Short and Sweet
by Swellison

"But it's got to be here, Jim." Blair Sandburg said, running a hand through his loose curls in frustration. "Commercial enterprises don't just disappear!" He and his partner, Detective Jim Ellison, stood in front of a deserted store front on the main concourse at O'Hare Airport's Terminal Two. A steady flow of people, most carrying luggage or pulling suitcases passed in both directions.

"Oops, excuse me," a blonde woman accidentally bumped her wheeled bag into Sandburg's leg. She flashed him an apologetic smile and was gone before he could think to ask her for help. Blair inched closer to the wall, trying to get out of the way of the passersby.

"Are you sure you followed the directions this time, Chief?" Jim asked, staring at the abandoned concession area as he also moved out of the way of the near-constant foot traffic.

"You saw the same map I did," Sandburg retorted. "According to the airport's location map, the Fannie May Candy Store should be right here, opposite the Illinois lottery counter behind us."

"Well, it isn't," Jim stated the obvious.

"Man, I just about promised Christine I'd pick up some chocolate for her. It doesn't make sense for the store to close, she told me that Fannie May is headquartered here in Chicago." Sandburg glanced past the shifting crowd, to the attendant at the lottery counter. "Maybe he can tell us where the candy store is." He took a step towards the attendant when Ellison stopped him with a hand on his upper arm.

"Bad idea, Chief. I overheard one of the men in line say that the lottery closes in twenty minutes. Tonight's jackpot is $25,000,000 and I don't think the line of people waiting for tickets is going to appreciate you distracting the ticket seller right now."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Blair agreed, noting that the line included several large, muscular young men. It seemed that a visiting college football team wanted to try their luck off the gridiron before catching their flight back home. "Christine's going to be so disappointed, though. She really wanted those Trinidads. They sounded very tasty, too--dark chocolate and... That's it!" He grinned at the older man and bounced excitedly. "You can track down the store by smell."

"What--? D'you have any idea how many different smells there are here? Hundreds of people, wearing perfumes, colognes, hair sprays, nail polish - the variety is limitless. There's dozens of different kinds of cigarettes alone."

"The perfect field test for your ability to filter out unwanted odors. C'mon, Jim, give it a try. Christine said that Trinidads are dark chocolate covered with yellow icing and coconut bits. So you're searching for coconut and dark chocolate together. Now, take a deep breath and smell."

He watched as the Sentinel closed his eyes, took a deep breath and held it. "That's right, Jim. Coconut and dark chocolate--you know what they smell like. Now, just filter out and ignore all the other scents. Separate the wheat from the chaff, the coconut from the cologne."

Jim's eyes opened. "This way, Chief." He stepped to their left, towards Terminal Three, if Blair had read the airport wall map correctly. They strode briskly to the end of the main concourse, then turned left and walked through a narrower connecting corridor, emerging into a small rotunda. Four different walkways branched off from the rounded space and Ellison paused momentarily. After a couple of seconds, he headed for the second opening to their left, Blair at his side. The corridor merged into a large concourse, with shops and booths. Immediately to their left was a small, airy store that reeked of sugar and chocolate.

"Eureka!" Blair pounded Jim on the back, then they stepped behind the lone customer the salesperson was currently serving. The transaction was quickly completed and the gray-haired customer walked away carrying a plastic bag with the Fannie May Candies logo on it. Sandburg moved up to the sales counter and saw the small tray on top of the counter. "Free samples, cool!" He pointed at a yellow coated piece of candy. "Why don't you taste what you've been smelling?"

Ellison picked up the yellow morsel, noting the coconut bits added tiny tan-colored bumps to the smooth round candy. He bit the Trinidad in half, savoring the rich, creamy dark chocolate center, the sugary melt-in-your-mouth icing and the toasted, crunchy taste of coconut. The second bite of candy was just as good, although he swallowed it quickly when he heard Sandburg place his order. "Ah, Chief, could you make that two boxes of Trinidads?"

The End