"Shit," Haseejian muttered under his breath.
Olsen pushed through the others and move closer to Devitt, who was still squatting over the carpet. "Are you sure?"
The grey-haired lieutenant looked up and nodded. "Yeah…" he confirmed softly.
"Well, ah, well, it might not be Mike's, you know," Olsen growled. He looked over his shoulder at Healey and Haseejian. "One of you get on the horn and get some lab techs here now and the other get ahold of the lab guys at the pier and find out if there's any blood in that car."
The two sergeants slipped past Olsen and Devitt and jogged down the narrow hallway to the stairs.
"What do you want to do, Rudy?" Cassidy asked.
The small captain, staring at the stain on the carpet, shook his head in frustration and worry then looked up at the taller man. "Get us some back up, a couple a unies. I want to knock on every door in this building and see if anybody saw or heard something."
Cassidy jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "I saw a phone in the kitchen. I'll see if it still works." He disappeared back into the apartment.
Devitt got to his feet. "I don't like the looks of this, Rudy," he said quietly, his eyes darting from the carpet to the door before settling on his equally concerned colleague. Olsen nodded.
Devitt closed the apartment door then took a step back. He stood where someone would normally position themselves to knock right-handed then reached out to touch the small, splintered hole in the wood. He brought his hand in a straight line from the hole to his body, touching his upper left chest. He looked at Olsen again.
The older man raised his eyebrows and inhaled deeply. "Yeah, I know, it doesn't look good. We gotta find him."
Nodding, Devitt opened the door just as Cassidy was coming back towards it. "The unies are on their way."
Both Devitt and Olsen nodded.
"Okay," Olsen said with a heavy sigh, "let's start knocking on doors, see if anybody saw anything." Devitt started to head down the hallway. "Hey, where are you going?"
Devitt stopped and looked back. "I was going to knock -"
"Not by yourself, you're not," Olsen barked. "We don't know what happened to Mike in here and until we do, none of us does anything alone."
Devitt stared him down for a couple of seconds then acquiesced. "You're right," he agreed with a shrug and rejoined the others.
Cassidy knocked on the door across the hall from 4D just as Healey and Haseejian reappeared. "The lab boys are on the way and there's no blood in the car," Healey announced as they got closer.
Olsen shook his head. "I don't know if that's good or bad…"
"Listen, ah, we're knocking on doors," Devitt explained, "but we're doing it in pairs… or, in our case, trios…" he said lightly, finding a smile in the despair as he gestured at himself and the other two captains.
Healey, Haseejian and Cassidy swallowed tiny smiles as Olsen growled. Devitt looked at him and shrugged. "Mike would find that funny…" Shaking his head, Olsen looked at the others.
Healey gestured back down the hallway. "Ah, we'll start on the second floor."
Clearing his throat, still smiling, Cassidy knocked on the door of 4C again, louder.
# # # # #
Breakfast finished, Mike had been held in a sitting position again as the pillows were removed. By the time he was once more on his back he was semi-conscious. Carole gave him another shot in his upper right arm then left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.
The pain didn't go away; it never went away. He was pretty sure he wasn't getting any medication in those shots; he only hoped it was water or something equally benign. He turned his head slightly on the pillow, ignoring the discomfort, and pulled his right arm out from under the blanket. He looked from the needle on the back of his hand to the bag of clear fluid hanging from the IV pole beside the bed.
He had seen enough IV apparatus over the years to know there was something missing from this one. He stared at it, trying to figure out what was wrong.
A loud knock startled him; a loud knock on the front door, he realized sluggishly. He froze, his heart starting to pound. He turned his head and tried to look through the crack in the partially open door. He heard the loud whisper of Carole's voice and the sound of heavy footsteps.
The door opened and Oliver lumbered into the room. Glancing with a frown over his shoulder, he closed the door and moved closer to the head of the bed. He stared dully down at Mike, barely blinking and slowly lifted his thick right hand. Then, almost laboriously, he put his raised index finger to his mouth, blowing air soundlessly through his lips.
# # # # #
The door opened and a slightly overweight, middle-aged, red-headed woman with a kind face smiled at them warily. Devitt and Olsen held up their stars and I.D's. "I'm Captain Devitt, this is Captain Olsen, we're with the San Francisco Police Department. Would it be okay if we asked you some questions?"
Her eyes widening, looking from one detective to the other, she nodded, looking a bit flustered. "Oh my, yes… What do you want to know?"
"Were you at home last night from about 4 to 6 p.m.?"
She nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, yes, I was here… I'm always here," she laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Good," Devitt smiled warmly. "Did you hear or notice anything unusual happen down the hallway here… around 4D?" He pointed to his right and her head automatically turned slightly in that direction.
"Last night?"
Both detectives nodded.
She started to shake her head. "No… sorry, I didn't hear anything. It's a pretty quiet building…" She shrugged apologetically. "People kinda keep to themselves around here."
"Do you know your neighbors?"
She tilted her head with what could only be called a friendly frown. "Well, I know Mrs. Hetherington. She was in 4D but she moved downstairs a couple of days ago. The stairs, you know… I don't know the fella in 4C - he works a lot I think," she had leaned forward and lowered her voice, speaking conspiratorially, "and there's a new couple moved in across the hall there," she pointed, "but I haven't met them yet. They're not around much either." She stopped talking and just stared at them, smiling.
Olsen glanced at Devitt and cleared his throat. "Ah, thank you, thank you very much. Sorry to disturb you." He nodded once, briskly, and Devitt swallowed a smile; he was sure if Olsen was wearing a hat, he would have tipped it.
