Hi all, I'm doing really well with writing at the moment, my muse is firing! So you get this posted a day early! :) As always, thank you for reading and reviewing.

Signing Up

The next morning, I took the time to clean out Rex's cage and leave him with fresh bedding, a clean water bottle and a tray of fresh hamster nuggets. I gave him a baby carrot from my groceries yesterday as a treat. Rex hated having his cage cleaned, and I had to confine him to the bathtub. But I knew he appreciated the results. He always ran around the cage frantically, checking every nook and cranny, before grabbing his treat and shuffling determinedly into his soup-can hideout while he de-stressed.

I headed into the Rangeman office, where Lester was already waiting for me. He had bought me a coffee and a donut from Dunkin Donuts, and I exclaimed in pleasure and gratitude before devouring my own morning treat. Lester and I made some plans for beginning the research on the skips. He was going to pick up Hector and they would start making the rounds of the bank robbers' friends and associates. I was going to make some calls to previous employers for all three skips, before heading out to try and charm Berghofer's sister and parents to talk to me. Lester was also going to check out Berghofer's house, which he had used for collateral. It wasn't particularly likely he would hide out there, but criminals sometimes did stupid things, and it was foolish for us to neglect the obvious.

Before we parted, I asked Lester if he wanted to invite Hector to dinner as well. Les said he would and call me to let me know. I decided to make a reservation at a new restaurant beside the river. It looked pleasant and casual and had a bistro-style menu, with burgers, steaks, and pizzas, with some in-house beer brews, and I thought it would suit the mood for tonight. I made a note to call them after Lester informed me about Hector.

My phone calls had not yielded anything very useful. Everyone was denying any contact or knowledge of Berghofer. And the person I spoke to about Morrison and Turnbull was adamant he could not tell me anything at all. The men had worked for him for a few months and had left months ago. I could tell he didn't want to be involved at all and was probably frightened to appear like an informant on the violent men. I couldn't really blame him.

I headed out, stopping by the deli downstairs to pick up a sandwich and coke for lunch, and drove to Berghofer's parents' house. The lived in Villa Park, on the border of the Burg, in a quiet little detached row house. It looked like a thousand other houses in the area, and I sat in my car, eating my sandwich and drinking my coke, while I watched to see if there was any activity. While I waited, an elderly man drove up in a Buick, and parked in the driveway beside the house. A similar elderly woman came out onto the front porch to greet him, wearing a frilly apron and gesturing inside, presumably telling him that lunch was ready. I could not help thinking how much the seemed like my own parents, and I felt a wave of sympathy for them that their son had dragged them into a criminal world, even if only tangentially. I knew how much my parents would hate it.

I waited another 25 minutes for them to get settled and eat some lunch, before moving out to knock on the front door. I straightened the long-sleeve shirt I was wearing with a light jacket and jeans and smoothed back my hair, trying to look unthreatening and normal. The woman came to the door and opened it cautiously, "Can I help you?" she enquired.

"Hello. Mrs Berghofer?" I asked. She nodded. "My name is Stephanie Plum, and I represent Plum Bail Bonds. Your son, Donald, has missed his court date, and we are required to get him re-registered with the court. I was wondering if you knew where he is at the moment?" This was technically true, but also a bit of a fudge. Berghofer would be re-registered with the court. Then he would be thrown in a cell and locked away. But, hey. No need to over-share, right? If she was harboring him, she might be more amenable to handing him over if she thought it was a simple administrative process.

Mrs Berghofer's face showed a flash of shock and distress before it moved to a closed expression. "I'm sorry," she said woodenly, "We haven't seen Donny since his release from jail. My husband refused to post his bail, and he put his own house up as collateral. As far as we know, that's still where he is living."

"Do you know of any friends he might be staying with?" I persisted. "Or maybe his sister, Emily?"

"Emily is disgusted with Donny!" she answered sharply. "Emmy is a good girl! She's married to a good man, a butcher with his own shop, and they have two children. She would never let Donny stay there with her babies after what he did!" Mrs Berghofer's voice rose as she defended her daughter. I held my hands up a little defensively at her vehemence and had to resist the urge to take a step backwards. I almost expected her to say, 'Why can't he be more like his sister!' The Burg is strong in this one…

Mrs Berghofer's raised voice had attracted her husband to the door, as he suddenly appeared behind her. "What's going on Marj?" he asked.

"This lady is looking for Don. She's with the bond agency. Donny missed his court date," she replied shortly. She looked a little apprehensive to tell him.

Mr Berghofer shot me a filthy look, "Well, that slimeball is not here!" he said adamantly. "I told him to not come near us again. Or Emily and her family. Or Sandra; he'd better not go near her either," he ranted, "He'd better not show up looking for help from any of us. We're on Sandra's side. He killed a man! He beat her! We didn't raise him to do those things!" Mrs Berghofer was nodding ferociously at this sentiment.

