Back at the inn, Regina was working the front desk again. The coffee aromas were gone, and there were no cookies at the counter. Too bad, I actually had a craving for another one. I waved hello to Regina and went up to the top floor in the elevator. As I stepped up to my room, I paused by the door of my neighbor’s room. I could hear a muffled voice through the walls.

“... I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I really am, but we have to be careful!” it sounded like the man’s voice I had seen in the hallway.

I didn’t want to press my luck, so I went inside my room and quietly closed the door behind me. Sitting down in the corner chair, I pulled out my tablet. I began researching all of the limousine companies in the area. There was only one, and it was 15 miles northeast of Wilton.

Lennox Limousine.

Going to their website, it was actually a Facebook page. It appeared that they mainly focused on the hearse business, but a party bus and limousine could also be rented.

I pulled out my phone and gave them a call.

“Lennox Limousine,” an annoyed man answered the phone.

“Yes, hello, I wanted to ask about seeing the records of your limousine-specific rentals.”

“... You wanna rent a limousine?”

“Uh, no, actually, I’d like to look at your records. You keep a list of clients that have come in and rented a limo from you, correct?”

“You want to look at our books? Why would you wanna do that?”

“Well,” I couldn’t help but chuckle. “My name is Edward Wright. I’m with the FBI, and I’m investigating a case. I just wanted to see if I could just see some records of people within the past month. That’s all.”

“Now it makes sense,” the guy started laughing. “Uh, I hate to be a bother about it, but do you mind if you come in tomorrow? I’ve got no reservations this evening, so I’m closing up shop early so I can get home.”

“Sure, we can do that. Would 1:00 PM work for you tomorrow? And what’s your name?”

“The name’s Bill. And yes, 1:00 PM would work fine for me. I’ll see you then, Mr. Ed. Haha. Mr. Ed. Just like the horse, you know what I’m talking about?”

“It’s not very often someone says that reference, but yes. I got it. I’ll see you tomorrow at 1:00 PM. Thanks, Bill.”

I hung up the phone and typed more notes on my tablet before I had to get ready for Martha’s dinner.

I drove over there around 5:00 PM. Martha lived in a two-story colonial house with lovely rose bushes in the front. Her yard was vast as if it were her own private piece of land without any neighbors around. There was an American flag high on the flagpole in the center.

I rang the doorbell, and Martha answered immediately. She had a beer in her hand, a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

“There’s the G-man. Come on in. I got some burgers cooking for us on the grill.” Martha ushered me inside. The house smelled like garlic, butter, and pepper cooking together on a pan to make something delicious. The dinner smelled heavenly. Her house floor was entirely hardwood with a few large throw rugs, and the walls were covered with nature paintings.

Two excited Pekingese dogs sprinted towards me and jumped at my legs.

“This must be Jupiter and Saturn?” I asked.

“The one with the brown spots is Jupiter. The one with all-white fur is Saturn.” Martha snickered. “They really seem to like you. Do you have a dog at home?”

I frowned as I pet both dogs. They kept licking my hand. “No, unfortunately, I can’t really be a dog owner. I spend too much time away from home. It wouldn’t be fair to the dog or any pet for me to be gone for such long chunks of time.”

“You don’t have a partner to look after them?”

I shook my head. “No. Again, the lifestyle isn’t conducive for having a serious relationship yet.”

“Well damn, Eddie, what the hell you doing working in the FBI for?” Martha let out a boisterous laugh.

“I have my reasons.” I don’t think Martha was expecting me to answer the question so seriously. She arched her brow at me, though after my response.

“Well, settle in, make yourself at home. I can get you a beer if you like?”

“Nah, that’s okay.”

“Don’t want to cut loose?”

“I figure I’ll be working later as I go to The Painted Goose to see what that bar is all about. Perhaps I might find out more information, and I need to have a clear conscience if I’m going to go in there and try and take this case as seriously as I can.”

“I understand. Sorry if it seemed like I was pressuring you. I just wanted you to have a nice time while you’re here at my house. And I don’t want to be rude as I’m drinking a PBR here.”

“You’re totally fine. Have as many as you’d like. I just won’t be joining you, unfortunately.”

“Will you have a beer with me before you leave, at least?”

“Sure.” I smiled.

Martha strolled to the back of her house to a room with a TV and a long couch. Sliding doors connecting to the deck illuminated most of the room.

“This is the theater room if you will. I watch all the big games here on Sundays. Occasionally I’ll go to Big Henry’s, but the at-home experience is wonderful. You can go to the bathroom whenever you want, you don’t have to pay too much for a beer, and you can put your feet up whenever you want.”

“The room is incredibly cozy,” I remarked as Martha led me outside to the patio where smoke plumed from a steel grill.

“Come on, let’s go outside.” Martha opened the sliding door to the deck, and we walked outside.

There was a patio chair on the wooden deck, and I sat on it while Martha opened up the smokey grill and flipped a few burgers. While she did that, I told her about everything that happened to me today.

