"Thank you, Sarah, I appreciate it."
Watching Roy close the door and draw in a worried breath as soon as the Personnel Director was out of sight; Steve leaned against the nearby file cabinet, flanked by both of his students, while Mike sat in one of the guest chairs of the neatly adorned corner office overlooking the parking lot.
"Man oh man, what a mess. I had to pull quite a few strings here, guys…", the Captain griped as usual, his complaints a mere sign of relief as a difficult case was slowly yielding clues.
"You and I both know it was the only way, Roy.", Mike countered confidently and leaned forward, trying to steal a glance at the confidential information provided to them inside a thick manila folder. In light of the seriousness of their situation, he had requested to pull all private and professional data of each and every individual involved in the recertification process, whether it was relevant to their current investigation or not.
It was a touchy request, but one he knew they had to make.
"And you guys are sure about this? I mean, not that I don't trust you. I just don't want to walk around the office starting to point fingers. People will go nuts."
"We are sure.", Steve reiterated from his corner of the room, before glancing over at his two students, "It makes way too much sense. Think about it, Roy. It's readily available information for anybody with questionable intentions. All we need to do is to tighten the net. Our killer's name is somewhere in that file you're holding right now. I am sure of it."
"Yeah, well Stephen, tightening that net is what I am worried about.", Dewitt barked back and fidgeted with the collar of his dark blue suit, a thin film of perspiration forming on his forehead as he sat down in the leather office chair by his desk, "I mean, I am not questioning you at all, don't take it as such, okay? I am just…I just want to make sure you are absolutely sure on this lead before I pull out every last piece of rank I've got to get going on this…"
"I think it's time you put some faith in him.", Mike argued with a proud smile playing on his lips, "He's been right from the beginning when it came to this case."
"Yeah. I know."
Falling quiet for a moment, Roy reached for a cigarette in the breast pocket of his expensive suit and lit it, taking a deep breath out of it as he pondered away. With his fingers shaking slightly, he glanced back and forth between Mike and Steve, then discarded some of the ashes in the nearby tray before speaking up again.
"I never doubted Stephen's intuition or yours for that matter. Michael, this has become a far bigger issue now that Tidari is involved. We can't just go downstairs guns blazing no matter how much we want to. If this thing backfires…if we are on the wrong track…it could be…well…it could be enough ammunition for the press to incapacitate the police force entirely during the next budget meets and elections. They'll make us look like fools who doubt each other enough to warrant a murder investigation in our own ranks. You and I both know it isn't right…I mean, it's morally compulsive, but being in the position that I am in, I must think of the bigger picture when it comes to our investigation. I must think about the things my superiors, and the press, will want to know and how everything we do affects the rest of the department-and the public. So this file right here…if it contains our Judas, I will be damn happy this case is done and over with. But if it doesn't, and if any personal information that it contains somehow leaks out or gets used in an unrelated matter, well that could become a problem. The press would have a hay day. The department could get sued. We'd both be out of a job."
"The information contained in this file will not leave these four walls, you have my word on that, Roy. And don't worry about your neck if this thing goes south. We will take the blame in case there are any ruffled feathers.", Mike suggested somberly and pointed his chin at the information lying on Dewitt's desk, "If you prefer, I could involve you in an intense conversation during which the file slipped into the hand of my old partner's students for…oh…about twenty minutes…"
Shaking his head with a wily smile, Roy put the cigarette down and nervously tapped the paperwork in front of him.
"I am fine having you read through the file right now. Because honestly, I want to see for myself if there is a connection. But I am just warning you guys that…well…that I want you to be absolutely sure before you make any sort of accusations when it comes to active police department officials, is that clear?"
As he handed the thick file over, Roy's bright blue eyes met Mike's with equal determination. Eventually, the Captain cocked his head slowly, waiting for the other man to return the gesture of unspoken compliance, before leaning back in his chair.
"One other thing guys…as you get busy solving this case and hopefully gathering enough evidence for a solid indictment…just ehm...just don't work too hard, okay? No more all-nighters. Put in breaks here and there. Go easy on the coffee. I'd really hate for anybody's health to get jeopardized over this thing. It's just way too much paperwork on my end, you got this?"
