Chapter 8 A Glutton for Punishment

Even though Ransom had a pretty good relationship with most divisions of the Philadelphia Police Department, he didn't like to get involved with them if the situation didn't call for it. He knew if he stuck his nose around there too much that he'd more than likely find himself in cuffs in a cell, or worse.

But he had a couple of good buddies in the East Division. The trick was working out a good relationship all the way up the ladder. Working with the individual police officers didn't matter much since they were the equivalent of the soldiers in the mafia. They were just there to write tickets and follow orders. A step above them was Detective Alvarado. His job was to gather information to solve crimes, which meant he was the primary guy who talked to witnesses and informants and searched the records. He had access to the stuff that put people away for life, but if you were on his good side you could get out of pretty much anything because your evidence could just go away. He was a convenient friend to say the least.

Captain Ines Watson was a sassy little powerhouse. She did a lot of desk work, but she did it well and everyone took her seriously. Even some of the higher-ups didn't mess with her because she had a reputation for being rough with anyone who messed with her. When she wasn't making grown men p*ss themselves, she oversaw and coordinated all of the activities and operations within the Police Department. That included staying in contact with the other PPD divisions and outside agencies.

James Erickson was the Chief Inspector, but Ransom didn't like meeting with him. He was a lonely man that talked too much and shared too much information about himself. Unfortunately, he was good at his job, and he was a good connection to have, but if Ransom was working that high up the ladder, he usually just went to the Commissioner.

There was not a lot to be said about Henry Coole except that he was not very cool. At least not in the sense that made you want to be friends with him. That's what made him perfect for the role. He was a simple guy who liked money and was easily swayed by bribes. Not cool for the whole of PPD, but pretty advantageous for the Giudice Mafia.

Ransom reached out to the Detective and met up with him on the east side of town next to the Delaware River. Detective Alvarado brought a slim stack of papers with Leena Morris' information. He was literally holding her life in his hands, and he didn't like the way it made him feel.

"So what's this girl got to do with you?" Detective Alvarado asked.

Ransom shrugged. "Just checking her out. She might have witnessed something she shouldn't have witnessed, and I just want to see what kind of person she is before I decide how to deal with her."

The Detective folded his hands over his chest, looking displeased. "Don't do nothin' stupid, 'kay?"

Ransom snorted and waved the papers in the air. "I never do, Detective. I'll be in touch," he said before walking back to his car.

The overhead interior lights in the car were hardly bright enough to see the paper, but as it turned out there wasn't much to see anyway. There were only twenty-seven pages in her file– one for every year she lived. Lots of other people, the rich ones and the criminals alike, usually had hundreds of pages to capture their lives.

Ransom flipped through Leena's information. It might have felt more like an invasion of privacy had he not told her that he was going to do this, and had there actually been anything other than what she'd already told him.

The basics were all there birth date, full name, job experiences, education level, H*ll, even her social media game was weak. He searched through her pictures on her social media, but her activity was sparse. She only posted a few pictures over the last two years. There was one that stood out to him though. It seemed to be the most recent. It was of her and who he assumed to be her friend. Leena's hair was braided back and hanging over her shoulder. She was smiling a real smile that he had yet to see.

Ransom chuckled to himself. "Who is this girl?"

All in all, his impression of her was that she had an impressive academic career, and she'd been working hard to get to the job she had. He thought she was cute, and he was a little surprised to find that such a brave and fiery woman didn't seem to have much else going on. Unfortunately, she seemed pretty harmless, and he didn't see a reason why he should keep her captive any longer.

He drove back to his house, and when he went down into the basement, Manny was pacing back and forth in front of the metal door. He'd been gone just a couple of hours, but Manny looked rugged like he'd been waiting for days. "What's got you so agitated?" Ransom asked.

Manny pounded his fist into his own hand. "That bi-" he stopped when Ransom raised a warning eyebrow. "She tried to escape."

Ransom couldn't help but smile.

"What the h*ll boss? Why does your face look like that?" Manny asked, clearly feeling like he got kicked out of the sandbox on the playground. Ransom ignored him and went into the room.

He stepped in and glanced around. Leena was sitting in the middle of the room with her knees tucked up and her arms draped loosely around them. Behind her, the chair she had been tied to was smashed to pieces, and the small window was cracked.

"You're a brave one," Ransom said, walking over to her.

She looked up at him, annoyed. That was the first time she'd given him that look. "What took you so long to get back here?"

That was a surprise, Ransom thought. "Sorry to keep you waiting, dolcezza."

Ransom felt a strange feeling go through him. Now that he was face to face with her again, he didn't want to let her go. It was the middle of the night, almost two o'clock. That wasn't an ideal time to let her go out on her own. He wanted to make sure she was safe.

Leena got up suddenly, and that's when he noticed a faint bruise around her wrist along with cuts on her arm and hand.

"What happened this time?" he asked, reaching out to her.

She pulled her arm away from him before he touched her. "D*mn window wouldn't break," she said.

Ransom couldn't hold in the laugh. His chuckle echoed throughout the room, catching Leena's attention and bringing a brightness back into her eyes. This woman. He was already in awe of her. "I see that. This is why I buy the good stuff," he joked. "I'm just impressed you actually tried to get out of here."

Leena looked down at the floor. Her body language was different from before. She didn't seem quite as sure of herself. "Yeah, well what else was I supposed to do?" she said.

Ransom grinned at her. She still had some fire, she was probably just tired. "You're a glutton for punishment, aren't you?" he said. She peeked up at him again and he held her gaze. "Tell me, are you a masochist?"