Hector played the video for Morelli. "What the hell?" Joe said when he watched Mooner move the bomb from Stephanie's vehicle to Joyce's front wheel well. Joe's face paled when he watched Stephanie hop into the Porsche Cayenne. Knowing she wasn't in the car, he feared for Stephanie's life. Manoso would kill anyone involved in harming his wife. "Did Manoso see this?" Joe asked.
"Yes," Stephanie replied, approaching Joe and Hector. "Ranger watched everything and called to ensure I was safe. He saw me climbing out of the Cayenne on another camera recording. Joe, Joyce changed the cameras and angles to mask her activities."
"Do you have proof?" he asked as Lester parked up the road away from the burning vehicles.
"Rangeman was testing smaller, undetectable cameras. I have the paperwork to show the businesses in the area permitted us to install them on their properties," Lester said. He removed the documents from the folder in his bag. Joe glanced at the buildings in question as he read the paperwork.
Something on one of the documents grabbed his attention. "You ordered the change?" Joe asked, staring at Stephanie.
"Well, Lester and I did. I selected the businesses, and Lester handled the rest," Stephanie replied. She didn't know Lester contacted the business owners to get their approval. The evidence Rangeman collected was legally obtained.
Joe swung his attention to Lester, who added, "They were concerned about people messing with the equipment and wanted a way to catch them without their knowledge."
"Hector received a shipment of cameras for testing. These surrounding businesses were willing to assist at no extra cost to them," Stephanie said.
"Who will pay for the window?" Vinnie asked.
"Joyce's insurance," Stephanie replied. "We have proof she was responsible."
"Until we complete the investigation, you can't leave Trenton," Joe told the Rangeman crew. Stephanie was upset. She wanted to honeymoon in Hawaii with Carlos.
"How long will it take?" Stephanie wondered.
"A month or two," Joe answered. "We have to talk to business owners and witnesses in the area." Joe pointed over his shoulder at Mooner and Dougie. He dismissed Stephanie and the others after they promised to remain in Trenton.
Stephanie called Carlos with the bad news. He wasn't too worried and promised to take her to Hawaii once the TPD cleared Rangeman. Everything in the Trenton Police Department tended to move at a snail's pace.
"It's clearly a cut-and-dry case," Stephanie complained as Lester drove her and Hector back to Rangeman.
Lester grinned, making Stephanie question his sanity. She turned to face him, tucking her right foot beneath her left knee. "Did Joyce really blow herself up?" Lester laughed.
"Yes," Stephanie replied. "She was grinning when she pressed the detonator button."
Before Lester could respond, Stephanie's phone rang. "Stephanie Michelle Plum, why me? Why does my daughter have to blow up Barbara Barnhardt's only child?" Helen asked before Stephanie could speak.
"Mom!" Stephanie shouted several times before getting a word in edgewise.
"There's no need to take that tone with me, young lady!" Helen snapped.
"You wouldn't stop ranting," Stephanie sighed, sounding exhausted from dealing with her mother. "I'll send you the recording of what actually happened. I had nothing to do with any explosion. Whatever twisted rumour some idiot spread to the Burg is lying. Hang on a second. I'll send it to your email."
"Are you expecting me to check now?" Helen asked.
"Yes, Mom. Check your email now," Stephanie replied.
She could hear the video playing in the background as Helen reacted to what she watched. "Oh my," Helen said. Then, she did something that completely surprised Stephanie. Helen giggled before laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face.
"Mom? Are you okay?" Stephanie wondered. She grinned as her mom continued to laugh.
"Everyone has to see this," Helen said. "I'm glad you're safe, Stephanie. It serves Joyce right for trying to murder my daughter." Helen quickly said goodbye and hung up.
Stephanie sat, staring at her phone. "Is something wrong, Steph?" Lester asked.
"I think that video is about to go viral," she replied, shaking her head. Stephanie found it amusing.
