Chapter 25

It was late when we got back to RangeMan. I'd driven myself to Rafael's as part of the plan. I came home with Ranger and never even questioned what had happened to my car, assuming that since I didn't see it in the RangeMan garage, someone took it to my apartment. I hadn't talked much since Joe had finished questioning me and I couldn't summon the energy to ask about the car.

I took a twenty-minute shower and wrapped myself in Ranger's terry cloth robe. I made only a rudimentary attempt to detangle my curls and I knew I'd regret it in the morning. I was in desperate need of sleep, and even in the state I was in I realized it wasn't because I was tired. It was because I needed a space of time where my mind was free of the ever-looping events of the evening. I didn't have any real pajamas at Ranger's. I either slept in one of his t-shirts or nothing at all. This would have to be a t-shirt night.

As if he'd read my mind, Ranger came out of his dressing room and handed me a RangeMan t-shirt. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded, knowing it was a lie, but grateful he wasn't hovering. I knew he sensed my need for solitude and wondered if he understood because there'd been times when he'd had a similar need.

"I need to go down and talk to Louis," Ranger said. "Will you be okay alone in the apartment?"

"Of course," I said. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm upset, but I'm not fragile. I'll be fine, but isn't it late to be talking to them? Shouldn't you wait until the morning?"

"I'm not talking to them," he said. "I'm talking to Louis. I texted him and he's waiting for me in my office. He needs to hear it from me. He can decide whether to tell Ella now or in the morning."

After Ranger left, I tossed the robe on the floor, pulled the t-shirt over my head and fell into his bed. I wanted to sleep but I couldn't. I wasn't sure what was wrong. I'd seen people die before. In one instance, I'd seen someone die by my own hand. I always got by. Tonight, I wasn't sure I would.

I couldn't get the picture of Paloma Acosta lying in a pool of her own blood out of my mind. She was a victim of Rafael's, just the same as all the women on the videotapes were. She may have been crazy or maybe on some substance that made her seem that way, but I knew Rafael was the root cause of her trouble.

It seemed like hours later when Ranger slipped into bed next to me. The sheets were rumpled from my tossing and turning and he smoothed the covers out before he reached out and pulled me back against him.

"Not sleeping?" he asked.

"No. I can't get comfortable. The high thread count sheets aren't doing it for me tonight." There was only a slight hesitation before he responded.

"Let me see If I can do something about that," he said, and he made love to me. Silently, quickly and completely thoroughly.

Hard to think of a Ranger-induced orgasm as normal, but it represented some normalcy in my life. It helped me transition back into the real world from the in-between space I occupied after Joe's questioning. The events of earlier in the evening had been real, but absolutely not normal. Making love had somehow pushed the horror of that scene into the past and brought me back to my present reality.

Afterward, as we lay entwined in each other I asked, "What was Paloma doing there? Why did she choose that moment to burst in? Why didn't you stop her?"

"We didn't know with certainty who she was. When she got inside and we realized it was her we made our way in, but we were a block away and by the time we got there, she was dead and Acosta had a gun to your head."

"She was scary," I said. "She was moving erratically and she meant business with that gun. Was she high?"

"Probably. According to Lester she was angry because she found evidence that he'd been seeing another woman in Mexico. She didn't mind if he saw men because she didn't consider that to be cheating, but when she found out he had been with another woman she killed her, and then decided to come to the States and kill him."

"And instead of killing him, he killed her," I said. "She was speaking both English and Spanish, and I couldn't follow it. I need to learn Spanish."

Ranger rolled onto his back and pulled me on top of him. "Let me give you your first lesson. Repeat after me. Te amo."

"Te amo," I said. I lowered my lips to his and murmured, "Teach me more."

I awoke to the ringing of my phone. I was in bed alone, but I heard the shower running. It was 7:00 a.m. and Joe Morelli was calling.

When Ranger came out of the bathroom freshly showered a few minutes later, he found me sitting up in bed.

"It's past seven," I said. "You slept in."

He smiled. "Did I hear your phone ring?"

"Yeah, Joe called," I said. "They want me to come in for more questioning. I told them everything last night, but they want to hear it again. Should I get a lawyer?"

"Do you think you need a lawyer?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I thought I'd answered everything last night."

"Morelli called me about an hour ago," Ranger said. "He wanted to know how Lester was because he refused treatment last night."

"How is Lester?" I asked, concerned both for Lester and for me, because I'd completely forgotten about him.

"Bruised," Ranger said, "and asking for a few days off, which he'll get. I don't think Morelli's been to bed yet. You were the first one he talked to last night, but he went through everyone. He was going to talk to the DA before he made his decision, but he said they might be bringing you back in for questioning."

"So, should I get a lawyer? I could call Albert…"

"If you want a lawyer I'll call mine, but I think they are just dotting all their i's and crossing their t's. Everyone knows of your previous relationship with Morelli. Because you will be testifying about your relationship with Acosta and the fact that it was nonconsensual, he thinks you should be interviewed by another detective. It looks as if you are going to have to re-answer all the questions you answered last night. It's just a precaution."

