Chapter 9:

The three of them were in the living room in a blink, standing in front of Patrick.

"I think I know where we can start," he said.

"Spill it! "Ordered Mildred.

"The dead man I found in the truck had something in his hand, and I think I know what it would be," said the young man showing a satisfied grin.

"Are you going to tell us or should we have to play mimics to find it?" Asked the secretary, her patience entirely lost.

"The man had a chocolate bar in his hands," said Patrick.

"A chocolate bar?...how convenient…" said Mr. Steele "There was a truck parked at a chocolate factory parking lot; there was a dead man inside of it… and he had a chocolate bar in his hands… Perhaps he died because of liver disease." he ended sarcastically.

"I don't think so," told him, Patrick. "Or maybe it could be a possibility, though. It was a Delucchi's bar; they are our rivals. Their chocolate is not as good as ours, of course." He said proudly.

Laura gave a look to Mr. Steele that told him they were on the way to something. The first clue was on the table, and she was ready to start to play.

They finally found the needed peace to have a decent sleep at the early hours of the morning, after putting a couple of pieces together.

The arrival at the office the following day was delayed until lunchtime when Mildred began with her task immediately. She decided to check, not on Patrick's company alone, but on their competence as well. The second one was a family company, established in LA around 1920. The business had started with a small shop near Sunset Blvd, and at about 1950 there were four stores already in the city. They were all owned by the same Delucchi family, although the sons of the original owner managed the last three of them.

Mildred brought the information to Laura's office. Miss Holt had been focusing herself on finishing old paperwork about their last week's case, ready to start with the operative part of their new one. Once Miss Holt was over with the reading of the files, she headed to Mr. Steele's office and opened the connecting door, but the boss wasn't at his desk. Making some steps inside the room, she noticed both men peacefully sleeping on the couch area. They were in a sitting position, and she realized that it wasn't a planned nap; their necks will hurt like hell later. It was clear that women strength for work was far better than men's one in this team.

"Mr. Steele, we have the files ready," she told him touching his shoulder.

He opened his eyes, but his face became fast into a hurting one. He grabbed his neck with his left hand, trying to return to real life. "Did you find anything useful?" he asked.

"Not much at the moment, but maybe we can go to have lunch and work through it together in the meantime."

Just the mention of food changed his mood, as Laura knew it was going to happen. He jumped from the couch and headed to his chair to grab his jacket. Once there he remembered Patrick. "Should we wake him up too?"

"We are leaving him here this time, Mr. Steele. He can go later with Mildred, or maybe we can bring them something to eat here."

"Ok. Let's go."

As their morning started in the late afternoon, their lunch was almost at tea time. The most reasonable place to go was Harry's, near Century City. It was a special place owned by two lovely ladies. Their pastries were very well known all over the neighborhood. They ordered some grilled sandwiches, apple strudel, and coffee. Once their order was on the table, Mr. Steele rubbed his hands in anticipation. If this case was bringing some changes to their everyday schedule, the food alteration was the worst one for him. Well, this and the opportunity alteration as well. But at last, he celebrated that Laura was in sync with one of his needs this time. She attacked the food with enthusiasm, a lot of enthusiasm by the way.

"By all means, Laura; slow down! We can ask for another sandwich after you finish this one, but please try to chew the food, I'm sure you're able to behave like a serious lady. What are those fine old women going to think?"

"I'm not a serious lady at the moment, Mr. Steele. I supposed you were aware that we had been deprived a lot through the last 24 hours. I'm taking my chance to be prepared for a future contingency."

He noticed an invitation the moment it was on the table, and took the hint; "So, being a serious lady doesn't match with deprivations… Are you suggesting that I should be prepared for any contingency?" he answered showing her a wicked smile.

"Not that kind of contingencies, Mr. Steele. Food contingencies!" she answered him a bit annoyed. "Aren't you capable of putting your mind aside of that for once?"

"Ok, Laura; food contingencies. I caught your meaning. I was trying to lighten the moment. Let's enjoy the meal then. Just in case it would be the last one…"

The meal was followed by some more coffee and files' reading. They studied Mildred's information, and the first traces of a plan started to see the light. The first step was going to be a stakeout scheduled for that night. They were going to take a look at Patrick's company parking lot. His truck was still there, and if the supposed killers were looking for him, the opportunity to discover anything about them there was high. The second part was still not confirmed, because it was a consequence of the stakeout. But yet even in diapers, they were going to make arrangements with Patrick to be ready just in case.

The detectives returned to the agency with a deserved dose of food for the other half of the team. Mildred brought more coffee to Mr. Steele's office, and they shared the plans for the night. There was still only one thing to be taken care of, Mildred's house. As they had run away in a hurry the previous night and didn't return there yet, nobody knew the situation about the damages on the place. They decided to go there and check them before returning to Rossmore.

They arrived at Miss Krebs's house and confirmed that the intruders had broken a window, but as Mildred and Patrick were too fast in their runaway, the criminals didn't bother about getting into the place.

Mildred called for help, and in an hour the house was sealed and secure again. Thinking about the possibility of a decent dinner, they decided to enjoy some of the secretary's cooking. Rossmore's fridge was getting less tempting every day. She delighted them with a homemade chicken pie and cherry pie for dessert. After agreeing that Mildred and Patrick would remain there for the night, the detectives left after dinner and headed to Rossmore. They enjoyed a needed nap before beginning to work in their stakeout scheduled for midnight.