A couple more chapters because I no longer feel like a frozen popsicle and my coworkers brought me coffee. Yummy!

Mike knew that the tension was spreading inside the cab of the tan Galaxy when Steve ran a hand across his light blue tie for the fifth time in the past twenty minutes, then resumed to nervously tap the corners of the steering wheel to offset his growing anxiety.

Windsor had come and gone ten minutes ago and they were now approaching Grant, the startling change of MO beginning to wear even on his nerves.

Mike pulled up his coat sleeve to check the time, woefully realizing it was going on 1:30pm and that Cassidy's day-trip on company time was raising more and more red flags.

Finally, the dark blue LTD put on his blinker and pulled into an old gas station just outside of Grant.

Motioning for Steve to keep going, Mike covertly glanced at the crew, seeing the smug grin on Cassidy's face along with Mahoney's grim expression, as they headed toward the small convenience store next door.

Without needing further direction, Steve pulled the Galaxy into a crowded parking lot by a shopping center a block farther down, allowing them to disguise the car and still get a clear view of their suspects.

"What do you suppose they're up to?", the young Inspector asked nervously, leaning into the steering wheel to get a better look from his angle.

"Well, I hear the fishing is pretty good up at Russian River…", Mike mumbled and watched the rest of the crew disappear toward the bathrooms, as the attendant pumped their gas, "Would be nice if they did that on their own time."

"You think they caught onto us and now they're just playing?"

"It's possible."

Unable to hide the foreboding worry in his voice, Mike shrugged unperceptively, then tapped his partner's tense shoulder.

"Look at it this way, Buddy Boy. Worst case, we get to go on a nice road trip, best case, they'll lead us straight to their hideout and we finally get to close this case."

Even though he'd meant for his words to sounds uplifting, Mike too was beginning to get an eerie feeling that they were being misled on purpose.