Chapter 3: Missing

Ranger took a long second look around Stephanie's apartment. Was the mess he saw what it looked liked — that Stephanie had been taken forcefully? Or was there another, less dramatic explanation, such as Steph injuring herself and then leaving on her own power, maybe to go to the hospital?

He returned his gun to its holster at the small of his back, and then searched through the scattered contents of her purse. He found her phone and car keys. A glance out the window showed her car was still in the back parking lot. Maybe a neighbor had driven her. He strode out into the hall and started knocking on doors. It only took a few minutes of questions to learn no one on her floor had heard or seen anything, and they didn't know where Stephanie was.

His first call was to the Trenton PD, reporting a break-in and possible abduction. His second call was to RangeMan, giving a terse report to Tank and an order to call all local ERs to see if Steph had shown up. While he waited for the police, he made several more phone calls, including one to Steph's mother, and one to Connie Rosolli at the bail bonds office, to see if they knew where Steph was. No one had talked to or seen Stephanie since lunchtime.

After the last phone call, he continued pacing. Nothing came to him. The apartment felt empty. Even her damn rodent used to liven up the place, but Rex had gone to hamster heaven months ago. The apartment now just felt hollow. What had happened here? Where was Stephanie?

Stephanie hadn't worked as a bond enforcement agent in nearly half a year. She was no longer chasing skips or delving into cases peopled by unsavory characters. The scene in her apartment showed all the signs of a violent abduction, but who would take her? Could it be someone from his past? That thought troubled him immensely. The potential list was long. Deep in thought, he dropped into her armchair and simply sat there. Several minutes passed and Ranger hadn't moved a muscle, except maybe his eyes.

Where are you, Babe? he mused, his mind running overtime. He leaned forward and rubbed his face with both hands. What happened? His eyes rotated to the ceiling. Are you in trouble or is there some simple explanation for all of this? His head dipped down. I wish I had ESP like you're always accusing me of, because then I'd know ...

And suddenly, he saw it. A flash of blue! In a split second, he was out of the chair and on his knees, his arm reaching under the sofa. He sat back on his haunches and opened his hand. A sapphire ring lay squarely in the middle of his palm. There would be no simple explanation for her disappearance. Stephanie would never leave her engagement ring behind.

He shook his head and swallowed, hard. When he'd had the one-of-a-kind ring made, he'd considered inserting a GPS tracker in it, but the design he'd chosen was too slim for current tracker technology. And the more he'd thought about it, he'd decided against the tracker. Stephanie had always bristled at being monitored, but he'd only put trackers in her purse or her vehicle. This ring was a symbol of their new relationship, one founded on trust and commitment. To slip such invasive equipment into something so personal seemed a violation of that trust. Besides, she was getting out of her dangerous bounty hunting job and going to work full-time for RangeMan. He'd continue to use trackers in her purse or car; she knew they were there, and she knew how to circumvent them if she desired. But her engagement ring was off-limits. And it wouldn't have helped in this case anyway, he mused. With a deep sigh, he pocketed the ring, stood and strode toward the front door.

At that moment, two of Trenton's finest appeared at Stephanie's open doorway. Carl Costanza and his partner, Big Dog, were peering around the doorjamb, as if hesitant to enter.

Carl glanced over at Ranger and asked, "Is it safe? The last time I was here, there were snakes crawling everywhere."

Ranger nearly rolled his eyes. "There's no one here. But there's clear evidence that there was a struggle." He moved aside so the two police officers could see into the living room.

"Steph's place is always a mess," Carl grinned as he sauntered in.

Ranger restrained himself from decking the cop and pointed to the dining room table. "How do you explain the blood?"

Big Dog bent down and peered at the table. "That's blood, all right."

"That's evidence," Ranger clarified, his voice tight, his teeth clenched. "Evidence that something bad went down in here. Stephanie was taken by force from her apartment. Time is our enemy. The longer you stand there gawking, the colder the evidence gets." His eyes were shooting daggers at both police officers.

Carl backed away from Ranger and took a quick walk through the apartment. When he came back, he said, "It looks like the only messed up room is here, in the living room. How long has she been missing?"

"I talked to her neighbors on this floor and called her mother and coworkers, and no one has seen her since noon. I came by less than twenty minutes ago and found her door shut but unlocked. I called you guys and it took you over fifteen minutes to get here."

Carl looked sheepish, but Big Dog just shrugged and said, "She's an adult. Maybe she isn't really missing. Maybe she's just out shopping."

Ranger took one long stride toward Big Dog and, when they were nose to nose, he uttered in a soft but deadly voice, "Someone took her, and if you don't get on the horn in two seconds and report this as a kidnapping, I'll rip your tongue out and strangle you with it."

Carl immediately got on his phone and called the precinct. "Connect me with Criminal Investigations," he said. There was a short pause and he continued, "This is Officer Costanza, reporting a possible kidnapping." Another pause. "Apartment 215, at the corner of St. James and Dunworth. Yeah, that's Stephanie Plum's apartment. Send a detective and a forensics unit over ASAP." He glanced up from his call and met Ranger's stare, then turned aside and murmured, "Yes, I'm serious. Get someone over here right now."

While they waited for the forensics unit to arrive, Carl and Big Dog questioned Ranger about the actions he'd taken before they'd arrived. They also asked about potential suspects, which Ranger could only speculate about. He still had no clue about who would take Stephanie or why.

Ranger's phone rang and he stepped aside to take the call. "Report," he barked.

"She isn't at any of the ERs," Tank told him. "Not under her name or as a Jane Doe. Same with the morgues. All staff have been putting out feelers to their respective sources, but so far, no news. No rumors of stalkers or angry skips. There's nothing on the radar."

"Keep working on that, but start checking on the likelihood that the danger may be from my past."

"Do you really think that's a possibility?" Tank queried. "It's been years since you've done any merc work."

"It can take years for resentments to fester to the point of action. I don't have any other avenues to explore. Someone took her, Tank. There's fresh blood on the scene. Not a lot, but enough to know she didn't go willingly. She's been gone less than an hour. There's got to be some evidence, some trace we can follow. Keep on it."

Ranger slipped his phone into his jacket pocket just as the forensics unit arrived, along with a detective from the Investigations Division. Right behind them, there was another detective, this one from the Vice Division.

Joe Morelli entered the apartment and his first glance was at Ranger. It wasn't an amicable look. Then he let his eyes travel through the apartment, taking in everything, but settling on the blood on the dining room table. Without saying a word, Joe passed something to Ranger as he moved into the living room to speak to the detective assigned to the case.

Ranger looked down at the item Morelli had handed him. It was a bottle of Maalox®.