"Valerie, stop squirming," Stephanie chastised. "You're making the vehicle rock. I can see Bobby and Lester laughing in the car behind us."
"Sorry. I'm anxious to see Marty," Valerie said. "He never had time to visit between training sessions."
"Don't forget they extended the timeframe to a year," Stephanie added. Valerie glared at Stephanie. It wasn't helping anything. "Val, he wrote to you and called whenever he could. Carlos said they made Marty complete the year requirement of his contract because he refused to sign up for another five-year term."
Valerie rolled her eyes. She was furious the government reneged on their deal. Marty was supposed to work for six months, then get discharged from the Army. Getting stuck in Georgia for longer put a strain on their relationship. "What if he moved on?" Valerie asked.
Snorting, Stephanie replied, "Seriously? Marty is completely smitten and in love with you. He can't wait to be home."
"How are you so sure?" Valerie asked, showing her vulnerability. It was a side of Valerie that Stephanie never knew existed. Valerie always seemed confident and sure of what she wanted in life. Hearing the fear in her question made Stephanie realize Valerie was just as insecure as her.
"Ram has friends in the area. Marty never went to bars or met with other women. He made it obvious he was unavailable." Stephanie checked her phone for the flight. "The plane should be arriving soon," Stephanie said. She exited the car with Valerie. Bobby and Lester followed them inside the terminal.
Valerie spotted Marty before the others. She ran, then jumped into his arms. Marty chuckled as he hugged Valerie. "Hey, honey. I'm home," Marty teased.
"Forever?"
"Yes." Marty kissed Valerie with all the passion that built up over the past year. "Let's go home," Marty whispered.
Stephanie took off at a run. Lester and Bobby left Marty and Valerie to see where Stephanie went. They watched Stephanie in action. She leaped, landing on a man who attempted to get away. A woman hit Stephanie in the back with her purse. Stephanie put cuffs on the man's wrists. "Stop moving, Ruguzzi or I'll turn in the Hulk and break your nose on the floor," Stephanie threatened. Simon stopped moving. He was afraid the woman on his back would honour the threat.
"Didn't we just get the file?" Lester asked, approaching the scene. Lester grinned when he noticed Stephanie had the man cuffed. Tootie Ruguzzi took off at a run. She didn't want the men to touch her. "The wife's getting away."
"We don't need her," Stephanie replied. "Bobby, can you take Valerie and Marty home? I need to return Simon to the police station." Stephanie just earned Rangeman a significant payout for capturing the Rug. She was disappointed Ruguzzi didn't put up more of a fight. Stephanie had a lot of anger and frustration to release.
Lester pulled Ruguzzi to his feet as Stephanie pulled the apprehension papers from her purse. The airport security arrived, demanding Stephanie to release Simon. "He's an FTA. Ruguzzi failed to appear in court. Stephanie has permission to capture him," Lester said, tugging Ruguzzi away from the security officers.
The friendlier man of the two grabbed the papers, then nodded at his partner. "It's legitimate," he announced. "Have a nice day, ma'am." Stephanie rolled her eyes. She didn't like getting called ma'am. It took months for the men at Rangeman to call her Steph.
Stephanie was quiet as Lester drove to the TPD. He wasn't sure how to handle the situation. It was out of his control to fix the problem. Carlos and Stephanie returned from Miami the previous day. They were devastated when none of their embryos implanted stuck. It was back to square one. The hormone injections were making Stephanie angry.
Lester parked behind the precinct in the visitor parking area. He roughly grabbed Ruguzzi from the back and followed Stephanie inside. "Hey, coz," Eddie called from behind the desk. "I'm on desk duty for a few weeks." Eddie put his foot on the desk. His ankle got wrapped from a sprain.
"That sucks," Stephanie replied. "I'd go nuts."
"She's already there," Ruguzzi mumbled. Simon Ruguzzi was a hitman, part of the Colichio crime family. He was married to Tootie and known to freelance.
"What did you say, asshole?" Stephanie snarled. Ruguzzi attempted to make himself smaller on the bench behind Stephanie. Eddie passed Stephanie cuffs to replace hers. She gave them to Lester, who swapped them.
"Nothing," Simon said. He looked into Stephanie's eyes and saw the fury behind the blue irises.
