Chapter 44

That little talk with myself put me in the mood for going up to New York. I was dressed in a very sexy and probably expensive outfit curtesy of Latisha. I was surprised but so thankful that Latisha and I were a similar size. Not my usual look, which was what I was going for, nah, the shimmering jumpsuit with flowing trousers that ended at the four inch FMPs wasn't what I would buy, but looking at my reflection I wondered why not. It was a jade green, again not my usual color but with the bright auburn pixie cut wig and the tan waist length leather jacket I felt like a different person.

Lula arrived on time for a change but not driving her Firebird. Instead, she was driving this snazzy little sports car instead. I admired it as she came to a stop in front of the door and as I opened the door and got in.

"This little baby belongs to Gaynor, one of the women that I work with. When she said that she needed a car to take her sister and kids out for the day I suggested a swap"

Wow, Lula was actually letting her car out of her sight. I hoped the kids didn't make a mess on the seats.

"I reckoned this here car is ideal for us. No one will recognize us"

As Lula drove down the drive, I had to agree with her, no one would recognize us, well unless they knew Lula and how she could dress. Never one to change something that worked for her Lula was dressed in a lilac tunic top. Maybe a bit demure for her but the purple sequins and matching leggings were certainly her signature wardrobe and of course she'd managed to accessorize the outfit with a wig that that was a mass of lilac curls with purple tips.

I enjoyed the drive in the Audi TT and I have to admit that Lula had planned out our journey well to avoid the toll roads. At least we wouldn't be on any cameras, yeah, I was getting a phobia about those damn things. While Lula drove, I used her phone and prebooked a parking space at a car park close to where we needed to be. What we'd do exactly when we got there was still up for debate. Lula wanted to pretend to be a writer for some fashion magazine, but I wasn't too sure that the manager at the Jimmy Choo outlet would fall for that. Okay I knew that there was no chance of actually seeing that woman, but I had to try something to give me some clue as to who she was.

Walking from the car park had a weird feeling go through me as people turned and looked as us. I suppose that we didn't have the look of casual shoppers, so I was feeling a bit self conscious. As we passed a shop window I looked at our reflection and was close to laughing out loud. Was that me walking down the street?

"Hey, that's what we need. An Italian restaurant"

Looking across the street was somewhere called Nello but it looked very up market to me.

"We can't afford to eat there"

Came from me as I looked inside the window at the tables set out. Hell, when had Lula and I ever eaten at a place where there were white table linens? I didn't have a great deal of choice because Lula suddenly took hold of my arm and was dragging me inside.

"No sweat. I got paid yesterday and Connie fenagled a severance pay out of Vinnie. Just go for the cheap stuff"

Lula was determined to have a table at the window, the poor waiter never stood a chance when she began to complain loudly in Lula fashion. I had to admit that where we were couldn't have been better because we were sat looking over the street onto the Jimmy Choo shop. We took our time looking at the menu and went for the cheapest as Lula had asked. Pasta Fagioli, which was red bean soup followed by Cacio Spaghetti which was basically spaghetti in an amazing sauce. Drinks were ridiculously expensive but water was free so that was what we decided on. I was pretty sure that the waiter had cottoned on that we weren't big spenders, but he didn't seem to mind and never hassled us to leave.

"Okay, let's go. Time to look at shoes"

Lula used her card to pay for the meal and I left a tip for the waiter. To be honest I was a bit wary in case someone was watching where Lula was spending her money. I knew from experience how easy it was to track a person's spending. Once across the street we took our time looking at the display in the window. It was classy if a bit minimalistic but hey, they knew how to attract their customers. Lula beat me inside and seemed to just disappear into the store leaving me to look around.

"I just gotta try that on"

I heard from where I was stood and watched as Lula passed a pair of mile high FMPs that were gold strappy shoes with a pale green bow on the top and at the heel to an attendant. I tried my hardest to ignore her and began to browse some of the shelves and displays of shoes.

"Can I help you Ma'am"

Had me turning around to see a young girl standing behind me.

