Chapter 6

The morning came with me feeling more composed. Somehow, I had to focus on the job and forget about seeing Ranger. Like that was easy to do. I resolved that we were going to solve this case. Walking into the office I was surprised that I was the first to arrive. Maybe Jex and Oscar had a late night working so were taking advantage of catching up on some sleep. The silence in the room was quite welcoming as I walked over to where my files were still spread across the table. As I sat down and pushed the files away a paper fell lose that had me looking at it. It was a photo of Elijah Banning when he was arrested. That had me remembering that I'd taken photos in the house. Ones that showed the developing boy who had lived there. I opened my phone and started with the last one that I'd taken. A boy of maybe fifteen. Sitting the image next to the photo of Banning I was more than sure that they were the same person.

"Morning Annie. You ready for some revelations?"

I looked up to see Oscar and Jex stood at the table as though waiting for me. No Jonas this morning so what the hell were they talking about.

"Jonas is already in the know. He's currently in talks with his FBI contact"

That had me moving because if Jonas was with the FBI, then something big must have happened. The two men sat down as I took a seat, both of them extremely quiet.

"You were right Annie. From what the FBI discovered in that room they confirmed that it was likely where Elijah and his mother lived"

I was probably frowning by now, could that skeleton have belonged to the mother?

"There were papers that belonged to an Elizabeth Lehman and her son, Isaac, but from the photos that were found in the room they're pretty sure that it was Elizabeth Banning"

Judging by the condition of the body I assumed that she'd been dead for quite a while, maybe that was when Elijah had decided to go back to where they had lived before.

"Do they know how she died?"

She can't have been that old and surely if she'd been ill then she would have sought out medical help. I knew that hadn't happened unless of course it was a visit that was never recorded.

"They won't say until the coroner's finished his examination"

So why did I feel as though I was missing something?

I felt pretty useless for the next two days. Apparently, we were waiting for some feedback from the FBI, who of course were keeping things close to their chest. Jex and Oscar were still playing with their electronics, leaving me with little to do. In the end Jonas took petty on me and sent me down to New York City for a couple of days on a totally unrelated job.

A very wealthy, elderly couple had died within a few months of each other and their only living relative who would inherit their money and property was apparently their grandson. You might think that it was just a simple matter to input his name into a search program and yahoo, I'd have his latest job and address. That wasn't the case, which was why a lawyer had passed on the job to Jonah.

It seems that there had been a daughter, the mother of this young man, but she had long ago left her home when she'd discovered that she was pregnant. The baby had been put up for adoption and sadly the mother had died of an overdose. My job was to find that baby. I had the papers from the lawyer which gave me the right to information, so once in New York City I started at the hospital where the baby had been born.

I spent the first full day travelling between children's homes, child services and foster parents. That poor kid had been passed from pillar to post and let me tell you some of those foster homes, well they made my mother look like a saint. By the end of the first day, I'd tracked the kid up to his fifteenth birthday. That children's services had no record of him after he was ten both mystified me and annoyed me.

Tomorrow I was going to be visiting the family who had taken pity on him and took him into their home. Not an official placement but hey, at least maybe they had cared. I also had a first name, Alex. His last name had changed depending on who he was living with. As I'd arrived at the small boutique hotel at the end of the day, I was definitely tired, but my travels had allowed an amount of guilt to develop. One final job to do tonight was to call my parents. Okay, so maybe I should have appreciated my childhood more and what it meant to grow up as part of a family. I needed food first though to give me the stamina for talking with my mother.

Next door to the hotel was a quaint little restaurant that served Mexican food. What can I say? I was full to bursting when I rolled back into my room. They had served the best Chiles En Nogada made from green poblano chili peppers stuffed with a mixture of meats and spices known as picadillo. It was then topped off with a white walnut-based cream sauce with a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds. Added to that was a side of salad. To be honest I didn't have room for dessert but swore that tomorrow I'd make up for that.

I'd bought a sim card that fitted into the burn phone that I used to call Joe, determined that I wasn't going to allow my mother the opportunity of calling me or sending me messages when she felt like it. Laying on the bed in my room I wondered if she would appreciate how much my life had changed in the last few weeks. Here I was surrounded by fresh pastel colored décor in a room much bigger than the bedroom at my old apartment. And I was in New York City, working. How good does it get? Don't even try to answer that.

