Chapter 8

"Do you mean to tell me that we are no closer to finding the source of these illegal weapons, and now we have missing women tossed into this mess? I think I was wrong to suggest you, Agent Plum, for this position. I expected you to be closer to solving this case now." Agent Meyers said.

Stephanie worked hard to stay calm and not blow her gasket as much as she wanted. She didn't understand why Meyers was being such a jerk. Up until she turned him down, he treated her like his daughter. Now, he looks for any reason to tear her down.

"Agent Meyers, I understand your frustration, but if you allowed everyone on the team to give their reports before jumping to conclusions, you could avoid making false accusations," Ranger said, showing that he was not pleased with Agent Meyers. "I would like to remind you that you are a guest in my building, and Rangeman is working with you as a courtesy. Our contract does not mandate that we keep the FBI in the loop during an investigation since you handed it over to us."

It was Meyers's turn to simmer and seeth with anger quietly. How dare Ranger challenge him and talk to him that way? He was Supervisory Special Agent Curtis Meyers warranted respect. "Fine, proceed, but let's not take all day. I must return to D. C. this evening."

"Agent Plum," Ranger said, nodding in Steph's direction.

"When Detective Morelli gave us these files with the women, we couldn't see how they connected. After checking their identification, I determined that the IDs were fake. So, we didn't have the identities of the women. I began to look at missing person reports from around the country, but there were too many to whittle down. I needed a definitive identifier to get a DNA test done. It was upon examining the pictures closely that I discovered that the two women had C-sections. With that information in mind, I was able to eliminate women who had never been pregnant and those who had children but did not have a C-section. That left me with fifty possibilities. When I studied the ME report, I could further narrow it down based on the approximate age of the C-section scar. We have narrowed the women's identities down to these ten women. If you look closely at their IDs, six resemble each other. The other four look very different. So, I would hypothesize that these women are one of those six."

"I sent Vince and Cal to talk to families of these women and obtain a DNA sample, if possible. We might be able to eliminate more names when they return," Tank said.

"How are the victims meeting the unsub? Where does that come into play?"

"That we are not sure about yet. We have a few theories but aren't ready to disclose them yet. Once Vince and Cal get back, we should be able to see if our theory holds water," said Ranger.

Agent Meyers stood up and started to pace. This case was a huge one, one that needed to be closed quickly if he would have any chance of getting that promotion he wanted. "I don't understand why it's taking so long. You have the resources and the people to do the job, but you're not. What is going on here?"

For the umpteenth time since this meeting began, Stephanie had to restrain from rolling her eyes. "We are dealing with an unsub who is technologically savvy and has many tricks up their sleeves. They put many safeguards in place to protect their identity. It takes time to break down the wall. They are most likely a hacker. However, I am not yet able to isolate their hacker signatures. It will become apparent eventually, and getting information from the families of the women we identified may be the key we need."

"We have gotten close several times to getting a location, but the signal bounced again. I've never seen someone do what this unsub can do," says Ranger.

"The Director is putting the pressure on. I'm unsure how long he'll hold off adding more agents to your team, which I know you don't want. I hope I'll have much more information to give him when I return next week."

"Meyers, we're doing the best we can. My top team is working on this case. We are even more frustrated than you and the Director. Adding more federal agents will not make us close this any faster."

Meyers held his hands up, "Don't shoot the messenger. I'm in the same boat as you are."

Lester knew the Director well, as his good friend is his nephew. There is no way that he is putting pressure on Rangeman. The Director likes to have all his "i's" dotted and "t's" crossed before considering a case closed. What Lester couldn't figure out was Meyer's angle. Why was he pushing so hard? That wasn't his style. It must be Plum. Maybe he put her here to get her out of the FBI. Perhaps she wasn't as good as he claimed. That Lester could believe. The dumb skirt was messing things up for them yet again.

"You know this case is a priority. We don't like the lack of information more than you," Ranger said.

Meyers took his briefcase and closed it. "Well, find the answers, then. Agent Plum, we're counting on you."

That time, Stephanie couldn't hold back the eye roll. Fortunately for her, Meyer's back was already turned. Hector heard her exclaim, "Pendejo," under her breath. He couldn't help but agree with her assessment. He was an asshole. At least she had her date with Morelli to look forward to that night.

"I was thinking, where would you go and give out information about yourself freely online, without thinking about repercussions?" Stephanie said.

"What do you mean? Like at the doctor's office?" Bobby asked.

"No, I'm thinking online. You wouldn't post personal information on social media; you are always aware of scammers. But even if you did, with the privacy settings, you can block anyone other than your friends from seeing the information. Yes, someone with skills can hack it, but it's low risk."

