On the Road Again

  Cole glances over at Detective Mackey with a sly grin.

  "Any luck, Cowboy? Your thirty minutes is up."

  "Maybe. Maybe," James mutters, using his right index finger to go over a route marked in green highlighter on the road map.

  "Not good enough, Cowboy. I've got a beer waiting for me at home. The last one I'm probably gonna drink for a long...long time. Thanks to you."

  "Me?" Mackey hisses, glowering at Cole from the passenger seat.

  "See anybody else in the car with us, Cowboy? Who else would I be talking about?"

  "You didn't have to help me, Cole?" James counters, returning his attention to the map in his lap. "I never held a gun to your head."

  "You didn't have to!" Cole argues. "If you knew anything about me...You'd know, I just love sticking it to the man. Ooo. Every time I think about how I was just in my garage...Minding my own business...Before that flyass Rachel came knocking at my door. Oh man. After all these years. I was hoping she'd finally come to her senses. I was hoping we'd make a little sweet music in my Camaro. But no. She was just coming to wreck my world. Again. I've had nightmares about losing that woman. Especially, after I lost control of my legs in that damn accident. How do you make love to a woman with no legs? Well, working ones. Kinda makes it hard to do the right moves. But, I eventually figured it out. I've still got use of my manhood. That's what counts. But boy...Oh boy. I used to try to coax Rachel to go in with Eddie Maldova. I was a courier for Eddie back then. Bought me a lot of cool gadgets working for Ole Ed. God rest his soul. Made me a hit with all the chicks during high school. Eddie liked to gamble and he paid good money. Ha. Rachel's Mom was deadset against her working for Ed. Didn't want to lose two of her daughters to the filthy underground. If you get what I'm saying? Now...Granted...Karine did have bigger tits. But it's all the same when..."

  Detective Mackey silences Cole's diatribe with a waving gesture of his left hand.

  "Quiet. I think...I think I may have figured out what route Detective Samuels took. Where the kidnappers are keeping my son."

  "Well...Lay it on me, Cowboy," Cole states, reaching to plug coordinates into his GPS. "Any landmarks or businesses you think are important? Let's make this as easy as possible."

  "A couple of years ago...When Dave and I were investigating the Aquarius Killer...That's my former partner by the way," James rambles, studying the map in front of him. "Well...When we were--"

  "Wait a minute!" Cole shrieks. "Your former partner was the Aquarius Killer? Aw, damn!"

  "No!" James exclaims, turning in his seat to glower at Cole. "Dave Newsome is my former partner!"

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  "Well, when you say it the way you did...It sounds like you and Aquarius were old bosom buddies," Cole barks back. "So...Excuse me. Continue, Cowboy. I'm hearing you. I think."

  "Anyway. While we were canvasing the area, Dave and I took down notes of all the abandoned silos, old farm houses, and rundown warehouses in the area. There's a stretch of highway...Out near Route Twenty-two...With a ton of abandon sites. A couple of farmhouses, an old feed factory, and what looks like an abandoned automotive shop."

  "Yeah. I know the stretch of road you're talking about," Cole says, pursing his lips. "Winter's Inc. is the name of that old dog food factory. They made generic brands for most of the supermarkets in the area. That is until the recession hit. They shut down operations in, I think, twenty-ten. Maybe in twenty-twelve. I can't remember. It's been a while. I was just entering college around that time. All I remember about those days was getting drunk, getting laid, and getting arrested. Fun times."

  "I'm sure they were," James mutters.

  "So...What? You think these killers are holed up in the old feed factory? You want me to head on out there?"

  "That's a start. I'd also like to check out that old automotive chop shop. Either one of those locations would be the perfect place for scum like that to hide an operation."

  "Hear me out, Cowboy! Cause I'm just throwing out theories here," Cole says, disabling the GPS. "If I was gonna kidnap a beautiful young woman, frame a cop...Kill another cop...And kidnap a kid? I'd want my operation as far from where I'm gonna do it as humanly possible. I mean, I'm just saying. They may be long gone from Merrville County. You might be chasing smoke, Cowboy."

  "I doubt that."

  "You would!" Cole retorts, laughing sardonically. "You're a cop. The man. You can never be wrong. The idea is completely...Preposterous."

  "It's nothing so dramatic. And it has absolutely nothing to do with some false belief that my powers of deduction are infallible. It's simple facts. Whoever is behind all of this...They were close enough to reach the construction site within thirty minutes of me leaving the Undying Rage. That would include any time needed to meet up with a contact and enough time to get out there. Not to mention, to make their way up to the top floor. That woman...The one who attacked me. I know her."

  "You do!" Cole roars from the driver's seat. "I thought you said...You couldn't remember what happened? You getting your memories back, Cowboy? Hot damn."

  "Somewhat. I remember her face. And...What she was wearing. She was dressed like some sort of showgirl. Uh...Maybe a..."

  "A hooker!" Cole says, filling in the blanks, and turning a sharp corner on the road. "Okay. So I'm guessing high heels? So...She'd need a bit more time to get to your physical location. Unless she can float? Or...Unless, she took the elevator? Rachel said the elevators out there are still functional."

  "Still...She would've needed time," Mackey says. "I was assaulted just after watching the video. She was waiting for me to finish watching it. She wanted me to see everything before she sprang her trap. Which means, she either was already there. Or...She wasn't far away. That implies...A headquarters pretty close to Castleton. I'm guessing...Just outside the city limits. On Route Twenty-two."

  "That's a lot of guessing, Cowboy. But...We'll check out the Winter's factory and the auto shop. If it'll make you happy?"

  "It will," Mackey says.

  "Alright. But I still say the cops have probably wrapped this whole thing up. You're wasting your time, Cowboy."

  "Stop calling me cowboy," Mackey demands, irritated. "By the way, with all your wonderful doodads...Why don't you have a police scanner? It might be helpful in situations like this?"

  "Haven't you heard, Mackey? For a private citizen to own a police scanner is illegal in this county," Cole says with a sly smirk. "You oughta know that!"

  "Oh."

  "Besides, it's in my Camaro."