Sandra was the ex-girlfriend he'd run over with the car. I doubted she would go within ten miles of Berghofer after everything, but she was still on my list to talk to. I hoped she might have some names of friends or something. I decided if his own parents were taking the ex-girlfriend's side, it was pretty telling. It was clear they wouldn't have anything to tell me, and I could see their disgust with their son's actions was genuine. I politely took my leave from the Berghofers, apologising for distressing them. I gave them a card, asking them to call me if they heard from or saw their son, but I couldn't honestly see him coming to these people for help or a place to stay. Needless to say, he would not be welcome.

Two fruitless hours later, I had had a similar visit with the sister and a slightly easier visit with the ex-girlfriend. The sister had been as unwelcoming and angry as her parents, and just as unhelpful with any information. I was guessing they had not been close, even before he turned out to be a killer. She did tell me, emphatically, that their cousin in Jersey City was also a good family man with a wife, kids, and a good job, so she was certain he would not be there. I left her with a card, but again doubted it would be used.

The ex-girlfriend greeted the door in a wheelchair, and I was a little shocked. I had not realised the attack had left her disabled. Sandra Lowman invited me in and spoke with me pretty calmly and politely, all things considered. As I had expected, she had not seen Berghofer since the attack, and she had hopes that would remain the case, preferably forever. I could hardly blame her for that. She told me the wheelchair was temporary. She was having physiotherapy and would hopefully walk again, although maybe would need a cane. A couple of tears leaked out when she mentioned her friend, Marty, who Berghofer had killed with the car.

I felt desperately sorry for Sandra, she was clearly trying to rebuild her life after the brutal incident, and having to be constantly reminded of it and the man who caused it was not helping. However, she did give me the names of several friends, and a couple of places Berghofer liked to hang out and drink. She also confirmed that he had had several friends at the seedy bar he had worked at, that Lester had thought to check out. I left Sandra with thanks and my card to call if she saw or heard from Berghofer. But frankly, I hoped she wouldn't. I might be tempted to beat him up myself if he went near her again.

Back at the office, I crossed through the names of the parents, sister, and ex-girlfriend on the whiteboard, and wrote up the additional names that Sandra had supplied. I also put an asterisk beside the bar. As I stood, contemplating the board, my cell phone rang. I answered it to Lester, who told me he was heading back to the office. He told me Hector had dinner plans but would like to join us for a drink before dinner. I gave him the name of the restaurant I had chosen, for him to tell Hector. While I waited for Lester to return, I called the restaurant and made a reservation for seven, and confirmed we could sit in the bar for a drink beforehand. I then called Tricia to give her the details. She was busy at work, so it was a short conversation, but she promised to pass it onto Bobby.

Lester arrived about ten minutes later and bounded into the office. He gave me a grin and a one-armed hug and then went over to the whiteboard to update it, as I had. Like me, he crossed through a couple of names and places, and added a couple more names. He told me they had checked the houses of all three men. Sebring's skips had shabby apartments in a poorer part of town, and Les told me they had gone in – I suspect illegally – and it was clear nobody was living there. Similarly, Berghofer's empty and dilapidated house had a layer of undisturbed dust that was also pretty clear. I was sad that it had not been so simple, but not really surprised.

I took the time to take another picture of the whiteboard with my digital camera, and managed more easily to print out copies this time. I then faxed copies to Rangeman Miami, marked 'to the attention of Ranger', with a cover note from me outlining the day's activities and progress. Or lack thereof. Lester and I sat at Carlos' computer then to log onto the internet and see if we could find any information about the skips. Our success was limited, but we did manage to find newspaper articles about each of the crimes. One article on Morrison and Turnbull mentioned an eyewitness who had been a known associate of the men but had not been involved in the crime. It sounded suspicious, so we made a note of the man's name to follow up.

It had been a day of effective research, even though we hadn't found any solid leads. I was slowly learning that a lot of skip tracing came down to eliminating options, until you found the only option left. I suspected that lucky happenstances were more the exception than the rule. For the craftier criminals anyway.

Lester and I left the office at four-thirty, he to head to his hotel and me to head home. I was going to have a relaxing warm bath and get dressed for dinner. Les was coming by to pick me up at six.

The restaurant was warm and casual, with an expansive view over the Delaware river. We sat out on the terrace for drinks and enjoyed their craft beers and casual conversation. Luckily, the weather had cleared over the day, and the wind had dropped, so it was not too cold outdoors. But they had gas burners scattered around to take the edge of the chill off the last day of September. As promised, Hector had joined us for a beer, and he chatted happily away with Lester and even Bobby in Spanish. I was sad I could not talk to him, although somewhat (shamefully) relieved to see Tricia also struggling. I then remembered my earlier idea about taking a Spanish class with Tricia, and I suggested it to her quietly. Her face lit up and she agreed excitedly. "I've always wanted to learn it properly," she exclaimed. "I took a semester in college, but I've forgotten most of it. Why don't I look it up at work tomorrow and let you know what I find?"

