22 Caliber - A Stephanie Plum-inspired Story

Chapter Thirteen

Ranger and I decided to check out my apartment to see if I had received any more threats while we waited for two o'clock. I picked up my new files – four new cases – on my way past Connie's desk and put them in my messenger bag. I figured I would look at them later when I had more time. I joined Ranger in his car and we drove to my apartment. We got in the parking lot and out of habit looked up to my apartment. The window from my fire escape to my bedroom was broken. I sighed, thankful that Ranger was with me. I didn't want to see what state my apartment was in and having some moral support was appreciated. We took the stairs up to the second floor and walked down the hall to my apartment. The door wasn't fully shut. Ranger motioned to me to stay in the hall. He withdrew his gun and thoroughly searched the apartment. "It's clear", he called out to me, "although you have a huge mess to clean up."

I walked in the apartment and immediately went into the kitchen. The food I had just bought was dumped all over the floor. The fridge and freezer doors were ajar and condiments were smeared on the counters and cupboard doors.

I ran over to Rex. There was a note on his cage. It said "This time your apartment was trashed. Next time it will be your hamster. Stop looking for me!"

I looked in on Rex. I could see his butt through the end of the soup can. He wasn't moving. I couldn't tell if he was asleep or whether he was upset over my apartment. I picked a raisin off the floor and placed it in his dish. He ran out of the soup can. His whiskers twitched in glee as he stuffed the raisin in his cheeks and scurried back into the soup can. He didn't seem traumatized by the condition of the apartment and, I thought if he could handle it, then I should also have enough courage to inspect the rest of the space.

I looked across the living room at Ranger. He had his hands on his hips, staring at the devastation surrounding him. Couch cushions were slashed and shredded, bathroom toiletries and make-up were ground into the carpet, clothes were thrown all over the floor. Books and magazines were ripped, my laptop was trashed and wooden furniture was broken into bits. My eyes filled with tears. My apartment wasn't filled with expensive things – mainly with rejects from various family members. However, it was mine and I liked it. I found it comforting to own and use Aunt Ethyl's old coffee table and Uncle Vernon's old couch. It made me feel loved. And now I didn't have it. I sniffled.

Ranger came over to me and enfolded me in a tight hug. "It's okay. You're safe. And Rex is safe. That is what's important. Don't lose sight of that. The rest of this? It's just stuff." He gave me a kiss on the top of my head and wiped a tear from my cheek. I did some deep breathing and got myself under control. "Do you want me to call Morelli? You should try to see if there is anything missing." I wandered around my apartment, dazed by the devastation. I couldn't see how I could tell if anything was taken. I had started to pick up clothes when Ranger stopped me. "Morelli will need to see the apartment the way it was left for you, not the way it will be after you clean it up. He will be here in about five minutes. Do you want to wait for him in here or do you want to wait for him in my car?"

"In truth, all I want to do is go back to bed. I've had enough of today."

"I don't blame you. It's been a tough couple of days."

I went back into the kitchen to look after Rex. I changed his water bottle and refilled his dish with hamster crunchies. I picked a carrot off the floor, rinsed it and added it to Rex's food dish. Rex scurried out of his can, overjoyed at the extra bounty I was giving to him. He vibrated with excitement and stared at me in stupefied pleasure. He wheeled around and scurried back into his soup can. The excitement was over.

Morelli knocked on the door and entered. He whistled. "Wow – what a mess." He came over and gave me a quick hug and kiss. "Is there any chance you have been able to identify whether anything is missing?" He went to my cookie jar and nodded to himself in satisfaction when he saw that my gun was still there.