"Okay," I sighed deeply. "I can do this. I was hoping it was over."

"Babe, it's hardly begun."

"I know," I said. "I'm prepared to testify in court. I'm prepared for the three-ring circus that will follow, but that will be down the road a bit. Today, I was going to go by the bonds office and get back to my job."

"You can do that," Ranger said. "And if you're more comfortable being questioned with a lawyer present, that can happen. You're not the suspect, Babe. They're on your side. They need your testimony to get the conviction for David."

The questioning last night had been lengthy. I'd talked plenty to Joe, ever mindful of a script I had to follow. Joe knew me well and I thought he'd sense a lie, even though I was a very good liar. In the end, I didn't have to lie. I didn't volunteer information and he hadn't asked anything I couldn't answer straightforwardly.

He knew that Rafael had threatened me with publication of the video, but I neglected to tell him I'd retrieved it. That was to prevent me from being charged with breaking and entering. He didn't know there were tapes of other women, and it was in the plan that the existence of the other tapes would remain a secret, because they wouldn't help the police solve David's murder.

The tape of Rafael and David could be problematic even though Ranger and I were the only ones who had seen it. I didn't know what had happened to it. I assumed Ranger hadn't destroyed it, but I didn't ask. Vince, Lester and Tank had heard about it, but they'd never seen it. I was sacrificing myself, in a way, to make sure that tape never came to light. I would make my story public to keep David's private. I shook my head at the thought of one of the three guys who knew of the tape sharing that information with the police. They wouldn't do it. The double questioning was probably what Ranger said, just a precaution.

I didn't want to go through the process question by question again, but I would. And then I'd head to the bonds office to see what new FTAs had come in. I was anxious to get things back on an even keel. And with that in mind I had something to discuss with Ranger.

"I think I'm going to need a ride to my car," I said.

"It's at your place," Ranger said. "I can take you there or you can use the Macan."

"I need to go back to my apartment," I said. "It's…well, this is kind of weird to be discussing, but now that Rafael is in jail, I think I should move back to my apartment." I watched closely for his reaction, but in typical Ranger fashion there was none. We were a couple, sort of, but I didn't think that meant living together. I didn't know what he thought it meant.

Maybe he was secretly happy I wanted to move out. Maybe he was regretting saying he wanted to be a couple, maybe…

"Babe." I glanced up at him from my place on the bed.

"I never assumed you'd move in permanently. You can if you like, but it's okay if you want to move back to your place."

"It's just that we…" I hesitated, knowing how I felt but not knowing how to put it into words.

"It's just that we were thrown together by circumstance and you want to make sure we're both on the same page?" he asked.

"Yes, and no," I said. "I want to work on being a couple, but maybe a little slower, to make sure…"

He came to the bed and leaned down and kissed me. "I wasn't pressured into anything by the situation if that's what you're worried about. I'm not having second thoughts about moving forward with you. You have a lot to process and if you can do that better in your own space that's fine, but Babe," he paused to give me the full 200-watt smile and my heart skipped a beat at the sheer beauty of it. "I'll be over most every night you're not over here. Get used to it. I'm going down to five. When you're ready, come down and I'll take you to your apartment."

An hour later, I walked into Ranger's office to find him in the middle of a small crisis.

"We're having server problems," he told me. "I can't leave at the moment, but I'll get one of the guys to give you a lift."

"Okay," I said. "What kind of server problems?"

"Half of our accounts are currently offline," Ranger said. "I'm working with our IT, but," he looked up and gave me a wan smile. "It's complicated."

"No worries," I said. "I'll find my own way." I called Lula.

Twenty minutes later she pulled to the curb in front of RangeMan and I hopped in her Firebird.

"Thanks for the ride," I said. "How's your ankle?"

"It's doing good," she said. "I ain't quite back to wingman speed yet, but I'm getting there. How come I'm taking you back to get your car? Did you blow up Ranger's car?"

"No. There was a big to-do last night and it ended with Rafael Acosta being arrested. Connie's going to want to know the story and you need to know the rest of it. Right now, I have to go into TPD. When I'm done, I'll come by the office."

When Lula pulled into my parking lot, I sat for a moment before I got out of the Firebird. There was the true story that everyone inside Rafael's house last night knew. Then there was the public story that Lula knew and that we were going to use to convict Rafael, and I had to convincingly keep everything straight. I put my hand to my forehead. I had a headache and no ibuprofen.

I turned to Lula and said, "I'll be in the office in an hour or so. If there are donuts, save me one. I'm gonna need it. Then we can talk."

"Dang, I gotta get my pedicure. If you get there before me, don't you say nothing until I arrive!"

"I won't."

I was nervous as I made my way into the TPD building. It felt way different going in for questioning than it did to drop off a skip. I discovered that I was to be questioned by Detective Eddie Burroughs. I didn't know him. I waited for ten minutes before Joe came to find me. He hadn't shaved and he might have been wearing the same clothes from the night before.

"You look like you had a rough night," I said.

"I've had a busy night," he replied. "You look remarkably unfazed."

"Looks can be deceiving," I said. "In truth I'm relieved it's over."

