Eldridge sat at his desk, the television on in the background, his eyes fixed on the point where the ceiling met the wall. It has been two days and he is no closer to figuring out who may have taken Byung’s laptop. None of the shops that Soren mentioned had seen any sign nor have bought any used equipment in the last two weeks.

He let out a sigh as he pushed his chair back, the wheels squeaked slightly as he shifted his weight. “If it’s not in town, was it then taken to Ian City?” He mumbled to himself as he stood as his mind tried to work through the small threads. “More and more this is looking like corporate sabotage.” He continued to verbalize his train of thought.

“I mean come on, some Vegas marketing bigwig just happens to get his laptop stolen within the time of his vacation, in a house that had no furnishings nor any sign that it had any wealth,” Eldridge shook his head.

This was going nowhere. “I have to trust Charlie on that front.” He said to solidify his resolve that his contact at the FBI could handle that angle. “It is my duty to squeeze the leads out of this town.”

Eldridge turned towards his desk; his hand reached out for his notes. A quick read and a long sigh later led him to toss them back onto his desk. “This is pointless,” He mumbled in frustration. “I need to get my mind off this. Least I continue to think in circles.”

He tilted his head towards the tv, the scene shifting to a fly over of the ocean with a man narrating in the background. “…try to be too forward and you can come off too eager, on the other hand you don’t want to…” His hand reached out and shut off the set. His gaze shifted to the ground as he walked into the kitchen.

“Maybe Justin might have an angle I can look at this from,” Eldridge continued as his mind was unable to leave the odd nature of the case behind. His hand reached out for the coffee he had simmering. The actions of gathering a cup of joe are so routine that he isn’t even aware of the fact he procured some until he tastes the hot liquid flowing into his mouth.

He stood, eyes closed, and sipped from the cup, his mind calming from the action. Moments passed as he simply stood there, mind drifting. Suddenly, his eyes opened as something, skated? Touched? There was definitely a sense of something interacting against his thoughts. It was familiar to him, it felt like that night.

“Is this a relapse?” He questioned to himself. “Drugs can do that right, like LSD. They can flash months after having taken them.” Again, he felt that sense, that pressure against his mind. “I shouldn’t, but,” Eldridge placed down his cup.

He stared at his hands and focused. He placed them against his face and felt, he stretched them out and saw. He pinched his arm, and all of it felt real, felt present. His sense seemed to be valid, so he could trust his mind as well, right?

Deciding it wasn’t a horrid risk, he sought that assault, that thread that would knock against his mind. He stood there silently as the compressor of his fridge kicked on. The low rumble went on for a while before it finally shut off. Still, he couldn’t feel that substance anymore. A slight laugh bubbled in him at his ridiculous act.

“I don’t know what I was expecting,” He finally whispered to himself. “Though nothing was probably what it should’ve been.” Seconds after he finished speaking, he felt the assault once again. Quickly, he settled his mind and tried to grab that intangible wisp.

“I don’t see why I am always the one who has to wash this.” A voice that wasn’t a voice reverberated inside his mind. “If Mark wants to clean things, perhaps he should be the one doing...”

It was gone as quickly as it came. Words that clearly held meaning, though, were meaningless to Eldridge.

He waited and sought out more of that voice. The clock ticked in the background as time passed. Eventually he opened his eyes and reached out for his coffee. A sip of the lukewarm liquid told him more time had passed than he realized.

“Well that was,” He mumbled as he left his kitchen. “Was there any meaning to it, or was it all in my mind.” He continued to mumble as he sat on his sofa.

“Though, if it had meaning,” He said as he took a sip of his coffee as his mind shuffled through what he’d heard. “What should Mark wash, his car? No, my mind was on the case when I started to feel these threads. So, if it is related to the case, then money laundering?”

Eldridge sat forward as he tapped his cup repeatedly against the table. Possibilities roiled in his mind. “Why would a corporate laptop matter in a case of money laundering.” He took another sip of his coffee. “Information, proof of the deed could be in the computer.”

The new trains of thought livened Eldredge’s mood. He finally felt like he was getting somewhere.

“I need to find that computer, I wonder if Soren knew more than he let on.” He continued as he set down his cup and leaned into the couch. “This feels like it has ties to some of the darker sides of Ian City.” A smirk crossed his face.

He, like most, knew of the mobbish rumors that traveled from the large city of nearly half a million. Like most, he also discounted a majority of them, as people liked to let their imaginations fly. Unlike most, he knew of some of the truth behind the rumors. Having dealt with it in his line of work.

“If it’s money laundering, then it definitely has ties to Ian City.” Eldridge stood and walked towards his laptop. He needed to send out his hooks as soon as possible. “The question is where to look; the only tangible thread is the name Mark.” He continued as he pulled up his laptop and began to write an email.

“I guess I will start with looking for business owners named Mark.” Eldridge mumbled as he began to type.

A few moments later, he sent the request of information to Dennis in filing. Given the time, it wouldn’t be till some time tomorrow that he would receive his reply. Still, with that message sent his mind was finally able to rest some.

A long sigh left his mouth as he relaxed into his couch. His hand reached for the remote and popped the tv back on. The local eight-o clock news filled the screen, some story of an Ian City pizza joint having a charity event. Eldridge really wasn’t paying attention, most of his capacity for thought having long left his mind. His thoughts tilted towards sleep as he glanced at the clock. Eight twenty wasn’t that early, though it wasn’t that late either.

“Two hikers, a Mathew and Tiffany Wallis, have gone missing through the Lake Ian segment of the continental divide.” The woman on the screen said as Eldridge tilted his attention back to the tv.

