Bye Bye Baby
A/N : Due to a recent death in the family (a favorite Aunt) I have not had the heart to write much of late so apologies for the lack of updates on my stories. However this is a fully completed 20+ chapter story that I wrote recently as a very belated birthday gift for my dear friend and fellow SOSF writer briroch. It is dedicated to her. She has kindly given me permission to post it here so I can share it with you all. As it is fully complete I will be posting one chapter a day until it is completed. In the meantime I will try to get the heart back to write and get some other updates posted.
Chapter 1
It had been a very long and draining day at Bryant Street and Steve was feeling the strain. His first day back after a weekend at Lake Tahoe skiing with some old college friends and he was putting in longer hours to make up for the fact that Mike had let him off early last Friday for his trip. He had been here since six am despite only arriving home from his ski trip at midnight. His case was still at home on his living room floor where it had been wearily dumped the night before and he had practically fallen into bed and had been up at the crack of dawn to shower and shave before heading back into work.
Mike had been a bit later in this morning as Jeannie had been home for the weekend and he had left her to the bus station before coming in at around eight o'clock. Steve had missed seeing Mike's daughter, as he normally would see her a lot on her weekends home, always being invited to many of her delicious home cooked meals and usually going to the cinema or the theater with them on the Saturday evening but this time Steve's weekend plans had clashed and so they hadn't seen each other at all.
Work had been hectic and everyone in the office had been flat out all day. Mike and Steve had been on different assignments for most of the day and hadn't got to talk much as Rudy had kept Mike occupied for most of the afternoon in one of his weekly update meetings and Steve had been out and about taking eyewitness statements and trawling the crime scene for clues on their latest case.
It was just coming up to nine o'clock in the evening and Steve was clipping the latest case file together while he waited for a call from ballistics about the bullet caliber that killed their latest murder victim and the autopsy results when Mike arrived somewhat wearily back into the bullpen.
"Hey Buddy boy. What a day huh? "
Steve dropped the file onto his desk feeling every bit as worn out as Mike looked.
"Yeah ... You want some coffee? You look like you could do with some."
"Oh yes. That would be nice, thanks. Mind you, you look like you need some yourself. What time did you get in this morning?" Mike asked, sitting heavily down in the chair opposite Steve's desk as he did.
Steve sighed as he made his way to the coffee table outside Mike's office and suppressed a distinct yawn with his back to Mike, at the mention of his early morning start.
"Oh, around six I think ... " he casually replied.
"Six? What in God's name brought you in that early, Buddy boy? What time did you get back from Lake Tahoe last night."
Steve poured the two coffees and dropped two dimes in the tin and returned to his desk as he answered guardedly.
"Well ...you let me go early on Friday so I thought I'd make up the hours."
"Well now, that wasn't the answer to my question, Buddy boy. What time? Come on, spill. "
Steve laughed at Mike's persistence as he sat down and shook his head.
"I don't know ... around midnight I think."
"Midnight? And you were in here at six? Well no wonder you look out on your feet. You could have made up the hours later in the week you know. Come on, pack it in. You're going home to get some sleep. I'll drive."
In typical fussing fashion, Mike closed the file on Steve's desk and went into his office to fetch his own coat and hat but Steve jumped up and stopped him before he took them off his coat stand.
"Hey, hold your horses will you? I'm waiting on two calls from ballistics and about the latest victim's autopsy. After they call, I'll pack it in for tonight, ok? "
Mike stood where Steve had stopped him and studied the young man briefly. He looked exhausted, and paler than his usual color but his usual charming smile was still pasted on his face regardless. Mike patted his partner's shoulder and reluctantly agreed to the terms.
"Two calls huh? Ok, but after that you're heading HOME. Got it?"
Steve mischievously saluted, chuckling as he did.
" Yes SIR. "
Mike playfully swatted at the younger man, catching him on the elbow as he tried to swerve out of Mike's line of fire as Steve's tiredness made his reflexes slower this evening.
