"She gave us an out, God damn it, and you didn't take it! Why are we letting her stay here? You know that she could bring a target to Rachel or your kids. Don't you care about them?" Lester exploded the moment Stephanie left the apartment.

Ranger pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his temples. He hoped the headache would go away.

"Lester, I doubt that Stephanie is safe anywhere at this point. For whoever it was to have her followed, putting a tracking device on a cop car no less means they want her out of the picture. She's not toeing the line they want her to. That's obvious by her career choice. Now, she's here in Trenton, working for us. What do you think will happen if we let her leave our confines?"

Lester sighed. He knew his cousin was right. Stephanie was in danger, more danger than she knew. But why do they need to be involved? "You know they could use Rachel or the kids to get to Stephanie. Grab them to entice you to hand over Agent Plum."

"Yes, they might try that, but then they wouldn't live to see another day. I believe our reputation precedes us. However, as you know, Rachel never goes anywhere without a shadow, and now, she and the children will have bodyguards. What happened with Stephanie? What did she mean by panic attack?"

Almost instantaneously, Ranger saw Lester's demeanor change. One minute, he was agitated and looking for a fight. Now, he looked haunted.

"I pointed out the car I saw pass by the entrance a few times. When she saw it, her body started to shake; she was staring off into space, and she started to hyperventilate. She was unresponsive, not even acknowledging her name when I said it. It took about five minutes, but I finally got her to relax. There has to be more to her story than what she told us. Her panic attack was worse than the ones I had."

Ranger immediately became concerned. He knew that there was some deep-seated PTSD in Stephanie's past, but he doubted that Stephanie knew. Is it possible that Stephanie knows more about what happened all those years ago than she wants to admit to now?

"How did you get her to calm down?"

"I had her breathe with me. Only she and I were on the monitors. I didn't dare call or text Bobby. I was afraid that she would pass out, but I don't think she wants any medication. When Brett returned from break, she was starting to focus on me. I do think that I need to tell Bobby." There was a pause while both men got lost in their thoughts. "Ranger, she scared me. I finally understand why you, Brown, and Tank used to be so concerned about me."

"How are your attacks going? Are they still happening?"

Lester looks at the wall across from him. His nose scrunched up as he was mentally trying to remember when he had his last attack. "It was in Miami about two days before I joined you here in Trenton and about two weeks before that one."

"You haven't had since you've been here?"

"No. I haven't even thought about it until now. And I'm still off my medication."

This new information caused Ranger to pause. Could Stephanie be the key to keeping Lester's emotional state even? Could she be the key to returning the Lester he knew when they were kids?

"Let's hope that Stephanie doesn't have any more attacks. Maybe you should talk to her. Try to encourage her to talk to Dr. Bloch."

Lester audibly sighed as he collapsed onto the couch. "Why me? Why do I have to talk to her? Brown would be better, especially considering he's the medic here."

"You're right. Brown is the obvious choice, but if I remember correctly, he couldn't talk you into seeing Dr. Bloch. It took Chico in Miami to convince you that Dr. Bloch helped him before you decided to see him."

Lester knew Ranger was right, but he hated the idea of helping Stephanie. Well, that wasn't true. A part of him wanted to help her if he were honest with himself. However, he couldn't let the part take over. Women were unreliable and worthless. He couldn't let her in. Even as he argued with himself, he heard his voice, "Fine, I'll talk to her."

Lester stood and walked to the door, aware that he had to finish his shift on the monitors. "Do you think Morelli set her up?"

Ranger paused, not expecting that question from Lester. It was a question he had been contemplating since he had heard what had happened. "As much as I'd love to vilify him, I don't think so. Why would he keep the Apple tag on his car and hand it over? We could easily trace it back to him. Besides, I heard the way he spoke to Stephanie. He still has it bad for her, and I think, in his way, he still loves her. So, I guess I must agree with Steph: Morelli is not involved."

"That's my belief as well. See you in the morning."


"We're getting nowhere. There are too many different sites to look at. Whoever wiped the victim's computers knew what they were doing. I can't find any trace of places or websites they visited," Lester exclaimed in frustration. It's been a week, and they weren't any closer to figuring out how the women were grabbed off the street.

"No one is that good. Hector, ¿has encontrado alguan pista?"

"Tal vez. Necesito más tiempo para terminar mi rastro."

"We may not have an answer yet, but we've eliminated many places. I know we're going to get an answer soon."

"Plum, I don't know how you can be so optimistic."

"It's my Spidey sense, it's been buzzing. Something big is going to break."

Soon, the door to the conference room opened. Miguel, a new hire, walked it with a box in his hand. "Agent Plum, you have a package."

Stephanie turned towards Miguel and took the package from his hand. "This has been checked, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am. All packages are scanned. It came out clean."

Stephanie looked at the package and saw that the return address was her sister's. However, there was no reason for Valerie or her grandparents to send her anything. Her birthday was in October, and Easter had already passed. Stephanie took out her phone and dialed her sister.