"I'm not sure. There are so many beautiful shoes to choose from. A friend, she only buys Jimmy Choo designs, has for years. She suggested that I came in to have a look"

"Yes, we have a few customers who are extremely loyal"

How the hell did I ask a question that might give me a name. It wasn't as if I could just ask this girl which customers she was talking about. Besides she was probably too young to have worked here for very long. I thought back to the information that was in the files from the FBI prying from my memory the style of shoe that I remembered.

"I remember her showing me a pair, it must be four years ago now. They were bright red patent leather with a cross over strap and toeless. They were finished off with a silver chain that twisted from the toe to around the ankle. I have to admit that the stiletto heels were a bit high for me"

"I know the ones. Not many women could walk that well in those, in fact we only sold three pairs of those that season"

"Really"

Would the woman I was looking for be one of them.

"Yes, Miss Cashelle is an avid fan of our shoes"

I looked down at the shoes in my hand trying to cover the shock I felt at hearing that name. Katrina Cashelle? Was it a coincidence that she bought this line of shoe? I'd run a search on her but hadn't thought to look at her finances. Or would she pay in cash?

"Yeah, Katrina likes her shoes, though she hoards her cash away in order to pay for them"

I crossed my fingers hoping the girl didn't think that I was nuts for saying that, but I couldn't understand how the FBI had missed seeing her shoes, so wouldn't they have run a search on the company?

"Yeah, she always likes to ask for a small reduction for cash. The manager sees her as a valued customer so usually obliges"

"Okay, I'll just take a look around and see what catches my eye"

Seeing a display of trainers had me remembering my meeting with Katrina. She'd been wearing jeans and trainers, but I'd never recognized them as being Jimmy Choo, who would. I mean there were so many styles of trainers on the market.

"No, not that one, the black one with the gold trim"

I looked over to see Lula surrounded by shoes with a woman who looked ready to lose her temper. Shit, Lula must have had the woman bring her at least a dozen pair of shoes. As I looked at her, she looked up and caught my eye so I nodded toward the door hoping that Lula would get the hint that we needed to leave.

"You know what, I preferred those Louboutin shoes, they fit me better"

Lula caught up with me out on the street a minute later with a smile on her face.

"That was fun. That woman she was trying so hard to keep her cool with me. So, what did you find out from that young kid?"

This was where I needed Lula to back out. No way was I going to get her involved because Katrina Cashelle was obviously a very dangerous and manipulative woman.

"I may have a lead, but I need to do a bit of research first. Look Lula"

I stopped walking and turned to face Lula hoping that she wouldn't take offence to what I was going to say.

"You've really helped me today, but"

"You don't want me around no more"

Shit, that was the sound of Lula getting upset.

"My life is in the doghouse at the moment, yours isn't. You have worked so hard to be where you are now and I'm really proud of you. It's on me to sort this out and while I know that you'd help me I don't want to get you into any trouble that would jeopardize your life"

I had tears in my eyes as I said that because I meant every word that I'd said.

"Don't hold back will you. Okay, I get that this is serious and yeah, I don't want no trouble. You need me though and you call me, you hear me?"

"Yeah"

We parted company after that us both going in different directions, Lula back to her car and me to find the offices for the newspaper where Katrina Cashelle worked.

I didn't have the resources to follow her around so decided on a more direct approach. It probably wasn't a great idea but when had I ever come up with a brilliant plan. In a large McDonalds I actually ignored the queue for buying food and went straight into the rest room. I exited looking like me, my hair pulled back into a ponytail and dressed in leggings and a long shirt over a roll neck sweater. The clothes that I'd been wearing safely tucked into the trash bin.I bought a small bouquet of flowers and wrote a message on the card before delivering them to the reception area of the newspaper then went and sat in the small park in front of the building. My biggest concern was whether or not she was in the building because that would sure screw up my idea.

Thirty minutes later I watched as Katrina walked out of the main entrance and as she hesitated before crossing the street. She was wearing a black trouser suit and certainly looked the part of a business woman. I also noticed two men appear behind her and go in different directions. I couldn't blame her for bringing backup, I would have done if it had been me, thinking that this was a setup. Five minutes later the men had looped the park and Katrina began to walk toward me. I sat waiting, my palms sweating as I realized exactly what I was doing. Shit, this woman was an assassin, she could easily kill me if she wanted to. I ignored her as she approached the bench and as she sat down next to me.

