A/N: This is a chapter of police work and it features three of the supporting detectives in the series, Tanner, Lessing and Healy, as well as Mike and Steve.

Special call out to readers in Serbia/Montenegro. How exciting to see some hits on this story and its predecessor. Hope you enjoyed it!

SOSF SOSF SOSF SOSF SOSF

Bureau of Inspectors, the next morning

Mike sat at his desk examining the red notebook that he and Steve retrieved from Hernando Valdez's home. The papers documented the water clean-up effort in Marin County the prior year. From what Mike could understand, Valdez and others were contracted to test the water around Sheffield Waste Management. They were to proceed with any clean-up efforts which would be included as part of a legal settlement against the company.

The documentation showed that there was an underground duct system that took run-off from one of the processing areas into a creek which flowed into a larger stream. Rangers at a nearby park had noted dead fish in the stream and alerted authorities.

Since most of the ductwork was underground, efforts were made to cap the drainage until another alternative could be built. Apparently, the cap was removed and the drainage began again after the initial clean-up.

Certainly there is a motive here to silence Mr. Valdez if they resumed dumping the drainage into the water supply, Mike thought. And then adding to the clean-up issue was the fact that the supervisors did nothing when Valdez raised the question of the renewed contamination. This could go a couple of ways.

Mike walked over to the door and called out to Tanner. "Bill, when are you heading off on vacation?"

"In a couple of days. That's still okay, isn't it, Mike?"

"Sure. In the meantime, I'd like for you and Healy to work with the authorities in Marin County to see if we can set up some surveillance at the Sheffield Waste Management Company. There've been two men killed and a police officer assaulted, so one would think there'll be no problem in getting their cooperation."

"Speaking of police officer assaulted, how is Steve? Rough thing to happen when he was just coming back on duty."

"It was, but he's doing okay. It was a mild concussion. I talked to him this morning and he should be back tomorrow."

"Good to hear he'll be okay. I'll grab Healy and we'll go see our friends in Marin County." Tanner grabbed his coat.

"That's fine, Bill. I'll go talk to Valdez's and Cruz's supervisors on the clean-up. You know, I think Valdez knew about the problem coming back, but it sure didn't seem like Cruz did. He claimed to be an innocent bystander and we need to validate that he was."

Mike thought for a moment, "Lee, come here…I need your help. Go over to Victor Cruz's home and see if he had any records on an environmental clean-up project for Sheffield Waste Management in Marin County. Call me with what you find out."

"Got it, Mike."

SOSF SOSF SOSF SOSF SOSF

The Next Day

For the first time in a long time, Mike saw a full complement of detectives outside his office. Steve was back. Healy, Lessing and Tanner were also at their desks. Mike was pleased to see the team together. It's good to be fully staffed at least for a day, he thought.

Mike clapped his hands as he walked out of his office. "Gentleman, let's talk about the Valdez case. What's the latest?"

The phone rang on Tanner's desk as Healy spoke, "We worked with Marin County PD and watched the comings and goings of Sheffield."

Mike perched himself on the corner of Steve's desk. "Did you see anything, Dan?" Mike inquired.

"Well, we did run the plates of every car that went in and out of the facility." Healy answered.

"And…"

"Three of the cars were registered to convicted felons. We're thinking that if Sheffield has hired any goons, that perhaps they might have a record. So, we're checking that out."

"Excellent. Lee, how about you? Did you find anything at Cruz's house regarding the clean-up or Sheffield?"

"No, Mike. I went through that house top to bottom and found nothing. Now, keep in mind that the house was ransacked. Perhaps whoever clubbed Steve had already found what they needed."

"Or it could be that Cruz didn't know anything that Valdez was working on," Mike pondered.

Tanner hung up the phone. "Watchya got, Bill?" Mike asked.

"That was Roy Smith. He was the witness who gave us the tip on the other conventioneer that was at Carl's Bar the night Valdez was killed." Tanner responded.

"Go on," Mike was eager to hear the development.

"He went through the list of the other convention attendees. We now have a name and address. It's John Rollins. He's a farmer who lives about twenty miles north of Minot, North Dakota."

"Minot, North Dakota, huh? Why, that's a long way from San Francisco," Mike mused. "What type of convention was this Farmer Rollins attending?"

"It had to do with growing rapeseed or something like that," Tanner replied.

"Are you saying grape seed, like Sonoma or Napa?" Mike queried.

"No. Sounds weird, but Smith called it 'rapeseed'…as in rape…"

"You don't need to go into details," Mike stopped the detective. "I just never heard of it."

"I believe I have," Steve offered. "It's a crop that's grown in part of Canada and the extreme North US. Part of the mustard family. Anyway, the seeds from the plant, or the rapeseeds, have a high oil content that can be used for everything from engine lubricant to cooking oil. Considering where it's grown, I'm not surprised that someone from North Dakota would be attending a conference about it."

He was tempted to go on, but instead gave an innocent wide-eyed look. The blank stares from his colleagues gave him sufficient satisfaction. It was apparent that his quest for knowledge had resulted in a vast mental library of trivia.

"How do know these things…." Mike began to ask as he quickly tried to reconcile the young man before him to the kid described by his sister as needing encouragement to finish high school.

The older detective shook his head and returned his thoughts to Tanner. "Okay, Bill. Do you have a number on Farmer Rollins?"

"Got it right here."

"What about Valdez's supervisors, Mike? Didn't you go over there yesterday to see what you could find out about them?" Lee asked.

"Thanks for reminding me. Yes, I did talk to his superiors there. The only thing I can say is that what I witnessed was government bureaucracy at its best. Or worst, depending on your perspective. I have a feeling that whatever Valdez relayed simply got lost in the bureaucracy."

"So it sounds like our two best leads are Mr. Rollins and the three ex-cons whose plates Tanner and Healy ran," Lee summarized.

"Yes. So let's do this," Mike ordered. "Steve, you and Lessing go to where Tanner and Healy were yesterday and see if you can find anything else out. Do like they did and get plate numbers of anyone going in or out. Tanner, you and Healy go run down the three ex-cons and see what you can find out. I'll call Mr. Rollins."

On the way back to his office, Mike lightly swatted Steve on the back of the head as payback for his impromptu rapeseed lecture.

"Concussion…" the younger detective reminded him playfully.

"Apparently the concussion did nothing to damage that brain of yours. What I'd give to see the archive of data up there."

Steve chuckled as he and Lessing headed out the door for a day of surveillance of Sheffield Waste Management.