Mike felt the familiar unease in his gut return as they slowed down in front of the "old five-way", coming from the east this time. Visibility had deteriorated significantly over the past hour, probably reaching levels of less than a hundred feet by now.
The brake lights of the Fairlane ahead seemed to be the only thing penetrating the otherwise thick wall of gray and white, that could easily disorient any hiker unfamiliar with the area.
Only the tall pine trees on the west side of the road served as borders on their adventurous trip to uncover something neither detective was quite sure they were up against.
Steve slowed the Galaxy down and parked it behind the Fairlane, his hand wrapped around the gear shaft so tightly that Mike could see the white of his knuckles.
Swallowing hard, the Lieutenant reached for the door handle, readying himself to call off their civilian troops and ensure that they kept a safe distance. Nudging Steve's shoulder in an unspoken request to stay back and wait in the car, Mike got out and slowly walked over to the Fairlane.
Taking one hesitant step at a time, he let his eyes drift over the dirt road below, noting an assortment of different tire tracks both coming, and going from the property in question.
By the time he reached their guides, Andy had already rolled down the window and stared up at him expectantly.
"Guys, when we get to the farm house, I want to you pull off ahead of the entrance gate. There's a small stand of pines off to the right you can pull your car next to for cover.", he explained somberly and let his eyes drift down the driveway ahead, perturbed to only be able to see a few dozen feet out, "Steve and I will check out the buildings. If you hear any sort of commotion, any shooting or us yelling for you to run, consider that an order to retreat immediately. Don't wait for us, do you understand that?"
Both young men nodded eagerly and Roy cleared his throat before speaking, a haunted expression flooding his usually lighthearted features.
"Do you want us to call for backup?"
Mike hesitated for a moment, his mind going over every possible scenario and their limited options, given the Sheriff's potential involvement in this case.
"Not until you are back in town and safe from any followers. Go to a payphone and call the phone number on the card I gave you yesterday. Ask for Lieutenant DeWitt. Explain the situation to him and ask that he send immediate backup. We can't take any chances because we can't trust anybody else in this area."
"Well, what about the two of you?"
Andy's voice was quivering as he said those words, his fingers nervously running up and down the steering wheel of the Fairlane.
"Don't worry about us.", Mike said too fast, a fake smile spreading on his lips, "We're the trained professionals here."