"Plum residence"

When my mother was unaware of who was calling she was always so well mannered. I wondered how long that would last for.

"Hi mum, it's Stephanie"

Using my name sure felt weird after being called Annie for so long.

"Stephanie, where are you. When are you coming home?"

I interrupted before my mother had a chance to extend that question. Basically repeating what I'd already told her.

"I told you mum. I have a really good job away from Trenton. I don't see me coming back. I have a nice apartment and new friends"

So maybe I was exaggerating on the last sentence. Were Jex and Oscar friends? Probably not but I knew that they looked out for me. Wait a minute, Kiera was a new friend.

"What about your friends here. You could get a job at the button factory and find yourself a nice new man"

Yeah right. Besides I had a job and had no desire to find any kind of man at the moment.

"Not happening mum. So how are grandma and dad doing?"

Wanting to move the subject to something safer.

"The same. I really need you here though, to help keep an eye on your grandmother. She caused such a scene at the funeral home last week"

"She's an adult mum. She causes a scene wherever she goes. Maybe you should accompany her"

Like that was going to happen. I'd never known of my mother going anywhere with grandma unless it was for food shopping or to the hairdressers. The silence conveyed that I'd hit a sore point with her, so I waited her out.

"I hear that Joseph is seeing some woman. If you came back, I'm sure that he'd be willing to take you back"

Hadn't Joe told me that he'd spoken to my mum, telling her to back off? That woman, who my mother was referring to, just happened to be good for Joe. She worked in the probation service so had just the right amount of sass to keep Joe on his toes.

"Or there's Dennis Fulowski, he was asking after you"

Would she just give it up. I'd called her after not seeing her for a few weeks and not once had she asked me how I was or if I was happy. Why was she so hell bent on me being tied down to Trenton and married to some douche bag just because he was from the Burg?

"Mum, I called to have a conversation with you, not for you to continue to try and run my life. I'm happy where I am, doing what I do. You're just going to have to accept that, especially if you want me to call you again"

"Stephanie Michelle Plum. I'm your mother. I want the best for you and that's being here with your family"

"Take care mum, give my love to dad and grandma"

Then finished the call. Immediately I removed the sim card and threw it in the trash. So much for trying to connect with my mother. It seemed that she was worse now than when I had been living in Trenton. Okay, maybe not. She was always pointing out jobs that she saw as safer than being a bounty hunter. Though I'm pretty sure what people said about that was probably what motivated her. As for finding a man that she saw as suitable, well that was definitely not going to happen. Hell, she set me up with Dave Brewer and he was a murderer. To this day she still defended him as being misunderstood.

I had thought of calling Joe, but I didn't want him to be inflicted with my negative mood, courtesy of my mother. I decided that I'd call him at the weekend as usual. After showering and changing into pajamas I went through my notes from the day. I was pretty sure that the lawyer would want a very accurate summary of my findings so that was what he would get.

The next morning, I used a taxi to get me across the city to an address in Harlem, 453 W 144th St. As I got out of the taxi, I noted that I was in a neighborhood of tall row houses, no doubt separated off into apartments. Looking at the piece of paper in my hand I was looking for 421 and a Mrs. Mullaney. I'd gone for casual smart for clothes because I wanted people to take me seriously but not be intimidated if I appeared to be overly smart. After walking up the steps to a large wooden door I was looking at a row of names and buttons. At least Mrs. Mullaney did live here so I was soon pushing the button next to her name.

I'd expected to hear a voice through the speaker so was surprised when the door opened, and a large woman was stood there looking at me. She was smaller in height than me but was definitely carrying a lot of excess weight.

"Mrs. Mullaney?"

"Yeah, who wants to know?"

Okay, so now to give her my spiel for why I needed to talk to her. I'd used the words yesterday with mixed responses so was hoping that she'd be open to talking to me.

"I'm looking for Alex. I tracked him here to your address"

"He aint in trouble, is he?"

Not a question that I was expecting. So far my impression of Alex was that he was a quiet boy, even shy, though one foster parent had bemoaned his running around with bad boys.

