Suzie's Sixty-Six Impala roared to life. Luke Cole pulled the car into the street from the garage. A meeting was established at a coffee shop, downtown Buffalo, where the mystery man claimed to have found their daughter's phone.

Luke jumped from the car and embraced Suzie. The warmth of her tender flesh swamped him, soaking his heart. He had to remind himself again, to focus on their missing daughter. He broke free, breathed a sigh. "I won't come back without her."

"Careful with this man," said Suzie.

As Luke climbed inside the car, he showed her the revolver under his seat.

Suzie frowned. "I hope you don't need it."

"No worries. I still got a conceal and carry."

Suzie folded her arms, like she needed to hug herself. "Call me later." She knew he needed to drive under the radar. He was on a leave of absence from the force and couldn't afford to be on the wrong side of the law.

Minutes later, Luke shifted gears between lights on Niagara Falls Blvd. Minutes from the falls, he was to meet the mystery man who found Chrissy's phone. Luke knew he was caught somewhere between fifty shades of gray. But there was something electric, a rush to be the missing link between black and white.

He took a deep breath, as he rolled toward the coffee shop shaped like a repurposed caboose. As described, there was a picture of large coffee cup on the sign. It was tucked in the shadow of Buffalo's downtown skyscrapers where old places ran out of space.

A homeless man sat on a milk crate. He wore a green army jacket and held a sign that read, "Homeless and Hungry."

Luke parked on the edge of a narrow alley, next to the dumpsters. He climbed out with his billfold, walked over and handed the man a twenty.

"God bless you," he said.

As Luke turned and shifted toward the cafe, he replied. "Looks like we all need a blessing or two. Do me a fav..., Bub. Keep an eye on my dog for me while inside. I'll bring you a cup a Joe on the rebound."

The man looked toward his car and nodded. "No worries. I got your back, bro."

As Luke stepped inside, a bell above rang his entrance. As he looked around, most everyone looked like the man outside, like maybe the coffee shop was a homeless convention.

A waitress with a pencil in her hair looked up from behind the register. She was maybe thirties, raven hair, and the crease of a smile. "You can sit where you like. I'll be over to take your order."

Luke nodded. It was late afternoon, and the sun found its way into the eyes of some patrons. One man sat in the back of the cafe. He eyed Luke. He described himself as wearing a Buffalo Bills cap. He was young, but troubled. He had peach fuzz for a beard, deep set eyes, and greasy blonde hair around his ears.

Luke sauntered over to the man who sipped his coffee, then guarded it, as if it could be taken. But Luke wanted to see the phone in question on the table. "You Doug?" Luke didn't come to mince words. Every moment it took to find Chrissy, left her in danger. He slipped into the booth on the other side.

"My friends call me Digger."

Luke figured he'd best lighten the mood. "I bet you're a diamond in the ruff."

"Yea, they never tell me that."

"You got the phone?" Luke pulled his hands from his jacket, hoping to ease the man's jitters.

The waitress bounced over. She was too perky for this place. "Coffee?" She held the pot and turned his cup over and poured. He breathed it in. "Let me know when you're ready to order. I'll come back."

Digger looked at Luke with hungry eyes. "I was hoping you could order something for us."

"Look, this is no social call. I need to find the person who owns the phone." He knew then, he'd want money too. "I need to see the phone?" Luke tried to bottle his temper.

Digger fumbled inside a flap jacket. He pulled it out but wasn't about to let it slip away.

Luke slipped a fifty toward him. That loosened the man's hands enough to let the phone go.

"I had to charge it up. I'm not a bad person."

"Never said so." What was percolating in Luke's head, was if he'd seen her, and where? Luke could see the phone had Suzie's contacts. "Where'd you find it? On the ground? Maybe you stole it?"

"No man! What you take me for?"

"I see a desperate man, who might have more than a phone to share."

"It was the dumpster out back. I found it in the dumpster."

"Look I don't have much time," said Luke. He pulled a picture of Chrissy. Did you see her?"

"No man. Geez. I was dumpster diving."

Luke fought the urge to choke information out of him. "You live around here?"

Digger slipped the fifty into his pocket. "I'm homeless, man."

"Then you may have seen something. Show me where you sleep?"

"But I'm hungry."

"So, you can buy plenty of cheeseburgers now. Let's go."

"You a cop?"

"I'm a father and a cop. And right now, the father in me doesn't know if you're telling me everything."

"But you have her phone now. I meant to do something good."

"The phone is a link to her. It's a start. But I need more. I need to know who you saw."

The man found enough fear to leave and walk through the clanging door. Luke slipped some money for the coffee and had the waitress give him his to go.

When the pair made it outside, Luke handed the man with a sign the coffee promised.

"You're a saint," said the homeless man.

"You wouldn't say that if you've seen me on my bad days." Luke stopped in his tracks. Showed him the picture of Chrissy and one of the pimp boyfriend Spike. "You see any of these two?"

"No, sir, brother."

Digger looked back at Luke following him. He looked scared enough to run. But he pointed to the dumpster. "I just found it in here one morning."

Luke pulled out a picture of Chrissy and the boyfriend. "Have you seen this man around here?"

"No man. With crazy hair like that, I would remember."

Luke was satisfied he didn't need to threaten his life. He wanted to save his threatening for when it counted. "You see this girl, you see this man, you call me! And yes, I will see you keep eating."

Luke gave him the phone number from his trac phone. He dove into his car and looked around. He figured there must have been half-dozen flea bag motels between downtown and Niagara Falls. His guess and gut was, she would be holed up with this Spike guy, not far from the coffee shop. He looked at Bugsy. "What?"

Bugsy gave his master a frown. Luke pulled a dog biscuit from his pocket and gave it to him. He looked at himself in the rearview mirror, turned the key, and the engine roared back to life. "We need to find a room, Bugs. And not any room, a room with a view where this dude sticks out like a sore excuse for a human."