My gaze shot from Joe, to the phone and back to Joe. "What the hell! He just - you- him - What the hell!"
Joe was clenching his jaw before turning and punching the wall.
Ranger looked at the hole in the drywall and cleared his throat. "Well that was informative. Now if that's not out of your system, I'd appreciate if you would take it to the gym and use the bags… or I have a waiting list of men who would enjoy a chance to spar." Joe huffed for another couple of seconds before dropping himself into a chair. "Good choice. Now evidently you, Steph and this guy share some history. Let's see if we can narrow it down."
"Someone from high school? It's not even a skip or somebody I met tracking someone!" I laughed. "Great I've been attracting psychos since puberty. There is literally no hope for me."
Joe snorted. "Ain't that the truth. But we can do this Cupcake. Someone from high school, someone who was attracted to you and jealous of me… hmm doesn't narrow it down too much." I glared at him.
Ranger interrupted us before we could get started. "He likely was a loner who would try to tag along with the popular kids. He wanted to be popular, probably quick to agree with anything the cool kids said. If he knew Joe was interested in Steph, he wouldn't have made a move but he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from watching. With your instincts, you would have picked up a creepy vibe. Based off the self improvement photos of himself, probably was small and not in shape. He's trying to show you that he has improved his appearance and physique. But even with his improvements, this guy is still invisible. He wants to be noticed but he is born to blend in. Anyone pop into your head with that?" He asked looking up at me.
I was staring at him wide eyed. "That is without a doubt- the most I've ever heard you say."
"Babe" Ranger said exasperatedly.
"No, I'm with her." Morelli said staring.
"Ok great. When you guys are done maybe you can think about it."
So I thought about it. I hate to admit it but in high school, I was a little obsessed with Joe. He was the bad boy who we were all warned to avoid which of course made all the girls more interested. And he was most definitely the cool kid. I thought of his group, his cousins and friends. Then I thought about the boys who wanted to be him. There were unfortunately a lot. I grabbed a pad of paper and started writing down names.
When I ran out of people I passed the list over to Joe, watching as he crossed off multiple and added a couple more. Finally he sighed and dropped the pen. "Thats all I've got. 5 guys who fit the bill and that I lost contact with."
Ranger grabbed his computer and ran the names. "This guy died a few years ago and this guys in prison for arson so we're down to 3." He studied the next profile for a few seconds and then crossed it off, "Too tall." He pulled up the last two ID photos and swore. "This guy, Rick Stevens. He was in last month for an interview." He went over to the door. "Hal, Manny!" He barked out and both men appeared. "Do either of those men look familiar."
The guys studied the images. "This guy. I think I saw him earlier. Hard to tell for sure though." Hal said quietly pointing at the man Ranger had identified.
"Little Ricky. He was a weird kid, in the grade between us I think." Joe said. "He was always following us around and bragging about girls. Never actually saw him with one though."
"I don't remember him." I said staring at his photo. "Wait… was he the guy who got expelled for breaking into the girls locker room?"
"Yeah, he was only around my senior year." Joe confirmed.
"He moved to Texas with his divorced dad after he got expelled. Joined the army where he was dishonourably discharged after 4 years and looks like he did some time in prison for assault. Beat someone unconscious in a bar fight. He moved back to Trenton 5 months ago and did a walk in to apply for a position at Rangeman. We did a quick search and informed him that he did not meet our requirements. This would have been around the time you were running searches for us Babe." Ranger said tersely.
"Great. We know who he is. Now you just have to catch him right?" I said hopefully.
"Not going to be that easy babe. This guy knows how to blend in and we don't actually have any evidence to prove he did anything."
"Well let's give him what he wants then. I'll go out wearing a tracker and when he grabs me, you guys can record him. Problem solved." I said with some fake bravado. I didn't really want to face this guy alone but he was threatening the people who I loved and like hell would I let that slide.
"Absolutely not Cupcake!" - "Not happening Babe." Both men denied immediately.
"I'm what he really wants! He might suspect something but he will risk it to get a hold of me. And you guys will be right behind me listening to everything he says. It's the best plan." I argued
"And if things go wrong he disappears with you. No. Besides, you're not the only thing he wants now." Joe snapped.
"Yeah he wants you dead! We're not using you as bait." I shouted back. Joe shot a look to Ranger who nodded and I smacked the table loudly. "Stop that. You don't get to have a ESP conversation over my head."
"Babe. Morelli is right. Using you is too risky. He's a trained cop with undercover training. He's best equipped to identify the target and get the information we require. He's also capable of handling himself in a fight if needed."
"Yeah and what if Ricky decides to just shoot him and get rid of the competition. We already know he will kill people that he sees as a threat."
"He won't do that with Morelli. It's personal for him and he will want to be up close. He will need to see Joe defeated and broken by him." Ranger said confidently.
I glared at both men. "Fine you know what. If Joe is going out there then so am I. You can give me a tracker or not and we will see which of us he goes for."
"Hal, Manny." Ranger said calmly and the guys stepped up and surrounded me. "Take her up to my floor and make sure she doesn't leave."
"You wouldn't dare." I snarled at him but he just turned back to Joe. I swore and tried to shove away from the guys but they were giants. They easily tugged me from the room and back to the elevator, ignoring my protests and struggles. They got me into Rangers apartment and finally released me, taking up position by the door.
"Steph… This is the best way to get this guy and keep you safe." Manny said apologetically.
"Screw all of you! I'm not okay with everyone else sacrificing themselves for me, when I have to be kept safe and secure. If anything happens to Joe I will never forgive any of you guys." I hissed at the guys before slamming the door closed.