The Coffin Maker

Chapter 14

Blackwood and Wu sat in the FBI office awaiting the arrival of Ailsa Craig. "She's late," said Wu. "Do you want a coffee or something?"

"Okay," said Blackwood. Wu left the office and returned in a few minutes with two mugs. She leaned close to him and set one down on a low table. Her long black hair brushed his arm.

"Black...one sugar," said Wu.

"You remembered," said Blackwood. "Wow, do you smell good."

Wu ignored the comment. "So, have you heard from Craig today?" she asked.

"No. I spent the entire morning working on coffin designs. I am going to follow up with your idea about monks. There is an Abbey in Iowa I want to visit where a group of Trappist monks farm and build caskets. They take their craft very seriously claiming handcrafted casket making is a corporal work of mercy. Apparently, it is tied in with the Eucharist...the body and the blood of Christ...cleansing of the soul. No better way to seek forgiveness of the Lord for a life of sin than to be delivered at the Gates guilt free in a casket blessed by the Trappists!"

"You think the killer is somehow motivated by similar beliefs?"

"I think he believes the coffins vindicate his actions, cleanse him of guilt, if you will."

"Dammit James, that's downright creepy," said Wu. "It's okay if his victims die provided he packages them up nicely?"

"Something like that..."

They talked about her findings, the pine boards purchased at Home Depot. Wu said she was waiting on the cooperation of the retail outlets for further clues linked to the sales of pine lumber. Time got away on them. They finished their coffee. "Craig's more than an hour late, James. Why not give her a call?"

Blackwood dialed her cell but there was no answer and it went to voicemail. "It's a bit odd," he said. "I would expect her to call us if she weren't coming."

Wu went to her computer and brought up the Data Guard system. She made a few clicks and announced, "Well, she hasn't put any entries onto the shared board, but then again, neither have you."

"I've told you what I know and what I'm working on," stated Blackwood.

"James, the idea is to provide a database of the information we each collect. Something we can each refer to without pestering one another, a tool to develop cross linkages."

"I know. I'm not used to working like that and neither is Ailsa. You have worked in a bureaucracy too long, Lily. You sound like the template police."

Wu smiled. "It's a good program, James, if you give it a chance," said Wu. "So, what do you want to do about Craig?"

"I have her address," said Blackwood. "I'll stop by on my way to the hotel. Maybe she is listening to music with headphones and can't hear her phone. I'll call you later."

Blackwood left Wu's office. The hot, humid day made him feel uncomfortable and he decided to go back to the hotel for a quick shower and a change of clothes. The shower relaxed him and he lay on the bed considering Li Li Wu's advice to abandon his abstinence philosophy with regard to his relationship with Ailsa. He shut his eyes for a moment thinking of her and he fell asleep. Almost two hours later, a noise in the hall woke him. He rubbed his eyes, grabbed his phone and called Ailsa. Again, the call went to voicemail. He dressed hurriedly, walked outside to the Corvette, and drove to her condominium.

From the steps, he called Wu. While he waited for her to pick up, he glanced at an open box on the landing filled with old movie cases. "Lily, she's not at home, her car's not here. Did she call you?"

"No. When I didn't hear anything, I assumed you located her. Are you just arriving at her place now? You left hours ago," said Wu.

"I feel foolish, Lily. I fell asleep." An embarrassed Blackwood listened to silence at the other end. Finally, Wu responded.

"I can track her phone, James. Do you want me to? I remind you we are supposed to be engaged in the finding of a lost girl, not a member of our investigative team. Wait, can you hold on a minute?" Wu's administrative assistant stepped in and gave Wu a message. "James, Crowley's lawyer Hoffshire is on the other line. I'm putting you on hold." Wu hung up, talked briefly to Hoffshire and punched a button to get Blackwood back on the line.

"James, apparently Ailsa agreed to contact Hoffshire this afternoon but she never did. He asked if I knew where she was. He's called her many times, but she hasn't answered her phone."

"Son of a bitch," said Blackwood into his phone. "Lily, track her phone. How long will it take?"

"We have to find out which carrier she uses, then find her registration code. It's after hours now, so... maybe an hour or two," said Wu.

"Call me as soon as you locate her," said Blackwood.