"Sorry I couldn't be more help. Bye-bye now." She took a step back and closed the door. They could hear the chain rattle.
Devitt turned to his colleague and sighed. "Let's see how the other guys are doing."
They headed for the stairs.
# # # # #
The bedroom door opened but Carole didn't come in. Oliver looked sullenly towards the now open door then turned and slowly left the room. He closed the door behind him.
Mike stared at the ceiling, his heart still pounding. A faint sheen of sweat was covering his face and he had started to shiver. He pulled his right arm free of the blanket and dragged it down to his waist. Bracing himself for the pain, he raised his head, looking as best he could at his bandaged shoulder. There was a thick gauze pad over the wound, anchored by tensor bandages that looped over his shoulder and around his upper chest.
Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the edge of the gauze pad and raised it as much as he could against the pull of the tensor bandages. It wasn't high but it was enough for him to see the ragged hole in his skin and the blood-soaked dressing. With a small gasp, more from fear than pain, he gently lowered the pad.
He let his right arm slide to the bed at his side and his head fall back onto the pillow. Breathing unsteadily, he closed his eyes, feeling the moisture trying to escape from between the lids. He had never felt so alone or so scared. And he knew he needed real medical attention and he needed it now.
# # # # #
They reconvened at Cassidy's car. Nobody in the building had seen or heard anything, or so they had been told, but they had talked to less than half of the tenants. The rest weren't home.
Olsen wasn't satisfied. "I want a background check on everyone in this building. Everyone. Even the cat lady. And I don't care if we have to work all night to get it. If Mike was shot in there, somebody has to know something. He didn't just disappear."
The others nodded, starting to scatter towards their respective vehicles. Devitt glanced at his watch. "Rudy…" The other man stopped and turned, frowning. He held his wrist up, exposing his watch. "We said we were going to stop by the hospital and see if Steve was awake…?" He raised his eyebrows in a question.
Olsen looked at his own watch. "Yeah, you're right."
Healey and Haseejian had stopped at their car, noticing the others' hesitation.
"You guys go ahead and start on the list," Olsen called towards them. "Roy and I are going to head over to St. Mary's and see if Steve's awake."
Nodding, Healey and Haseejian got into their car.
Olsen slid into the passenger seat of the Galaxie and dropped his head into his hands then looked across the front seat as Devitt shifted into drive and pulled away from the curb. "So… what do we tell him if he asks where Mike is?"
Devitt snorted softly. "I'm sure you'll think of something before we get there."
# # # # #
They stopped at the nurses station on the fourth floor, their badges in their hands. The nurse confirmed that Steve was indeed awake but not really up for visitors. Promising it would be brief, and that it was actually official police business, she gave them permission with a concerned frown.
They approached the door with more than a little trepidation. Devitt pushed it open slowly, gesturing Olsen in ahead of him. The older man flashed a smirk as he passed. "Thanks," he mumbled under his breath.
Pasting a smile on his face, Olsen approached the bed, Devitt trailing several steps behind. Steve was no longer attached to the heart monitor and the tube had obviously been removed. He was wearing a pale blue hospital gown under the light blanket, and his head rested on a thin pillow on the partially raised bed. His hands were folded across his stomach and his eyes were closed.
At the sound of their approach, he opened his eyes and turned his head slightly. His brows rose sharply then knit in a frown. And it was obvious from his expression, as hampered as it was by the wired jaw, that he was expecting to see his partner.
Both visitors smiled encouragingly. "Well, you're sure looking a bit better," Olsen said with a soft chuckle and he moved as close to the bed as he could so the injured young man didn't have to turn his head any further. "How do you feel?"
Steve started to nod slowly, still frowning. "Where's Mike?" he managed to mumble and both captains were surprised they could understand him.
Devitt's eyes flicked almost imperceptibly to the back of Olsen's head; he still didn't know what the older man had decided to use as an excuse.
Olsen cleared his throat then smiled. "He's, ah, he's up in Seattle."
Devitt froze, trying not to react, as Steve's eyes widened in surprise. "Seattle…?" Mike's partner managed to get out. "Why?"
"He, ah, well, that's where he had to go to follow up on an IA case he was assigned. That's all Captain Cassidy would tell me. You know how close-mouthed they are about their cases." Olsen shrugged. "Anyway, Mike flew up there yesterday before, ah, before all this happened," his voice became soft and hesitant, and he gestured vaguely at the bed. "He was supposed to come home today but they've got big thunderstorms up there and his flight was cancelled…" He shrugged, shaking his head.
Steve looked away briefly, frowning again. "Does he know?"
"About you?"
The injured young man nodded carefully.
"Ah, no… no, I didn't want to tell him… didn't want him to worry and do something stupid trying to get back here, you know?" Olsen smiled sadly.
Steve nodded again.
"But, ah," Olsen brightened, "he'll be back tomorrow morning, I promise. The weather's supposed to clear up."
Steve's eyes had drifted to the ceiling.
"Listen, ah," Devitt stepped forward, "we better let you get some rest." He reached out and patted Steve's arm and the green eyes shifted slowly in his direction. "We'll come back sometime tomorrow." He smiled encouragingly. "We'll talk then… about what happened and everything… okay?"
Steve stared at him for a couple of very long seconds then nodded once more. Smiling, Devitt patted his arm again then led Olsen to the door. They looked back as they stepped back into the bustling corridor; the young man was staring at the ceiling again.
"Do you think he believed you?" Devitt asked as they started towards the elevators.
Olsen's features creased in a facial shrug. "I have no idea. But that wasn't just an idle promise." As he punched the DOWN button, he looked at his colleague, his jaw set. "He will be back tomorrow, if I have to tear this city apart to find him."