Stephanie returned her attention to Eddie, passing him the apprehension documents for her skip. Eddie entered the details into the system, then printed a receipt. "Thanks, Eddie. I should give this to Connie for processing," Stephanie said, turning on her heels. Lester quickly followed, leaving the other officers to take Simon Ruguzzi to the booking department.
"When do you get the eggs harvested?" Lester asked.
"Next week," Stephanie replied. "I hope everything works this time."
"I'm sorry you're going through this," he said. Lester touched Stephanie's hand. "Why didn't the other embryos implant?"
"It's the downside of IVF," Stephanie replied, angrily wiping the tears off her face. She despised crying in front of people. "Sometimes the treatment doesn't work."
"What are you doing differently this time?" Lester asked. He was worried about his friends. Carlos looked upset. Stephanie and Carlos went to Miami to visit Julie when Jeanne Ellen gave them the results.
"We're hoping to catch Jeanne Ellen during her cycle, and we've been doing the injections for weeks. Hopefully, we get enough viable eggs for the process. The doctor thinks using fresh embryos may produce favourable results. I told Carlos this was our last attempt to have our babies," Stephanie explained.
"But what about the dreams?" Lester asked.
"Lester, sometimes a dream is just a dream," she replied. "I'm used to everything I want being just out of reach."
"Are you and Ranger okay?" Lester was afraid his friends would get divorced.
Stephanie blushed, giving Lester the answer. "We're good. Our marriage is strong." The sex was magical. She never experienced anything like it before meeting Carlos. Every encounter got better. Lester waggled his eyebrows, making Stephanie laugh. "Lester, stop being such a pig."
He parked at Vinnie's office to drop off the receipt. Lester made Stephanie stay in the car while he ran inside to give it to Connie. She would prepare the cheque for Rangeman in the morning.
"Did you do it?" Lester asked. Stephanie raised her eyebrows in confusion. "You know… put the flowers on Lydia's grave."
"Of course, Lester. I promised you that I would give her the white roses and yellow carnations," Stephanie replied. She furrowed her brows. "It's really strange because I thought… never mind."
Lester stopped at the red light before looking at Stephanie. "What did you think?" Lester prodded. He willed Stephanie to finish the sentence.
"I thought I saw Lydia," Stephanie whispered. She shook her head. "Anyway, the girl resembled her."
"Do you think it was her daughter, Sandra?" Lester asked. His heart raced, hoping Stephanie had somehow stumbled across the missing child. Sandra should be around eleven years old. "I have a copy of her will. She left Sandra in my care. After the eggs get harvested and Jeanne Ellen gets pregnant, can you show me where you saw Sandra?"
Lester hoped to bring the missing child home. He wanted to keep his promise to Lydia. Nothing would ease the ache he felt deep inside when Lydia died and her daughter disappeared. Lester felt compelled to do something.
"It could be, but they say everyone has a double. Perhaps, my imagination got away from me," Stephanie reasoned.
"Stephanie, you and I know that's bullshit. You may not remember a name, but you never forget a face. It's your special talent," Lester said. The light turned green. Stephanie stared out the window to retrieve the memory. Lester was right. She never forgot a face. The girl resembling Lydia could be a coincidence.
"I agree with Einstein. I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious," Stephanie said.
Lester burst out laughing. "Were you saving that for the perfect moment?" he asked.
Stephanie snorted, "It was on the kitten poster Mary Alice gave Tank for his birthday. Who knew the Big Guy loved kittens? Mary Alice said he moved into a house on Howard Street. It's two doors down from me. She helped Tank name the cats."
"How many cats does Tank have?" Lester asked.
"Three, and their names are Suzy, Miss Kitty and Applepuff." Stephanie attempted to keep a straight face. She watched Lester and noticed he was fighting a grin. Lester glanced at her, and they burst out laughing.
"Applepuff? Man, that's good." Lester couldn't stop snickering. "Is that why he moved?" Lester asked.
"Yup. Tank found the abandoned cats begging for food," Stephanie replied. "Valerie wouldn't let Mary Alice have them."
Carlos was waiting in the garage for Lester and Stephanie to arrive. He leaned against the bumper of his Porsche 911 turbo, wearing a shit-eating grin. Stephanie exited the car and went to her husband. "Proud of you, Babe," he said, wrapping his arms around Stephanie and pulling her close.
"I was disappointed," Stephanie confessed. Carlos raised an eyebrow. "My inner beast is ready to fight."
