Mike wasn't the least bit surprised to see both Roy and Andy lean up against the hood of their beige '64 Fairlane as they pulled into the deserted strip mall parking lot on that dreary Saturday.

Barely waiting for Steve to put the Galaxy in park, the Lieutenant got out and marched toward their two new friends in eager anticipation.

"At your service, Officer Stone.", Delaney said with a cheery smile, and yet today, Mike couldn't return it.

"Lieutenant Stone.", he corrected unusually petty, causing both of the younger men to nod submissively.

Wrapping the black overcoat tighter around his chest to ward off the stiff breeze coming off the ocean, Mike pointed at the mountains ahead, just as he heard the distinctive clattering of Steve's expensive cowboy boots beside him.

"How will this weather affect travel conditions to Mendocino Park?"

"As long as it doesn't start to rain, we should be fine.", Andy explained with an indifferent shrug, "Sometimes the fog gets really thick in those mountains, but I know pretty much every square inch of them. We won't get lost, if that's your concern, Lieutenant."

Nodding in satisfaction, Mike resurfaced the map they'd used yesterday, drawing a circle with his finger around the area of the old farm house.

"Now there's a…a path…a two-track that goes from the Hollow Springs campground off to the southeast. We found it yesterday. It leads to a five-way crossing. And there's a farm house down a long driveway right up in…oh…I'd say right about here."

Reaching for the map to take a closer look at it, Andy took a few seconds to follow the explanation before nodding.

"Boy, you guys went out of your way. Yeah, we call that the old five-way. Creative, I know. It's barely used anymore. There isn't much there beside the old house and barn, I am surprised it's still standing actually. We used to stop there if the weather got bad during a hike. That area must be overgrowing pretty fast."

Mike glanced over at his partner covertly, meeting Steve's green eyes and sharing the same feeling of certainty.

"What was the last time you hiked these parts of the park?", the young Inspector asked nonchalantly and put his hands in the pockets of his black dress pants, squinting against the cold wind blowing in his face.

"About three years ago…why?"

Andy's voice had grown suspicious, as the young man looked back and forth between both detectives, before running a nervous hand through his hair.

Mike was about to answer when the wailing of nearby sirens made him flinch for the fraction of a second. A firetruck came rushing down main street, navigating its way through the thick early noon traffic with admirable precision.

Waiting a moment until the noise died down again, Mike leaned forward and pointed a finger at the younger man's chest.

"Well, let's just say that there's been some new…developments since your last visit."

# # #

"Oh my god, I can't believe this…"

They'd decided to move their briefing into the office of the Intrepid for the time being, escaping both, the increasingly deteriorating weather and any potential onlookers.

Sitting back behind their large desk, both Roy and Andy stared at them in utter shock, as Mike helped himself to a glass of water from the nearby carafe. Next to him, Steve had sat down on the corner of the table, chewing on a handful of sunflower seeds, as is eyes scanned the young men's hand-drawn map of the park intently, undoubtedly discovering roads that weren't listed on their own from the previous day.

"It's perfect though…", Roy breathed, his fingers tapping a fast rhythm against the surface of their table, "Think about it, Andy. It wouldn't take long to put together a pole barn. And up there, they can handle any damages to the trucks that would otherwise raise uncomfortable questions. It's easily accessible if you know the backroads and it's far enough off the beaten track to avoid a lot of unexpected foot traffic…it's…it's perfect."

"Do you think this is where the organ removal takes place?", Andy asked in return, his face turning a shade paler as he carefully nudged Steve's elbow.

"We don't know that. But we have a warrant that will allow us access to any building on the property. And we're planning on taking a long hard look around. If there are any clues up there, we will find them."

The young Inspector's words seemed to help soothe their counterpart's worried minds and Mike noticed them both relax a bit in their chairs, their shoulders slumping and their breathing slowing down.

"I don't know if you two stumbled across this already, or maybe your…R&I department did, but I dug through some of our files yesterday…", Roy said and kneaded his fingers, before using them to draw an imaginary circle into the grain of the wooden table, "But you probably know that Wesley Hill Junior owns the Angel Towing company now, right?"

Growing increasingly intrigued, Mike came closer to the group, a frown on his face.

"It said in our records that he had been the owner for two years."

"Retroactively, yes.", Roy countered and shook his head, "The case was held up in probate for a while. See, word has it…and I am using that terminology loosely because it was one of my contacts from Clear Lake area who told me this a while ago…anyways, turns out that old Wesley Hill had a big fallout with Carl Wilkinson, the coroner. It supposedly happened after a City Council meeting and Hill was one of the council Members, so was Wilkinson. People shrugged it off, but surprisingly, Hill died a couple months later, supposedly had a heart attack in his sleep. His will made his son, Wesley Hill Junior the new and sole owner of Angel Towing. And Junior has always been best friends with both, the coroner and the Sheriff. Ask around town, if you find somebody honest, they'll tell you that they're all part of a group of good ole boys, so to speak…"

"You're suggesting that Hill Senior was killed because he didn't want to be part in this whole organ trafficking situation?"

"It's possible. Of course, you won't find anything legitimate on the Coroner's report, because you and I both know who did the autopsy…"

Mike sighed in frustration and pursed his lips, his active mind going a million miles per hour as he put the puzzle pieces together.

"I did some thinking too…", Andy added and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "What Inspector Keller said yesterday makes sense. I mean, all things considered, the Sheriff and his impressive crowd of followers don't hit me like the kind of people who could pull this operation off. I am sure one of his friends is to blame for our office being broken into, but beyond that I think…well, I think they're all just support staff so to speak. The Sheriff and the coroner turn a blind eye to any strange deaths in the area, and Hill…he might have his drivers kidnap people and bring them up to their, their hideout, and he's probably making a damn good buck on that. Whoever is truly responsible for this organ trafficking situation is paying these people off, maybe offering blood money to shut them up and have them block any effort into uncovering this ring."

"You know, maybe there's some hope for you to become a detective yet …", Mike said with a brief smile, before his features turned somber again, "May we use your phone?"

"Sure, go ahead, it's right behind the lobby desk…"

Nodding in gratitude, Mike tapped his partner's shoulder, before pointing to the front office.

"Steve, get a hold of Trevor down in R&I. Have him run a full report on both Hill Junior and Senior, anything we can dig up."

The young Inspector cocked his head in understanding and disappeared around the door frame, as Mike straightened back out to face their two helpers.

"Now, before we get started, I want to be very clear about something here, gentlemen...", he began only to watch their eyes widen in excitement, "This situation has the potential to get pretty heated. I know you two are eager to help out and you do know the area better than we do, but, and that's a big but…you're neither armed, nor prepared to handle any type of violent situation that could arise from our search warrant. Once we get to that house, I want to you to pull back and keep a safe distance. Let us handle the policework, is that understood?"

Both young men nodded obediently, before Roy looked back up, sporting a mischievous smile.

"You've got our word, Lieutenant Stone. But for what it's worth, you can rest assured...we're not unarmed."