The men sat there, thinking for a moment. "What kind of information are you thinking of?"

"They type that would cause someone to drop their guard around someone. To allow them to be vulnerable. If you met a stranger in person or online, would you tell them your age, birthdate, and location, or agree to meet them one-on-one?"

"If I were looking to date them, I would," Binkie said, face turning a little red. He was one of the younger Rangeman employees and somewhat shy around Steph.

"Exactly. What if these women were on a dating sight? You know, like that one with the fish? They would be very open to telling a potential boyfriend all about themselves. Often, people chat online or via text for some time before agreeing to meet in person. A false sense of security gets built; you think you know who you're talking to, but it could be anyone. Getting an internet number related to an email address is not hard. The person can even use a throw-away email. I've told my civilian friends who wanted to give online dating a try to create an email for the dating site and to use a Google Voice phone number, never to give out their real number. It would be easy for police to not pick up on this."

The room was quiet, as the men sitting there could see precisely that scenario. Somewhere, behind a computer screen, was a lonely woman looking to find Mr. Right. Only instead, she finds Mr. Unsub. She thinks she knows him; maybe they even spoke on the phone. They agree to meet in a public location, so she says she'll be safe, but it's not hard to get her into his car or even to drug her. Who would look twice at a concerned boyfriend walking with his arm around his woman?

"Damn, I think that could be it. We need to contact Vince and Hal to ask the victim's family if they were trying online dating, and if so, which sites."

Bobby gave Ranger a nod and immediately picked up his phone, calling Cal to provide him with our latest hunch.

"I know this is just a theory right now, but it's a damn good one, and I think this could be it. Is there any way you can try to find a profile for them on the more popular sites?" Ranger asked.

"I can try, but it will be difficult going in blind."

"I hate to be Debbie Downer, but they could have met in a chat room."

"You mean like one for gardening or crafting?" Bobby asked.

"No. You need to go down into the gutter. Not all the bruising was new. Maybe the victims were interested in bondage. If so, they could have met in an adult chat room," said Lester.

"It could be risky. Would the victims be as open?" Stephanie asked.

"Why not? They chat once or twice, have things in common, and maybe move to a private message or email. It's anonymous; no one knows, not even your family. There would be no records of the interactions, no emails, voicemails, etc. They could even use a different app to chat. If that's the case, it would be harder to pin them down, especially if they were smart and use secret mode on their browser."

"Lester, work with Binkie on the chat room aspect. Stephanie and Hector will work on the dating sites. Maybe it's different for each victim," Tank suggested.

Soon, the only sounds in the room were keyboard clicks as everyone worked hard to find breadcrumbs in cyberspace.


It was closing in on five, and Stephanie didn't get far. As far as the victim's families knew, neither of them were looking for love online. That made Lester's idea of a chat room more probable. However, from the muted curses from him and Binkie, they weren't getting too far either. After another glance at the clock and a dead end, Stephanie decided to pack it in for the day. She didn't have the time to set up yet another profile. Steph has profiles, albeit with an alias, on six different dating websites. For the first time in a long time, Stephanie was grateful she never ventured into that cesspool. From her cursory look, Stephanie could tell that some men were not who they said they were—catfishing. She only hoped she never needed to meet them because, let's face it, she was catfishing them, too.

In her profile, she was a lingerie buyer for a small company, EE Martin, in Newark, NJ. She graduated from Douglas College in the top 98% of her class and lived in a small apartment with a pet hamster. She read a book about a character like that and thought it fit nicely for her "alter ego." She used AI to generate reasonably realistic profile pictures and set them up. It's incredible how easy it is to set up email and fake social media accounts.

Stephanie finished shutting down her computer and gathering her files. "Lester, I set up many accounts on different dating websites. I tried to match myself as close to the two known victims as possible, but as I am going through this process, I doubt this was how they met. There would be a trail someplace, breadcrumbs to point us to him, but there are none. I think your hypothesis might be the better option."

No shit, Sherlock, Lester thought as she spoke to him. At least she realized that he was better than she was, though. However, Lester Santos never admitted that he got the idea after she made her case for the dating sites. "I feel this is the most likely option, but with the sheer number of sites and interesting people on them, I don't know how we will contact the unsub or even call him out."

"I have about two more sites to set up a profile on. Then, I'll start working with you. Maybe going on as a woman and stalking could lead to a hit. Did Cal say if they had a diary? Were their homes searched? Suppose I could get an idea of what their sexual preferences were. In that case, I might be able to emulate them better and possibly lure out the unsub."

