Making Friends in Strange Places

Dragging myself out of my memories was getting harder, but I finally succeeded. I woke to find Lauren leaning over me. She turned and called out, "He's awake!"

"About damn time, but I can't say I really blame him, all things considered." Captain Case appeared on my other side. "How are you feeling, Toby?"

"I've been better," I muttered, taking a quick inventory of my physical condition, and finding it in better shape than I expected. "I've been worse, too. I feel pretty good, considering that you found me on the floor shackled to a dead woman's bed. How the hell did you find me?"

"It was a series of deductions that even the ancient detective Sherlock Holmes would be impressed by," Captain Case said dryly. "Here's the basics: your driver regularly drives this route. When he made his next trip, I asked him to check an