“Right, they’d mentioned that at work,” Eldridge mumbled to himself.

The news didn’t really strike much of a nerve. It was sad, but over the years he has numbed himself to the death of hikers. There are always a few each year among those that like to hike the divide.

“…Contact your local authorities or the number at the bottom of the screen.” She continued to read the teleprompter. “In other news the Sparrow fans are excited Ian City will host the first game of the preseason tomorrow. One enthusiastic fan even started a crowd funded campaign too…”

Eldridge jumped as his phone started to ring. “Who is it at this time?” He questioned as he reached for his phone. The number was unfamiliar to Eldridge, though it was his work line so he figured he should answer it. “Hello, Detective Skan speaking.”

“Hello Detective, it’s Byung.” Byung said from the other end of the line. “My IT department just called to tell me they had a hit. The laptop pinged from an IP address registered to Information River Inc. between twenty thirteen and seventeen seconds and twenty fifteen and forty-three seconds. I am not sure how much that will help, but I figured it would be useful.”

The information fled past Eldridge’s worn mind. “One second,” He replied as he finally understood what Byung was giving him. He rushed to get himself a pencil and paper. “Okay, can you repeat the time and address.”

“Yeah, it is 258.272.40.212. The time was between twenty thirteen and seventeen seconds and twenty fifteen and forty-three seconds this night.” Byung replied deliberately slow.

Eldridge quickly wrote down the information and repeated it back to Byung. After confirming the information, the two men hung up. Eldridge sat back into his couch as his mind contemplated what that meant. IRI was a local Internet service provider, their influence wasn’t but a few miles around Port Coulee, so the laptop was most likely still nearby. Tomorrow he would have to contact them, maybe he would…

The light blasted against Eldridge’s eyes as he slowly picked himself up. His body felt cold as he blinked a few times as he tried to orientate his mind.

“…call now to claim your Figitor, it’s only…” The words drew Eldridge’s attention and he turned his gaze towards the tv. “…get yours before the time runs out. Remember there are only ten thousand avail…”

The TV bleeped as it turned off. Eldridge tossed the remote onto the coffee table next to him.

“What time is it,” he asked as he turned his gaze towards his clock on the wall. “Seven fifff, I’m late!” he screamed to himself as he stood.

He stumbled as he was taken aback by the sudden cold that assaulted his lower body. His mind was still muddled but even in that state he knew what it most likely meant.

“Did I drink last night?” He mumbled as he felt his pants and the cold that permeated them.

His hands fumbled as he quickly undressed, eager to get out of the soaked clothes. After he laid his clothes on the coffee table, he headed to his bathroom. It would be best to get himself washed off as soon as possible. The shower was warm and quick, though he would’ve liked to linger he knew he had work to get to. He quickly toweled off before he headed towards his dresser.

“I can’t believe I overslept, though, I guess that is the least of what happened in the night,” Eldridge mumbled as he entered his bedroom to gather his things.

“Was it really a relapse?” He questioned as he tucked in his shirt and began to button his pants. “I mean why else would I not remember much from after the phone call?”

This whole endeavor greatly worried Eldridge, though there was not much he could do at this time. “I will have to go for testing, what would the consequences be if I was driving when this happened.” He stated as he looked over his living room.

There was a knee imprint on the carpet and his coffee table was a mess, clearly, he had slept on it.

“I must’ve really been affected,” He mumbled as he picked up his pants to take them to wash.

As he lifted them, he caught a huge whiff of coffee. Against his better judgment he sniffed his pants and the coffee smell deepened. He looked back at the table and relief filled his mind as he realized he spilled his cup in the night.

Deeper examination told him that he was lucky he caught the spill on his pants and nowhere else, especially his laptop or carpet. “Well that is something at least, though it doesn't explain the deep sleep.”

Eldridge shook his head as he headed for the washer, it would be best to get his clothes washed before they stained. The moment he held his hands out to put them into the washer he realized he only had his pants. After he dropped them in, he went back to the living room to find his shirt.

After a short time of searching he took in a breath and resigned himself to just washing his pants. Resolving to look for his shirt after work, he was late as it was. With that in mind, he picked up his cell to call work as he walked to the machine. The phone rang as he fumbled with the settings.

“Hey Skan,” The voice from the other side spoke as soon as it was picked up. “Are you calling to gloat?” The sentence took Eldridge by surprise as he would’ve expected a bit more anger. “Anyway, any news on your cases?”

“I might have a lead with the name mark,” Eldridge spoke, trying to collect his thoughts. His chief Julius wasn’t acting normal given he was late.

“Ah, yeah Dennis told me of that,” Julius replied. “Unfortunately, there are no Marks registered to businesses in town. So, it might be in Ian City.”

“That makes things a bit more difficult, have Dennis get back to me if gets any leads with the name,” Eldridge replied as he walked back to his kitchen. Having called he would at least have time to grab a muffin and some juice.

“Will do, you enjoy the game,” Julius stated. “Take that time to clear your mind. If you didn’t ask for time off I probably would’ve forced you to take some soon. You’re only human.”

Eldridge paused as his mind raced to figure out what game his boss was talking about. Then it hit him, the sparrows opening preseason game. He had taken the day off months ago, and it slipped his mind. “Will do, keep me informed either way.”

“Yup, take care. And don’t go stewing about the case, watch that game,” Julius ordered.

“No promises, well I am off.” Eldridge replied as he hung up, his mind already worrying about the fact he forgot he was going to watch the game. Did he even hear those words last night? Could he trust himself?