He'd just hung up with Lieutenant Jacob Daniels from the Nappanee Police Department, when a faint knock on his doorframe disrupted the silence of the near empty bullpen at 8pm that evening.
"Roy…what are you still doing here?"
Getting up to shake hands with his ex-partner, Mike smiled genially.
"I could ask you the same thing. Keller out already?"
Sitting down at the corner of his desk and resting the coffee cup on his thigh, the Lieutenant nodded as he watched Roy slide into his guest chair.
"Yeah, I sent him home to pack some clothes and prepare for tomorrow. I am about to leave too but wanted to catch Lieutenant Daniels before he starts his nightshift patrol."
Devitt grunted in acknowledgement, a wave of worry flooding his weary features.
"Any headway on our…our head yet?"
"Not much. Bernie said the tox screen came back clean. There was some residual alcohol in his system, he maybe had a drink within 36 hours of being murdered, but that's it. Without checking out where this shipment came from and who handled it back in Indiana, our investigation is at a standstill."
"Mhm."
Nervously tapping his fingers against his knee, Roy took a deep breath, before glancing back up, his bright blue eyes piercing Mike's.
"Well, you two be careful. I am not too thrilled about my detectives travelling all the way to Indiana for this case. Whoever is responsible for this murder is obviously a very, very sick person."
"We gathered as much…", Mike said reassuringly and took a sip of coffee, "I plan on checking in when it's nighttime there, should be early enough to still catch you in the office. I know those brass hours have you leave at 6pm sharp these days…"
The relentless teasing wasn't lost on Roy who smiled faintly, before shaking his head.
"You'd change your mind if you had to sit through all my meetings, Mike. It's like packing sixteen hours into ten."
"Oh no, thanks but no thanks. I'll always choose the street over meetings.", the Lieutenant countered and amicably squeezed Roy's shoulder, "I leave that up to the big wigs. Besides, nobody would want to hear my opinion on things upstairs."
"Probably not.", Devitt countered and sighed deeply, before glancing back up, "I am serious though, Michael, you two be careful."
"You almost sound like you are worried."
Raising his coffee cup for another sip and meeting Roy's eyes as he did so, Mike could sense the deep concern exuding through every pore of the Lieutenant's body.
"That's because I am. You can't just call for backup when you're sitting in some corn field in the middle of nowhere. I just want you two to…you know…watch each other's back. Don't let anything happen to you. Because I can't send backup from halfway across the country."