"I have to admit, that's the best ham I ever had."
Chewing on another piece of egg-yolk soaked ham speared onto a piece of toast, Steve was close to finishing his breakfast.
Across the table, Mike studied a local map over a second cup of coffee.
"Do you realize this town isn't even marked on here?", the Lieutenant said in undisguised concern, as he ran his fingers across the few lines indicating roads.
"Well, the lady at the front desk did say that this was more of a temporary logging camp. Seemed that people enjoyed the area so much they decided to stay."
Taking another sip of coffee, Mike pointed his chin across the road.
"Speaking of which.", leaning closer and locking eyes with his partner, the Lieutenant lowered his voice significantly, "You know, they told me last night that the hotel was booked with only one room available. Did you see anybody in the lobby? There are no cars in the parking lot, nobody coming or leaving…"
Steve exhaled slowly as the inevitable suspicion began to sink in deeper.
"Why do you think they would they do that?"
Mike swallowed hard, trying to shake off his growing unease.
"Trying to keep city cops out of their town? Handling things the…old fashioned way? Or just basic mistrust. I don't know. But until we do, let's be careful. As it is, we're being watched every step of the way."
Looking around nonchalantly, Steve had to admit that Mike was right. For as small as the cafe was, at least four sets of eyes were on them.
Mike finished the rest of his coffee and reached for his fedora.
"There's a payphone over by the motel. I am going to give Rudy a call to keep him up to date on what's going on. Why don't you use your best charm and show Malcolm's photo around. See if anybody has seen or heard of him. Let's meet back at the motel in fifteen minutes."
Nodding slowly, Steve watched his partner get up and leave.
Over in the back booth, a fifty-something man dressed in red flannels and worn out jeans seemed to keep a keen eye on Mike. Across the room on a large table, a group of five women exchanged glances in his direction. When he tried to make eye contact, they looked away giggling.
And just like that, he had his first target group.