"Ow!" Steve protested rubbing his elbow and then couldn't help laughing.
"You're a lot quicker off the mark than usual, I see Michael."
Mike laughed too, grabbing the back of Steve's neck playfully and guiding him back towards the young man's desk.
"I think it's more a case of you being slower off the mark than usual this evening, Buddy boy. So ... get me up to speed on our latest case."
Still chuckling at their normal playful camaraderie, Steve sat down and reopened the file and Mike sat down opposite, but Mike noted that when he opened the file, his face grew more serious and his smile pointedly faded. Picking up a grisly crime scene photograph of a young girl's body he handed it over to Mike who took it and frowned as he saw the remains of the poor girl who looked around the same age as his own daughter.
"Her name was Susan, Susan Randall. She was nineteen years old, living on the streets from what I can make out. She had needle marks practically everywhere ... "
"Heroin addiction? "
"Looks like it, yeah. I tracked down her family. I spoke to her father, a Tony Randall. Apparently her mother died about three years ago and they aren't very close. She took to drugs and looks like they argued and he threw her out of the house about six moths ago."
"Threw her out? Well what KIND of a FATHER does that? Turns their back on their own flesh and blood?"
Steve could see Mike getting heated up and didn't really blame him. The poor girl hadn't stood a chance alone on the streets and he knew just as Mike did that her father's actions were akin to throwing a lamb out to the wolves especially with her addiction as bad as it seemed to be. He spoke barely audibly.
"I don't know Mike ... I really don't know."
The two men sat in silence for several seconds before Mike finally spoke again.
"How did she die, drug overdose?" he asked, still staring at the picture sadly.
"No, two bullets in the back. Coroner reckoned she died instantly."
Mike's head snapped up and his facial expression was unreadable.
"She was murdered? "
"Yeah, I'm waiting on the ballistic report. Looks like fairly close range."
"Well now who would murder a nineteen year old Heroin addict recently living on the streets ... ? Maybe she owed the wrong people money to support her habit?"
"It's possible ... "
"Sounds like you have a different theory, Buddy boy. Tell me before you bust."
Steve faintly smiled at Mike's statement.
"Yeah, I think ... she saw something she wasn't supposed to and she was killed to keep her quiet."
"Well, that's a very elaborate theory Buddy boy. You got anything to back that up or are you going off gut instinct?"
Again Steve smiled and rifled through the file in his hands.
"Michael, Michael, oh you of little faith." he teased lightheartedly " You should know by now I don't throw out theories unless I've done my research first. "
"OK, hotshot. What did you find to support that theory of yours?"
"Quite a bit actually. A Mr. Wong from the Chinese Restaurant next to the alley where she was found said that at eleven pm approximately he was working in the back kitchens when he saw what looked like a black sedan parked in the alleyway. Now he couldn't tell me the make or give me any descriptions because he said it was very dark out there but he said there were at least three men out there by the different voices he heard. Now he said he didn't hear what they were saying but that the voices sounded hostile like they were having a disagreement or something but said he felt a bit scared and went back into the main part of the restaurant so didn't know what happened after that. However ..."
Mike smiled as Steve recounted his day's discoveries and marveled at the amount of care and effort the young man always gave each murder they investigated.
"... I managed to find another witness, a Mrs. Carnegie from the apartment block on the other side of the alley. Now her bedroom window overlooks the alley and she said she was in bed at eleven last night and at about a quarter past she thought she heard what sounded like a car backfiring. She got up to look out and saw the same black sedan in the alley and again mentioned at least three people down below. Now she said she didn't think anything of it and went back to bed but five minutes later at around eleven twenty she heard shouting and two distinct gunshots."
"That was when poor Susan bought it, huh?"
"Yeah, that's what I think but what I got to thinking then was, what if the first backfire wasn't a backfire at all?"
"Go on."
