Chapter 3

I was surprised the next morning when I checked my phone to see a response from the gym. They would be happy for me to attend with the first session starting tomorrow. I felt elated with that piece of news as I prepared for the day. My clothes were clean from the day before, so I only needed fresh underwear. I ate some cereals, made coffee to go and was out of the door intent on finding information on Joanna Reeves.

I had a successful morning at the apartment block where Joanna Reeves supposedly lived that I visited. In some ways it was similar to mine but with a variety of ages living there. It seemed that some of the residents were quite upset with how Carter, her boyfriend, had been hurt so badly and had then died and weren't overly happy that his girlfriend was still living there. I discovered that yes, she was out at work but seeing as it was Wednesday, she'd be back by six because that was when she was rostered to use the laundry room downstairs. Now with a time and place to find Joanna I made my way to the bonds office. Parking was more difficult, so I ended up a block away. To be honest I wasn't bothered about that seeing as I had the rest of the day with nothing to do, unless of course Connie had some new files for me. Approaching the office, I spied Lula stood talking to Connie and decided that I couldn't avoid her. She was a good friend, so I'd have to choose carefully which FTA's I let her come with me for without upsetting her, but certainly not Joanna Reeves.

"White Girl, I aint seen you for days. What we doing today?"

And there it was, Lula offering to help me and knowing that I'd find it hard to refuse her. I placed the two receipts on the desk for Connie knowing that she'd transfer the money directly into my account.

"Anything new in?"

I asked trying to imply to Lula that it depended on what new files I was given. Connie handed me two which I took with me over to the couch. My first reaction was the size of the bonds. Both of them seemed pretty high for me.

"These are high bonds Connie"

I said as I looked over to her.

"I know, but Vinnie is sure they'll not be a problem. Look on the bright side, it'll be more money for you"

I opened the first file to a man named Chapman, known on the streets as Chappie. He'd been charged with aggravated assault and as it wasn't the first time was why his bond was high. I closed the file up after reading it and turned to Lula.

"Fancy a ride down Stark Street Lula?"

Yeah, from the smile on her face she was pleased that I'd asked her. We spent the afternoon down on Stark Street asking around and eventually found out that Chapman or Chappie as he was known to his friends was a bad tempered, mean son of a bitch who had a penchant for cock fighting. The next meet wasn't until Friday evening so after dropping Lula back at the office I headed home for a quick bite to eat and to prepare myself for tackling Joanna Reeves.

As I leant against the counter in the kitchen eating a peanut butter sandwich, I considered how to be better prepared. This woman had a penchant for knives so being sliced or stabbed didn't appeal to me. I'd need to have any equipment close to hand and wear something that might give me some protection. In the end I dug out a thick padded jacket, that made me look 2 sizes bigger than I was. I hadn't worn the jacket for years, but it had deep pockets where my cuffs and stun gun went, and it went down to my knees. I even considered wearing gloves but decided they would hamper my ability to use the cuffs and stun gun. Leaving the bedroom my attention was caught by my cookie jar sat on the kitchen counter. I relented so lifted the lid and took out my gun, seeing a full box of bullets sat in the bottom. That it was fully loaded surprised me but then again it was something that Ranger might have done. That went into my inside pocket because I really didn't want to have to use it.

It was a five minute drive to Joanna's apartment block and there were plenty of spaces to park my car, so I found a space closest to the entrance. As a last minute thought, I pulled on a hat that was sat in the footwell and tucked my hair inside. Women could be scrappy fighters, didn't I know it, and grabbing hold of hair was definitely something that I had done in the past whenever I'd got into a fight at school. I left the car open deciding that I didn't want the dilemma of trying to find my keys to open it if I was trying to manhandle Joanna. I didn't think that anyone would even think about stealing it.

Once inside I took the stairs down one flight surprised that the building had automatic lighting and then followed the noise down a corridor for where I could hear the swooshing and turning of machines. The laundry room was well lit with several washer and drying machines against one wall. The floor was clean and looked to be some sort of paint over concrete and again was well lit. It was certainly better than the dark, dank room that I had access to. As I stepped through the doorway, I saw a long bench on the other wall with a sink and a low bench in the center of the room. That was where Joanna was sitting with her phone in her hand. I was surprised that she didn't hear me as I walked in but as I approached her, she turned to look at me, removing ear buds form her ears. The photo that I'd seen of her was way better than how she looked now. Her black dyed hair was loose down to her shoulders, but it was her face that had me doing a double take.

She obviously disliked me intruding and was scowling at me making her thin face and large eyes look quite menacing.

"It's my turn to be here so what the hell do you want?"

Thinking fast for a way to be none threatening I came up with a story that seemed plausible.

"I'm looking for a new apartment and a friend suggested asking here. I was looking for the building supervisor"

Her continuing to stare at me had me feeling very uncomfortable and I was getting the feeling that she knew who I was.

"Get lost. I know who you are and I aint going with you"

So much for trying to be pleasant so I went with my normal spiel when I needed a skip to go with me.