A few days after her explosive death, Barbara Barnhardt buried whatever pieces they recovered of her daughter. She glanced around the funeral home at the curious, nosy Burg residents. Nobody had anything nice to say about Joyce Barnhardt. The woman propositioned the wealthy married men. She recorded their sexual encounters and blackmailed them into paying for her silence.
Barbara was shocked Joyce purposely inserted herself into all aspects of Stephanie's life. Surprisingly, Stephanie only got laid off from Baldicott - the company that purchased E. E. Martin - because Joyce slept with the owner and convinced him to fire Stephanie.
The two incidences, when Stephanie was six and sixteen, were initiated by Joyce. She told Joseph Morelli to approach Stephanie. Barbara was disgusted. Why did Joyce hate Stephanie so much?
Then she heard something that made her feel ashamed. "It's all because Barb kept telling Joyce she should be more like Stephanie. Barb said Joyce was fat and needed to run around like Stephanie to burn off the amount of calories she consumed. Joyce's hair was thin and wiry. She said Joyce should eat more gelatin-enriched foods to strengthen her fingernails and hair. Everything Joyce did wrong got compared to what Stephanie did right," Mabel Markowitz said.
"Meanwhile, Helen was admonishing Stephanie for running around and complaining about how unruly the curls got. My baby granddaughter didn't have an easy childhood. Helen wasn't kind about Stephanie getting her clothes dirty," Edna explained. "I don't understand why parents must compare their children to ones they perceive as superior. It's not right and creates issues where there shouldn't be."
"That's not all," Nancy Molnar added. "When the girls were in kindergarten, Barb forgot to pack Joyce a snack. Stephanie gave hers to Joyce. I heard Barb accuse Stephanie of making Joyce get fat."
"What did she share?" Mabel asked.
"A banana. Stephanie ate the apple," Nancy replied. "The boys gave Joyce the sweet treats and laughed when she gobbled them up. Stephanie told the boys to stop picking on Joyce. Then, when they were in grade one, Joyce poured apple juice on Stephanie's chair and accused her of peeing herself. Stephanie did nothing to retaliate, but she never trusted Joyce again."
"How do you know?" Edna asked.
"I was on yard duty and helped in the classroom. Everything I shared, I witnessed," Nancy explained.
Barbara wiped the tears off her cheeks. She assumed Stephanie shared sweets with Joyce. Her daughter must have received the junk food from someone else. Joyce always said it was Stephanie, and Barbara believed her daughter. Over the years, Barbara fuelled the hatred between the girls. She felt ashamed for not asking the other mothers. It was part of Barbara not fitting in after losing Joyce's father in the car accident. The other women were wary of Barbara hanging around their husbands. She had a few affairs with married men in the Burg. It was consensual, and the men approached her. However, it still earned her a reputation.
She left the funeral home when the others said Joyce used sex and blackmail to carve a living. Joyce would marry a wealthy man and take everything she could. To get rid of Joyce, they gave her whatever she wanted. Most of the time, it was the expensive house, jewelry and cars.
The following afternoon, Barbara watched as Joyce's casket lowered into the ground. She wiped a tear off her cheek and silently cried. Barbara lost her daughter and had to refinance her house to afford the funeral. The insurance company refused to cover the damages caused by Joyce's antics. Everything Joyce owned must get sold. Joyce had a few houses and cars. She had money hidden in off-shore accounts. It would take a lot of paperwork unless Barbara could find another way to get her hands on the cash. She only knew of one method to access the accounts.
Barbara pulled her coat tightly across her chest. A cold breeze blew her hair, sending a chill through her body. She made up her mind to approach the only person who could help. Barbara hoped the person would point her in the right direction or provide the means and assistance to take care of the urgent request.
With her head held high, Barbara walked to her car and drove to Rangeman. She parked on the street in front of the main entrance. It would be her first time visiting the business. A few of her friends worked in accounting or law firms secured by Rangeman Securities. They said the men were professional and treated everyone with respect.
After fixing her makeup, Barbara exited her car. She approached the door, took a few deep breaths, and opened it to walk inside.