"Let me help," Carlos said. Carlos took her to the gym, pushing her into the locker room Luis added for the women. Stephanie changed into her shorts and sports bra. It showed off the marks on her legs and abdomen from Ramirez. She remembered Carlos telling her the scars proved she was a warrior and a survivor. Of course, he used more eloquent words.
Stephanie stretched on the mats before joining her husband inside the ring. She sparred against Lester, Manny, Hector and Ram but never Carlos. "Are you ready for me to unleash the Hulk?" Stephanie asked before inserting the mouthguard.
"The Hulk, Babe?" Carlos asked. Stephanie nodded. "Were you watching the Marvel movies again?"
"Hulk smash," Stephanie said. She raised her fists to fight Carlos.
"Pull your punches," Lester hollered. Stephanie glared at him for interfering. She needed to let go and give it her all. It was the only way to dissipate the rage she bottled inside.
Carlos let Stephanie take the first swing. He easily blocked the punch, but he didn't move fast enough to deflect the roundhouse kick. The punch was a distraction. Carlos grinned and fought back. They were even in number of times they fell to the mats. Stephanie combined a few moves, knocking Carlos off balance. She wasn't quick enough to land on her feet. Carlos pulled her as he fell. Stephanie landed on her husband's chest with an exhaled, "Umph."
"Babe?" Carlos asked. Stephanie sat on his abdomen and spat out the mouth guard.
"I feel better. Thank you for not taking it easy on me," Stephanie replied. She chastely kissed him, then grinned. "Your lips feel funny while you're wearing the mouthguard." Stephanie accepted the hand Lester offered. She helped Carlos to his feet. The men watching them spar clapped. "What?"
"Steph, everyone is impressed you lasted forty-five minutes with Ranger. You took him to the mats more than anyone has before," Lester replied.
"Have I?" Stephanie asked Carlos.
"Yes. I may have pulled my punches, but you gave it all. My men have trained you well," Carlos replied. "I love you, Babe."
~~~~~
A few days earlier, Sadie watched a gorgeous couple visit the graveyard. The man was dark, whereas the woman was fair. Except the woman's hair was brown and curly. Sadie kept her distance and watched where they placed the bouquet of white roses and yellow carnations. The woman glanced in her direction. Bright blue eyes found hers. Sadie hid behind the tree. She waited for several minutes before peeking to see if they had gone.
Sadie's strawberry blond hair was wavy. Her eyes were hazel but appeared more green. She pulled it into an elastic band to keep it from blowing into her face. Another peek from behind the tree showed the couple had left. Sadie sighed in relief. She approached the grave where the beautiful flowers hung in the vase. Her heart pounded when she read the name. Lydia Elizabeth Cottingham. Tears filled Sadie's eyes as she read the date of death; October 24, 2004. It was three months after Sadie's birthday. Sadie hoped she was wrong. She checked inside her backpack to confirm everything was in place.
The graveyard was in a fairly safe part of town. She would have to travel to the train station, through a scary neighbourhood, to escape from the city. Sadie touched the name on the gravestone. "I'm sorry," she replied. She pulled her favourite stuffed bunny from her bag, then tucked it into the flowers. Her multicoloured bear remained in her backpack. Sadie's adoptive mother said it was a gift from her biological mother. It was precious to Sadie.
She checked her watch and decided it was time to leave. Sadie wiped a tear from her eye, then pulled the hood on her jacket over her head. "Bye," she whispered, then turned away. She walked toward the train station. It took a long time, but she arrived in time to board the next train. A kind man helped Sadie purchase a ticket home. He wore black clothes with the word "Rangeman" stitched over his heart.
"Do you have everything, Sadie?" he asked.
"Yes. Thank you for buying the ticket. May I have your name and address to have my dad send you the money?" Sadie asked.
He gave her a business card with the Rangeman phone number. "It's not necessary. Could you have him call to let me know you arrived?" he asked. The name on the card was Javier Manoso. Sadie never noticed the black SUV following her movements from the graveyard. Stephanie wanted to ensure the child was safe.
"Why?"
"I have nieces, and I'd worry if they had to travel home alone," Javier replied. "Please have your dad call me."
"Okay," Sadie replied.
Javier waited for Sadie to board the train headed toward New York. He sent Stephanie a message, telling her the girl was NY bound. Stephanie promised that she'd have people watching for her arrival.