The Coffin Maker

Chapter 6

Blackwood had insisted there could be no distractions once the partnership began but it was difficult for Ailsa to get him off her mind as she sped the Toyota down the Trans-Canada. She liked everything about him, his intellect, his shy manner, his sense of life's priorities. She wanted to be near him and would count the days until they would work together. After an hour or more of thinking about him, she forced herself to focus on the task. She called Hoffshire to inform him that Blackwood had signed the contract but the lawyer was unhappy that he had remained behind. She convinced him that she would begin the preliminary work and keep in close contact with Blackwood until he arrived. Hoffshire called back and informed her she had a 4:00 p.m. meeting with Sheriff Petersen. She looked at the time and pressed the accelerator pedal closer to the floor.

Leaving Canada, Ailsa joined a line of cars stopped at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint at International Falls. When it was her turn, she handed the border agent her passport. The officer asked, "Do you have anything to declare?"

Yes, I think I am in love! "No, nothing."

"Alcoholic beverages?"

On my own volition. "No."

***

At five minutes past four, Joyce showed Ailsa into Sheriff Petersen's office. His forced politeness was obvious but Ailsa understood that without Edmond Crowley's influence Petersen would never have agreed to meet her. She asked him about the media briefing to avert any superfluous niceties.

"Sometimes I think we spend as much time preparing to talk to the media as we do thinking about how to catch the offender," said Petersen. It gave Ailsa the break she needed.

"Blackwood and I need access to the evidence. The file only summarizes the forensics. We need detail. Will you grant us access to the lab people?"

"I remind you that this is a police investigation, Ms. Craig," said Petersen.

She did not want to be disrespectful but replied, "I remind you that I will be meeting regularly with the Crowleys to keep them apprised. The only evidence you have are two coffins and a nine-year-old witness on a bike. Blackwood says he needs to talk to the lab techs."

"Why don't we just set up a Q & A on line? Wu at the FBI asked the same thing."

"I'm meeting Wu, tonight."

"She is by the book...very official. She might look unkindly at you snooping around her"...he paused to correct himself... "the investigation."

"Blackwood and I intend to share everything we uncover with you and with Wu, a symbiotic relationship if you will. Crowley tells me that Wu used to work for the Bureau's Behavioral Analysis Unit."

"She'll share the profiling report," added Petersen, but that's about all, he thought. He secretly hoped Wu would resent the two sleuthhounds and Ailsa read his thoughts.

"Crowley won't like it if Wu is uncooperative," said Ailsa. "If Blackwood and I find the girl, it's you and Wu who will get the credit."

Petersen recalled Edmond Crowley saying the same thing earlier in the day.

***

Leaving Petersen's office, Ailsa checked her Wells Fargo bank balance on her mobile app and stared at two deposits of $1,500. And another coming tonight and the day after...She decided to buy some new clothes to wear to the dinner that Hoffshire had set up to meet the FBI's Special Agent, Wu.

In the city's Gateway district, the former skid row revitalized by one of the first urban renewal projects in America, Ailsa walked across the street to a restaurant with a plain front. Before she reached the door, a black SUV pulled up to the curb and a thirty-something Taiwanese American female stepped out and joined her on the sidewalk. Her head partly shaved on one side, she had long black hair and a stylish appearance. Ailsa thought she looked more like an Asian fashion model than an FBI Special Agent.

"Ailsa? Hi, I'm Li Li Wu."

They shook hands. "Good timing," suggested Ailsa with a smile.

"We knew when you'd arrive. It's a Bureau thing."

They went inside and Ailsa watched the male patrons gawk pathetically at Wu while the restaurant greeter guided them to their table. The only men that were not ogling were those presently in the kitchen or the rest room. Wu walked with such authority Ailsa felt like an inexperienced tag along. Wu refused the table, ignored the greeter, and boldly chose a smaller table in the corner near a window. Not long into the conversation, Ailsa learned that Blackwood and Wu knew each other.

"You know Blackwood?"

"I met him at a law enforcement seminar. He was a speaker on the same bill as Susan Murphy-Milano* who gave a talk on stalking. James spoke on missing persons."

James? Hmm, first name basis. "You know him well, then?"

"We saw quite a lot of each other when he was single. I was living in Chicago."

She's been to bed with him. There's a haughtiness about her I don't like. "He didn't mention that he knew you."

"Why would he?" Wu paused and asked directly, "Have you fallen for him, yet?"

Caught off guard and embarrassed, Ailsa could feel the blood rush to her cheeks. She stammered, "I haven't known him two days!" The bitch knows I have!

"Women have been known to throw themselves at him after a few hours," said Wu, who stared waiting for a response.

Unable to read the almond colored eyes across the table, Ailsa fumbled with the menu and changed the subject. "The grilled sirloin salad sounds good."

"I don't eat animals," said Wu.

No, just people. Ailsa pursed her lips in acknowledgement and nodded.

Ailsa struggled through the meal, intimidated by Wu's perfectness. They talked about their career paths and Ailsa learned that Wu was the youngest Special Agent at a FBI field office. Wu had no reservation sharing case information confident that Blackwood would share what he learned. Near the end of the meal, Ailsa thought it peculiar when the waiter handed Wu a business card along with a gesture indicating a man sitting at a table across the room. Wu read the handwritten note scribbled on the back of the card and slipped it into her purse. Wu apologized for the distraction and said, "It's nothing."

They agreed to meet again late morning in Sheriff Petersen's office. Wu paid the check and they got up to leave. Wu approached the table where the man who had passed the card and a woman were sharing a chocolate dessert. Wu excused herself for interrupting and stepped behind the man, wrapped her arms around his neck, and stooped to plant a kiss on his forehead. She produced the business card that the waiter had delivered earlier and handed it to the surprised woman. "Your boyfriend sent me this while you were in the ladies' room." At the door, Ailsa looked back to see the woman rise from her seat, pluck the remaining dessert from the plate and mush it in the man's face.

Outside, the black SUV roared up on cue, Wu said goodbye and grabbed the door handle. As an afterthought, she turned to Ailsa and said, "Oh, and Craig, in case James neglected to tell you, he keeps his cock in his pants while an investigation is ongoing. But just so you know, I'm not bound by similar self-discipline should you decide to sample Asian cuisine." She got into the vehicle and it sped away leaving Ailsa alone and speechless on the sidewalk.

*Celebrated author and expert on domestic violence