It was late at night but every second was crucial. Agent Carter and Travis stood on the crimson porch with a bright porch light shining in their eyes. The rest of the neighborhood had such an eerie silence that the crickets chirping could easily be heard. Nobody would ever suspect that crime would happen in these neighborhoods.
Carter rang the door bell and then stepped back to admire the flower decor surrounding the porch. Just 5 seconds after he rung the door bell the front door of the villa swung open and a short portly old man with salt and pepper hair stood before them. It was obvious that he was expecting them and before they could even flash him their credentials the judge beckoned them to come inside.
Travis tried his best to ignore the prominent mole on the judges neck. It appeared the judge was in a big hurry to get the interview started.
"Please, please sit down and make yourselves comfortable. Did you find my daughter?" Asked Judge Anderson.
Agent Travis set a brief case on the empty sofa cushion next to him and they both sat down. The panoramic vista of the living room was absolutely beautiful. There were exquisite fish and bear heads mounted on the walls encompassing the room. The inside of Judge Anderson's house looked like an extravagant animal museum.
Carter cleared his throat and took the lead in the conversation.
"No we have not found your daughter yet but we came very close."
Another man wearing a blue apron joined them in the living room. He stood about 6ft. 2in. tall. He was a wiry fellow with a full mop of white hair neatly slicked back with a matching goatee.
The judge said," Oh, this is my butler Alfred, would you gentlemen like some coffee?" Asked the judge.
The agents both nodded and Alfred inquired as to cream and sugar and then left the room. Carter nudged Travis signaling him to open the brief case. Travis opened the brief case and pulled out a zip-lock bag containing the MP3 player.
"Do you recognize this?" Asked Travis.
"Yes, I bought it for my daughter last Christmas. It should contain a GPS tracking device."
"Yes we know. We found this in a trash barrel at Pine Green park just off I-36."
The judge folded his hands and rested them on his paunch.
"When they came to get the tracking code my butler and I were outside in the garden. We never heard the door bell."
Alfred walked in carrying a silver platter with 3 black hazelnut coffees in blue glossy mugs perched on top.
"Your coffees gentlemen." Said Alfred. He passed each one onto the coasters on the coffee table before them.
Carter was the first to take a sip of his coffee.
"We're going to do everything we can to find your daughter. But first we need to ask you some questions."
"Fire away." Said the judge.
"Does your daughter go on these jogs very often?"
" Almost every day at around 7pm. Usually she jogs with her boyfriend Steve but he's at the races with his friends. I always worried about her possibly getting kidnapped. That's why I got her the MP3 player."
"I see, has she ever mentioned anyone possibly stalking her?"
"She says people honk and wave to her all the time but she's never mentioned anything strange or unusual."
Travis pulled out a yellow legal pad and began jotting down some notes. Carter did all the talking. He always did.
"So how would you say your relationship is with your daughter?"
The judge paused for a second before he answered the question.
"Usually it's pretty good. Recently she was mad at me for not letting her go to Mardis Gras but I think she's over that now."
Travis continued jotting notes while Carter gazed at the mole on the judges neck.
"Yes,yes, we understand. How would you describe your relationship with your wife?"
The judge turned flush red in the face. It was as if they had just struck an excruciating nerve in the back of his neck. Mrs. Anderson had been sleeping with the pool boy and the judge knew about it but never confronted her about it.
"How dare you deviate from the subject at hand! Is this an interview or some kind of cruel interrogation?"
Travis' pen came to an abrupt stop as he looked up in surprise. Carter squirmed around in his seat looking uncomfortable.
"We're sorry Mr. Anderson. These are just some standard questions." Said Carter. He nudged Travis to reach in the brief case and display the next piece of evidence.
Travis pulled out another zip-lock bag containing the business card of the salon. The judge settled himself down and adjusted himself closer to the edge of the sofa cushion.
"What's that?" He asked.
"We found this at the park next to a picnic table that we think the perp sat on. We're not even sure if this belongs to him or has any relevance to the case."
Travis flipped the bag around so the judge could see the writing on the back of the card.
"Obviously this is a business card of a hair salon but we're unsure as to the meaning of G33."
"Perhaps it has something to do with the game of bingo." Suggested the judge.
Carter scratched his chin and thought it over.
"We're going to look into it. Let's hope that this has nothing to do with games or riddles because those are sure signs of serial killers. Professional kidnappers don't leave clues and they don't want to get caught. They're strictly in it for the money."
The judge looked confused." So am I going to be getting a ransom call?"
This time Travis cut in." Let's sure hope so. That will increase our chances of getting your daughter back."
The door bell rang and the surprise nearly made the judge jump out of his seat.
" Oh, don't be alarmed. That's agent Sanders." Said Travis.
The butler walked over and opened the front door. The agent walked in carrying all kinds of electronic equipment with a set of ear phones. He was dressed in all black attire and stood tall with a buzz cut showing a not so good fade. He nodded and said hello then immediately walked into the kitchen to set up his equipment. All of the phone tracing equipment was set up on the kitchen table.
Carter squeezed Travis' knee and they both stood up from the sofa.
"Well, we have to be on our way. Agent Sanders will be staying with you in case a ransom call comes in. We'll let you know ASAP if we develop any new leads."
The judge got up from the sofa and shook both of their hands.
"Sorry for the discrepancy earlier. I'm under a great deal of stress."
"Oh no, it's our fault." Said Carter and they both walked out the door.