"Somebody has put your head into a very elaborate hangman's noose, my friend. It's time we figure out how to pull it back out before the rope tightens any farther."
Both Dan and Steve sat in his guest chairs, as Mike stood by his map of the greater San Francisco Bay area, his fingers tracing the scene of every single murder. As the tense silence in his office spread like a wildfire, he caught the worried glances of several of the other homicide detectives through his glass walls, seemingly sensing his inner turmoil.
On his way in, Olson had pulled him aside, requesting a meeting at the earliest possibility to discuss yet another press conference coming up. As the media continued to rip them to pieces over the lack of progress, Mike was almost happy that the general public was led to believe there was no headway. Because for once, a disturbing hunch had formed in the back of his mind, and the farther along they went, the more it solidified.
Initially, their killings had been meticulously planned and timed apart in equal intervals, as if to set a certain groundwork and presence. The latest cases however showed a trend that reminded Mike a lot more of a theatre play approaching Act IV. And whoever dreamed this up had turned his old partner into the main character- one who was meant to be sacrificed in the end, a certainty he would fight to avoid at all cost.
It was one of the reasons he'd called Lenny back, hoping to have the Psychiatrist swing by earlier than planned. For once, any further insight into his killer's mind would get them one step farther ahead.
"The thing I don't understand is, why would the killer try to shoot at Steve first, then put on this elaborate chase? If he was at your door, why not murder you there? Why have you indicted for the killings?"
Dan's voice had grown hoarse over the long sleepless night and he sipped on his cup of tea, his eyes going back and forth between Mike and Steve.
The Lieutenant was the first one to clear his throat.
"I think this is a sick game for somebody. The first few murders set the stage for the MO, getting the police involved, frightening the public, ensure that the media mocks us. Now the last two killings were more personal. Steve, I think you are the main character in this elaborate charade. He kills these people, and you get to take the blame. That's why he didn't kill you when he had the chance. It would end the game prematurely, and take the guilt off you. Instead, he keeps adding the shadow of doubt, the mountain of circumstantial evidence against you with each addition killing. And he isn't done playing yet."
At those words, Steve rubbed his chin before leaning back in his chair, nervously fidgeting with a seam of his expensive black dress pants.
"Yeah but who, Mike? I mean…I failed some students here and there, that's pretty normal for any University. And those I failed were…I don't think they'd be bright enough to put something like that together, if you know what I mean."
Leaning back against the large window, Mike ran a hand across his red vest and looked down, trying to find the right words.
"This has got to be somebody who knows you well enough to know your pattern and way of thinking. So let me ask you this…how about your love life? How's that going?"
Steve froze in his spot and Dan nearly choked on his tea, as an uncomfortable silence spread in the office. Mike could tell from his ex-partner's body language that the topic was neither welcome, nor expected.
But it was a question that needed to be asked.
"Well, Rachel is dead in case you forgot."
"Hardly.", knowing that Steve was going to bring that up, Mike decided to beat him to the punch, "How about any other girlfriends? Partners? Anybody who might have something more than a platonic interest in you?"
Taking a deep breath and avoiding any sort of eye contact, Steve leaned forward and rested his face in his palms, seemingly going through a litany of female characters that had crossed his path over the past few years.
"There were a couple here and there…nothing…nothing beyond physical contact though.", Steve finally mumbled and ran a nervous hand across his red tie, "Again, these weren't your homicidal type of women though. Tracy down from registrations. She's never been married, no boyfriend or anybody who could get mad. And that was just for a few weeks. Helena was an exchange student from Norway. She was pretty smart but ended up moving back a year ago. She tried to call me a couple of times but I…I didn't return the call."
Glancing over at Mike quickly, Dan shifted nervously, seemingly uncomfortable with the topic.
"Isn't that against the rules, to be with a student?"
"Who's going to track it during semester breaks?…You guys aren't the only ones who know how to bend rules."
"Let's get back on topic here.", Mike cautioned when he saw Lenny enter the bullpen, "Let's forget about the romance part for a moment and focus back on the fact that all these killings are related to universities in one form or another. It is pretty obvious that there is some sort of accelerated pace happening now. I am worried that our killer is in the final stages of this game. So the sooner we can figure out his connection to you, the sooner we can narrow down potential suspects and victims. In order to do that, we have to ask ourselves the question, why you Steve? Is it something you stand for at the campus? Somebody who might have an issue with your way of teaching? Did you upset somebody aside from failing them? Was there some sort of conflict? Did you get somebody fired?"
"No…I…I can't think of anybody…", Steve admitted, growing agitated as they began to spin their wheels once again.
Checking his wristwatch and woefully noting that his meeting time with Olsen was about due, Mike waved Lenny into his office before putting his hands on his hips.
"Alright, gentlemen. Steve…I want you and Lenny work up a new profile based on the latest murders. Our killer is becoming more aggressive and changing patterns. The sooner we can find out why, the better. Dan, head over to the courthouse and get with Gerry to pick up a warrant for Berkeley to release any camera footage they have. If we can get a visual of our suspect, or even see Steve getting shot at, it would help a lot on pushing this case forward. You know the route our killer took as he fled, so see if there are any nearby banks that could have gotten something on camera too. I need to meet with Rudy. Let's sit back together in an hour."