"What if the first backfire was one of the first three men getting shot and Susan saw the whole thing and that sealed her fate. "
Mike sat back in his chair mulling over Steve's theory carefully.
"Well, that would explain her getting shot in the back, if she saw something and tried to run away but ... then you'd have another body on your hands Buddy boy which I take it, you haven't ? "
Steve smiled smugly and continued.
"No, no other body. I mean the crew checked the alleyway thoroughly, dumpsters, everything, but then I got to thinking what if the first body left the alleyway in the trunk of that black sedan. Now there were distinct tire marks and looks like it had a small oil leak as there was a small fresh ooze of engine oil there too but there was also a bloodstain. Not very large but far enough away from Susan's body to make me think and I had the boys analyze it. "
This time Steve sat back in his seat smiling broadly and Mike spoke next.
"Let me guess. The blood was a different type to Susan's."
"Yep ... I figure the third man was shot behind the car and bundled into the trunk. Susan was in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnessed the whole thing and couldn't be allowed escape to testify."
Mike beamed proudly at Steve but then wagged his finger teasingly at him.
"Your theory sounds good Buddy boy but it's still fairly thin. If the alley was as dark as you said, there are no clear descriptions of the men or the car and that blood could have been from a wino or anyone else that passed through the alleyway earlier. You don't have a lot to go on."
"Ah! See you're doing it again. Discounting my theory before you've heard everything I found out. "
"Oh well forgive me Buddy boy. What else have you got?"
Steve smiled and waited several seconds to keep Mike in suspense before replying.
"I think we might have another eyewitness. "
"To this supposed murder of yours?"
Steve frowned at Mike's dismissive phrase but then recovered his enthusiasm.
"Yeah ... You see at eleven thirty a cab driver over on Montgomery Street said another young girl ran across in front of him from the direction of the alleyway and get this... She was being chased by a man who ended up almost on the guy's bonnet. He got a good look at the guy too. Seems the guy heard sirens then and as the cab driver shouted at him for not looking where he was going he turned and ran back in the direction he came from and gave up the pursuit. Not so thin now huh?"
"No, not so thin. Did you get a sketch artist to work with him yet? "
"No, he gave us a written description but he's coming in first thing tomorrow to work on a sketch."
"Ok, did he get a good look at the girl too? "
"Not as good no. She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt but he thinks she had long red hair coming out of the sides however here's the worrying part."
"What?"
"He swears she was carrying a baby Mike. "
Mike's face fell.
"A baby?"
"Yeah, that's what he says. A young one too. He reckoned it was just a few months old."
Mike stood up and started to pace around, his arms crossed and his right thumb nervously tapping his chin.
"Well that is worrying. We've possibly got a young girl with a baby out there, perhaps an acquaintance of the victim, scared out of her wits and in grave danger if the man that was chasing her finds her before we do Buddy boy. "
Steve nodded grimly.
"Yeah, but finding her is going to be the hard part Mike. That's if my hunch is right and if I've called it right at all. "
"No, I think you've called it right and both our gut instincts can't be wrong. That was good work, Steve. "
Steve smiled proudly at Mike as the phone on his desk rang and he picked it up.
"Yeah, Keller, Homicide. Oh, thanks Charlie. Yeah, can you get the report to me in the morning? Great, thanks. Ok, bye."
"Ballistics?"
"Yeah, two 38 caliber bullets. Now we just need the murder weapon to match them to. Let me just call Bernie and see if the autopsy is completed yet."
Steve once more picked up the phone receiver and dialed the Coroners Office. Mike picked up Steve's file and admired how organized it was. He read through the eyewitness statements while Steve spoke into the phone. This time he watched as disappointment crossed Steve's face as he mumbled wearily into the receiver.
"Ok Bernie. Yeah, I understand. Sure, tomorrow morning is fine. Yeah, thanks. You too."
Mike watched as Steve hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair, his feet coming up to rest on the edge of his desk as he did and his hands came up to brush through his tousled hair and then move downwards to rub at his eyes.