I agreed happily, and we turned back to the conversation. Lester was telling Bobby about the training I had run in Miami, based on the college course he had also completed. Bobby was impressed at me using the knowledge like that. With some translation, Hector also praised me learning and teaching the computers. I blushed but was pleased with the admiration for my skills and initiative. Tricia mentioned to Bobby and Lester that we were thinking about going back for another class, this time on Spanish, and the men began teasing us about teaching us all the best swear words.

Hector headed off just before seven for his own dinner date, and the four of us made our way into the restaurant. The building was a converted brick warehouse; it was a very trendy thing lately to take abandoned industrial buildings and repurpose them. Still, it was nicely refinished and the position and view on the river was unbeatable. We ordered a platter of mozzarella sticks and crab cakes for starters, along with another beer. Conversation continued to be casual, until Bobby spoke up, "So, I understand you might have a job offer for me?"

I nodded, "Lester is here to work with me to find three FTAs or Failure to Appear fugitives. They're all high-bond and Rangeman gets fifteen percent of the bond fee for recovery. The idea is that you come on board as a contract worker for Rangeman Miami, which is how Hector is operating, and you can help Lester and Hector with the apprehensions. I know you are still working at the medical clinic this week, but you can talk to Lester about how you might be involved, if you are interested."

I took a swig of my beer and a bite of delicious crab cake while Bobby absorbed that. I went on, "The idea for you and Hector working as contract workers for now, is that you would be able to come on board full-time for Rangeman Trenton. You could train up for other aspects of the business, as it will be commercial and personal security services, as well as fugitive apprehensions, when it's up and running. We are negotiating the purchase of a building on Haywood Street. It's a seven-floor building and will be fully renovated for the business, so that will take a while. But plans are definitely underway, so the future looks fairly solid."

I slowed as the waiter came to refill our water glasses and take our orders for entrees. Lester and I agreed to share a Buffalo chicken pizza and classic Caesar salad. Tricia ordered a BBQ chicken burger and Bobby ordered steak and grilled shrimp. Bobby and Lester ordered another beer, but I declined; my alcohol tolerance was not great. Instead, Tricia and I ordered iced teas.

After the waiter left, Bobby summarised, "So I'd be involved in fugitive apprehension and other aspects of the business, when it opens fully. And I could contract to help you guys out with apprehensions until then?" he queried, wanting to be sure he understood.

Lester agreed, and described some of the services provided by Rangeman Miami, and how the men were involved in apprehensions, monitoring, personal security, and patrols. "Of course, training is provided, and most men don't do everything in Miami," he added, "It's a pretty big setup. It might take a while to scale it up here in Trenton, so the staff might be more of jack-of-all-trades at least at first." Bobby nodded.

I added a tempter for him, "I also spoke with Carlos, sorry Ranger, about your background and medic skills. He feels that there may also be an opportunity for you to make use of those skills as well. Not just as a field medic, but also with fitness evaluations, training, and setting standards and protocols. Ranger said they've mostly used military and police standards and protocols, but it would be helpful for someone to do a full review and possibly tailor them more for the business. All field staff are required to maintain minimum standards for fitness and firearms, but there are staff who don't work in the field too."

Bobby's face had lit up at the thought of being able to use his medic training and work in the field, even though it wasn't strictly paramedicine. Lester added, "There are always injuries and minor things that could easily be treated at Rangeman by a trained medic as well. We use a hospital or clinic in Miami, but having a trained medic on staff in Trenton may mean we could deal with some stuff without having to go to a care facility."

I said thoughtfully, "Maybe we could even set up a small medical suite in the building? There's plenty of room, I think. Somewhere where you could treat like minor cuts and grazes, muscle strains, and so on. I guess you'd know better than me, Bobby, what could be dealt with somewhere like that."

Lester agreed, looking a little surprised, "Yeah, that's actually a good idea Steph. Like an infirmary or sick room but set up well."

Bobby looked a little dazed at this, "Wow", he said. "I thought this was just going to be about helping with fugitives, but this blows me away."

I added cautiously, "Well, they're just ideas right now. We'd have to make sure it's what Ranger and Marco want too. And like I said, we haven't even purchased the building yet. So, it might take a while."

"No problem," Bobby said, smiling at me. "If there's a possibility of using my skills for more than just brute force, I think I'm in." He threw a teasing look at Lester, who looked playfully offended at the jibe. Tricia and I laughed, and he went on, "Seriously though, it sounds pretty good to me. And I could get a feel for the job, working with you on the contract work. I might have to take other temp jobs until you're up and running, but I think I am excited for the longer-term prospects."

I grinned at him, "Ok, well, I'll let Ranger know that you're interested in the contract work and fill him in on the other stuff as well. Ranger is due to come back to Trenton sometime, not exactly sure when, but he can work with you as well when he does." I felt a pang in my heart at the thought of Carlos in Miami. Bobby agreed and our conversation went back to casual chatter and joking banter.

Bobby was on board!

Reviewers were excited to see Bobby come on board. I know Lester and Bobby are largely 'fanon' characters rather thank 'canon' from JE, but they are fun to play with. Please review if you can.