"No, not at all. I have some information for him concerning his maternal grandparents. It's really important that I speak to him"

At least the look of concern disappeared to be replaced with confusion.

"He aint got no family"

I suppose what I was saying was a bit of a surprise, well a lot. The poor kid had spent his entire life believing that he was all alone in the world.

"It's complicated. His mother put him up for adoption, but see, she died later, and no one knew what had become of her or her baby. I really do need to talk to Alex"

Yeah, one man yesterday had slammed the door in my face saying if his grandparents were so worried then why wait so long to look for him. I couldn't blame him saying what he had but no way was I telling anyone other than Alex the truth about his inheritance. Hell, the poor kid would have leeches coming out of the woodwork if they knew he'd inherited a lot of money.

"Say I believe you. He aint lived here for two years now. That kid was such a good kid, considering everything that had happened to him. He still calls me every week, bless him. Got himself a job and did well for himself. Works as a personal trainer at Bfit over on 2726 Broadway. Lives there in a studio. I hope you have good news for the boy because he sure as hell deserves it"

After thanking Mrs. Mullaney, I was back on the street trying to hail a taxi. At least Jonah had given me some cash to use because it sure was expensive getting around New York. Once on Broadway I found myself looking at the frontage of the gym, well fitness center as they called themselves. Walking in I was pleasantly surprised to find a small reception area with a young man manning the desk.

"Hi. I need to speak with Alex please. Is he here?"

I saw the way that the young man gave me the once over and hoped that he wasn't jumping to any wrong conclusions. Nope, I wasn't an ex. Hell I was too old for Alex. Neither was I disgruntled client who was annoyed at him.

"He should be in the office"

I stood and waited not sure if he would call through to Alex or if he expected me to know where the office was.

"Could you call him and tell him that he has a visitor that would like to talk to him please"

Yep, go for being polite but firm. At least it worked, so I watched as he picked up a phone. I was stood looking out of the window watching the goings on in the street when I became aware of someone coughing behind me. Turning I was looking at the adult version of the photo that children's services had provided for me.

"Alex?"

I was pretty sure that was who was stood there, but needed to know for sure. At a nod of his head, I wanted to put him out of his misery. He must be so confused with why a woman like me would want to talk to him.

"Is there somewhere private where we can talk?"

I still hadn't heard a word from Alex but followed him through a door that had private written on it. Down a short hallway and I was shown into an office, that fortunately was empty.

"You may need to sit down. I have a long story for you to hear"

I spent nearly two hours in that office. I wasn't stupid, as I gave my journey for the life history of Alex, I got him to fill in the details. That way I knew he was the right man that I was looking for. He'd had a hard life from the various foster placements yet seemed to be a nice person. Of course, he had no idea about his mother or who her family was.

I left that room with a surprised and very happy young man. There were still some hoops to go through with the lawyer, but it was up to Alex now. My job was done. All that I had to do was to send a detailed report to Jonas for him to present to the lawyer. I actually felt good as I returned to my hotel. Mrs. Mullaney had been a very kind and giving adult in Alex's life. He'd come to see her as a mother figure who supported him.

Of course that had me thinking of my own mother. I mean why would my mother think so badly of me? Where was the unconditional love and support that a mother gave to her child? Then again, she'd never even bothered to ask me what job I was doing Surely, she should be proud of what I'd managed to accomplish. But she wouldn't be and would never admit it to me anyway. How was it that I was such a disappointment to her or was it because I would never conform to what she expected of me. Well, she could be disappointed because her idea of heaven was my idea of hell.

As I paid the taxi and headed up to my room, I had decided that any further attempt on my part to have a mother and daughter relationship just wasn't going to happen, but it wasn't for the lack of trying on my part. She had Val, so I convinced myself that would be enough for her. Dear Saint Valerie with her four kids and her husband. I wasn't even sure if Val was actually happy.

Once in my room I opened my laptop to check on the time for trains in the morning to get back to Braintree. Fortunately, it was direct from here so no changes or waiting. Once that was done, I sent an email to Jonas to get him up to speed and then began to put together my final report.