"No luck?" Mike asked, all the time observing his partner closely.
Steve's hands lowered and one rubbed at his stomach as he answered.
"No, he hasn't got the autopsy finished yet. He said he just got the bullets retrieved for Ballistics. Apparently, Rudy then fast tracked another one before ours so it will be tomorrow morning at the earliest before he has the report for us."
Again Mike watched as a mix of emotions crossed the young man's face and he catalogued them all in his mind. Steve had all his usual telltale signs on display. The slouched position and bleary eyed look gave away how tired he was feeling and was a regular occurrence at the end of a long shift and the hand on his stomach usual meant one of two things. Either he was feeling sick or hungry. Mike quickly surmised that as he didn't look sickly in any other way that it was more than likely the latter and still holding the bulging file of reports and evidence that his partner had accumulated meant that food had probably been foregone in the time it had taken this amount of work to be completed. That was another regular occurrence that Steve frequently was guilty of and one that Mike always frowned upon. He had lost count of the number of times he had lectured the young man on how important sustenance was and how Steve could little afford to skip a meal or two much to Steve's constant annoyance. Seeing the sad and sorry state that Steve was in made Mike inclined to skip the lecture for now and instead he placed the file back on Steve's desk and spoke compassionately.
"Say, have you eaten lately?"
Steve smiled at Mike, knowing that it was a question the older man already knew the answer to, but went along all the same.
"No, not since I took a computer to lunch earlier. Why?"
"Oh well, you just look famished that's all. But Buddy boy, did you miss out on the best meatloaf that Jeannie ever made this past weekend. Served with mashed potatoes and rich gravy. It was to die for, I tell you. Bet you're sorry now you went skiing instead, huh?"
"Aw Mike, I told you. It was the only weekend the boys could all make it. I didn't have a choice. I'll plan it better next time, ok? But please don't torture me with your stories of Jeannie's home cooking. My poor stomach is already suffering here enough without my mouth watering as well."
Steve chuckled and rubbed his stomach even more as it rumbled audibly which made Mike chuckle too.
"Ok, let's call it a night. Come on, I'll drive you home while I tell you all about the delicious apple pie she made for dessert ... "
"You're really gonna punish me for double booking this weekend, aren't you?" Steve protested, wagging his finger playfully at Mike as he stood and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and watched Mike return to his office to retrieve his coat and hat from their resting place. Mike belly laughed and feigned innocence.
"Who me? Never!"
The men laughed again as Mike slung his arm around Steve's shoulders and led him from the bullpen.
"But did I mention the homemade cookies she made?"
"MIKE! Enough already. Please?" Steve shouted, putting his fingers in his ears as his stomach grumbled loudly again.
As they exited into the outside corridor and headed for the lift, Mike patted Steve's shoulder sympathetically.
"Ok, ok. You've suffered enough. But I know I didn't mention that she left plenty of leftovers for the coming week before she went back to Arizona, now did I?"
Steve dropped his fingers from his ears and turned expectantly to look at Mike.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes. I guess I'll have to ask you over to my place sometime this week to help me eat it, huh? After all there's way too much for me to manage alone."
"That would be very nice Michael, thank you. I shall look forward to that." Steve answered even more expectantly.
Mike knew he wasn't fooling his partner any longer and so asked nonchalantly.
"I don't suppose you'd like to come back now and have some late supper, would you? I mean if it's too late or you're too tired then we could take a rain check. "
"No, that would be very nice, thank you." Steve stated, as a beaming smile lit up his face as his day just got decidedly better.
"Oh, you'd like that would you?" Mike laughed as he ruffled Steve's hair and shoved him gently into the elevator.
As the doors closed, Mike's voice resonated through the closed doors.
"Did I mention the way the meatloaf melted in my mouth ... Hmm, mmm."
"MIKE! You're killing me here ... " Steve's tortured voice came in reply as both men's giggles followed and then faded as the elevator descended.