"Stephanie Plum. Not who I expected"

"Maybe I'm not who you expect me to be"

That had her scowling, but she remained silent waiting for me to start talking.

"You know I'd be a far better choice at finding people for you. I found you"

Maybe my message had been a bit cryptic, but she would have understood the meaning. I'd written down the names of the people who had died from an accident in Trenton. Judge Laithwaite being the first on the list with Cutliffe, Reeves and Harley Chroma tagged on at the end. His suicide had never sat right with me.

"How do I know that you aren't baiting me?"

I opened up my shirt and after looking around quickly pulled up my sweater to show her that I wasn't carrying a mic or recording device.

"Nothing on me. I'm fed up of people underestimating me, so I decided that I needed a challenge, one that you could give me"

Katrina sat back against the backrest as though she was thinking through the information that I'd already given to her.

"How did you end up looking at me?"

"Jimmy Choo shoes"

That had her laughing as she moved her foot in front of her and looked down at her shoes.

"That last name wasn't me. Hell, do you think I'd ruin a pair of shoes by trudging through the wilds"

I suppose that she had a point which left me with a bit of dilemma. Did Harley Chroma hang himself or did he have a helping hand.

"You know you were always a puzzle to me. I honestly believed that to start with you had no idea of what was happening. Then you started to put it together. Clever. Each piece of the puzzle followed like a dog with a bone. Morelli was an idiot if he thought that he knew you. I told him as much"

"So you shot him"

I was taking a guess at that because as far as I knew she was the one who liked to kill people. It was interesting that Morelli had never explained how he'd got shot or if he even knew who was responsible.

"He was arrogant and stupid. Saying that he would be able to get information from you wasn't his only agenda and I began to doubt exactly what he was up to"

So it had nothing to do with me leaving his house, he was responsible for what had happened to him.

"I had that article printed to see who might respond to it. In some ways it being you piqued my interest"

"So you put those men onto me again"

She laughed at that, but I was hoping that she was laughing at how I'd escaped from them. I'd assumed that it was Katrina herself who had given them the order when that man knew that I'd been to see her.

"Not me. Why I would I want to do that?"

To ensure that her name wasn't revealed when Sullivan's secrets came out, was what went through my mind. If it hadn't been Katrina who was giving the orders to those men, then who could it have been?

"Look, I work on my own, no one knows who I am. Sully, well he knew what happened to my father. The problem was that he was carrying too much guilt over my mother"

Oh, was what I almost said but managed to refrain saying anything out loud. I waited now not sure where our talking would lead us to. To be honest I was pretty sure that I'd already ascertained from her that she was the assassin but what I was curious about was why she'd chosen that path.

"Why, why have you done what you do?"

I heard her sigh and assumed there was some history to what had happened to her.

"I hated my father and what he'd done. That he was released annoyed me because it just didn't seem right. I went to see Judge Laithwaite to vent my frustration and he agreed with me. He even said that the world would be a better place without my father in it. I asked Sully to find him for me with the excuse that I wanted to reconnect with my father and maybe I did, maybe I didn't, who knows. I think that Sully was already involved with Laithwaite, but after my father died, he disappeared"

I was surprised at how open Katrina was being with me, was I understanding what she was saying to me? Should I be worried at how much she was telling me. That usually meant bad news for the one who was listening, which was me. I didn't want to spook her but then again, I didn't want to just up and run, though I was close to doing that.

"You know, you approaching me is a bit redundant now"

I turned and looked at Katrina wondering if she was joking with me. Okay, she was smiling so she obviously knew that I was surprised. What was worrying me was who would be taking over her job. Shit, had everything that I'd been through and done now irrelevant? Maybe Dresden might still be a lead to follow but I knew that someone like him was way out of my league.

"I may have told you a story but it's all smoke and mirrors and I'll be finished with this soon"

What the hell did she mean by that? Did that mean that the group who was targeting villains were going to disappear?

