, "What if they electricity goes out in the building, or there is a computer glitch?"
"If the electricity goes out," the guard said. "The key cards still work; they are on a separate system. It switches to battery."
"What if that system does not go on?"
"That has never happened, that I know of. If all fails, the system turns off and the building is open to whoever would like to play with it."
"What about the alarms in the building?" Ranger asked.
"There is normal fire alarms. They're checked monthly to make sure they're working; There are also alarms for carbon monoxide and other poisons. The windows all have alarms. Doors that could be tampered with have alarms, and we have the guards during the day. Each of the entrance guards walk the inside of the building twice. We also have two floors that are government offices. They have their own armed guards, but none of the break-ins were on those floors."
"What do they do on those floors?" Hal asked.
"It is suppose to be FEMA offices, but I can't be sure of what they do here. The guards for those floors are friendly, but they don't share what happens in their offices. I can only assume they are normal work places and have normal staff. I never see secret agents walking in or anything." He smiled at his own humor.
"Look," he said,"there is not a lot going on here. We have law firms in the building, and government offices. Very little activity at night, and during the day it is all about getting someone's car keys, walking people out of the building who get fired, directing clients to the right floor,and helping when key cards don't work."
"When key cards don't work, what do you do?" I asked.
Just then, he stopped talking and asked us to wait. He listened to something. I realized he had an earpiece in his ear.
"Someone just tripped the alarm on the third floor."
I looked around, no Ramon.
Ranger used his cell and called him.
"While we were talking," Ranger said, "Ramon accessed twelve rooms, hit two safes,unlocked five secure passageways and went to the rooftop. He is on the roof now, and your alarm just tripped the wire on the third floor. Someone's been tampering with your security doors or the system is on a delay."
Alarms suddenly went off in the entire building. It had given Ramon a full twenty minutes to walk the building and pretend to steal.
Two security vehicles came into the parking lot ten minutes later. That kind of time frame would give whomever was in the building enough time to walk the floors,eat a snack, and steal whatever they came in to do before anyone even knew there was a problem.
We went to the main foyer and checked the cameras. They were all working, but showed Ramon just getting to the fourth floor. Instead, he was standing next to us, watching himself pass through the camera's lens.
"Well," Ranger said, "at least we know how they got in and out without getting caught."
It was late when we finished up with the building. Rangeman would send out someone in the morning to get access to all the security camera data and figure out how to get the system working without a delay. It would be our job to create a safer security system or use the one they had more efficiently. It was after 4am. It had been a really long night. I was tired, and I could tell I wasn't alone with that feeling. Since we had been back, I had rarely seen the sun. I felt like I had turned into one of the walking dead and if I looked in the mirror I would be a pasty representation of myself. All of us had been worked to death lately. Tank went home to get some sleep, and we drove back to RangeMan.
"Is it safe to say that you are sleeping at Rangeman? I don't know how much fun I will be, but I make a great pillow." He said, as we drove into the underground garage.
Before I could even answer, Ranger got a weird ring tone, and he looked down at his phone.
"Shit. Are you kidding me?!"
He called upstairs to the third floor.
"Are you serious?" He yelled in his phone. I had never heard Ranger lose his cool before. It was fascinating.
"You're telling me that?" He listened for a few more seconds then hung up.
He gave me an impatient glance and contemplated his thoughts.
"There is a problem on the 7th floor. It appears I have company. I have never had company up there, but you. And now it seems like every one is traipsing around. I don't have a doubt that this person could break code and go into any place she wanted. I just underestimated her response from breaking things off with her.
I shifted in my seat. I knew who he was talking about.
"You were sleeping with Jeanne Ellen? She was one of the three?"
He didn't even need to say anything. It was obvious.
"What was your reason for breaking up with her?" Stupid question! I thought.
I tried again. "I mean, what did you tell her?"
"I told her it was none of her business."
Eeee. I hated the, "None of your business line."He had used it on me a couple of times, and it immediately pissed me off when he had. And if it had that effect on me, imagine what it would do to cat woman? It was the worst.
Ranger was clearly distraught. "All of the sudden I'm in hot water twice in one day."
I tried to speak in a calm tone; it worked sometimes with Lula and with Joe.
"Telling someone something is none of their business, when clearly it had been in the past, is not the right approach. Girls don't really appreciate that line, Ranger."
"I'm figuring that out. I am a fast learner, but I have never had to deal with this before. Give me a fuckin' break already."
I found it hard to believe Ranger never had to deal with this before. I sat there in silence. Three women. All seeing Ranger. One being Jeanne. Crap. She already despised me. I was suddenly afraid for my Jeep.
Ranger was back on the phone. He listened for a moment, and then hung up.
"What do you want to do?" I asked.
He took a deep breath, and looked out the window at the elevator. "I don't want to sever ties with Jeanne. She has contacts. She is vital in your corner when you need her. This is turning out badly." We just sat there. I didn't know what he was thinking. I wondered if Ranger had played chess lately. I started shifting around in my seat. I am not great at confrontation, but it beats the hell out of walking on thin ice forever, harboring ill feelings, and sticking your head in the sand. As I had been doing lately. Damn. I should talk to her.
"Fuck it, I am going up there." I said.
"That's not a good idea." He said, shaking his head and laughing.
"Well. I think it is."
"No, it isn't."
