Chapter 6

"Delilah won't be on her corner this time of day," Lula said.

I considered that as Lula and I pulled away from the bonds office. I needed to get Delilah right away. I only had two skips and she was the easier of the two. The other was a repeat offender whose whereabouts were presently unknown. It would take a little computer work to locate him and I wanted to leave that for another day.

"Where do you think we'll find her?" I asked.

"I know exactly where she is. She'll be at the Starbucks on Front Street."

"That's convenient," I said. "It's only a few minutes from the cop shop. What makes you so sure she'll be there?"

"I see her there every time I go. She likes to use their internet. She writes children's books."

"And she's a prostitute?" I asked.

"Yeah, writing don't make her enough money to live so she still works her corner over on Stark. I keep telling her to quit, but she won't. She ain't never been brutalized."

I looked at Lula. I thought I knew what she meant but still I asked, "Brutalized?"

"Yeah," Lula said. "It happens to all hoes eventually. Not usually as bad as me. Benito Ramirez was the worst. I knew, as soon as I knew I was going to live, I was done. But you can't explain that to someone who hasn't been attacked."

Brutalized was a good word. What had happened to Lula had been beyond brutal. I sometimes forgot what she'd been through. She'd worked hard to put it behind her and had done a good job.

We pulled into Starbucks, and I treated Lula and myself to grande white chocolate mochas. We found Delilah sitting at a sunny table at the front, her laptop open and her fingers flying over the keys. It took only a short conversation to assure her she could make it to her corner by six and she agreed to come with us.

As I drove, I listened to Lula talk to Delilah about finding other employment, but Lula was right. It fell on deaf ears. Delilah wasn't going to quit. I thought about being brutalized. I hadn't been brutalized in the way Lula had, but I had come very close. Bruised was a better word for what had happened to me. Bruised, both physically and mentally.

Anxiety bubbled up from somewhere deep inside. I needed to deal with the reality of Rafael being back in Trenton. I needed also to deal with the fact that Ranger knew there had been something between Rafael and myself, but I couldn't think of it now. I was working.

Vinnie was true to his word, and we were able to get Delilah shuttled directly into the court to get re-bonded. Lula and I went to watch which was something we rarely did, but it was all going to happen quickly, and Delilah needed a ride back to the Starbucks where we'd picked her up. Stephanie Plum, full-service skip tracer at your service.

After Delilah was done in court, I handed my keys to Lula. "You guys can head to the car. I'm just going to pop into the ladies' room and then I'll be out."

"Don't waste no time," Lula said. "This place ain't exactly my comfort zone."

"I won't," I promised.

I'd turned my phone back on to call Vinnie and as I was washing my hands the ding of an incoming text echoed off the restroom walls. I summoned up my courage to check the message. I wasn't in the mood for communication with Ranger. I frowned when I saw the text. It wasn't Ranger. It was my mother, but I wasn't in the mood for communication with her either. I once again turned off my phone and dropped it into the bottom of my messenger bag, and I headed out.

Be aware of your surroundings. How many times had I been told that? Apparently one less time than I needed because as I came around the corner into the main hallway my mind was not on my immediate future, but on my remote past. I slammed directly into someone coming toward me. Strong male arms reached out to steady me. I looked up to apologize and stared straight into the still familiar face of Rafael Acosta.

"Mrs. Orr!" he said. "How delightful to see you." He held tightly to my upper arms but stepped back to put space between us. His eyes traveled the length of my body, and I couldn't control the full body shiver. It was fear, nothing more, but based on our past he might have mistaken the obvious tremor. He smiled a quiet little intimate smile, but his eyes weren't smiling. He was looking at me, assessing me, and I didn't like it.

"Forgive me," he said. "I should address you correctly, Ms. Plum I believe it now is. Did you know I have moved back to this locale? One of the wonderful benefits of being here is the opportunity to reconnect with you. I'm a little busy at the present getting the new practice set up, but I plan to be in touch with you soon."

"I'm…uh." I was so rattled I couldn't put words together. I took a deep breath and tried again. "I'm involved with someone. We, you and I, I mean... we can't meet."

"My dear, when I knew you last, you were married, and you can't be more involved than that. Surely whatever involvement you have now won't be an obstacle to us resuming what was undeniably a pleasant interlude. As I said, I'll be in touch." He dropped his hands from my arms where he had been holding me in place and walked away.

I turned and ran back into the restroom and, for the second time in as many days, lost the pizza I had recently eaten.

When I slid into the driver's seat, I was pale and shaky. Lula noticed immediately. "You okay?" she asked. "You don't look good."

"I don't feel good," I said. "I just lost the pizza I had for lunch."

"Where'd you eat?"

"Pino's."

"Huh," Lula said. "It ain't like Pino's to have bad food. You must have a bug. I know you ain't pregnant. You haven't been exposed to that lately."

