"She's going to have her baby any day now." Said Travis while sipping his Mountain Dew. It was 6pm and Carter and Travis were sitting at Taco Bell munching on Chalupas.
"Did you buy any baby clothes yet?" Asked Carter.
"We didn't have to because her mother gave us tons of baby clothes. My baby boy is going to be spoiled." Said Travis opening his fifth packet of fire sauce and spreading it on his chalupa. Travis' wife was about to have a baby and it was going to be their first child.
A young Spanish couple was standing behind the counter demanding a refund because their orders were messed up. Carter could hear the teenage employees in the back making fun of the couple saying that they were only looking for a handout. Just when Carter bit into his third chalupa he felt his cellphone vibrate in his pocket like a wet trout. Travis was still talking about his wife when Carter raised his index finger to cut him off.
"Hello, this is Special agent Carter."
"It's me Judge Anderson. I need you guys to come over here right away. The kidnapper has dropped off a package."
"Okay. We'll be right over." Said Carter and used his cheek bone to snap the cellphone shut.
"What was that all about?" Asked Travis.
"We've got to go see the judge. The kidnapper dropped something off." Said Carter stuffing in the last few bites of his chalupa.
They both stood up in unison and left the restaurant then clambered into the black Chevy Tahoe. Within 15 minutes they were standing on the red brick porch of the judges home. This time they weren't horse playing because they had too much on their mind. The judge immediately opened the door just seconds after they rang the bell. He still had dark circles under his eyes with a spry look on his face. He looked like he was ready to go catch the person or persons that kidnapped his daughter.
"Please, please come in." Said the judge waving them in while huffing and puffing and sounding out of breath.
The judge scampered across the living room floor and into the kitchen and picked up a manila envelope off of the kitchen table." Alfred get these men some coffee." He screamed at the top of his lungs. Carter and Travis stood at the threshold of the kitchen eagerly awaiting whatever evidence the judge was about to present. The judge handed the parcel to Carter." Here. I peeped inside and saw the DVD unless it's just a CD. I didn't touch it because I thought you might be able to pull up some prints."
Carter reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a pair of latex gloves." Do you have a DVD player?" He asked while putting on the gloves.
"Yes, yes over here in the living room."
Carter and Travis raised an eye brow at each other and wended into the living room following the impatient judge." Alfred hurry up with that coffee." Shouted the judge. They could hear a faint sound emanate from another room indicating that Alfred understood.
Travis turned on the television while Carter popped the disk into the DVD player. The judge pranced over to the sofa, picked up the remote, and put on the proper channel. The three of them crowded around the television while the judge pushed the play button. Within seconds Tina's pretty face came on the screen. The judge got a little teary eyed at the sight of his daughter and scratched his eye lids. Travis grabbed his pen and legal pad and got ready to take notes while Carter turned up the volume. To their surprise, Tina's speech wasn't very long. They felt a sense of hopelessness not being able to see the kidnapper.
"What is around my daughter's neck?" Asked the judge.
Carter had a feeling it was a bomb but he didn't want to scare him." We're not really sure." He said scratching his chin and squinting his eyes. Travis looked over his previous notes and noticed something unusual." This makes no sense." He said twitching his eyes," Both times the kidnapper said he wants two hundred and ten thousand dollars all in one hundred dollar bills. Why two hundred and ten? Why not an even two hundred thousand? And why does he insist it all be in hundred dollar bills?" Travis took his pen and bit on the cap." Yeah, this guy is really weird with numbers. He gave us a 78 hour deadline instead of an even 72."
If Carter and Travis weren't so stupid they would figure out that the importance of the hundred dollar bills had everything to do with weight. Vincent needed the money to be as light as possible for his grand scheme of retrieving the money. The judge looked at them both like they couldn't solve riddles meant for kindergartners. His baby girl was being held captive by some hideous monster while these two imbeciles stood in his living room asking questions instead of answering them. Something conspicuous caught the judge's attention and he placed his ear closer to the television.
"Do you guys hear that?" Asked the judge. " Hear what?" Asked Carter.
"I think I hear shots being fired and I could've sworn I just heard a passing train."
Travis put his legal pad down and they both stepped closer to the television. The judge turned the volume up on the television as loud as it would go." Yeah. I hear it too." Said Travis cupping his ear." The way the shots are being fired I'd say someone was target practicing."
" Perhaps Tina is located somewhere near a rifle range." Suggested Carter.
Alfred finally walked in the room with some coffees evenly lined up on a silver platter." Your coffees gentlemen." He said nodding curtly and setting them on the coffee table. He looked extra spruced up today with his snowy white hair slicked neatly back and his matching goatee nice and trimmed.
The judge put the remote on the coffee table and walked back out to the kitchen." I'll be right back." He said as he left. Carter and Travis quietly played the DVD one more time.
The judge came back with a stack of computer printed papers in one hand and some memoirs from the courts in the other hand. His whole attitude changed like he really felt he was on to something." I did my homework and I think I may have our kidnapper." Said the judge. He held out the list of names from the salon and put his thumb underneath a guy named Patrick Adamson." I sentenced this guy 10 years ago to 78 months in jail. We never go by years, we always sentence people in months."
Carter and Travis both took their eyes off the television and gave the judge their undivided attention. The judge continued on with his theory.
"Oh there's more to it." He said holding out court papers," Look what I said to him right after I sentenced him." He handed them the documents.
Carter and Travis both gaped when they read the judge's closing statements to Patrick Adamson. They both knew Patrick Adamson because he used to be the city councilman. It was big news when the media exposed him as being corrupt and taking bribes. There in tiny print read “This is the kind of cancer that is eating away at our society." Was the judge's last words to Patrick Adamson.
"That's it." Said Carter sounding excited, " This has to be our guy. The talk about cancer. The 78 hour deadline instead of a 72 had something to do with his jail sentence."
The judge chuckled a little bit to let out some stress." Well, people do accuse me of being a very cynical person right before I put the bad guys away. I have a habit of throwing my two cents in before I reach my verdict." Said the judge sipping his coffee.
Carter reached in his pocket and pulled out his cellphone then started rapidly pushing buttons. He took a few steps away from Travis and the judge then pressed the cellphone to his ear. When they weren't looking he scratched his crotch a few times while he paced back and forth." Jen, it's me Carter. I need some information. Are there any rifle ranges in Elkton Maryland?" Carter paced nervously back and forth," Oh, there's three of them? Do any of them have a train that passes through?" He waved his free hand for Travis to bring pen and paper over to him." Okay great. How do we get there?" He said frantically while jotting down everything she was telling him. While Carter was on his cellphone Travis began to query the judge about Tina's boyfriend. It did still seem odd that Steve was missing.
"There's no way that boy was capable of doing something like this." Said the judge trying to still focus on Carter still on his cellphone. Carter's eyes got really big as he teetered back and forth stubbing his toe into the veneer floor. They stopped talking about Steve and gazed at Carter in awe watching him clench a fist like his football team just won the Super Bowl. Carter clasped the cellphone shut using his chest and placed it in his pocket. He yanked the coffee out of his partner's hands and placed it on the coffee table and then grabbed his arm tugging it like a child trying to drag his father onto a roller coaster.
"Time is of the essence. Let's go." Said Carter wasting no time. Travis and Carter made their way to the front door when the judge came stumbling after them." Wait! Let me go with you guys." Blurted out the judge. They both turned around to face the judge. They tried to keep from staring at the hideous mole on his neck." We're sorry Mr. Anderson. This is strictly police business. Don't worry, we'll get your daughter back."