"So, did he give you the reasons for his suspicion?"

With two coffee cups in hand, one for his partner with extra cream and sugar, one for himself, Steve closed the door to Mike's office with his foot, then gently sat the beverages down and slid into the guest chair.

Decidedly cleaner, and changed into a black suit and plaid dress shirt with a purple tie, the young Inspector seemed more subdued and focused, a change Mike welcomed and hoped would last for a bit longer than 24 hours this time.

"Yes and no. He gave me this spiel about the family quarrels they had, Erin disagreeing with his political career, and the grudge she always harbored toward Rudy for being the…least favorite kid. He claims that she killed the other two guys to derail us from suspecting her altogether, that they're just…collateral damage."

Running a hand over his freshly shaven chin, Steve fell quiet, his green eyes glued on Mike's pencil holder deep in thought.

"I don't know. Seems to me he's trying to take the attention off his person."

"I thought the same thing, especially in light of his campaign trail starting shortly. A guy as crooked and creative as he is, could use the case as a stepping stone for his agenda, probably claiming that the school system stressed his sister out enough to become a killer and that he will do anything in his power to prevent a similar tragedy. He's good, Stephen, I'll give him that. He will turn everything you throw at him into a campaign move. All but promised us new office chairs to keep our rears comfy."

With a slight chuckle, Steve took a sip of coffee, exhaling slowly to sort his thoughts.

"Well, I find it ironic that the description of my guy at the bar would fit both of them. Except that Erin is at school teaching kids, and Eric…well…he works from home, supposedly taking care of the kids while his wife is gone for most of the day. Pretty convenient, if you ask me."

"There's another angle too though.", Mike cautioned and nervously pulled the seam of his dress pants back in place, "Think about it, Buddyboy. No signs of struggle. None of our victims seemed to have seen the attack coming. Now, who would you feel more comfortable turning your back on to? Eric or Erin?"

He could tell that Steve had a hard time accepting the theory, albeit conceivable, his lips pursed before he shook his head.

"I can't see her strangling these people to death. The strength involved would be too much for a woman her size. I don't buy it, Michael."

Having expected the reaction, Mike pulled a 1/16th wire out of the right-hand drawer of his desk, an item he bought a few days ago, hoping it would allow his mind to ease into that of his killer. The eighteen-inch murder weapon had a small wooden handle clamped onto either end, making it effortless to hold onto.

Steve's eyes widened somewhat when he saw the wire, his expression torn between surprise and guarded neutrality.

"Here, I want to show you something, Buddyboy."

Upon his overly-friendly tone, Steve shook his head in deep skepticism, a wily smile on his lips.

"I feel like I want to take a raincheck on that."

"Aww, come on now, don't be a baby. You had enough guts to walk into a hole in the wall like Morley's and trust an ex-con to keep you safe, surely you can trust me as your partner."

Standing up from behind the desk, Mike playfully twirled the wire in his hand, a move that made Steve turn a shade paler.

"I trust you enough to know that you might not want to let go soon enough…", the young Inspector teased, then carefully stood up, one hand stretched out to ward off his partner, the other one protectively covering his tie.

"You worry too much. Just turn around, I want to show you something that'll make you change your mind on that killer theory."

Obeying, although begrudgingly, Steve carefully turned his back onto the Lieutenant, his head turned slightly to keep an eye on things.

Walking up from behind, Mike pretended to wrap an arm around his partner's shoulders, using the other hand to covertly transfer the weapon across Steve's chest into his left hand, stretching the barely visible wire across its target area in a well disguised hugging motion.

"You see, when it comes to strangulation, it's not just the strength you put into it, it's really all about the technique."

Below his touch, Mike could feel Steve freeze in his spot, both eyes trained on the wire he carefully slipped around the young Inspector's throat.

"Our victims may have looked at something while the attack happened, sat in the front seat of a car while our killer was in the back, or our killer pretended to hug them. Whichever way the placement happened, it will be fast, hard to see coming, and nearly impossible to get out of."

Using great caution, Mike brought the two wooden handles together behind the back of his partner's neck, then wrapped one around the other to create a slipknot.

"Yeah but Ramon Peterson was a big guy. Our killer would have had to have been taller to exert the amount of strength needed to choke him to death.", Steve argued, visibly uncomfortable in his predicament, and yet painfully aware of the group of curious onlookers gathering outside of Mike's office.

"Not necessarily. Here, let's put the odds in your favor a bit more, shall we? I am going to use only one hand to apply this choke, okay?"

Waiving his left hand in front of Steve's face to see, Mike wrapped the long end of the cable around his palm to tighten it slightly, and yet the movement was enough for the young Inspector to gasp in surprise. Almost immediately, his fingers reached up toward his windpipe, trying to dig his way free of the uncomfortable predicament.

"Well, I'll admit, in a surprise situation, that right there would get my attention quickly. But you'd need a lot more force to render me unconscious. It would take too much time and I could still turn around to fight you…"

"Go ahead, Buddyboy, try it.", Mike nudged good naturedly, a comment that made Steve glance over at him insecurely.

Several moments passed, as he waited for his partner to decide on a move. When he finally saw Steve shift his weight in an attempt to fight back, Mike tightened the wire enough to cut off blood flow almost immediately, with as little as a simple flick of the wrist.

Knowing that the young Inspector had all but a couple of seconds before his legs would give out, he held his free arm out in preparation for the inevitable.

And just as expected, Mike felt him sway the moment he tried to turn toward his attacker. Immediately releasing the choke and dropping the cable to the ground, he held onto his partner, before his knees could buckle, and carefully pushed him against the doorframe.

"What…what in the world just happened?", Steve stammered, his green eyes watery and unfocused as he glanced around in obvious confusion, gasping for air.

"Take a couple deep breaths. The dizziness is going to pass shortly.", Mike cautioned and put a hand on his partner's chest to keep him upright, "Now do you see how a few seconds of disrupted blood flow to your brain will change the odds significantly, no matter how tall or powerful our victims may be? It's all about the placement of the wire and the element of surprise."

With a slight nod, Steve ran a hand over the red line on his throat, still taken aback by the demonstration.

"So how do you…how do you get out of this predicament?"

Once he was reasonably sure his partner was alright, Mike shrugged and pulled his hand back.

"You can try to back up and throw the attacker off balance, but your time window is limited. You could attempt to get your finger around the wire to take the pressure off your carotids, but the chances that you'll get there in time before passing out aren't good. The best way to get out of that predicament is not to get into it in the first place."

His mentor voice made Steve perk up and the young Inspector smiled sheepishly, before reaching forward to pat his shoulder in deep admiration.

"You sure have a way to get a point across, Lieutenant, man oh man. But for what it's worth, thanks for the lecture."

"The pleasure was all mine.", Mike countered facetiously and bent down to grab the wire, before heading back toward his desk, "I must admit, this was…pleasingly therapeutic."

"Therapeutic?!"

Steve was readying himself for another round of friendly bantering, when a knock on the door disrupted their conversation.

Much to Mike's surprise, it was a stone-face Olsen pushing his way through a handful of spectators, before peeking his head into the office.

"When you two are done…acting out murder scenes…I need to see you in my office. The sooner, the better."