Mike knew that hiding the Galaxy was out of the question, the narrow road leaving little room to keep it out of sight along some winding path unless they chose to travel all the way back to the intersection.
Likewise, Cassidy's choice for a hideout was a brilliant one, leaving little room for them to approach the cottage unseen with a meadow to two sides, a steep ravine and the approaching forest to the others.
Crouched down along the fender of the Galaxy, his hand pressed against the tire and feeling the heat from the brakes rise in the cool afternoon air, Mike drew in a deep breath, evaluating the dreadfulness of the situation and their limited choices.
Return without evidence.
Wait around until Cassidy's gang and the unknown stranger left again to gain unlawful entry to the premises, a search during which any evidence found would be inadmissible in court.
Approach premises from the wooded side and evaluate viability of a safe entry, then either enter or retreat.
Not a single one of these choices left him feeling confident that it would achieve his goal of finding enough evidence to stop the kidnappings and solve this case while keeping both of them safe.
Across the hood, Steve had assumed the same position by the driver's side, his eyes drifting back and forth between the lonesome cabin and his partner, waiting for some sort of guidance.
Nervously biting his lip, Mike took in the eerie scene, perturbed that he couldn't make out any commotion from their position, then taking a closer look at the second car. The lime colored Fairlane wasn't a standard police issued vehicle, making him wonder if their fourth person was a cop or fire fighter after all.
Perhaps it was even the owner of the cabin.
"I suppose the old trick of pretending to be vacuum salespeople is out of the question…", Steve sighed dreadfully from the opposite side of the car, his eyes scanning the countryside for any potential approaches and stopping at the same spot Mike's did; the small strip of land where the forest curled around the clearing and encroached on the backside of the cabin, giving them a handful of trees to hide behind as they came closer.
"Not at this point I don't think, Buddy Boy. As a matter of fact we haven't been given too many options here. Just one, really.", Mike returned, then pointed his chin toward the woods, "Ready for a hike around the perimeter?"
With a feign grunt, Steve nodded, then took a sharp left toward the thick underbrush, followed by his partner.
A few minutes later, by the time both detectives were out of earshot, the police radio sprang to life, transmitting an urgent request from Devitt for them to 10-20 their current position and see if their recon mission had yielded any viable leads in their case yet.
It was a message that had been sent across all police channels.