"I'll ask. If you want to dig in, that's fine, but I don't know if you can handle it."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "I'm not an innocent, naïve little girl. I'm an FBI agent and woman. I know what types of desires people have. Just because I may disagree with them doesn't mean I can't play a role."

"Sure, whatever you say."

Stephanie thought about engaging further but wisely decided not to. Lester Santos would never give up; she had to prepare for her date tonight. A night out with an old friend was just what the doctor ordered. A chance to be Stephanie Plum, the girl from Trenton, for a night instead of Agent Plum, FBI Technical Analyst. She could use a reason to get dressed up a bit.

"I'll see you guys in the morning. Have a good evening," Stephanie said as she left.

When the door closed, Hector turned to Lester, speaking to him in Spanish, "Why are you such an asshole to her? She's a good analyst and a good person. You need to stop treating her like shit and give her respect."

"I didn't think you'd fall under her spell since you bat for the other team. Don't think I don't see her trying to flirt with everyone and get in their pants."

When the last word was out of Lester's mouth, Hector put a fist in his face. Before things could get more out of hand, Ranger walked in.

"What the fuck is going on?"

Hector glared at Lester, anger radiating off his slight frame. "He was disrespecting Agent Plum," Hector told Ranger.

"Santos, I don't know how often I must tell you to watch yourself. One more time, and you will be in Miami until this case is closed."

"I didn't say it to her face."

"You don't have to. If the other men hear you constantly putting her down, they won't respect her. She is working hard and living here. We don't need to chase her away. She is too damn good to let go. Rachel and Julie will be here next week. I don't want this to continue. Do you understand?"

"Yes, primo."

"Monitors, overnight, for the next week, starting tonight. You'll be off from 1800 to 2300."

Lester knew Hector's punishment was warranted and was grateful he didn't need to face Ranger didn't want to send him packing tonight. Lester's face was on fire from Hector's punch. He may be small, but he's powerful. He knows he'll have a nice shiner tomorrow. "Fine."

Ranger internally shook his head. He didn't know how to get Lester to get over Ashley. Yes, she was a cold-hearted bitch, but it's in the past. Could he not see that most women were nothing like that viper? Ranger felt his phone vibrate and looked at the incoming text. It was from Agent Plum.

S – I'm going out with Det. Morelli tonight. He's picking me up. Can you tell whoever is on the desk to let him in? I'm being careful, wearing a disguise. We're going to Philly. I also want him to be cleared when we return.

Ranger didn't understand Morelli's pull over women, especially women from the Burg. As much as he liked to act like a good man and prime husband material, he was often rumored to be involved with different women, including Theresa Gilman, niece of Vito Grizioli, a local mobster. He didn't understand why Stephanie wanted to be involved with him. Then again, they had known each other since they were kids, so maybe this wasn't a romantic date but a chance for old friends to catch up. Either way, if Morelli thought about hooking Agent Plum, he would look out for her. She was a genuinely good person, and he didn't want to see her hurt. In the short time Ranger worked with Agent Plum, he began to think of her as a sister and someone he wanted to protect. Underneath that FBI exterior was a vulnerable, scared, and insecure woman.

R – I'll clear it with the desk. Your key fob will get you back in the garage tonight. If you have any problems, call my cell. Have a good night, and be careful. If you feel unsafe, contact me. We'll come and get you. You are part of our Rangeman family now, and we protect our own.

Stephanie saw Ranger's response and felt her eye tear up slightly. She felt at home here and had begun to look at several men here as the brothers she never had, especially Ranger and Hector. They have both been so nice to her and helpful. Stephanie knew that if she had any problems, she could trust both of them.

Standing before the mirror, she checked her appearance for the last time. The dress she chose was casual yet dressy. It had a high scoop neck and cute cap sleeves. The straight line of the dress showed off her figure nicely but wasn't too tight or restricting. The hem ended about two inches above her knee, an appropriate length for dinner with a friend. The flowers that created the dress pattern have hints of blue, lilac, green, and teal against a pale yellow background. She thought her blue kitten heels would be the best to accent the dress. She had her hair in a French braid, which made wearing the blonde, bob-cut wig easy to put on. She had used colored contacts to make her blue eyes green. She hated needing to change her image, but this was Trenton, and she didn't want anyone to know she was there.

With a spritz of her Dolce perfume, she grabbed her purse, ID, weapon, and keys before she took the elevator to the lobby. About five minutes after she sat in the lobby, Morelli's car pulled as she walked out to join her date for the evening.