Chapter 14: Old Friends (Make the Worst Enemies)

He was parked about fifty feet back from the door. The tracker she didn't know she was wearing alerted him to her imminent appearance at the Trenton PD exit. He watched as she walked toward him. A man materialized from behind a parked car as she walked by, and Ranger's guts tightened. His hand moved toward his weapon. He heard Stephanie's exclamation of delight, and he watched as her arms went around the man for a quick hug. He relaxed a little. She said something to the man, gave his arm a pat and continued walking toward the SUV.

It was one of the things he loved about her, her complete lack of concern for appearances. She was 180 degrees from Helen Plum, who was completely concerned with appearances. His fiancée had apparently recognized and hugged a homeless man, and had left him with an encouraging word. It was one of the reasons many of his men loved her, too. She didn't judge.

She slid into the passenger seat and smiled a little too sweetly at him. "That was fun … not," she said, shaking her head.

"Morelli wasn't cooperative?" Ranger was listening, but he was also looking. Stephanie looked especially sexy in her tight t-shirt and form-fitting jeans.

"Oh, he was, in his way," she said, looking down at the purse in her lap, searching for her lip gloss. "What he said was a little disconcerting. He said he and Terry used to fight about me. He kind of threw me under the bus. He used me as an excuse to break it off with her."

"Hell hath no fury…" Ranger said. He flashed back on one of the times Stephanie was furious with him. She could be quite arousing when angry.

"True, but he doesn't think Terry had anything to do with my abduction," she said, puckering her mouth and applying a coat of gloss to her lips. "He said he's moved on, and if Terry were upset about it she would have gone after Alison, the new girlfriend. I think I agree with him on that point."

"We still need to talk to Terry," Ranger said, staring at her pouty glistening lips. "And we'll talk to her together."

"Okay, but…" she hesitated, which caused Ranger to focus and give her his full attention. If she was going to tell him she had a feeling, he would listen intently because he had learned to trust her feelings. "I was just thinking," she continued. "We are assuming it's Terry and that she was talking about Joe, but what if it was someone talking about you."

Ranger's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Who are you thinking about? If you are going to say Grace…"

"No! Not Grace! But I thought, maybe, well … Jeanne Ellen Burrows."

Ranger laughed and realized his mistake immediately. He was quiet for a moment, but then he turned to her with a serious expression. "It's not Jeanne Ellen."

"How can you be so sure? I thought..." she paused. "I'd heard rumors that you were once ... involved with her," Steph asked, not really wanting to know.

Ranger suppressed a grin. "If it was Jeanne Ellen, she might have kidnapped me instead."

"What?"

"Jeanne Ellen…" Now it was his turn to hesitate. "Let's just say she bats for both teams." Steph looked over at him, her brows furrowed and a puzzled look on her face. Ranger continued, "She's always been attracted to me, but Babe, you're the one she's had a major crush on for years." Steph's jaw dropped. "I warned her off you. I don't share." He gave a cursory look up and down the street. It was mostly deserted. He knew he was thinking with more than his head as he pulled her across the console toward him. His lips found hers with unerring accuracy.

"I have a crush on you, too," he whispered against her lips. When her lips parted he thrust his tongue past them. His hands were under her shirt, and one of them had penetrated her bra. He felt her nipple pebble between his fingers, and he felt her moan against his lips. He deepened the kiss, and kept his fingers busy. Her body started to tremble and he knew she was close to falling over the edge. She was so responsive to his touch. He pulled her even closer against him.

"Ranger," she said weakly, as she pulled away for air. "Are we going to do it here, in the police parking lot?"

He reluctantly let go of her. "No. Buckle up. We're going home. We can't risk an audience for what I've got planned." He resettled himself in his seat as she moved back across the SUV.

"So, Jeanne Ellen is..." Steph began, but just then, both their phones rang simultaneously.

"Tank," he said, after glancing at the screen.

"I think mine's the FBI," she said.

"Take the call," he told her. He dismissed Tank's call and immediately began to text him. He listened to Stephanie's side of her phone conversation.

"Yes—But I've already told Detective Bouchard everything—Yes, he's with me—Okay—Yes—The RangeMan building—A half-hour will be fine." She disconnected and told him, "They want to see us. I told them RangeMan. They have a few more questions to ask."

"Fine," Ranger said. "Tank has arranged for us to meet Terry Gilman in two hours. At Settimo Cielo, for a late lunch."

"We're meeting her at a restaurant?" Stephanie sounded surprised.

"Where else?" Ranger asked. "People in her line of work don't invite outsiders into their offices. This will be neutral territory for all of us."