"Someone's going to carry on with the work though, aren't they?"

I asked still reaming from what she'd said.

"Maybe"

Was all that she said as she stood up and started to walk away from me. I stayed sat where I was, so frustrated with that conversation. After trying to be brave in confronting her I felt as though she'd pulled the rug from under me. Maybe, she'd said, which I was sure meant yes, but who could that be? My mind went to what Joe had said about Ranger, but I could never believe that he'd do something like that. Okay, I'd heard him say that what he did was morally right but not always legally right. No, just the idea of him doing something like that felt so wrong. I bent forward with my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands because I had no idea what the hell to do now. I didn't feel that I could get in touch with Ranger and thinking that had a pain so real clenching my chest. I loved the man, trusted him and I think that now I'd managed to destroy anything that was between us.

It was getting dark as I sat there on my own in the park and as the light rain began to fall the drops of water mixed with the tears running down my cheeks. Had I managed to resolve the puzzle for Sullivan, but at what cost? Would the organization reform again, I didn't want to even think about that. It had cost me Ranger and that was a price that was too high for me.

I was aware that it seemed to have stopped raining, at least no more rain drops were falling onto my head and face, but looking over to the path I could see as drops hit the concrete and bounced. I was so lost in my own misery that feeling someone sat next to me surprised me, seeing Ranger sat there shocked me. Oh no, why was he here now?

"Babe, you scared the shit out of me, I was so worried about where you were. I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised that you were working something out"

I wasn't sure what he was referring to. Me finding Katrina hopefully, but there were still so many unanswered questions.

"What did Morelli say to you that had you running. He was acting pleased with himself when we realized that you'd gone"

Joe just being there had been enough to have me running. That he could still make me feel so scared annoyed me but it wasn't just that.

"He blamed me for him getting shot and then suggested that I should go with him"

Which was true and his words had hurt and annoyed me when he just assumed that I'd go. The problem was that I couldn't trust Joe and him being at that meeting seemed odd to me. Why would he need to see me or even expect Uncle Joe to explain what he was doing or that he was even still alive. I thought of the timing of that meeting which coincidentally happened after we'd found Sullivan's information. Was Joe more involved than he'd admitted to his chief? Was he trying to find out whether I'd seen the contents? Somehow that made more sense than anything else. He'd provided a story to cover his back so needed to see me to work out what I knew, again.

"Babe, where did you just go?"

I turned to Ranger and frowned because Joe trying to cast doubt on Ranger suddenly made sense.

"I think that Joe was more involved than he let the chief know. That was why he wanted that meeting so that he could find out what we knew from Sullivan's information, and he made sure that by Uncle Joe telling me about the undercover work that he'd been doing, that his back was covered. What was in those files?"

That had Ranger looking at me with a slight smile to his face, so I knew that I was right.

"Clever girl. I knew that you'd work it out eventually, but you needed to find that clarity for yourself. The files contained contact details that Dresden had used. Other judges and people in high up places that would confer over cases and come to a verdict"

"Contact details?"

I asked in the hope that we would know who else had been involved.

"We have some sites that Dresden used to communicate through, Hector's working on those, but no names and certainly no inkling on who the assassin was"

From what Katrina had told me I wasn't surprised that the assassin's name was missing. I hadn't wanted to believe that Joe was so devious that he'd try and make me doubt Ranger, but I was right.

"Joe tried to make me doubt you"

"How?"

I could tell by Ranger's tone of voice that knowing that annoyed him.

"He told me to think about Abruzzi and if I thought that he'd committed suicide. Then he told me to ask you about Solanas and Dunst"

Ranger moved closer to me, moving the large umbrella protecting us from the rain so that he could place a hand over mine.

"I wanted to kill Abruzzi but by the time I found where he was, he was already dead. Solanas, he was a terrorist that we were tracking. It seems that he misjudged the explosive device that he was making and ended up blowing himself and half of his cell up. I have no idea who Dunst is. You know that the work that I do for the government can involve chasing down bad guys, so I have had to kill people but only because of how dangerous they were. I've tried to keep that side of me away from you so I wouldn't blame you if you feel that you can't live with that knowledge"

I placed my other hand over his as I shook my head. I wasn't so stupid that I didn't realize what his missions might involve. It was because of Ranger and what he'd had to do that made the world that we lived in a safer place. I would never think any less of him for doing that.

