Ranger picked a spaghetti noodle out of my hair. 'I'd like to think I was protecting you at the same time.'
'You mean I won't be a sacrificial virgin?'
'Too late for that, babe.'
My cell phone rang, and I looked at the screen. Morelli.
'How's it going?' I asked him.
'The ME is releasing Carmen's body today. We didn't get anything off the car. Doubtful if we'll get any DNA off Carmen. There wasn't a struggle. She was shot at close range through the open driver's side window. If you're reading the papers you'll see this is getting a lot of press. Daughter of Trenton bounty hunter is kidnapped and wife murdered.'
'Do you have any theories? Suspects?'
'I'm working on some angles. And I'm under a lot of pressure from above to bring Ranger in.'
'Understood.'
'Where are you?'
'I'm at home. There was an incident at the bonds office, and I ended up wearing my lunch. So I came home to change.'
'You aren't harboring a fugitive, are you?'
'Who, me?'
Morelli gave a disgusted sigh and hung up.
'Sounds like that went well,' Ranger said.
'Yeah. If I get caught with you I'll go to jail for a thousand years.'
Ranger gave me a smile that didn't quite make it to his eyes. 'I could make it worthwhile.'
'I'll hold that thought. Right now I need to take a shower and get the noodles out of my hair.'
I went into my bedroom, closed the door, and stripped out of the spaghetti clothes. I hopped into the bathroom and stopped short when I looked at the sink. Ranger's razor and shaving gel, Ranger's toothbrush. I went back to the bedroom and looked in my closet. Ranger's clothes. Ranger had moved in. I locked myself in the bathroom and did some more deep breathing.
Stephanie Plum 12 - Twelve Sharp
Eleven
Ranger was slouched back in his chair, long legs stretched out under the dining room table, his attention on the computer screen.
'How's the search going?' I asked him.
'It's going in slow motion. It feels like two lifetimes have gone by since he took Julie.'
'Anything new?'
'Pictures and background on Scrog. His mother is Puerto Rican. He comes by his skin and hair naturally. Nothing that has a big orange arrow on it saying Look Here. A profiler would find him interesting. Some of his makeup is classic and some is off the map.
'He's an only child. Early school reports are that he's smart, but he doesn't apply himself. He's a dreamer. Shy. Doesn't participate in class activities. Middle school, he does a nosedive. Failing grades. One of twelve boys questioned about molestation by a local priest. He receives counseling and the diagnosis is that he has low self-esteem and has difficulty separating fact from fiction, leading to a poor sense of consequence f
or his actions. High school, he's tracked with underachievers, doing some remedial work. At home he's spending hours playing computer games. His mother thinks he's a genius. His counselor thinks he might be borderline psychopath. His work history is erratic. He can't keep a job. He resents authority. Most of his jobs are sales. Music stores, movie theaters. Had a good run managing a comic book store with a gaming room. Took some computer courses at a community college but nothing came of it.'
'Were you able to find his connection to you?'
'Do you remember Zak Campbell? He was caught in a drug bust two years ago. He skipped and while he was in the wind they tied him to a double homicide. I tracked him to Virginia, and Tank and I made the apprehension in a music and video store. Scrog was working in the store at the time. I don't remember him, and I didn't have any contact with him that I remember. It was a quiet bust. We went in with mall security waiting at the store entrance. I approached Campbell, introduced myself, cuffed him, and walked him out.'