Connie and Lula and I waited across the street in front of the bonds office, while the police did their thing. I was so terrified at what would be found that my fingers were numb, and I could feel tears welling behind my eyes. I suspected Carmen was in the back of the SUV, but it could as easily be Ranger or his little girl, Julie.
Morelli stood to the side watching while a uniform opened the back hatch and slid the tarp aside. Morelli's eyes flicked to the body in the cargo area and then to me. Carmen, he mouthed to me.
I wasn't sure what I felt. A mixture of emotion. Horror for Carmen and relief that it wasn't Ranger or the child.
'Did we get information back on Julie's mother and stepfather?' I asked Connie. 'Anything on the Virginia business?'
'I saw reports come in, but I didn't read them.'
We went into the office, and Connie pulled up the reports. Rachel Martine had no work history. High school graduate. Lived her whole life in Miami. Nothing derogatory in her credit file. Her banking history showed a steady money stream from Ranger. No criminal history. She married Ronald Martine eight years ago. They bought a house shortly after they were married, and they were still at that same address. Ronald Martine was seven years older than his wife. Also a high school graduate. No college, but he had gone to school to repair air-conditioning systems and had been working at his trade for eighteen years. Both seemed to be very stable. There were two other Martine children, a seven-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy. They attended the local Catholic Church. You couldn't get much cleaner than Rachel and Ronald Martine.
Rangemanoso showed up on the Virginia business report. Described as bail enforcement and fugitive apprehension. The business had leased office space in Arlington. The proprietor was Rxyzzlo Xnelos Zzuvemo. In six months of operation it had incurred a long list of delinquent bills.
'I love the way he's coded his name every time it pops up in a data base,' Lula said. 'It's genius.'
This doesn't sound right,' Connie said. 'Ranger runs a tight business. He pays his bills on time.'
'I saw a TV show on identity theft,' Lula said. 'Maybe someone's posing as Ranger.' I'd actually been thinking the same thing for some time. And the fact that Ranger's name is always in code probably helped to hide the theft.
I dialed Tank. I'd sworn I'd never again dial Tank, but I couldn't help myself. I didn't know what else to do.
'They just found Carmen Manoso dead in her SUV in front of the bonds office,' I told him. 'If Ranger's looking for his body double, there's a good chance he's here in Trenton.'
'Ten four.' And Tank hung up.
'So you don't think Ranger offed Carmen?' Lula asked.
'Ranger wouldn't have left her in front of the bonds office for us to find. Ranger would have made her disappear, never to be found again. Ranger likes to keep things tidy.'
Morelli stuck his head in the office and crooked his finger at me. 'Can I see you outside?'
I left the bonds office, and we stood by the side of the building.
'Her driver's license identifies her as Carmen Manoso,' Morelli said. 'She seems to be the woman you described to me. I didn't think you'd want to see for yourself. She's been dead a while. It's not good. A single bullet in the head.'
'Could it have been self-inflicted?'
'No. Her gun was unfired on the driver's side floor.'
'I have a theory.'
'Oh boy.'
I gave Morelli a copy of the Virginia business report. 'I think some nut is posing as Ranger.'
'Identity theft.'
'Yeah, only maybe it's not that simple. Maybe this guy is wacked-out. He got married as Ranger. That's carrying identity theft a little far.'
'You still haven't heard from Ranger?'
'No. I've talked to Tank a couple times, but that's like talking to a wall.'
'What about the kid? Any more theories?'
'I think one of the Rangers took her.'
'And?'