"Hello, Napolitano residence."

"Hi Val, it's Steph."

"Oh, hi, Steph! How are you?"

"I'm good. I'm sorry to call so early. I hope this isn't a bad time." Stephanie glanced at her watch and winced, not realizing that it was only 6:30 in the morning in California.

"No, not at all. I've been up for an hour already. I just put breakfast on the table for the girls. What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Um, did you send me a package?"

"No, I didn't. Why would you think I did?"

"Because I have a package in front of me with your address listed as the sender."

She heard a chair scraping against the floor and a light thud as Valerie sat down. "You think it's them. Are we safe here?"

Stephanie sighed. She hated that her sister was worried, especially since she had her girls, but she needed to keep Val in the loop.

"I think you are safe. It is more to catch me off guard." Stephanie paused, deciding how much she should share with her elder sister. "Remember when I told you I had to work with contractors?"

"Yes, I do. You said you had to travel and work out of a satellite office."

"Well, I didn't tell you everything. It was for your protection, but I'm working with contractors in Trenton."

The silence was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Stephanie braced for Val's reaction.

"You are working in TRENTON? Are you out of your ever-loving mind? Stephanie, you, of all people, should know better! Why put yourself at risk?"

"Val, you're right, but I couldn't say no. Besides, the company I'm working for is keeping me safe. They have me protected. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Remember, I am an FBI agent."

"I know, sis, but you're a techie, a desk worker. You're not in the field."

"But I am qualified to work in the field. I choose to work behind the scenes. You know I can protect myself."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I don't worry. We've already lost mom and dad. I don't want to lose you too. You're my sister!"

"I know, Val. I'll be careful. That's why I didn't give you the address of where I'm staying; only the company headquarters would be able to forward the package to me. Don't worry about anything. If I think you or the girls could be in danger, I'll inform you and send someone there to watch over you."

"Don't worry about us, Steph. Watch your back, okay?"

"You got it."

"Listen, I have to go. The girls must be on the bus in thirty minutes, and I still haven't made lunch."

"Go, I'm sorry to bother you. Love you, Val."

"Love you too." Stephanie heard the click as Valerie hung up the phone. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, wishing away the migraine that was threatening to inhabit her brain.

"Do you have someplace we can open this and record it? I need gloves and evidence bags. My sister did not send this package, but I'm sure whoever killed my parents sent it. Before we left Trenton, we'd get boxes like this often, almost always addressed to me, seemingly from someone I knew. I can't believe this is happening again."

Lester saw the way her body language changed. Gone was the confident, kick-your-ass FBI agent he had worked with. Instead, Stephanie was reverting to a…civilian. The fear was oozing out of her pores, and he knew she was emotionally hanging on by a thread. Ranger handed Stephanie gloves, which she quickly put on before she lifted the package. Ranger, Stephanie, Lester, and Hector walked to the containment room together. The room was where they would examine explosives or remnants of bombs. The room was built to contain most blasts. Since they knew no explosives, they wouldn't need the special gear to open the box. Once everyone was in the room, Hector started the cameras to record what they saw.

"You got packages like this before?"

"Yes, it was before we moved from Trenton. Once I moved to New York for school, the packages stopped. I only ever get one if I am in Trenton. The last one I received before today was after I attended my best friend's wedding."

Stephanie sat at the table and took a deep breath. She knew what would be there, but she was never truly prepared. With the letter opener in hand, she slowly broke the seal on the box, the noise of the ripping tape the only sound in the room. After placing the letter opener on the table as a surgeon would set down his scalpel, she slowly opened the box's flaps, ensuring the camera got a good image of how the box was packed. Carefully, the brown packing paper was removed, and below it was a small plastic shoebox, the kind you'd find at the local dollar store. She carefully removed the shoebox and took off the white lid.

Stephanie first saw the images of her parents in the car after the wreck. No matter how many times she saw the mangled pieces of the vehicle, it always hit her in the gut. She didn't feel the tears that automatically began to fall down her cheeks. Once going through those photos, she found the new ones, the ones that always made her want to vomit, the pictures of her with an X drawn over her face. She only looked at the first three before she had to get up. She could never get past those images. It shook her since these images were not like the earlier ones, the ones where she was still a teen in Trenton. No, these were taken at the restaurant when she was with Joe. How did they know she was there, and how did they find her? She trusted Joe, but was she putting her trust where it didn't belong?

Standing in the corner, not wanting the men she worked with to see her vulnerable, she worked hard to control her breathing and tears. It was only after she heard Hector say, "Estefania," that she turned around.

"Do you have the other pictures?" Lester asked, flipping through the images.

"No, TPD should have them, why?" Stephanie replied, her voice hoarse as she wiped her nose with a tissue.

"Did you look at all the images?"

"No, I could never look at them all; why?" Suddenly, Stephanie's Spidey's sense was starting to buzz. What was going on? She walked back over to the table and stood next to Lester.

