Dan could tell that the atmosphere had turned ice cold by the time they sat back down in the waiting Galaxy. Despite his marginal success on keeping the student's attention span going for a good twenty minutes, Steve never acknowledged him once he re-entered the crowded auditorium.
Instead, the young man had simply addressed the students and began a case discussion.
With Mike waiting at the building's exit doors in angry impatience, Dan dreadfully realized it was going to be another emotionally charged afternoon.
But one thing was for certain; whatever was going on between these two old partners and friends; the problem went far deeper than this case.
Shifting uncomfortably in the front bench, he sped the tan sedan up until they approached the campus guard shack.
"If it makes you feel any better, Sekulovich is working with Berkeley Police to have an unmarked team keep an eye on Steve whenever he leaves the university.", he tried and flashed his badge at the officer before pulling back onto the road.
Next to him, Mike took a deep breath before shaking his head.
"He's going to need a lot more than that, Daniel."
Hearing his full first name being used once again caught Dan by surprise.
As he glanced over at his partner, he saw Mike with his jaws clenched and his bright blue eyes strangely distant. Although he couldn't put his finger on it, he swore something significant had happened in those twenty minutes he spent lecturing students- significant enough to cause a troublesome shift in their case.
"Listen, I know you two worked together for far longer than I've known Steve, but don't you think you should ease up on him a bit? I mean, yes, he had an affair with his secretary. Maybe he's so busy that his social life has been reduced to that. I talked to some of the students and he is teaching six classes, four out of those twice a week. He's got almost six hundred students under his belt because that one professor quit midway through the semester. I think he's just on edge from all the stress. I think he bit off more than he can chew and it's come to haunt him. He does look pretty exhausted. I know I would be."
Next to him, Mike drew in a deep breath, raising his head just enough that his weary blue eyes appeared beneath the rim of the fedora.
"Dan…", he started with a strangely broken voice, "What reason did he give you for leaving the police force for this…this insanity?"
Startled by the sudden change of subject, Dan took a second to clear his mind as he navigated the Galaxy through an intersection.
Two years ago, during the candid dinner conversation he shared with Steve, the real reason had come up. And even though he'd given his word about keeping the discussion confidential, Dan had felt compelled to bring it up shortly after Steve was gunned down.
While the young man's life hung in the balance, he had tried to explain the events that led up to the near-fatal shooting to an anxious Mike, the hesitation at pulling that trigger, the second-guesses, only to hear him scoff at his words. Chances were, Steve had received the same attitude of denial, trying to explain to his friend that the only way to keep them safe would be if they parted ways permanently.
After the dust had settled and Dan began talking to a few of the other guys, he learned that the young Professor had brought up the subject repeatedly, trying to rationalize his concerns with the backing of psychological findings that suggested the longer he stayed on the force, the bigger the problem would become.
Eventually, the young man, understandingly so, grew tired of his concerns yielding nothing more than pep-talks and reassurances that this was only a phase, and switched his reasoning to the desire to make a difference in the class room.
It seemed that in the end, Mike's desperate need to have his partner and best friend close by blinded him to the dangerously thin ice they were walking on for the final days of their partnership, causing Steve to nearly lose his life, and eventually drive him far away, into a chaos-filled uncertain future.
"Oh, probably the same one he gave you. Why?"
Trying to keep the conversation light-hearted, Dan bit the inside of his lip as he felt the Lieutenant's curious eyes study his features.
"Humor me."
"Well, he said that he gets paid a lot more…and that he…he felt he could make a bigger difference with the kids and all. I mean, look at it; he's literally educating the masses. And he's amazing, if you talk to his students."
Snorting in frustration, Mike shook his head, before letting out a faint chuckle.
"I don't believe a word you are saying.", the Lieutenant finally announced before straightening out against his seat again. "At first I did. And then every time I talked to Jeanie, she said the exact same thing. But now that I've seen what's really going on, I am beginning to think you two are lying for him. He told both of you something that…for some strange reason…he feels compelled to keep from me. So spill it, Dan. What is it?"
"Mike, I can't just…I don't think we know any more than you do. Or that he told us more than he told you.", swallowing hard, Dan grabbed the steering wheel of the Galaxy tighter.
Deciding that he was no match to the Lieutenant's interrogation techniques, especially with half his mind focused on the road ahead, he pulled the tan sedan into a nearby parking spot, before facing his partner again.
"This really is something you should discuss with Steve."
There was deep pain and betrayal written all over Mike's blue eyes, as the Lieutenant tried to keep up eye contact long enough to pry the truth out of him. As traffic around them continued down their merry way, time seemed to stand still in the large police car.
"What did I do wrong to drive him away and into this…mess?"
Dan shook his head determinedly, trying to navigate his way down the tightrope of misguided notions, antagonism, his loyalty to Steve and his partnership with Mike. Reaching over to touch the Lieutenant's sunken shoulder, the young man cleared his throat before continuing.
"It was his choice and his choice alone, believe me. Neither Jean nor I could convince him otherwise and by God we tried.", Dan explained only to feel himself transported back to that disturbing conversation, "All I can say is that…Steve loves you Mike. I know that for fact. It's the truth. You guys are family. And he cares so deeply for you that he chose this chaos over the one thing that mattered most to him- which was working with you. Because in his mind, changing his career like that meant to keep you safe. And it was a sacrifice he was ever so willing to make."