"I represent your bail bonds agent and as you missed your court date then I need to take you to the station"

I was pretty sure that she already knew all of that, so I waited to see what she'd do next. Maybe she'd just come with me or maybe not.

"I told you already that I aint gonna do that. What you going to do about that, bitch"

As she spoke to me, she stood up and made sure that I could see the knife in her hand. It was similar to the carving knife that my dad used for cutting up the roast meat, long, shiny and very sharp. Shit, was the first word that came to my mind. My second thought was to turn and run and come back another day. The last thought had my temper flaring. She was a bully who intimidated and hurt people and I hated bullies. My hand went to my pocket and grabbed hold of my stun gun just as she swept the knife across me and then stood back with the look of a maniac on her face. My immediate thought was that she'd sliced into my arm but there wasn't any pain to indicate that had happened. I moved toward her bracing for the next swipe and brought out the stun gun to face her. Okay, so it wasn't a match in size to her knife and she knew it.

"I love it, that clean cut. My daddy told me to always use a knife. They're quick and effective. The smell of blood always makes me feel high. Stupid cunt. I'll slice you up just like I've done before"

A second swipe went across my left arm and chest but as I moved, I think that we were both surprised at the result. Feathers, yeah feathers floated around us, like being in a snow flurry. As Joanna was momentarily distracted by the feathers that's when I lunged at her with the stun gun. Okay, maybe I was a bit hesitant, and I was pretty sure there were more feathers floating around but as she held the knife as though to stab me that was when I struck.

I sat on top of Joanna after cuffing her hands behind her back. She was still unconscious which gave me a moment to catch my breath. That was a close thing but as my breathing calmed and my heart slowed down that feeling of satisfaction came over me again. Take that, I muttered as I stunned her again and looked at the feathers now collecting on the floor. Who knew that my jacket was filled with down, certainly not me. No wonder I looked like michelin man when I wore it. I looked up and into the darkened corridor because I could have sworn that someone was there. No, the lights would have come on, so it was only the darkness and maybe the adrenaline crash I was going through.

I used my belt around her chest and dragged her to the car before stuffing her in the back seat of the car. My jacket came off and was thrown in after her before I gave her one more stun for luck. It was as I was pulling her from the car at the station that she began to come round but fortunately for me Eddie was just coming out of the back door.

"You need a hand?"

I smiled up at Eddie as he came over to me, nodding my head and stepping to one side. As we both supported her onto her feet disturbed feathers were once again floating around.

"What the hell Steph?"

I was smiling seeing the confusion cross his face. Those feathers had basically saved my life.

"She tried to knife me, but my jacket got in the way"

That had Eddie lifting Joanna's head up so that he could get a look at her face.

"Shit Steph, you did really well not to get badly hurt. She's being investigated for other deaths now, so hopefully she'll go down for a very long time"

From my experience with her I could understand that she had probably hurt other people. I just hoped that the investigation happened quickly. Of course, Joanna was swearing and wriggling by the time we'd secured her to the bench, and I was subjected to all kind of threats from her for bringing her here. Eddie stayed with me so was witness to what she was saying but his presence also had the effect of keeping me calm.

One I had my receipt I was surprised when he started to walk out with me. I knew Eddie from way back and he was also married to my cousin Shirley the whiner, so him walking me out had me knowing that he was after something.

"Err, Steph. You and Morelli?"

I stopped and turned to look at Eddie wondering exactly what he was asking me and how I should answer him.

"He's been in a weird mood, bad tempered as well. I was wondering if you two were still on an out?"

I suppose that I knew that someone would eventually ask me though that Joe was moody did surprise me. From the messages and voice mails that he kept leaving me he sounded calm and almost pleading, as though we were just on an off phase and near to making up.

"It's over Eddie. I told him a few weeks ago but he won't stop pestering me. I've tried my best to avoid him"

Which I had. Hell, I hadn't been to Pinos for what seemed like ages and always checked for his truck if I visited the Tasty Pastry or one of the other fast food places where I frequented. I'd noticed his truck in my parking lot on one occasion so had turned around and driven away and when I'd been in when he called, I'd ignored him banging on the door.

"Steph, if he becomes annoying then let me know"

"Thanks Eddie"

I replied though hopefully it wouldn't get to the point where I needed some help. Joe had his women friends to keep him occupied so hopefully he'd move on and away from his obsession with me.

It felt cold as I got out of my car at my apartment and out of habit, I lifted my jacket from the back seat to put it on. I could have thrown it in the dumpster, but I needed to empty my pockets out first. My keys were already in my hand as I approached the door to my apartment and without a second thought, I was opening the door and walking in. I automatically took off my jacket and dropped it onto the floor and then toed of my boots. The apartment was in darkness, but something just didn't feel right. I was regretting leaving my jacket on the floor when I noticed a figure sat in the chair on the far side of the living area. At first my breath hitched as the thought that it might be Ranger went through my mind, but I didn't get any sense that it was him.