Cold Trail (Sue Thomas FBEye)

Cold Trail - Chapter Five

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Five chocolate chip cookies?

Four stainless steel milk barrels?

Three days to live?

Two flutes of champagne?

And a Christmas card in a snowflake envelope?

~ * ~

As Sue predicted, and feared, the handful of patrons present in the café threw long, heated glances in her direction when she entered the premises, her arm wedged in the crook of Rudolph's elbow.

The gun was nowhere in sight, but she'd seen Rudolph pat his pocket, and she hoped the safety pin was on.

He nudged her away from the counter, past the small round tables where the customers were seated, and to the back of the room where computers rested on low desks.

"Sit, and don't try anything funny. I'm watching you."

He took position behind her, and breathed over her shoulder. The garlic seasoning of his last meal mixed with the rich aroma of coffee. She entered Winter Morning In The Country in the search engine of computer C5. The first hit was the lithograph by Currier & Ives. She clicked on the link, and the picture appeared, just as she remembered it, without the word ICE.

"Someone wrote ICE on the milk barrels for a reason, so I'm searching for the different meanings." She didn't look at him, and if he said anything, it was lost to her.

When she entered ice milk in the search engine, it generated links to frozen desserts. "Do any of those entries mean anything to you?"

This time she glanced at him, but he was shaking his head.

"Let's try something else." On the picture, the word was written in capital letter...an abbreviation maybe? She typed i.c.e. abbreviation.

As she waited for Google, she looked at the ceiling. A camera hung in the upper corner, and was directed toward the counter.

Rudolph pressed against her shoulder, and diverted her attention back onto the screen where he pointed a finger. "Welcome to Igloo Creamery Express," she read before turning toward him. "You heard of the creamery?"

"Kind of. See...Vixen's a tough guy, and it was weird to watch him drink chocolate milk from a carton. Probably why I noticed the igloo on the box."

"The milk logo had an igloo on it?" She'd never seen such a brand.

"Yeah...a red igloo. Weird, hey? Ice is supposed to be white, not red."

The color of the mysterious milk logo matched the color of the word ICE on the card.

"Let's read more about the creamery." She clicked on the link. According to the site, the creamery was located in a rural community in northern Pennsylvania, near the New York State border. "Ever heard of Meadow Grass, Rudolph?"

"Sure. That's the color of Jolly's lipstick."

The picture of an elf named Jolly formed in her mind. "Your sister wears green lipstick?"

"Course not." A frown creased his forehead. "It's a pretty pink. I would never have guessed it was named Meadow Grass until she told me...you don't think that was a clue, do you?"

"Yes, Rudolph, I do." One sibling had obviously inherited more grey matter than the other. "Let me call my team, we—"

"No. Just you and me, you promised." He gestured toward the computer. "Are you done?"

"Yes." She stood up without clearing the memory. "I'm hungry and thirsty. Can we buy something?" When he hesitated, she tried to mirror Levi's best puppy face. "You did pull me away from Myles' party before I eat, remember?"

"Okay, but you stick with me, and you don't talk. I'll be doing the ordering." He took her elbow. "Come."

"I already promised you I wouldn't run away," she whispered. "No need to keep me on a leash."

His grip lessened to a light nudge. When they neared the counter, she positioned herself between him and the camera, and while he ordered, she moved her fingers.

A coffee and a bag entered her field of vision. She grabbed the bag, and looked inside. "Five chocolate chip cookies?"

He shrugged. "I thought you could save some for later. It'll be a long trip."

~ * ~

The landlady was mopping a spill in the staircase leading up to the second floor.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Jack presented his badge. "Special Agent Hudson, FBI, may I have a word, please?"

She leaned against the mop, and sighed. "Which loser is in trouble this time?"

"Do you know a Rudolph Redlight? We were told he lives at 213."

"Sure does." She smiled. "He's one of the nicest guys in this dump."

"Really?" At any rate, Jack didn't want to meet the other tenants. "Did he come home tonight?"

"Sure did. He was with a pretty blonde." The teeth she had left in her mouth were yellowed by years of smoking. "She was dressed for a party."

"Blonde?" He pulled a picture of Sue from his wallet. "That woman?"

"You carry a picture of Sue?" Bobby whispered over his shoulder.

"Yeah, that was the girl. Why? Is she a hooker?"

Behind him, D stifled a chuckle, which failed to amuse Jack. "Are they inside his apartment?"

"Nope. They left two hours ago, and I don't know where they went."

"Would you open his door, please?" Jack didn't have a warranty, but he had a judge on speed dial that would grant him one within minutes since the landlady had already placed Sue in the apartment building.

"Just go in. Most doors don't lock anyway, and try not to break anything."

The apartment was in disarray, but nothing suggested a crime had taken place inside.

"Looks like your place, Bobby, so you take the bathroom. I'll take the bedroom, and Jack can have fun in the kitchen."

D had taken charge, and Bobby's rambling about needing more than one pair of gloves, washed over Jack's head. The kitchen, which doubled as living room, was a small room with a table, mismatched chairs, and a discolored loveseat pushed under a window. The blinds were open, and the light from the street posts filtered through the dirty glass. He slipped a pair of gloves on, and started with the couch. With a sweep of his arm, he tossed the Sport Illustrated magazines from the cushions and onto the floor. Had Rudolph collected Playboys, his silent fears would have reached a lethal level. He searched between the cushions, and found a pocket of coins. And when he looked under the couch, he didn't see anything except fluffy dust bunnies.

The kitchen didn't yield any clues, or drugs, or signs that Sue ever set foot inside.

"Nothing in the bedroom." D snapped his gloves off. "We can call the lab, but I doubt the guys will lift anything more than a print or two, assuming Sue touched anything."

The landlady placed Sue in the building. At this point in time, they didn't need more. "We'll put the apartment under surveillance. Call Tara, and tell her to send someone."

While D was on the phone, Bobby exited the bathroom with a piece of tape stuck to the tip of his index finger. "Nothing of interest in there, not even over-the-counter drugs, but I found this in the toilet tank. It bears Sue's initials. Does it look like her handwriting to you?"

"Wi-Fi Café – ST", he read aloud, instantly recognizing the shape of the e with the accent on it. Sue always exaggerated the twist in the vowel when she wrote café. "It's Sue. Was there more tape in the bathroom?"

"No tape at all," Bobby shrugged, "only a broken pencil."

Where she found the tape to leave them a message didn't matter. He turned toward D who was still talking on the phone, and signaled him to hold the call. "Rudolph took Sue to an Internet café. Tell Tara we need addresses. Now."