"Michael, sit down for a second, please."
Rudy's voice was unusually quiet that morning and judging by the dark circles under his eyes, the Captain hadn't gotten much sleep either.
Following the order, Mike slid into the leather guest chair, leaning his elbows on the comfortable arm rests as he studied his superior's tense body language.
"How are things going with your research so far?", Olsen asked casually and reached for his pipe, lighting it for the first time in days.
"Well, we're making headway. We've had to go by method of exclusion more than I'd like, but I think we've narrowed it down a person or two. I will know more after an initial interview tonight."
"Good…good.", Olsen breathed, his mind a million miles away as he turned around and absent-mindedly stared out of his large office window, "How's Keller? He still hanging in there? Two days is a long time to be in a tough crowd like that."
Surprised that the Captain finally decided to worry about his partner, Mike clenched his jaw, trying to summon the right words.
"It's getting to be a lot. Honestly, I think he's pushing himself harder than he should.", kneading his hands in his lap as he spoke, Mike sighed heavily, still bothered about Tanner's discovery, "Depending on how things go tonight, I would be in favor of pulling him out of there tomorrow. It's getting to be too dangerous and we still can't be completely sure that nobody heard Gerry Reed's radio podcast and might have identified him based on that. I am not comfortable with this situation any longer."
It had taken all the political correctness he could come up with considering the uptight situation, and for the first time in days it seemed as though Rudy Olsen was actually listening to him.
"You both have been pushing yourself beyond what is humanly possible, and I can't begin to thank you for what you have done so far to contribute to this case. And that includes arresting Gerry Reeds. I am sorry we weren't able to keep him jailed longer than that."
Completely taken aback by his Captain's change in mentality over the course of less than twelve hours, Mike sat up straight in his chair, his blue eyes scanning his superior suspiciously.
"Rudy, you didn't call me up here to discuss this case. What is going on? Something is eating you up."
"Your senses are correct Mike…as usual.", Olsen answered glumly and drew a deep breath out of his pipe, "Fact of the matter is, we've got a whole new twist in your case. And one I didn't see coming. One I honestly didn't want to see happen."
Getting up from his chair and running a nervous hand across his light blue vest, Mike approached his Captain and friend, before grasping his arm empathetically.
"What are you talking about, Rudy?"
Looking back up, blue eyes on blue eyes, Olsen swallowed hard before pointing his chin at the telephone on his desk.
"I just got off the phone with the black and white's I sent down to check on Aldarez. He's dead, Mike. Aldarez is dead. And it's about time you find out the whole story about his involvement."