"You're right, I must have a bug," I agreed. "I'll take you guys back to the office to fill out paperwork and then maybe you can take Delilah back to Starbucks. I think I need to go home."

"Sure, not a problem," Lula said. "I might have to try another of those white mocha latte things."

My now empty stomach roiled as I turned over the engine and we headed out. "Tell Connie I'll be in tomorrow for the check," I told Lula as she and Delilah exited the car. I was barely holding it together and I needed to be alone. I needed to be someplace where I could center myself. Regain some peace and lose the anxiety that was building and getting ready to overflow again in an unfortunate way.

I had a go-bag packed and stored in my trunk, and without further thought I headed for the beach. It was spring and even though the day was warm, it would be cold at the beach, but that's what the go-bag was for. I had a nice blanket I could wrap up in and settle myself down to listen to the waves crashing against the shore. I'd have to take the long way around as the beach wasn't officially open and wouldn't be for weeks, but that was okay. I was an old hand at getting around Point Pleasant.

Point Pleasant, for maybe the first time ever, failed me. The idea was to sit and stare at the waves breaking and listen to the sounds of the beach. At some point I would become hypnotized, mindless, and just enjoy the day. It was the hallmark of denial. For the time I was there I was completely trouble-free. This time though, just as the waves kept coming my thoughts kept churning. I couldn't turn my mind off, and it seems I had plenty of trouble.

Rafael had made it clear he was going to reinsert himself in my life and that couldn't happen. I didn't know how I was going to stop it, but I knew I wasn't the same person he had known. I'd have to figure out a way to keep what had happened between us a secret. The Stephanie he had known was reeling from her husband's infidelity and bent on revenge. I'd seen and done a lot since Rafael's sudden exit from Trenton. I was better equipped to deal with the threat he posed now. I just had to figure out how to neutralize the threat.

If the details of our affair became public, it would ruin not only my life but my family's as well. It was one thing to be the talk of the Burg for burning down a funeral home or losing yet another car to a bomb. This time it would kill my mother. Truly, it would kill her. I couldn't live with that. If someone had to die over this situation, it wouldn't be my mother. It would be Rafael.

That realization both scared me and stirred me to action. I left Point Pleasant and made my way back to town. I knew what had to be done. I needed an ally, and since Ranger already knew, it would have to be him. I'd have to get over my hurt at his early morning rejection and give him what he wanted…the whole story.

Ranger wasn't acting out of curiosity. He had an agenda and I imagined it was to bring justice for Ella and Louis. What I could tell him wouldn't help Ella and Louis at all, and I didn't want to share my secret with anyone, but Ranger wanted to know, and once he knew he would help me. He was my best and only hope of divesting Rafael from my life.

I left Point Pleasant and headed back to Trenton, stopping only to buy a bottle of my favorite Moscato. I knew what had to be done, but there was nothing wrong with armoring myself with a little liquid courage. I'd go home and I'd call Ranger…after two glasses. Three glasses would render me incapable of speaking coherently. One wouldn't be enough to get me through the ordeal.

I needed more than wine. On the spur of the moment, I turned into the Burg and made my way to my mother's house. It was nearing dinnertime and I'd be a welcome surprise.

I was unannounced and yet my grandmother was standing at the front door, waiting. It was eerie.

"Well, look who's here for dinner," she said as she ushered me past her and into the living room. "Your mother tried to text you, but she didn't get an answer, so I used ESP and here you are, right on time!"

My mother came from the kitchen wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Stephanie, I'm glad you stopped by. I have a roast chicken and pineapple upside-down cake for dessert. I know it's your favorite."

"Yum," I said. "It is my favorite. What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," my mother said with a grin. "It's just cleaning out the pantry day and I had all the ingredients on the counter right in front of me."

I thought for a moment. "Cleaning out my pantry would only put some fruit loops, stale bread and peanut butter on my counter."

"Then it's a good thing you stopped by. At least you'll get one good meal today."

"Actually, it's my second good meal of the day," I said. "I had lunch at Pino's."

My mother quit worrying her hands on the dish towel and gave me a questioning look.

"No, Mom, not with Joe. Although, I did see him there. I ate with a friend."

"A male friend?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, but a friend with absolutely no potential for anything other than friendship." My mom sighed and went back into the kitchen to finish the meal preparations.

I stood half listening to my grandma chatter about what had gone on at the beauty shop that morning, the other half of my mind reviewing my day. It had been eventful. First Ranger's odd coldness, followed by Vince and then Lester. Then the epitome of bad luck, running into Rafael, literally.

I followed my grandma into the kitchen to help my mom with the final dinner preparations knowing that I would have two pieces of cake for dessert, that I would go home and not run today, and that calling Ranger would wait until another day. I still hadn't decided whether I'd open the Moscato or not.