Chapter 12

I marched from the elevator into the garage, Macan key fob in my hand, and bumped into Louis. I hit him hard enough that we both bounced backward. He grabbed hold of my arm and counterbalanced me, saving us both from a fall.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" I said.

"No, excuse me," he countered. "I wasn't paying attention. It was my fault."

I smiled. "I wasn't paying attention either, so I think we must agree this is a no-fault collision." He smiled back at me, gave me a small, but formal bow and we both continued on our way. It was just a brief conversation, but I realized as I slid into the Macan, it was the first time I had ever spoken more than a couple of words to Louis. Rarely, when we passed one another in the RangeMan building we'd nod or offer a brief "hello." I didn't know Louis at all and, until recently, I hadn't given him that much thought. Vince's revelation of Louis' role in their past had me looking at him in a slightly different light. Ex-military, ex-airborne. Not just the kindly older relative of Ranger I'd imagined him to be.

The interaction had been brief, but it had been long enough for me to notice one thing. Louis' eyes mirrored the same sadness as Ella's. It had been years since they lost their son, and I had never previously sensed the air of tragedy around them I was now seeing. Maybe I'd been oblivious because I hadn't known anything about it. Or maybe Ranger was right. Rafael's presence in Trenton was bringing the need for retribution for their son's death back with urgency.

Ranger takes his responsibilities seriously. He'd told Louis he'd get the proof needed to put Rafael away. It was a given that Ranger could have quietly exacted the retribution they needed, but they wanted their son's murderer to be publicly acknowledged.

I could almost forgive Ranger for the way he'd cajoled me back into his life, and bed, a few nights ago. I understood he had a serious ulterior motive, but it still hurt. And yet all he had to do was crook his finger and whisper please, and I'd fall at his feet. He'd made it clear last night, there'd be no finger crooking, and yet I was still hoping. I was a mess, and I was completely aware of it.

It was early for lunch, but I hadn't had breakfast, so I wheeled through Cluck-in-a-Bucket and picked up a bucket of extra-crispy with a side of biscuits. I'd have lunch with Connie and Lula and maybe Vince if he was around.

When I walked into the office, Lula was behind Connie's desk. Vinnie's door was closed, and Connie was MIA.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"They're gone. I'm the only one here. Vinnie is out for the day. It's Harry's birthday and Lucille is throwing him a surprise party. Connie had to go to the courthouse to re-bond Alvin Arledge. Can you believe they're letting his fat ass out of jail again?"

"Yeah, I can, but I can't believe he'd use Vinnie for a bondsman again."

"He's a fool," Lula said.

"Vinnie or Alvin?" I asked.

"Both! Girl, you got chicken there?"

"I do," I said. I plopped the bucket and sack of biscuits on Connie's desk.

"Alleluia!" Lula exclaimed. "I'm stuck here alone, and I was thinking I was gonna have to call Door Dash. You saved the day! Connie said she might be gone a couple of hours."

"If she is, she's doing more than re-bonding Alvin. It wouldn't take that long."

"That's what I thought," Lula said. "And you know what? Vince called and said he was going to be busy for the next couple of hours and he wouldn't be in until this afternoon. You don't think…" she trailed off, lost in the wonderment that Connie might be meeting Vince.

I didn't think she was. I thought it was much more likely that Vince was in one of his anger management counseling sessions, but I kept that thought to myself. I watched as Lula popped the lid off the bucket and pulled out a fat thigh with one hand and a breast with the other. I sighed and reached in to grab a piece for myself while there was still a good choice. Eating fried chicken before a run wasn't a good thing, but darn, I was hungry. Maybe I'd run another day.

"So, Connie an' Vince might have something goin' on," Lula said between bites. "And judgin' by the car you're driving, you and Batman for sure got something goin' on. 'Bout time. Morelli's been history for months."

"We haven't got anything going on," I said. "I'm just helping him with a work thing, and he's sort of helping me with a problem."

"What kind of problem you got?" she asked. "Are you sick? You been throwing up a lot lately, and you don't look good. You got big dark circles under your eyes."

"I'm not sick," I said. "You're the second person to think that today. Ella thought I was sick this morning."

"Ella? Ella! You're staying with Ranger. Well, no wonder you look a little peaked. That man probably has the stamina of…"

"I'm staying there temporarily," I interrupted. "There is nothing going on between us."

"Now that hurts!" Lula said. "I ain't nobody's fool and anyone can see there is something going on. Don't you trust me enough to share it? I thought we was partners. Friends."

I set my half-eaten chicken down on a napkin. The lump that had risen in my throat was going to keep me from eating anymore. She was right. She was my friend, and of all the people I'd ever known, Lula would be the one who wouldn't judge, who'd steadfastly be by my side. It was a sudden decision, but it was the right one.

"We need to talk," I said. "Does Vinnie have this place bugged? This is going to be a conversation I don't want anyone else to hear."

"Nah," Lula said. "He doesn't. And anyways, he just broadcasts it into his office. And it's all locked up."

I sat on the sofa and thought for a moment about what I was getting ready to do. I had kept this secret so long it seemed wrong to be telling it now, and yet, I needed to. I needed to share it with someone besides Ranger. It was true, he hadn't judged, and he did seem to understand the emotional wreck the thought of looking at the video tapes was turning me into, but I needed some girl talk. I needed Lula's input.

"I have a secret," I said. "The other day, when you and Connie were reading the article about Rafael Acosta, I said I didn't know him. That was a lie."

I told her about my affair which had started as payback for Dickie's affair with Joyce. I told her how Rafael had used the tapes he made to blackmail me into a sexual relationship I didn't want. I explained in more detail to her than I had to Ranger because Lula had seen it or heard it all in her former line of work. I told her I was terrified that Rafael would release the video or send it to my family if I didn't comply. And finally, I told her about running into him at the courthouse when we had taken Delilah to get re-bonded.

