Mike's frown had grown to a deep scowl as Steve glanced back and forth between his partner and the two odd men across from them.
"What…what do you mean, it's a code word?", the young Inspector asked in obvious impatience, his mind already guessing the answer and speculating away.
Roy ran a hand through his crew cut brown hair before letting it slide back down on the table, his long fingers tapping the cheap wood nervously.
"Well, think about it, Inspector Keller. If we were to lay it all out in the open, chances are, they could come after us too…"
Rolling his eyes, Steve grunted and took a deep breath.
"You know, there's a psychological term for the disease you two are suffering from…"
"Stephen."
It was Mike's stern warning that made him back off instantly. Looking up to meet the Lieutenant's warning eyes in a fleeting moment of regret, he cocked his head slightly and fell silent.
"Okay…", Mike tried in a quieter tone, drawing both of the young men's attention, "Let us rephrase that question…you two…or the four of you total, you have knowledge of this, this organ trade going on? And you are in contact with other people who have had experience in this particular field and you communicate through this magazine?"
"Yes and no.", Andy explained and dropped his shoulders somewhat, the first sign of relaxation Steve had noted since they'd met the two, "See, we picked up the story six years ago from other reports around the world and have been following the developments intently. Little did we know that the same thing would happen right in our own backyard. So, to be perfectly honest, we're still in the beginning stages of our investigation, Lieutenant. Some of the people we talked to over the years, they have a legitimate case. Others, not so much. But the one trend we can assure you of is that it's a growing business. Downright explosive."
Biting his lip when a remark about pointing out the obvious was on the tip of his tongue, Steve leaned farther back in his chair, clasping his hands to appear less threatening to their nervous audience.
"How many cases are you aware of in this area?", Mike pried genially, his frown easing up somewhat.
"Well, only one death so far. But people have gone missing all over the place. Just because their bodies haven't been found yet, doesn't mean they're not dead."
Roy's voice was quivering slightly when he said those words and he glanced over at both detectives in somber certainty.
"Lieutenant Stone, please don't consider our remarks as macabre.", the young man continued when a tense silence filled the office, "We're simply going off reports from other parts of this country, and other countries, where the same thing has happened. The…MO…as you police folks like to call it, is startlingly similar. That's what attracted us to these cases to begin with. We can put you in contact with three other reliable sources in Bejing, Prague and one guy in New Jersey who has gathered evidence of dead bodies popping up with their organs missing. Now, we're not saying that the same guy is responsible for all this from one end of the globe to the other, but there is some strange sort of network going on that allows these organs to be shipped covertly across country borders. There could be multiple suppliers in this nation alone and they are in contact with some secret underground organ marketplace."
"How long do you think has this been going on in this area?"
The frown all gone, Mike had completely turned back to detective mode, his bright blue eyes scanning their witnesses intently. Only the slight tapping of his right foot gave insight on his well-hidden tension.
"We're not entirely sure, Lieutenant.", Andy answered this time, sharing a shrug with his partner, "We have limited access to missing persons files for this area. That's where we need your guys' help. See, we started doing some footwork in the area, knocked on doors, checked missing person's posters at the gas stations, but we could only find out so much without trying to infiltrate your elaborate governmental organization."
Steve didn't need to get reminded to bite his lip again, but Mike looked over at him briefly regardless.
"In the Clear Lake area, we're thinking this has been going on for at least four months.", Roy chimed in and got up to grab a rolled-up map that was stored in a nearby file cabinet.
"Besides Emily, we've got records of eight other people having gone missing from, and around the Clear Lake area. Now two of them could be legitimate suicides and the bodies haven't been recovered yet. The other six however…their disappearance went along with Emily's when it comes to the degree of strangeness."
"Strangeness…in what way?"
Deciding to join the discussion once again when it reached a slightly less paranoid theme, Steve leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees.
"Well…it's obvious that our killers pick on people who are loners, or alone at the time of their disappearance. Nobody seems to ever hear any screams, no signs of struggle anywhere near the scene of the disappearance, no blood, nothing. It's like they vanished into thin air."
"Well, barring any possibility that they might have been abducted by aliens, could it be that whoever kidnapped them was somebody trustworthy? Somebody they wouldn't be afraid to step into the car with?"
Steve put the question out for everybody in the room, as the thought was beginning to raise some red flags in the back of his mind.
"You think it's a cop?"
Mike's voice was filled with both, anger and disgust at the theory what was quickly making a lot of sense.
"That's our assumption too…", Roy interrupted and pursed his lips, "No offense to you two, but we haven't had the best experience when it comes to dealing with the sheriff's department in the area. First, we just thought the guy is an uncooperative moron when Emily's body was found, acting like he'd never seen a murder victim before and telling everybody to relax. But it quickly became obvious that he's intentionally keeping a lid on things. We've done some research on him and we think he's part of this whole gig."
"How so?"