I was getting mad. I didn't like to be told no. If I went up there, maybe she would get the hint and leave. She had to understand that she was being dense. Why shouldn't Ranger want to eventually end his booty call sessions with her? What was her problem, anyway? This was not my call, and clearly not my business either. But I had started it, and I wasn't really one to just let it go. I had to keep going. I mean, right? Shit. Plus, there was a possibility that she would leave if I talked to her. She seemed reasonable. If Ranger has decided to be with me, shouldn't I stand up and do the "girl thing" and fight for him? I wasn't sure the jury was in on that one yet. But I was tired, and I really needed to go to sleep, and she was stopping me from curling up in his sheets. I wanted them. Now.
"This isn't just going to go away." I said. "This is your call Ranger, your life. You started this, you need to have the balls to finish it." Yeah! I said to myself. Thinking I was making a good point.
I looked at him, and realized I had said the wrong thing. I think I startled him. I held my breath.
"The balls?!" He paused. I was trying to decide if we were now fighting. It was not where I was going with that statement. It was supposed to inspire him to let me go up and talk to her, woman to woman, not get a reaction like the one I just got.
"Ok Stephanie. Let's go see Jeanne. Let's just see how you feel once she has left the building."
He got out of the car fast. I was kind of afraid. He came over to my side, and pulled me out of the car, literally. Grabbed my hand and pulled me along after him. I was thinking I may have pissed him off.
Ranger can really walk fast when he wants to. My leg was starting to hurt as I had to run to keep up with him.
"Fuckin' wait. Shit!"
He turned around, and almost screamed at me.
"No, you wait. You are the one that wants to go up there, not me. Look Stephanie, This woman and I have had a sexual relationship for over twenty years. I don't know what I am doing anymore. This is all new territory for me. I just asked her to back up and give me some room. She asked why? I said it was none of her business. It IS none of her business. If I go up there, I make it her business. Then it becomes a real problem".
I did some calculations in my head. Twenty years. He is the same age as I am, Thirty three. I stopped for a moment. "Wait, are you saying that she has been sleeping with you since you were 13 years old?"
Ranger paused. He took a deep breath. "Yeah, Stephanie, that is what I am fucking saying."
I knew Jeanne was older than we were. But I wasn't sure just how much older.
"How old is she, Ranger?"
He turned to me and stopped walking.
"She is forty-nine Stephanie. Ok? FORTY GOD DAMN NINE!" Ranger was screaming now. He had clearly lost his noodle over this. This was huge to him. I had opened a can of worms I did not even realize existed.
"Look," He yelled. "I can't have this conversation with you IN THE GODDAMNHALL! Fuck. This is Personal!" He screamed. He was almost shaking. I had never seen him freak out before. I wasn't sure what the hell to do.
I looked at the elevator. I wanted to go up there and kick the living shit out of her. Instead, I called Lester. What else do you do to protect a child? I felt that Ranger had been somehow manipulated by a grown woman twenty years before. I needed to get this one for him.
"Lester, I said. "This is Stephanie. You need a team to go up to the seventh floor and eject that woman out of the building. Now. We don't want to see her. She needs to be escorted down. If she won't come down, tell her you will call the police and have her taken out by force. By the book, boys. Let's get her off the property."
I was really pissed off. I felt like I took charge of a situation that needed fixing. It really felt good. I had no idea who Ranger was, or what kind of childhood he must have had. I think it was cut extremely short by Jeanne Ellen. Having Jeanne in your corner was not worth what he had given up.
Ranger slid down the wall. He looked like he had just said something that had bothered him for a really long time. I wasn't sure what to do, except just sit there with him. He was sitting with his back against the wall and his legs out in front of him. I heard screaming and some freaking out, but it was in another hallway, away from us. We were both listening intently, wanting to make sure nothing bad happened. Hal called about thirty minutes later.
"We had to taze her. She is as mean as a snake. Lester called the police. They are going to take this one. I don't want Les Seabring on my ass about this."
I thanked him, and hung up.
Ranger grabbed my hand, and pulled me up with him. We didn't talk. He just held my hand as we walked to the elevator.
"I am having a hard time with the way this day has gone. Let's get some sleep."
We went up to the 7th floor. The door was still open. There were things knocked over, and a lot of broken glass. In the bedroom, there was a lot more destruction. The bed looked destroyed. She had taken a knife to it. Ranger pulled everything off the bed and flipped the mattress over. He kicked off his boots, pulled all his clothes off and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the bathroom with him. We took a hot shower together. Kind of just together, more than a full on sexual love fest. But he did wash me.. That was nice. We got out of the shower, replaced the bed sheets, and fell into bed together. Ranger held on to me the entire night. I think I slept like a rock, and I never felt him move.
When I woke up, it was already 9am. Ranger was dressed for working at Rangeman. A cleaning crew had arrived and they had started working on the apartment. He saw I was awake. He crawled on the bed and kissed me.
"Did I tell you thank you for solving my problem last night?"
I whispered, "No."
"I will." He said. Brushing his lips against mine. He smiled, and kissed me. His hands ran down my body as he pulled me closer. He stopped and looked into my eyes. "I have to get downstairs. We are running short this morning."
The night flashed before my eyes.
"Last night was a little crazy, wasn't it?"
"I am still thinking about that one." Ranger said. "I will see you later. We have things to discuss."
And then he was gone. Back to Batman.