"I asked Ranger to help me, and he did," I told her. "Ranger helped me get what we think is my tape back, and more. There may be tapes of other women as well."

I sat for a half hour and told her everything. Almost. I didn't tell her about Ranger's role in the investigation into David Guzman's murder. That wasn't my story to tell. I didn't tell her about the surveillance videotapes, about the way Ranger had seduced me in order to get my cooperation. I wasn't ready to talk about any of that yet.

Lula was quiet for most of the time. When I was finished, she came to me with a biscuit, dripping butter. "Ain't got no donuts, so this is the best I can do right now." I took it from her and ate it.

"I gotta ask you, Stephanie, did you get counseling after that piece of dog shit left town?"

Surprised, I stuttered, "N-n-no."

"You shoulda," she said. "I got counseling after Benito brutalized me and it helped. You ever think there is a reason you can't commit to any man? You had Officer Hottie and you put the brakes on. And now you got Batman, and you say there is nothing going on between you. Honey, you got issues."

"I know I do," I said, "but right now my issues aren't about keeping a man. They're about watching a freaking videotape to see if it's me and Rafael having sex. The thought of it paralyzes me."

"You don't have to watch the whole thing," Lula said. "Just watch long enough to see if it's you." She got up from the desk and came to sit by me.

"Wait a minute!" she said. "You know what? You don't have to watch at all. I'll watch for you, and if it's you then I'll pull that cassette out of the machine and stomp on it until there's none of it left!"

Lula would watch. Lula would watch. Relief poured over me like the warm spray of Ranger's shower, but it was followed just as quickly by a cold spray of reality. Ranger had been right when he'd made me take ownership in retrieving the tapes last night, and I knew that I had to be the one to watch them.

Her offer was so genuine though, I reached out and hugged her. I'm not a hugger in normal circumstances, but there was nothing normal about what she had offered to do for me. She hugged me back and then unexplainably, we started giggling. For the first time in the last few days, I felt something akin to happiness. It felt good to have Lula as a friend. The door to the bonds office opened and Vince walked in to see Lula and I on the sofa in a tight embrace, laughing our heads off.

"Uh, ah, excuse me," he said. "I didn't mean to interrupt…"

"You didn't interrupt nothin'," Lula said. "I was just thanking Stephanie for bringing me this chicken."

"Must be some good chicken," he muttered.

"It's damn good chicken," Lula said. "In fact, it's so good you should have some. Me and Stephanie are going to step out to get us a diet soda. You stay here and answer the phones and we'll be right back." She stood and grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. I looked over my shoulder to see Vince shrug and plunge his hand into the bucket.

We did exactly what Lula had said. I took her in the Macan to the McDonalds just a few blocks from the office. We ordered drinks and got one for Vince as well.

As we pulled back in front of the office, I said, "I'm gonna do it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm going to do it and I'm not going to put it off any longer. Thank you for offering, but I think I need to do it. I'll let you know how it goes."

Lula unbuckled and started to get out and then she turned back suddenly and said, "You're gonna be okay. If the worst happens and there are other tapes and he's fool enough to let them go public, you'll be fine. I imagine your momma would do a lot of ironing, and your granny would want to watch them, but bottom line, they love you. They'll stand behind you. I ain't got no family like that. My momma was a crack ho and she didn't make it much past thirty. I didn't have much hope of doing better than her, but I am and it's because of you. You helped me when I needed it most and I'll always be here to help you."

She got out of the Macan with a large drink in each hand. She shut the door with a thrust of her hip, and I put the car in gear and drove away with tears in my eyes.

I took the elevator to five, intending to find Ranger and have him show me how to get started. As I walked by Tank's office I stopped to stare at the man in the doorway. It was Lester. Or I thought it was Lester. He was wearing a dark charcoal suit that was tailored perfectly. His shirt was blindingly white, and it contrasted beautifully against his smooth Latino skin. A heavy gold-link bracelet encircled his wrist. His eyes were hidden behind dark Ray-bans. Altogether he was a very attractive man, and he looked as if he had just stepped off the pages of GQ.

"Wow," I said.

He reached out and took my hand in his and lifted it to his lips. "Allow me to introduce myself," he murmured in heavily accented English. "I am Diego Rodarte, Latin lover of your most amorous dreams."

For a moment I wasn't sure, but I saw the line of sutures running through his eyebrow and underneath his sunglasses at the same time I heard Ranger growl, "Santos!"

Tank came out of his office and handed papers to Lester. "Here is your itinerary and your passport, Mr. Rodarte. Your flight leaves in three hours. Are you ready?"

"I was born ready," Lester said in his normal voice. He grinned at me and followed Tank down the hall.

I turned to Ranger who was standing in the doorway to his office, frowning at the departing Lester. "What was that all about?" I asked.

"Lester is taking a trip for me. I get good intel from my contact in Mexico City, but I need feet on the ground. He's going to be doing some undercover work at which, unsurprisingly, he excels."

"Mexico City," I said. "Does this have anything to do with Rafael?"

"Indirectly. It has more to do with his sister, Paloma."

"I see." And I did see. I knew exactly what kind of undercover work Lester was supposed to do.

"Did you have a good run?" Ranger asked me, changing the subject.

"Uh, yeah."

"Babe, you smell like chicken, and you have a grease stain on your shirt."

I lifted my chin. "It's butter, from the biscuit. I was preparing myself for what is to come."

He put his hand on my back and moved me toward the elevator. "Every soldier prepares for battle in their own way," he said. "Let's go upstairs and I'll show you how to use the system."