"We were in the area when we heard dispatch talk about a body being found in the lake. Andy managed to sneak into the coroner's van for a few minutes, while I distracted the cops and he…well, he saw what was left of her. The Y-incision on her torso that had gotten ripped open when she was dragged into the boat propeller. Her face was partially unscathed and you could see the needle mark in the side of her neck for the transfusion. It was pretty clear what happened, but the coroner called it an accidental drowning. We even tried to go to the local press to have them dig into the matter with no luck. About the only thing that's come out of our research so far was a deliberate vandalism of our office a week ago. Somebody came in and destroyed several of our monitors, took some old files and tried to set the place on fire but it stopped in the foyer thankfully. So, you see, we've been having to increase security around here quite a bit."
Feeling an eerie sense of de-ja vu fill the four walls of the office, Steve clenched his jaw, unwilling to say what just came to mind for fear that it might be true. And if it was, it would mean that their network was a lot larger than they initially thought.
As his mind began to race, he tried to focus on the conversation going on, picking up pieces here and there about a sophisticated ring of organ snatchers on the east coast being caught after twenty-three people were killed. There was a theory that somebody on this side of the States might be copying their methods. Organs being shipped off mostly to China, the monetary value for a matching kidney topping over a quarter million dollars.
Mike baited the two young men with their link to the Union 76's and they confirmed that the Sheriff and his road crew had contracts with the gas station for minor service work and fuel.
"The article you wrote referred to at least three deaths due to this…which ones are the other two?", the Lieutenant asked and Steve sensed him looking over mildly confused.
"There aren't any others yet that we're able to confirm. We use the number three as code for our investigation. Whenever we use that sentence, one means it's just speculation, two means we have a witness, three means we can confirm the statement ourselves…", proud of their cunning writing technique, Roy smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder, "Andy here thought about that. If you'd like we can explain our other codes to you so that you can understand the article a lot better…"
"That won't be necessary at the moment, thank you though. We're more interested in what you know for fact.", Mike said cautiously, dimming the cheerful mood in the office.
"Well, we know for fact that there's gotta be a second body, or you two wouldn't be up here.", Roy continued confidently, "And there are many more missing people that could be potential victims. Although we can't quite prove it yet, we are 100% sure the Sheriff is in on this, Lieutenant. And possibly the coroner too. And he'd have the tools and facilities to pull this off. Sheriff Watson knows the area better than anybody else. People would trust him enough to get in his car, then he could take them wherever this secret operation room is and send them off for…for processing…"
Steve leaned forward to rub his eyes in frustration, a move that wasn't lost on Mike.
"What's on your mind?", the Lieutenant asked worriedly and turned around to face him.
Not wanting to get into another argument about their esoteric new friends and the wild speculations circulating the room, Steve shook his head and waved the question off.
"Nothing…just…just forget about it…"
"You don't have to believe us, Inspector…", Roy said argumentatively, before Mike had a chance to answer his partner, "But no matter which side of the fence you are on, in the meantime, somewhere out there, more people are kidnapped and brutally murdered. We're willing to help you guys out as best as possible, if you let us in on some of your findings. I'll even sign a non-disclosure form to keep it out of the press, if that's your concern. But you have to trust me when I say that we want whoever is responsible getting caught as much as you do."
With the pressure of three sets of eyes on him, Steve shifted in his chair, deciding to run a hand through his wavy hair before addressing his audience again.
"Listen Roy, your government conspiracy theory sounds all fine and dandy, but you've got your logistics all wrong. There's no way the Sheriff would be able to run his office and search for potential victims all day long. We've got at least four other cases that tie to the gas station and our typical victim profile…and they're scattered all over the area. I'm not denying that the Sheriff isn't the sharpest tool in the shed and might have some funny business going on, but what you are suggesting is logistically impossible. And your unwillingness to step out of your comfort zone of self-endowed paranoia is nothing short of frustrating. If you really want to help solve this case, if you really are after the truth as much as you claim to be and not just some washed down entertainment version thereof, you gotta open up your narrow mind a little and see things for what they really are."
Steve didn't realize he'd raised his voice and gotten up from his chair, until he felt Mike's warm hand on his elbow, pulling him away from the desk one inch at a time. The two young men sitting in front of him swallowed nervously, each one looking at the Lieutenant for help.
"Easy now…take it easy…"
Mike's soothing voice did wonders to ease his agitation and Steve found himself slowly giving in to the pressure pulling him back.
"You've got something on your mind. What is it?"
Looking down when he felt Mike's eyes burn holes in the side of his skull, Steve took a couple extra breaths, ensuring that his voice was steady before continuing.
"That theory about our victims trusting whoever kidnapped them made me think of something, Mike.", he began, surprised when he saw Roy lean forward and listen intently, "What all else ties into gas stations and people's cars breaking down besides a cop? Who else would you trust if you would happen to come across them in that situation?"
Shifting his focus over to his partner, Steve looked into Mike's deep blue eyes, seeing the realization in them long before the Lieutenant ever spoke up.
"Good thinking…that's some good thinking…"