Disclaimer: The characters of the Stephanie Plum series belong to Janet Evanovich and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: This is based off of a mystery/riddle I read many years ago as a child. It is not a happy fic.
Pairing: None
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
feedback: Email TT at ttsmiscellany@yahoo.com

Judge, Jury, Executioner
By TT

Ranger stood calmly, the muzzle of his gun resting unwaveringly against the temple of the sweating, shaking man. The man was guilty of the most heinous crime imaginable – harming Stephanie

Three days ago Stephanie disappeared. It took Ranger and Morelli working together twenty-four hours to find her.

When they finally did, there was no sign of the man who took her, but what they found was more than enough to bring down the wrath of both men.

When the list of Stephanie’s injuries was completely read, it became blatantly obvious to all in the room why Joe Morelli and Carlos Monoso were men to fear.

When Morelli pulled his badge out and handed it to Eddie, Ranger had quickly pulled him aside. Manoso spoke in a low, urgent voice for several minutes.

Eventually, Joe calmed and both men returned in time to take their turns seeing Stephanie.

It hadn’t taken Ranger long to find the man responsible for Stephanie’s condition despite the fact the man had left the country. On the surface, that seemed to be a smart move on the perpetrator’s part. In truth, it was a very poor choice. The remote northern cabin he chose made it easier for Ranger to do what needed to be done.

Standing before the man in question, Ranger felt nothing. He was doing the world a service by removing this scum. He would also be making a statement to those in Trenton when it was discovered what happened. He was lucky enough that the cops in Trenton loved Stephanie as much as they did.

There was no question he was taking a chance in removing another threat to Stephanie. Despite the years between Abruzzi and now, the two ‘suicides’ of two men who attacked and hurt ‘his woman’ would raise more than a few eyebrows. It would also carry a lot of weight on the street and provide yet more protection to Stephanie.

The door opened and Hal walked in. “I have a block of wood, a bucket of ice and a hatchet, Sir,” he announced.

A cold, cruel smile curved Ranger’s lips. “Perfect,” he said, a small part of him taking pleasure in the tremor of fear which overtook his victim.

Turning, he glanced at the items. The bucket of ice was one solid piece and would be just wide enough for his toes to rest.

“Put everything by the fireplace and clear the room,” he instructed.

When the only people left in the room were Ranger and the ‘suicidal’ man, Ranger walked over and lifted the hatchet.

With a few strokes, he split the block of wood and set it carefully in the fireplace, arranging the larger pieces so they would create a hot fire, but one that would burn for a number of hours.

He then turned his attention to the bucket of ice. It was frozen to the side of the bucket, but he knew it would thaw fast enough near the fire.

Starting the wood burning, Ranger then set the bucket nearby.

While he waited for the ice to loosen, he quickly tied the excess rope he had with him into a noose.

With some effort, he managed to make a hole in the ceiling on either side of the beam. Feeding the non-looped end of the rope through the hole, he eyed the man who had attacked Stephanie and the bucket before selecting the length of rope he would need and tying it off.

Once he was satisfied, he retuned to the fireplace and was pleased to see that the ice in the bucket was now loose enough to turn out. Bringing it over to the noose, he flipped the bucket upside down and double-checked the location of the iceblock.

In a few minutes, he had everything, and everyone in place.

Removing the gag from the man’s mouth, Ranger walked out of the isolated cabin, making sure to close the door securely.

Sliding into the passenger seat of the SUV, he commanded, “Go.”

Three weeks later

Stephanie was getting out of the hospital today. The argument and discussion over where she would be staying was eventually resolved when Helen Plum was given a limited access pass to the Rangeman building where Stephanie would be staying in an apartment on the forth floor.

As both Joe and Ranger watched Mrs. Plum help shift her daughter into an SUV, Morelli spoke. “I got a report on the wire that the person who attacked Stephanie committed suicide. It took the police up there a little while to figure out that it was suicide and not murder. Apparently they believe someone is trying to frame one of us.” Joe waited until Ranger met his eyes.

A silent communication passed between the two men. This, like the Abruzzi affair, was one more thing they wouldn’t ever bring up, but both knew was an absolute necessity.

“Too bad,” Ranger replied finally, slipping on his sunglasses. “I would have liked a piece of him.”

“Me too,” Joe replied before wandering off to his car.

End

End Note: The puzzle/riddle/mystery I referred to was that a man was found hung in the middle of his living room. There was no chair or stool nearby. The only thing that was found was a puddle of water on the floor beneath him. How did he do it. The answer was that the man started a fire in the fireplace, set a block of ice in the middle of the room, put the noose in place and stood on top of the block of ice. The heat from the fire melted the block of ice, thus leaving the puddle of water. The fire eventually burned out when the wood was consumed.

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