"I'm going to lay these out, and I want you to tell me what you see."

Lester placed the ten pictures on the table. Once he finished, he watched Stephanie's face to see her reaction. He felt she wouldn't take the breakthrough well and watched her body language for clues. Stephanie looked at them and answered, "They were by the hangout we used to go to when I was 14-15 before Marisa died."

"Who was Marisa?" Ranger asked.

"She was one of my best friends. It was Marisa, MaryLou, and me, the Three Musketeers. If there was trouble to get into, we did. I was the daring one. It didn't take much for me to try something I shouldn't. MaryLou was the cautious one, always the last, and usually was the voice of reason. But Marisa was the instigator. She would develop these wild ideas, and we would follow them. Never anything that caused harm to others, but still not becoming of a lady." Stephanie's voice filled with joy. These were good memories for her. "Hell, I had my first drink, my first cigarette, and my first joint with Marisa and Mare." Stephanie paused in her storytelling, trying not to let the emotion get to her.

"We were supposed to meet there on Halloween. My sister didn't feel well, and we took her to the hospital. She had a bad ear infection. MaryLou got stuck babysitting her cousins. I got to the meeting spot later than I was supposed to. I don't remember anything after that, except when my mom woke me the next morning, as I was in the hospital, to tell me Marisa was dead. She was…assaulted and killed." The smile faded from Stephanie's face.

Ranger and Lester share a dark look. "When did that happen?"

"The fall before my parents were killed."

"Steph, look at the pictures again," Lester said with some urgency. Confused, Stephanie examined the photos again.

"I don't know what you expect me to…ohsweetsugaricedtea!" Stephanie suddenly felt light-headed and reached for a chair, only to have Lester's body behind hers. He guided her to the chair and sat before her, making sure that his face was the one she would see. Ranger was surprised, as he was typically the one to handle hysteric women. "It's the same place where the bodies are being dumped. Our case, it's connected to Marisa…and me?"

"And possibly your parents," Hector said.

Puzzle, Stephanie looked at Hector. How could her parents be involved in this? Marisa had nothing to do with them, and these women they were looking for did not live in Trenton, nor did they have any connection to her parents.

"Steph, what do you remember from that night?"

"I told you what I remember. We got home from the hospital, and I quickly ran out of the house to meet with Marisa and Mare. I didn't know that MaryLou couldn't go, so I took my bike. I remember arriving on the outskirts and getting off my bike. Then, nothing. All I know is waking up in the hospital and finding out Marisa was dead."

Lester, still kneeling before Stephanie, glanced at Hector and Ranger. They both quietly left the room as he began to speak. "You were young when it happened, and there is a good chance that you might know more than you realize and may have seen more than you remember. Why were you in the hospital? Were you injured?"

"I had a concussion and was found unresponsive. I had a bruise on the back of my head and a twisted ankle. I was told I ran into a tree on my bike."

"When were you told that? Before or after you gave your statement of events?"

"I…I don't remember."

Lester was getting frustrated. He needed to get Stephanie to focus. "Agent Plum, think!"

Lester's outburst startled Stephanie. Why was he so angry? "I think it was after, yeah, after. I remember not knowing what happened and being frustrated that no one would tell me. It was after I said I didn't remember anything that I was told I was in an accident with my bike and that Marisa was found."

Stephanie thought back to that morning, feeling the sadness she felt after learning that one of her closest friends was dead. She could smell the antiseptic in the hospital, hear the beeps of the machines, and feel the pain in her head and ankle as if she were there now. Then, she jumped up.

"The same person killed Marisa, and they thought I could identify them, so they killed my parents to ensure my silence! No, no way! It can't be. Can it?"

Lester felt proud to see that she had made the connection and realized the link staring them in the face—one that he didn't see until that box arrived. Now, though, they would be able to find them. "Agent Plum, Stephanie, please sit."

His tender request caught Steph off-guard. Lester Santos showed her a different side that she didn't think existed.

Lester promised Ranger he would talk to Stephanie about seeing Dr. Bloch, but he didn't anticipate doing it so soon. He knew he would need to open up but was unsure how much he wanted to share.

"You've been getting those panic attacks since Marisa's death, right?" Stephanie nodded. "Have you ever spoken to a therapist?"

"Yes, and they prescribe medication that I hate to take. I read somewhere that if the cause could be identified, I could learn to control them without medication."

"That is true, but it's hard and requires the right therapist. I, like you, have debilitating panic attacks. They used to occur several times a day, but now, less frequently. I think you could benefit from seeing the doctor I saw, Dr. Bloch. He is a good man and, more importantly, a good doctor. He can also help you remember what you witnessed that night."

"What if I don't want to remember?"

"No one can force you to, but if you could, then you would know what happened to your best friend and could put the people who hurt her behind bars."

"You don't think I'm weak or crazy?" Stephanie asked, barely above a whisper.

"No, not at all," Lester replied sincerely.

"Okay, then I'll see him."