"Well, there's a raccoon..."
The enthusiasm had left his voice a long time ago, as Steve glanced out the window, trying hard not to have the monotony of the situation get the better of his nerves.
Leaning heavily against the deteriorating metal framework that was condensing from the cold and damp weather outside, he'd spent the better part of the past three hours watching the deserted parking lot throughout the night, hoping for a glimpse of their suspect.
But thus far, their plan had turned up empty.
Part of him agreed with Mike, knowing that once the word got out about their seclusion, their killer would undoubtedly follow. The other part was nervous about the tiny little notion that Cornelius Esteban knew exactly what they were up to and would remain in hiding until they'd let their guard down.
It was a reasonable assumption that neither one of them was willing to admit to, or discuss at the moment.
As such, he'd remained mostly quiet as he took over the shift, keeping his worries to himself, continuing to remind his frayed nerves of what his eyes were seeing; which included no tampering of their car, no obvious signs of foul play and no unannounced poisoned food deliveries.
So far, so good.
Steve was grateful for the fact that the crime lab had decided to remain open for their sake, leaving the nightman on call in case there were any developments that would help in this case. It was a subtle, yet much appreciated sign of solidarity that helped ease his nerves on that early, deceivingly quiet morning.
Their switch of guard had happened after the radio transmission had come through about Dan and Norm's arrival, along with one too many nightmares. Steve had hoped to give his tired mind some much needed rest, and yet it seemed as though his mind wasn't ready to let go of the matter regardless of how exhausted his body was.
After a half-hearted complaint about the three pieces of luggage Steve had brought along, most of them including changes of clothes as well as protective gear he insisted on putting on shortly, Mike had laid down for a bit, his soft snoring the only noise in the otherwise still room.
And ironically enough, it was an incredibly soothing noise at this point.
A quick peek at his wristwatch confirmed what Steve had already suspected. It was going on 5AM. Almost time for the sun to rise; the promise of another day of playing a deadly cat and mouse game.
Drawing in a deep breath, he reached for the binoculars again, trying to be as quiet as possible to avoid waking up his partner. The impressive stand of pine trees nestled along the ridge across the street worried him for a couple of reasons. Not just did it obscure their vision, and that of the other team when it came to parts of the building, they also provided an attractive hideout for a sniper attack. With the thick underbrush waving in the light breeze, it wouldn't take much to approach their position entirely unseen.
Another concern had been the sole road leading past the motel and deeper into the forest. Mike had liked the idea, as it limited the directions traffic could approach from. As far as Steve was concerned, it also limited their escape routes.
Much of the small town's business and tourist district was on the north side, leaving the residential areas a safe couple miles away from their position. Unfortunately, the same held true for many of the restaurants as well, forcing them to either split up to grab food, or order takeout and possibly give away their position to a stranger.
Either way, it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
As Steve's gaze drifted from the dumpster across the street back toward the center of town, a small flash of red light caught his attention. Adjusting the binoculars, he traced the winding road once again, the blood freezing in his veins when he made out a sportscar without its headlights on, slowly approaching their position.
"Mike?...Mike, wake up. I think we got something here!"