The FBI agents were polite but insistent. They made them retell everything they'd told the TPD detective. And then they gave Ranger and Stephanie some news. A body had been fished out of the Delaware River. He'd been ID'd as Jimmy Moricolo, probably a.k.a. Ski Mask Man. He was Morty Moricolo's cousin. They asked her if she thought she could ID him as the Ski Mask Man, but she told them no, she had never seen his face. They didn't press her to view the body. She'd already been to the TPD; she had no desire to visit the Mercer County Morgue.

They dressed up, a little, for their meeting with Terry. Stephanie wore the simple navy sheath she'd purchased for Ranger's parents' anniversary party. Ranger wore a black dress shirt and slacks. She thought it was a little silly to be getting dressed up for Terry Gilman, but they needed to blend in with the clientele at the restaurant. They arrived early, and Ranger had a brief word with the maître d'. They were seated at a table in the back, side-by-side. It was only a few minutes until they saw Terry enter the restaurant. She also had a word with the maître d', and they saw the frown that marred her brow.

Stephanie watched Terry walk toward them. Where had the bosomy brassy blonde that had been two years ahead of her in high school gone? This tall, lean woman bore only a slight resemblance to her, and when had she changed? Stephanie couldn't remember, specifically, when she'd last seen Terry. Her hair was now a silvery blond, with a short precision cut that was close to her skull. She was wearing a pale blue suit that matched her ice blue eyes. Stephanie didn't recognize the designer, but the cut of the suit screamed couture.

Ranger stood as she approached the table. He held out his hand, and Terry shook it briefly and nodded to Stephanie as she sat down.

"I'm somewhat of a regular customer here," she told them. "I hope you don't mind, I've arranged to have the house specialty served to us. My schedule is a little tight today, and I thought it would expedite things. Your man did say it was essential that we talk today, Mr. Mañoso."

Stephanie looked at Ranger. So, that's the way it was going to be. Terry was going to politely ignore her. She didn't think so.

"I was recently kidnapped," Stephanie said. "We wanted to talk to you about it, because the people who took me were working for ... someone else. We don't know who they were working for, but we are hoping you can give us some information about it."

Terry looked at Stephanie with narrowed eyes and, just for a moment, the Burg Bad Girl seeped out. Terry lowered her eyes and took a drink of water, and when she looked up again, the ice princess was back in control. "I've heard about your unfortunate experience, Stephanie, but all my information is second-hand. It seems no matter how far you go you can't escape the Burg grapevine." She gave her shoulders a small shrug.

"We were wondering if you knew the Moricolo cousins?" Ranger asked. "It seems they were responsible for the kidnapping. We've heard they were contract workers, not from Trenton. Do you know who they might have been working for?"

Terry gave Ranger a long assessing look before she answered, and Stephanie wondered just what she was assessing. "I have no idea," Terry said. "I can ask my Uncle Vito for you. He might know. I don't really have anything to do with that side of the business. I manage our more, uhm, legitimate concerns."

"We heard you run all sides of the business," Stephanie said, wincing only slightly when Ranger's foot came down on hers.

Terry's eyes widened in surprise. "You heard incorrectly. The Burg grapevine is known for its quantity of information, but not the quality, unfortunately. There is no fact checker for that particular stream of information. Is this your quaint way of asking me if I was responsible?"

Even though she addressed her question to Stephanie, Terry's eyes never left Ranger. Ranger seemed to be oblivious, Stephanie noted. He was probably so used to women being dazzled by his good looks that he was immune to the stares. But Stephanie wasn't immune. She was irritated.

"Were you responsible?" Stephanie asked.

"I was out of town when your unfortunate incident took place. And I have someone who will corroborate my … absence. You remember Joe, don't you, Stephanie? Joe Morelli, that is." Terry's purse buzzed. "Excuse me," she said, taking her phone from a side pocket of an expensive bag. "I'm expecting an important call."

Designer suit, designer bag. Terry wasn't a cheap slut any longer, Stephanie realized. She was an expensive one. The phone message must have been one she was expecting, because what happened next was smooth and orchestrated. Terry left the table and walked toward the restrooms.

"What was that?" Stephanie asked. "Surely Joe wasn't with her recently. He'd have told me if he was still seeing her."

"I doubt Joe was with her," Ranger said, "and I doubt she was out of town. She's bluffing."

"How do you know?" Stephanie asked.

"Babe, I play poker. I don't think Terry does."

"So, you think Terry could be the one?" Stephanie asked. "What's our next step?"

A waiter approached their table with a bread basket and salads. "We eat lunch," Ranger told her.

"I'm sorry," Terry said as she returned to the table. "I have to go, but please enjoy your lunch on me. The food here is excellent." She pivoted on a leather-soled stiletto and walked down the aisle and out the front door.