"I just got off the phone with Officer Farnum's girlfriend…"
Mike heard the disappointment in Dan's voice long before the young Inspector could explain his findings. Taking another sip of cold coffee as he watched him stroll into his office and unceremoniously drop into the guest chair, Mike sighed in defeat, their leads effectively drying up as 2pm came around.
"And she said…?"
"That there were no threats, no strange calls, he had no enemies, no recent disagreements, yadda yadda…"
Exhaling slowly, Dan rubbed his tired eyes for a moment, before clearing his throat.
"I take it you haven't heard back from R&I yet?"
"No…not yet…", Mike mumbled and leaned back in his chair, hands crossed behind his head as he pointed his chin at the chalkboard, "And as much as I don't want to paint a dark picture, but if Steve is right about her accelerated pace of action, then she should strike again sometime today or tomorrow…"
"I am afraid that's a possibility."
Their gloomy discussion was interrupted when Mike's phone rang. Reaching for the receiver a lot faster that he usually did, the Lieutenant grimaced when he recognized the person on the other line.
"Homicide, Lieutenant Stone…yes…oh, I see…ehm…no…let's hold off for now. I think we're all set but I will give you a call in case we need any more help. Absolutely…thank you, Emily!"
Watching his superior with great interest, Dan hadn't moved at all, his blue eyes glued onto the Lieutenant like a hunting dog on point.
"What was that all about…Emily…isn't that Lenny's head secretary?"
"Yep, sure is.", Mike answered hesitantly and played with the receiver in his hand, before placing it back onto the cradle, "She said Lenny might be back in town by the end of the week and she wanted to know if we still needed him."
"And you told her we don't? Are you sure about this, Mike?", Dan kept his voice free of any accusations and insinuations when he said that, both hands nervously grasping his tea cup, "I mean, Steve's my friend too. But I don't know if he's quite…well, after last night, I am…worried."
"You better believe he's ready. Whether he knows it or not.", Mike countered sternly and pursed his lips for a brief moment, his eyes clouding over as his mind pondered about the current situation, "Whatever is going on has little to do with this case, I am certain of it. And I'll get to the bottom of it, one way or another. But in the meantime, I am not about to pull the rug out from underneath him now. He's done the legwork; he deserves to see this case through to the end."
Biting the inside of his lip, Dan took another sip of tea and watched his partner fall quiet, as if Mike wasn't certain about his own words. After a few seconds of tense silence, the young Inspector drew in a deep breath and straightened out in his chair, unable to keep the sole concern on his mind to himself any longer, and bracing for impact.
"I just hope Stephen feels the same way about this, Mike."