My apologies about my recent hiatus. The weather and some errands have kept me away from the computer quite a bit. Be safe and warm out there y'alls.

Sherriff Roland Dixon stood a stout 6ft tall, his bright red hair partially hidden beneath his peaked cap. A thick pair of reading glasses gave him a scholar-like appearance that his intelligent brown eyes only accentuated.

As soon as he saw the two San Francisco Homicide Detectives enter the darkened area of the Windsor Public Safety Office shortly after six, he jumped up from his desk in the back corner, a friendly smile lighting up his features.

"Boy, I am sure glad to see you two fellas. The famous Lieutenant Michael Stone and his equally well-known partner, Inspector Stephen Keller.", he greeted enthusiastically, his right arm stretched out for a passionate handshake long before he even reached the front desk.

"We apologize about the delay, Sherriff.", Mike explained genially and pointed his chin toward the parking lot, "We sat in a traffic jam for a good half hour. A bad wreck over on the Highway 12 interchange in Roseland with the rainstorm moving in. It delayed our plans a little bit."

As he shook hands with the Lieutenant, Dixon hesitated insecurely, when Steve waived him off, before pointing at his hand.

"Battle injury. I'm supposed to take it easy for a couple of days. No polite pleasantries according to the doctor, I guess."

"That's quite alright, Inspector Keller.", the Sherriff said as his smile widened, "Lieutenant Devitt told me that you two tend to…how shall I say this…attract trouble. Well, I hope that unlucky streak stops right here."

"We hope so too.", Mike countered as they followed the other man toward the back office.

All the desks they crossed along the way were meticulously organized and clean, the nearby coffee machine drained and washed down for the day, the paper trays on the Telex machine refilled and the waste bins emptied.

It was a sight of discipline and organization that warmed Mike's heart.

"I met Roy a few years ago during one of our annual FOP union meetings. Nice guy. A little gruff around the edges but warms right up when you get to know him. Would you guys like some coffee? I'd be happy to start another pot."

"That won't be necessary, but thank you very much. We'd prefer to get started on our research right away. It's been a long day already."

"I completely understand, Lieutenant, believe me. And I'll tell you something else; I was never happier to reach out to Roy in this particular case. After a month, I'd given up hope on a lead. But this thing you guys are looking into, it sounds like you might be onto something."

"We hope so.", Steve answered curtly and shoved both hands back into the pockets of his beige overcoat, his eyes following the Sheriff's hands as he collected several pieces of paper strewn across his large desk, then pushed them into a file and presenting them to Mike.

"This is all we gathered that night. Unfortunately, not too much. We had heavy rain set in shortly after the incident, it's possible that some of the evidence was washed away."

Accepting the file with a grateful nod, Mike moved over to a map of the Windsor area, his eyes automatically scanning for the intersection where the incident occurred, as he tried to discern what businesses were nearby.

"Any chance a bank camera could have picked up footage of the vehicle, Sherriff?"

"I wish, Lieutenant. Unfortunately, the incident occurred along Bell Rd. Just a bunch of warehouses there, some dense homeless populations but no businesses that would have cameras. The other problem is the vicinity to the highway. Our witness wasn't even able to see if they fled north or south."

Tracing the intersection of Bell and Cameron with his index finger, Mike fell quiet for a moment, then anxiously tapped it against the cardboard map.

"I understand that your witness, this Roger Ellis is a homeless man. Do you happen to have any idea where we could find him yet tonight, Sherriff?"

With a broad smile, the other man rested his hands on the sizable beer belly hiding beneath his beige uniform.

"I'll do you one better, Lieutenant. I told him that we'd buy him dinner in about an hour and all he needs to do is answer your questions. He'll be there, I guarantee you."