In their unfamiliar 4WD rental car, Mulder and Scully had reached the last real little town marked on the map of their trip. As they would have to finish their journey to the isolated mountains through the middle of a wild nowhere, they had decided to spend all the necessary time they would need there, gathering info and stuff.

First thing they'd done —so they could drive away in seconds anytime— was to visit the main general store downtown and complete their supplies for what would certainly turn into an outdoorsy hazardous investigation.

Now, they were heading to the small local police office, only inhabited by its chief and its deputy, suspecting they wouldn't be welcomed. It was confirmed when climbing up the front steps of the building and walking inside, as the closed and already upset face of the chief, whose body was keeping the door open, was belying this apparently polite gesture. The man's intent was certainly to show those two FBI noseys who was in charge, and to proceed as fast as he could, on his terms.

Muttering about Feds, Chief Gruff led Mulder and Scully into one small austere room via a maze of corridors. While Scully was trying to figure out the improbable map of the small building, Mulder quickly profiled the man in his head; dumb with that light amount of sense to be able to climb the ladder, inflated ego to the point of turning abusive by his boss title, lazy since decades, liar or bribable, probably both. Okay, maybe he wasn't all that black, so Mulder was prone to let the man redeem himself in the minutes to follow; at least, he didn't want to judge Gruff by his physical feature that wasn't brightening up the picture.

Chief Gruff pointed at the only table of the room on which a folder had been laid down.

"It's all in there," he said. "And you can be happy there's something written down at all. I didn't want to not help this poor Mrs DuBois searching for her daughter. But, see, there's nothing here. It's not a missing case. It's just two grown adults in a free country who want to hike in the wild and not to be found up to now. They might be far away, and even have crossed the US border."

Scully had opened the folder. One sheet of paper as a whole file.

"Chief, may you bring us some coffee while we study this file?" Scully asked.

The chief didn't miss the irony but acted as if all were roses between them. "Sure, Ma'am."

Once gone out of the room, Scully handed the sheet to Mulder.

"I've browsed it, no minimal search has been done, believe me. Not even some basic questioning of witnesses or a few steps out within one mile radius from this room," she said.

"I tend to agree," Mulder replied, handing back the useless sheet.

Both were pondering their best options concerning Gruff —leave or squeeze?— when the chief came back, holding two cups of black and a zipped bag under his right armpit. He offered the coffees, then held up the zipped bag with a big smile.

"I'd forgotten this piece of evidence: an emptied packet of chips we found on the famous hike trail we have two miles west. The so-said missing couple had been seen eating this brand when they came by. That's where they've headed, that's where they've left," he claimed proudly.

Mulder and Scully glanced at each other for a second.

"So, they went opposite the Deep Valley area, where they were supposed to head for?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah, that's what I conclude. There's no indication they wanted to go to Deep Valley. And, for your information, this whole zone is unreachable for years. There's no point going there. Not even our best hunters or fishers would dare try to put one single foot there."

One another quick glance at each other and Mulder and Scully agreed for the choice to make: leave.

"Well," Scully said. "Thank you for your time, we won't bother you much longer."

And, without even drinking their coffee, they left Chief Gruff and his phony evidence.

When they got back in their car, Scully was the first to talk.

"Mulder, I think you're right. Gruff is stupid and holds back things, and there's definitely something odd about Deep Valley."

Mulder turned his head, an amused look on his face.

"Scully? You're reading my mind?"