“Wow, you certainly stayed busy,” Martha said and grinned at me.

“Do you have any idea what happened with Vince Nelson or anything about his family? As I was looking at the yearbook, I noticed that he was the only friend of Charles Green’s. Based on the yearbook evidence, it seemed like they were close.”

“Yeah, I remember Vince Nelson. Vaguely though. Only that he was really brilliant and went away to school to somewhere like Princeton, Yale, or something like that.”

“He went away to MIT. Any information on his family?”

Martha shook her head. “To be honest, I didn’t really know too much about the people who were 2 years older than me. Just the year above me and the year below me. Those were the only kids I ever interacted with.”

“That’s fair. So Vince has no record of living here in his adult life then?”

“Not that I’m aware of. I just knew he was a smart kid. That was it.”

“Do you think if you saw him all grown up, you would recognize him?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Understand.”

“Burgers are done.” Martha opened up a bag of buns and placed the patties on them. Each burger had cheese on it, and in the kitchen, chopped lettuce and tomatoes were ready to go. I added the toppings along with ketchup and mustard. We ate at the dining table near the kitchen.

“That whole hospital mishap seems like a disaster,” Martha said in between bites.

“Yeah, I’m hoping the limousine company can give me some information. It’d be great too if the coffee shop had anything. Although I have a growing suspicion about something...”

Martha handed me a napkin and told me I had something on my face. I wiped it off.

“Thank you,” I continued, “so the thing is, I think someone targeted Cole to take the blood. Someone working inside the hospital, I’m guessing. I suppose it could be a friend too, but I really think it would be someone at the hospital. Someone who has a way of communicating with another person. ‘Who could I prey on to manipulate into getting me a copious amount of blood and have my tracks relatively concealed.’ And they pressured Cole.”

“Ah, fascinating, G-man. I’m digging the analysis.” She took a swig of her beer.

“Do you happen to know any doctors that live here in Wilton? Or anyone in general who would work at the hospital? Anyone that would make that commute?”

Martha rubbed her chin. “The only person I could think of would be this girl my daughter went to school with. I mean, she’s not a doctor or a nurse, but I remember they used to be friends. Her name is Victoria, but people close to her call her Vicky. Her mom is a doctor for sure. I’m not sure if she has her own office somewhere, but I think she also might work in the hospital sometimes. That would be the only one that I know for sure. As far as nurses go, I don’t really know anyone.”

“Anyone who might have more information on other staff that might work at the hospital? Even custodians?”

“I would give the hospital a call or go over there yourself and see if you can look at the cities of where all of the workers live. Sorry, Eddie, I don’t have much for you.”

I shrugged. “No need to apologize. I feel like I’ve come up with a lot here so far in what little time I’ve been here.”

“And you think everything that’s happening is related to the murders?”

“If the murders were someone being slashed or gunned down, I wouldn’t. But since the blood was drained of all six of them, I think this is definitely related. Depending on how well the murderer has eyes on the town, they might already know I’m here -that the FBI is looking into the situation. Or maybe they foresaw it. Whoever is up to this is definitely a sharp thinker. But I have the feeling that they might not be working on their own.”

“I’m a little amazed at how you seem to be progressing so fast.”

“I guess it’s like finding a loose thread. I naturally gravitate towards something and start pulling it until I get as much information as possible. Honestly, if I didn’t have Charles Green stalking me last night, I don’t think I’d be able to have done much of anything. But perhaps I would. Looking at the article on the Wilton Observer was definitely a huge help.”

“Well, bravo. What time are you going to The Painted Goose?”

“As long as I get there around 9:00 PM, I’ll be satisfied.”

“That’s in about an hour and a half. Feeling ready?” Martha grinned.

“Ready for what? Isn’t it just a bar?”

Martha’s head teetered side to side. “It’s a bit of a bar punks like to go to. Not bad people or delinquents. That’s not what I mean by punk. I mean, kids who listen to punk music, have piercings, tattoos, trendy glasses, you know, that sort of environment.”

“Have you been there before to have a drink at night?”

“I have. I really like their pool tables there. So if you want to play some billiards, especially if you’re good, you’ll have a lot of fun. I think the people that play there are pretty solid.”

I grinned. “I remember at Quantico in the break area, we had some pool tables. I spent a lot of time playing there.”

“Uh-oh. You might even be able to hustle some people there.” Martha winked.

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“Are you kidding? I just told you that bar is full of punks.”

“But you just told me that they’re all good kids.”

“Yeah, but not if you piss them off.”

“I don’t have to hustle them. I could just play pool with them.” I chuckled.

“Okay, good. I just don’t want to receive a phone call at midnight that you got your ass kicked.”

“I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Martha and I continued chatting while we ate a slice of pie that she had baked earlier in the day. It was a warm cherry crumble crust, and it was unbelievably rich. Sweet with a bit of tart from the cherry filling. The crumbles just melted in my mouth. After we finished dessert, I got in my car and drove to downtown Wilton and parked near the inn.