"No. I know who you are and what you do. I don't think any less of less of you, in fact I love you more because of it"

That earned me a bone melting kiss that had my heart swelling in my chest and heat coursing through my veins. Then I remembered the names that had plagued me ever since that damn meeting. Jackson Sinclair came to mind because he was a person, that although I didn't know very well, I really didn't like him. He was looking for that information on the premise that he'd been asked to look into the claims made by Judge Laithwaite.

"Juan regained consciousness the day that you disappeared. He is livid because he's sure that it was Sinclair who set him up"

"He's safe, isn't he?"

Even as Ranger nodded his head, I felt relieved. Hell, much as Juan had totally pissed me off for trying to use me to access information, I didn't like the idea of him being hurt. Ranger mentioning Sinclair surprised me, hell, from what he said it sounded as though Juan was blaming Sinclair. Kinley, oh no, was she a part of Juan being hurt? I'd really liked her, and she'd helped me to uncover the mystery of why Ranger's mission had gone so wrong.

"Kinley?"

"She came to see me the day after we left that house, after you disappeared. She thinks a lot of you and was concerned that something had spooked you"

She wasn't wrong about that because I knew that I had to get out of that house. Was Sinclair the reason why? I didn't know why but I was damned sure that something had spooked me.

"She knew that I'd tinkered with that disc so was curious why I'd done it. She also told me how she'd helped you and found the connection to Dresden. I know Kinley, so knew that something was worrying her. She told me that Sinclair was hounding her to fix those files"

Which I suppose could provide the evidence that Sinclair needed to fulfil the job that he'd been asked to do. So why had Juan been hurt and why was he so annoyed with Sinclair?

"What now? Katrina told me that there was no evidence and no clues to follow"

"Santos has a team on Katrina and the paperwork to apprehend her"

Okay, that had me frowning as I realized that Ranger knew who I'd been talking to. How did he know? Stupid question I suppose, because somehow Ranger always seemed to find a way.

"Dresden?"

Because from what Katrina had implied there was nothing that could tie her to him.

"I don't know. He disappeared with his son. Hal and Binkie are looking for him. I spoke to the chief of police and Joe Juniak this morning and filled them in on everything that you'd discovered. They're not sure about Sorenson or Morelli, because there just isn't enough evidence to confront them. Then we have Sinclair to deal with"

I bowed my head as Ranger said that because I had no idea how we would ever be able to prove the wrong doings that Sorenson and Joe had been a part of. Jackson Sinclair, well he just scared the shit out of me.

The sound of heavy rain took over my thoughts as it hammered down onto the umbrella above us. It was starting to get cold now, but I wasn't sure what Ranger had planned for us or if I was even included in those plans. Was I surprised to see a black SUV pull up on the street just outside of the park? Nah, Ranger would have ensured that there were men around us.

"How did you know where I was?"

I asked once inside the car in the back seat with Ranger.

"I had a man watching Lula so when she disappeared for the afternoon it raised alarm bells. She managed to lose them by going through a red light and then driving the wrong way down a one-way street. The next day Hector got a location on her phone, and I was just hoping that she was meeting with you"

I'd considered that her bank card could be tracked but had forgotten all about her phone.

"You've had people with you all day Babe, with strict instructions to just observe unless they felt that you were in danger. I trust your instincts, Babe. Okay, going about it on your own confused and annoyed me, but I trusted what you were doing. We had parabolic mics recording your conversation"

At least Ranger had allowed me to finish what I'd come to New York to do and would have enough evidence for Les to take her in to the FBI. That would bring in a hell of a lot of money for Rangeman. I had a lot of questions that I wanted to ask but remained quiet as Bobby drove, not surprised when he turned into the drive that led to Ranger's house. It felt like coming home which was a strange thing for me to say. Whilst my apartment had become my refuge it never gave me a sense of permanence. Did this house do that? I hoped so.