Martha and I got in my car and drove to Vicky’s neighborhood, which had large plots of land between each house, and each brick home was two stories.

“Wow, these houses are beautiful,” I said as the car crawled up in front of Rudy’s house. To the right was a massive white barn garage with a roll-up door. Closed and clean. Putting the car in park, Martha and I got out and approached Rudy’s house.

I was about to knock on the door, but Martha stepped in front of me and pressed the doorbell. A muffled ring went through the house. “Have you seen these new inventions? They’re great. You don’t have to worry about hurting your knuckles.”

I smirked at Martha. “It’s been a long day. I’m sorry if I’m feeling a little out of it.”

“I’m only teasing ya, g-man. I know, you’ve been through a lot.”

We waited there for a moment. It was a lovely day out. I didn’t take the time earlier to appreciate the sun beaming and the sparse clouds. A gentle wind breezed by. If I had closed my eyes, I probably could have taken a nap.

The door creaked open. An older gentleman in his late sixties smiled at us, standing in the doorway.

“Sheriff Martha, what can I do for you?” He asked.

“Hi Rudy, I know we haven’t chatted too much, but I have my friend here, Eddie from the FBI. Now, there’s nothing to worry about. He just wants to ask you some questions that might help with the case of the stolen blood at the hospital.”

I studied Rudy’s face, his eyes widened, and his brow arched. “Well, uh, wow. I mean, I don’t think I’ll have a lot of information about that.” He chuckled. “But if you have questions, feel free to ask them.”

Based on his reaction, I believed it was a dead end. There was no way he had any information based on the surprise and confusion. “Thank you, Rudy. This will be quick. When was the last time you took out your limousine for a drive?”

“Wow, I have no idea.”

“It’s been a while?”

He chuckled to himself. “It has.”

“Any estimation at all?”

“Probably a year ago for my oldest son’s wedding.”

“I see. Congratulations, though, to your son.”

“Thank you.”

“What about someone else taking it out for a drive? Would you let a friend or a family member take the limousine out?”

“Sure, absolutely. As long as they can prove to me they can drive it okay, I’d loan it out to anyone I knew personally.”

“So, is there a chance someone else has taken out your limousine recently?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Do you loan it out frequently?”

“Not really. I used to, but not so much anymore.”

“When was the last time you gave someone permission to take out the limo?”

“I can’t remember. A while ago.”

“This year? Last year? The year before?”

Rudy laughed, but it seemed like it came from a place of nervousness. “I’m really sorry, I couldn’t tell you.”

“What about a name? Can you tell me someone who has driven it?”

“I guess my son Kevin has taken it out before, but I don’t really keep track of when or where he takes it. That was also a year ago, most likely. I’m not really sure.”

“That’s fine. Thank you so far for all the information. This has been helpful if you can believe it.”

He chuckled. “I can’t believe it. I’ve given you nothing.”

“Leave no stone unturned. That’s just one less stone for me to flip over. But, Rudy, I’d like to tell you a little bit more about why I’m asking these questions. You see, the limousine company that’s popular in this area is a bit of a drive away. Lennox Limousine. Are you familiar with them?”

“Oh, sure. I’m aware of them. I’ve never used their services personally for limousines since I got my own, but I know they loan out their hearses which I’ve used.”

“I’m sorry to hear you had to use their services for that reason, but I went over there the other day to see if they had rented out any limousines recently, and they hadn’t. The intriguing thing is that someone in a limousine pulled up to the hospital and received some blood from a pressured employee. Now, I’d appreciate it if you kept this information close to you and didn’t share it, but I’m not going to swear you to secrecy. I haven’t told you anything the media hasn’t covered. I’m just trying to find out who might be behind it. So now, you can imagine why I’m here today?”

“Uh-huh, I understand.” He smiled. “I wish I could be more help.”

“Perhaps you could. Would it be okay if Martha and I took a look at your limousine in your garage?”

Rudy’s smile turned into an apologetic grimace. “I really wish I could do that for you, but I’m a man that cherishes his rights. So if you have a warrant, I’ll happily abide, but I don’t want this meeting to further take up my afternoon. I’d like to go back to the Reds game, and then I have to take the dog out for a walk.”

I nodded after a brief pause. “Of course, I didn’t mean to interrupt your afternoon plans. It would have been just a quick check, but I understand. We might come back with a warrant if no other limousine owner comes out of the woods, just as a heads up.”

Rudy nodded. “That’s fine. Gives me some time to tidy up.” He smirked.

I smiled back out of courtesy, but I was irritated. “I understand. Thank you, Rudy.”

“We’ll get out of your hair now. Thanks for your time,” Martha said.

We walked off his porch and got back into my car. I started it up and began driving.

“Sorry, the trip didn’t amount to much. But, what’d you think back there?” Martha asked.

“I’m annoyed he couldn’t just show us his garage, so I could make note of his limousine. But I understand where he’s coming from. I will say, something didn’t sit well with me back there.”

“Like what? He seemed pretty innocent unless you wanna give him an academy freakin’ award for acting.”

