Feeling the love tonight. Thank you all for the kind reviews and ideas. I love them, I really do! Can't wait to dig into some of the poets, thanks for the idea, Sarah! It's been a bit of a challenging week here as we prepare to wrap up the year for the farm. That's the time a year we have to decide which livestock to take throughout the winter, and which ones go. Hay has been horrible and prices are high for everything in general, which brings us to the inevitable outcome for much of the critters we have. It's a sad time for sure. So it's such a reprieve to come to this site and what a supportive and nice group of people y'alls are! I won't even lie though; I do my best writing during the most difficult times. I guess that makes it easy to emphasize with our characters. And better yet, thanks to farming, pretty much every injury that is described in my stories beside gunshot wounds has been experienced by yours truly. Gives you lots of insight for sure!
An hour and a half into their trip and through the endless windings that was Highway 1, the two detectives had pulled over to double check the information Marin County Sheriff Louis Whittecker had supplied them with.
Decidedly sure of his direction-giving skills, the older man had drawn an elaborate map on the back of a Chinese takeout menu, depicting everything from Muir Beach, a nearby ice cream shack, the spot up in the foothills where he became married thirty-two years ago, to the hidden drive some two miles east of there, where their latest person of interest was supposed to reside.
In that case, hidden was the right word, when several tours up and down the paved beach road leading off the highway yielded no results.
"Maybe he confused the ice cream shack with the place he was married at, and then thought the beach was the driveway and that the driveway is by the big Y he penciled in right over the chicken fried rice on the menu."
Steve was rubbing his tired eyes in agitation, about ready to bury his head in the steering wheel. Next to him, Mike chuckled faintly, eyes glued to the makeshift map, then glancing through the windshield to double check their directions.
Parked along the road next to the beautiful beach, the strong current coming off the ocean could be heard from afar, as angry gusts of wind flattened the nearby meadows. Sharp rocks lined the dunes along the sandy cove, adding to the gruff look of an otherwise peaceful spot, if they were to believe the locals.
"If we use the method of exclusion, he at least got the ice cream shack right, so that should narrow down our options…", Mike mumbled, causing his partner to sigh sorrowfully, as he planted his forehead on the long fingers clenching the steering wheel.
"Look at it this way, Buddyboy. At least we still have a few hours of daylight to enjoy while we drive around…more or less aimlessly."
Patting his partner's thigh affectionately, Mike used the makeshift map to point northeast.
"How about we hit up that ehm…that dirt road that was paralleling the highway. You know, the one we saw earlier? Let's see what we can find there. What's the worst that can happen?"
Steve raised his head, a skeptical expression on his face as he followed the Lieutenant's gesture.
"I could think of a few things…"
"Aw, come on now. That's pretty harsh, don't you think? Where's your sense of adventure?"
Following his question with a high-pitched chuckle seemed to do the trick, when Steve's eyes brightened noticeably, and a faint smile lit up his features.
Reaching for the keys to the ignition, he was about to turn the car around but hesitated, one hand on the gear shaft, as he glanced over at Mike.
"I don't know about my sense of adventure, but I'm glad yours is back."