Zip raised his head to look at the visitor and smiled. "Welcome to Rangeman. How may I help you today?" he asked.
"I probably should have called. Is Stephanie Plum available for a consultation?" Barbara asked.
Without skipping a beat, Zip sent a message to Stephanie, who was on the fifth floor, creating capture strategies for the men. Smiling, he asked, "Who should I say is inquiring about her services?"
"Barbara Barnhardt," she replied. Zip maintained his blank face as he sent the information to Stephanie.
"Hey, Cal. Pull up the camera for the lobby," Stephanie hollered. Cal did as Stephanie requested. She rushed to the monitors to peek at the image of the woman standing at the reception desk. It was Joyce's mom, as Zip indicated. Stephanie rolled her eyes. She asked Lester and Hector to accompany her to the lobby. "Tell Zip I'm on my way down and to open the meeting room for Mrs. Barnhardt to get comfortable."
"Yes, Steph," Cal replied.
"Lester, you're coming with me," Stephanie called over her shoulder. He met her at the elevator. She texted Hector, asking him to meet her in the lobby.
When the elevator door opened on the first floor, Stephanie stepped into Carlos' arms. "Babe?" he asked.
"Oh. I have a meeting with Mrs. Barnhardt," Stephanie replied. Carlos raised a brow. He placed a possessive hand on her lower back and walked to the meeting room behind the reception desk. Zip nodded, indicating Mrs. Barnhardt was waiting in the room.
"Hello, Mrs. Barnhardt. I'm sorry for your loss. How may I help you?" Stephanie asked.
"The insurance company refused to pay the claims for Joyce's incident. I have to sell her house and other possessions to cover the expenses from the other vehicles and damages to the businesses," Barbara explained.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Barnhardt, why does this concern me?" Stephanie asked.
Sighing, Barbara replied, "I need to access the account she has in the Cayman Islands."
Stephanie hid the snort with a cough. "I'm sorry, but I don't have access to that information," she replied. "You came here for no reason." Stephanie felt bad for Barbara.
Hector passed Stephanie a charred post-it note in a ziplock bag. On it, he had the account number with the other access codes. "Mrs. Barnhardt," Carlos said. "We found this at the scene. My man, Hector, didn't want anyone to use the information to take the money from Joyce's account. Our lawyer indicated you are entitled to the contents of her offshore bank account and insisted we give you this note with the banking information."
"Are you allowed to give this to me?" Barbara asked.
"The police permitted us to share the information with you," Carlos replied. "Zip, bring Detective Morelli inside when he arrives."
Joseph Morelli read the message on his phone. He kissed Stella and promised to pick up a pizza on his way home. "Where are you headed?" Stella asked.
"Rangeman. I think Mrs. Barnhardt is asking about the account information," Joe shared.
"You photographed it for evidence, right?" Stella wondered. Joe only discussed parts of the case that were common knowledge.
"Yes. We also verified the account belonged to Joyce," Joe responded. "I shouldn't be too long." He kissed Stella and said he loved her.
"I love you, too," Stella said. She held onto Bob's collar, preventing him from following Joe out the front door. "Come on, Bob. You can go into the backyard to do your business."
Ten minutes later, Joe arrived at Rangeman. He raised a brow when he saw Barbara Barnhardt's car parked at the curb. "Hey, Zip," Joe greeted when he entered the lobby. "Where do I go?"
"The room behind me," Zip replied. He let Joe through the doorway to the meeting room.
"Hi, Mrs. Barnhardt. I'm sorry for your loss. Is there a reason for my presence?" Joe asked.
"I must know if I have permission to access this account," Barbara answered, showing Joe the note in the bag.
"Yes, ma'am," Joe replied. "We didn't want you to lose everything because of your daughter's actions. Nobody touched the money in the account. There should be enough to cover the personal property and the business repair claims due to your daughter's illegal activity. Is there anything else?"
"No," Barbara answered, wiping the tear off her cheek. "Thank you, Joseph."
Barbara left Rangeman feeling relieved. She wouldn't lose everything because of Joyce.