“Which he just might win. Do you know if he was ever an actor?”

“G-man, I know most people here, but I don’t KNOW them. You catch my drift?”

“Sure.”

“I have no idea if he ever acted in stuff. I just know he collects vehicles in his big dumb garage.”

“He seemed surprised and normal at first, but then he came off as mixed up and nervous the more I started asking specifics.”

“Well, to be frank, Eddie, talking to an FBI agent, even if you did nothing wrong, is pretty god damn nerve-wracking.”

I rolled my eyes, but I laughed as I continued driving.

“Hey, where are you planning on going? We’ve driven in a circle,” Martha said.

“I just want to see something real quick.” I parked the car two houses away from Rudy’s. There was enough space where Rudy couldn’t easily see us from his living room window if he tried. I pulled out my binoculars from the backseat and held them up to my eyes.

“Whatcha see?” Martha asked.

My jaw dropped. “Maybe it’s nothing, but I don’t know. Rudy is peering through his living room window, and he looks like he’s on the phone with someone. And he looks stressed.”

“Jesus, Eddie, who knows? He could be really freaked out about just getting questioned, and he’s calling his son, asking if he knows anything. I don’t know! I’m just speculating.”

I lowered my binoculars. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” I sighed. “I’m just hoping for a break or something in this case. I feel like I’m close, you know?”

“Set your focus on your return to Club Novus.”

“Yeah. You’re right. I am really curious what will happen if I go again.”

“You have a pass, right?”

I nodded.

“From my understanding, you can bring a guest. I don’t mean to invite myself, but do you want me to come with you? I think it might be good for you to have some backup.”

“That’s a great idea. And I’d love for you to come with me,” I said.

Martha and I made plans to try and recreate the night as much as possible. We would go to Lorenzo’s for dinner before going to Club Novus. We drove separately, and I met her there at around 7:00 PM.

I got to the table first, and I requested to be in the same booth. I only waited a minute before Martha came in looking stunning. A red dress, with makeup and her hair curly.

I beamed at her. “Martha, you look beautiful.”

“Aw shucks, Eddie. You get to see a different side of me tonight.”

“And what side is that?”

“Date night Martha.” She winked. “Don’t worry though, this is strictly professional. We are on a mission tonight to find out more about what-in-the-devil is going on at Club Novus.”

“Good point. So let me ask you something. You said you went through Club Novus in the afternoon one day, right?”

“Yeah, I called up the place to give them a heads up I was coming in that morning. Since I was investigating the disappearances of those kids, I told them I could get a warrant. Still, it would take a long time and wouldn’t look good if they were the only business not to comply just for a simple look around. I wasn’t coming through the place, mind you. I was just hoping to take a stroll on short notice in case something was being hidden.”

“So the owner obliged without even asking for a warrant?”

“That’s correct, or at least I think so. I don’t know. I didn’t really talk to the owner, just his assistant.”

“Do you remember his assistant’s name?”

“I want to say it was Mikey? Maybe Micky? A squirrely fellow. Nice, but he’s a little out there, I think.” Martha chuckled.

I described to Martha the physical features of the man who was my neighbor at the inn.

“Yep, that sounds like him, all right.”

“Holy hell. That would make sense. That’s how I got this pass tonight was from my neighbor.”

“Small world, eh?”

I nodded. “So, what did the inside look like when you checked it out?”

“Well, you know, it used to be an old train depot.”

“I did not know that.”

“Yeah, way back in the day. So inside its got some high ceilings. Walking through though, you’d never guess it used to be an old train station for Wilton.”

“So what else did you see?”

“He gave me a tour of every room. I saw the dance floor, the bar area, but all the party lights were off, and it just felt like a warehouse almost. We walked through the rooms behind the dance floor because you go into this hallway up the second floor, think there’s like two rooms, and then on the third floor, there are another two rooms. I guess all the way up at the top is where the owner lives. But in all the rooms, nothing was incriminating. Just couches, minibars, and a storage room that the owner used, which was pretty large. He kept many things like tripods, cameras, rolls of film, tools for taking them apart, and a workbench. Nothing too crazy.”

“Everything was all clean?”

“No. All the tools were covered in blood, and I just ignored it,” Martha said sarcastically. “Of course, they were all clean. The place was as clean as a whistle. Hell, Mickey even took me up to the owner’s room, and we walked around there. He’s a total minimalist. Even though he uses a room for storage, his living room hardly had any aesthetic except for modern minimalism. It doesn’t look lived in at all.”

“How interesting. Have you met the owner?”

“I must have, once or twice, very brief in passing. Seems like a nice fellow. He goes a little too hard with his style, the white suit, and blue circular glasses, but whatever. Who am I to judge?”

“What’s his name?”

“He told me to call him Percy, but I think it’s short for Perseus.”

“Huh. What a name.”

“Yeah, it’s a real power name, wouldn’t you say?” Martha snickered.

The server came over and took our order; neither of us chose any alcohol. We both just ordered food.