The old Ford careened around corners, the flashing
light clearing a path through the afternoon traffic as
Jim sped to the trace location. A pay phone, near
the Cascade marina, right on one far edge of the
city. He knew black and white units were at the scene,
he knew that Simon had given orders not to touch
anything until he got there, but he cursed anyway. The
caller, Jenn, would be gone. And she was his only
link to his Guide.
The marina was upscale, the direct opposite of the gritty
docks downtown. The uniformed police had already
talked to several people who remembered seeing a
young woman who looked "out of place" hanging around,
but they couldn't get a good description. In layers of clothing
so maybe a medium build, medium height, somewhere between
fifteen and twenty-five, with a gray knitted hat/ faded blue scarf/
dark baseball cap pulled over her brown/blonde/bald head.
Jim wisely left the citizens to the uniforms and walked over to
where one officer guarded the phone booth.
"No one's been in since I got here, sir, per Captain Banks'
orders. I can't vouch for before I arrived though." The younger
man looked worried and Ellison spared him a nod meant
to be reassuring before entering the booth.
The big man stood in the cramped space and tried to imagine
Blair walking him through the crime scene. He KNEW how to
investigate, but his partner's habit of thinking out loud not
only anchored Jim's senses, it often triggered his hunches.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, sifting the scents
of diesel fuel and harbour water out, dismissing the roar of
the motorboats in an instinctive pairing with the engine he'd
heard in the background before. There was a familiar..why
was it familiar? And why did he associate it with Blair? Warm,
and childhood memories, and candlewax. Candlewax and..
woodsmoke. Woodsmoke? Not a city dweller's scent at all.
He swept the phone booth visually as well, hoping that in
her rush to leave, the mysterious Jenn might have forgotten
something. The black receiver had obviously had a recent
polish, by the looks of it, maybe a sweater or a glove.
There was nothing else. Damn.
Ellison stepped outside, and called Simon on his cellphone,
to give him the bad news. Without an accurate description,
Jenn was gone.. and Blair was gone with her.
end part eight
light clearing a path through the afternoon traffic as
Jim sped to the trace location. A pay phone, near
the Cascade marina, right on one far edge of the
city. He knew black and white units were at the scene,
he knew that Simon had given orders not to touch
anything until he got there, but he cursed anyway. The
caller, Jenn, would be gone. And she was his only
link to his Guide.
The marina was upscale, the direct opposite of the gritty
docks downtown. The uniformed police had already
talked to several people who remembered seeing a
young woman who looked "out of place" hanging around,
but they couldn't get a good description. In layers of clothing
so maybe a medium build, medium height, somewhere between
fifteen and twenty-five, with a gray knitted hat/ faded blue scarf/
dark baseball cap pulled over her brown/blonde/bald head.
Jim wisely left the citizens to the uniforms and walked over to
where one officer guarded the phone booth.
"No one's been in since I got here, sir, per Captain Banks'
orders. I can't vouch for before I arrived though." The younger
man looked worried and Ellison spared him a nod meant
to be reassuring before entering the booth.
The big man stood in the cramped space and tried to imagine
Blair walking him through the crime scene. He KNEW how to
investigate, but his partner's habit of thinking out loud not
only anchored Jim's senses, it often triggered his hunches.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, sifting the scents
of diesel fuel and harbour water out, dismissing the roar of
the motorboats in an instinctive pairing with the engine he'd
heard in the background before. There was a familiar..why
was it familiar? And why did he associate it with Blair? Warm,
and childhood memories, and candlewax. Candlewax and..
woodsmoke. Woodsmoke? Not a city dweller's scent at all.
He swept the phone booth visually as well, hoping that in
her rush to leave, the mysterious Jenn might have forgotten
something. The black receiver had obviously had a recent
polish, by the looks of it, maybe a sweater or a glove.
There was nothing else. Damn.
Ellison stepped outside, and called Simon on his cellphone,
to give him the bad news. Without an accurate description,
Jenn was gone.. and Blair was gone with her.
end part eight