"It's not quite over yet, Cupcake. Burroughs got called out. Can you come back in a couple of hours, say, right before lunch?"

"Uh, sure," I said. I didn't think I had any choice.

"I've been up all night reviewing and organizing information. Jimmie Williams, the DA wants to move on this fast. Acosta used to be one of them, and Williams wants to get the charges set. He wants you to be questioned by someone other than me, and Burroughs is the perfect person to do it. As soon as that's completed, they're going to work on an arraignment. Maybe even late this afternoon. They'll formally charge him with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. They don't want anyone to accuse them of going soft on an old employee, so they are going the other direction."

"The attempted murder is Lester?" I asked.

"No, that would have been Paloma who shot at Lester. The attempted murder was on you."

"Oh," I said, gulping loudly.

I left the station feeling uneasy and I thought the best thing was to go straight to the bonds office and see if Connie had work for me. Vince was leaning against her desk looking at a folder when I walked in.

"Just who I was waiting for," he said. "Connie tells me this skip is someone you know."

I leaned in and looked at the folder and groaned. "Manny Morrison."

"Yeah, I know him," I told Vince. "He's a fat little toad and a real jerk. He'll cooperate at first and then he'll run. I've tackled him in trash-filled alleys and once in a crowded deli, and neither time did I come away clean."

"There's two of us this time," Vince said. "Let's go get him."

"Wait," Connie said. "We need to talk. I heard about last night. I want to know what's going on with you and Rafael Acosta!"

I glanced at Vince. He shrugged his shoulders slightly and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Whatever she'd heard, it wasn't from him.

"We do need to talk," I told her. "But I can't do it now. I promised Lula I wouldn't talk until she was here. What if you and Lula come over for pizza and beer tonight. I'll spill the whole deal."

"Pizza sounds great," she said, "but I don't know if I can wait to hear the details." She must have seen something in my face I didn't know I was showing because she waved her hand at Vince and me. "Oh, go on," she said. "It's killing me, but I can wait. Double pepperoni and I'll be there at six."

We left the bonds office in my vehicle and mostly didn't talk until he stopped down the block from Manny's house.

"You okay?" Vince asked, echoing Ranger's question of the night before. "It was a rough night."

"I'm okay," I said. "How do you want to go after this guy? You want the front door or the back door?"

"I'm glad you're okay. I didn't sleep well." He was waiting for me to respond, but I didn't want to talk about it. I was going to have to relive it with the Trenton PD later and that would be enough talking for me.

Vince nodded slightly, accepting my non-answer. "Let's both take the front and see what happens," he said.

I was tense, ready to run because I knew our smarmy little skip would run. The energy was building as Manny opened the door to our knock. He took a long look at me and then slid his eyes to Vince.

"Aw, shit," he said and then thrust both arms toward Vince. "You got me. Slap the cuffs on and let's go."

"Wait!" I said. "You're giving up without a fight?"

"Well, yeah," Manny said. "I could probably get away from you and that fat broad who usually comes with you, but this guy looks like he means business."

"You jerk!" I yelled, and as he stepped toward Vince, I kicked him in the shin. "You never get away from me, you piece of dogshit!" I drew back my fisted hand and Vince caught it and stopped it mid-punch.

"I've got this, Stephanie," he said. "Go sit in the car. I'll get this guy restrained." Vince's voice told me he meant business and I did as he said. I was shocked at my behavior. I'd kicked a cooperative skip and now I was feeling a little ashamed. The uneasy feelings coursing through me were looking for an escape route and I realized I'd been hoping Manny would run. I was subconsciously looking forward to tackling him and hauling him in.

I was quiet all the way to TPD and aware of frequent sidelong looks from Vince. When we pulled into the lot my phone dinged an incoming text as Vince asked, "Do you want to take him in, or do you want me to handle it?"

I read the text before I answered. "You do it. I'm going to be spending some time inside shortly, so I'll skip this adventure. When you're done, I'll drop you at the bonds office and come back. I have to re-answer all the questions Morelli asked me last night, but this time with Detective Eddie Burroughs. Do you know him?"

Vince shook his head. "No, but other than Morelli, I don't know many."

"If you two are done gabbing up there I have a schedule to keep," Manny said from the back seat. "My time is important."

"Cool your jets, Dude," Vince said. "I need to talk to my partner for a minute."

He motioned for me to get out of the car and then he came around to talk to me. "You can go on in and get it over with. Lula is probably at the office by this time. I'll call her for a ride back." He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and extracted a business card which he handed to me.

"Carolyn Johnson, trauma and PTSD therapist?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "That's who I'm seeing. I'm new to this counseling thing, but I think it's helping."

"I don't need this," I said. "I'm a little shaky now, but I'll deal with it, besides PTSD is for people who've been in a war."

"You think last night wasn't a war?" Vince asked. "Bullets flying and bodies dropping…that's a war, Steph. Carolyn may not be right for you but keep the card. She might be a starting place if you change your mind."

I dropped the card in my messenger bag and muttered a quick thanks and went in search of Detective Burroughs.