I caught the 8.02 train surprised at how quiet it was. I'd assumed that the train would be full of business people heading for Boston, then again maybe arriving after noon would be too late and flying was probably a better option. I hunkered down in a seat next to the window pleased that no one decided to sit next to me. To be honest I had nothing to occupy myself. That was a bad move on my part, but I knew that if I started to read a book then it could be an age before I got back to it. One thing was for certain, life was never boring working for Jonas and the work kept me very busy.

As for looking out of the window, well it was the same view that I'd had on my outbound journey. Very flat with a lot of properties to look onto. Sometimes I saw a glimpse of water in the distance but nothing spectacular. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I fell asleep on occasions only to wake up when we stopped at a station. As a consequence, I felt a bit fuzzy when it was my turn to get off the train. Several people alighted with me onto the platform, but it was hearing someone shouting my name that I became alert. Stood by one of the exits was Kiera. To be honest I was planning on getting a taxi back to my apartment but having Kiera here to meet me was so much better.

"Thanks Kiera. I would have picked up a taxi to get back, you didn't have to come meet me"

Because I knew that she was busy looking through those journals.

"Day off today. Besides I wanted to meet you. I have plans for us"

We were crossing the street to get to the parking lot when Kiera said that but watching for a car to pass us had me waiting to reply to her.

"Plans?"

I asked wondering what exactly Kiera was suggesting. By now we'd walked into the ground floor of the parking lot and were walking along the row of cars. Flashing of lights had me zeroing in on Jonas's grey SUV. Once inside with my bag behind me in the back seat I waited as Kiera maneuvered the car out of the lot.

"What plans Kiera?"

Now dying to know what she was going to say.

"You look very chic. That beret and the sun glasses really suit you"

I rolled my eyes at how Kiera had avoided answering my question. Okay, maybe I was dressed a little differently. Well maybe not. I was still wearing black. From my shoes, trousers and short jacket over a camisole top to the beret that was covering my hair. Did I do that on purpose? Well, maybe. Maybe I was a bit paranoid that someone would recognize me.

"Back to my question, Kiera"

I responded as I watched her while she was driving. Uh oh, why did she have a grin across her face? What the hell was she planning?

"You and I are going to have a girls night out. You need a break away from work and Jonas was in full agreement"

What did I say to that? It seemed like eons ago since I'd actually been out on a girls night out. In fact the last time had been just before Mary Lou had left Trenton. Lula, Connie, Lou and me. I sighed as I remembered that evening. A meal with a pitcher of margherita before we'd hit one of the clubs to finish the night dancing and of course drinking. It had been an amazing night out with some of the guys from Rangeman turning up. The only problem that I'd had was the morning after.

"No drinking. I might like to drink at the time, but I hate the morning after"

"Deal"

The one word answer had me realizing that I'd just agreed to go out for the night with Kiera. That had me mentally going through my wardrobe. Did I have anything suitable to wear?

"Where are we going to go?"

Suddenly worried that we'd end up in the center of Boston.

"Well, it used to be a bit of dive, but with everything that happened with covid it closed down. A new owner bought the place and has totally revamped it. It's very exclusive but I've managed to get us entrance. Seems that you have to book unless you want to stand around all night queuing to get in"

I was following what Kiera was saying but then again, I didn't really have much experience of exclusive night clubs. Trenton just didn't cater for that type of clientele, well not that I'd heard of.

"It's over in Randolph. An enormous building with lots of parking, but I've talked Oscar into taking us and picking us up"

That had me looking at Kiera again. Why would she do that? I could drive us there and then at least we would be in control of when we wanted to leave.

"He's cute"

A dreamy look came over her face as she said that. Did Kiera fancy Oscar? I suppose he was a good looking man but I'd never seen him as a potential boyfriend. There was no chemistry between us plus I was definitely off men.

"Kiera. Puppies are cute. Kittens are cute and even teddy bears are cute. I'm not sure that Oscar would appreciate you describing him as cute"

Sheesh, the man was ex navy seals with the body and training to go with it. Nope, cute wasn't the word that I'd use to describe him.

"Aww. Well, he is to me. So I thought that if you brought your dress over to the house then we could help each other out with hair and makeup"

I was smiling as I contemplated what Kiera wanted to do. Yeah, she was younger than me, but her request had me wondering just how confident she actually was. Well, the Jersey girl in me realized that I was just the person to ensure that she looked amazing and had a good time.