"I hear our hitman came to visit you again this morning…"
Rudy Olsen had snuck into the near- empty bullpen unnoticed, and now leaned against the doorframe to Mike's office in obvious distress. Carrying his brown pipe in one hand, as if it would to help him release the stress, he tapped his bony fingers against the gray wood at a rapid pace.
Mike glanced up to acknowledge the Captain and cleared his throat with a lukewarm sip of coffee, before nodding faintly.
"I talked to Sergeant Ferris to find out why the two patrol cars left their assigned spot. He said that they'd seen a suspicious looking man circle the house. It was probably somebody our hitman hired to lure them away from the residence. By the time Steve and I checked the front door, he was long gone, leaving behind DeSoto's sunglasses. I already called the nightclub but it isn't open yet. I was planning on checking out his beach house in Sausalito to see if he's there but I won't lie…I have a bad gut feeling about this whole situation."
"I agree with you, Mike.", Olsen said and stepped into the office, before sliding into one of the two guest chairs, "From what I can discern, this guy doesn't make mistakes. The question is, where will we find DeSoto…and more importantly, how do we stop this guy?"
Mike ran a hand down his blue vest before leaning deeper into his office chair, trying to ignore the overwhelming feeling of having a target drawn on the back of his head.
"Nancy took some blood samples from Steve last night, she might be able to find out what drugs our guy used to knock him out yesterday. Then we can check with our contacts. I will tell you Rudy, I am one hundred percent sure this is a mob hit. Somebody is trying to grow their territory. The question is who?"
Olsen nodded in agreement and nervously chewed on the mouthpiece of his pipe, before glancing back up.
"Well, there's not shortness of picks in this town. You could spend months trying to chase shadows and still end up empty handed. Do you want me to assign you a couple of the guys from Vice? I know Williams and Dixon have been deeply involved with the mob activities…"
Mike flinched inwardly at the mentioning of the loathed Vice Inspector's name. In a case that was already challenging his nerves to the very core; he wasn't exactly looking forward to working side by side with the hard-to-tolerate imbecile.
"I know Dixon…I also know that Steve is well versed on any mob activity on the north side. Right now, I want to focus on finding DeSoto, and see where the lab work leads us before jumping to any other conclusions. Scalino wasn't the most cooperative of subjects when we brought up the issue a couple days ago. Something tells me the rest of them won't be much different either."
Their conversation was disrupted when he saw Steve get up from his desk hurriedly, before stepping toward his office in obvious distress. Mike noticed his clenched jaws beneath the two-day stubble, making him cringe at what type of news would await them next.
Waving his partner inside before he could even knock on the doorframe, he watched Steve nod at Olsen briefly, before running a hand down his maroon tie, then resting it on his stomach, as if to subconsciously trying to keep its content where they belonged.
"We may have found DeSoto."
Steve's raspy voice was shaky, stripped of any emotion. It was something that made Mike fear what he'd have to say.
"What do you mean may have?"
Drawing in a deep breath, the young Inspector glanced past him for a brief moment, as if he was struggling to find the right words. Finally, his troubled green eyes settled back on his partner.
"Well…about an hour ago, dispatch got a call about a streak of blood on the westbound lane near Front Street and East Broadway. A couple uni's went to check it out and followed it all the way to Powell and Columbus. They eh…they found DeSoto's limousine parked along the road and traced the blood streak to the back of it where they…"
Steve paused for a second, then exhaled slowly, before clearing his throat again.
"The driver had stopped for a smoke break and they…they found what was left of DeSoto tied to the back axle of the limousine. He…the driver never knew he was dragging the body with him. He was just running a few errands for the restaurant. He actually suffered a nervous breakdown when they discovered the body and he's at the hospital now. They just dispatched the coroner but from what I was told there isn't much left to identify the body. Nobody even knows if DeSoto was still alive when he was tied down, but knowing our killer's taste in brutal crimes, there's a distinctive chance that he's been dragged to death…"
Mike raised a hand to cover his mouth, trying to comprehend their latest turn of events. Trying to ignore the rumble in his own stomach at the horrific death that had been bestowed upon DeSoto, he glanced up to meet Olsen's serious eyes, before checking on his partner again.
"Is…are any of our guys headed there yet?"
Steve nodded, and pointed his chin at a set of empty desks near the bull pen entrance.
"Norm and Dan are down there right now checking out the scene. It may be a while before we get a positive ID though. Scott Sorrensen is having his guys help to close down the roads affected by this…this situation."
"Thank you, Buddy Boy.", Mike muttered in gratitude, and watched his partner turn around to leave for his desk once again, when Olsen called him back.
"Stephen, stay here for a minute. Close the door too, please."
The young Inspector looked at both men in surprise, before following the order and joined them back at Mike's desk. Meeting his Captain's troubled blue eyes, Mike couldn't help but sense the tension radiating from every pore of the man's body. After nearly three decades of working with Olsen, he could tell from a mile away that it wasn't going to be good news.
"Listen Mike…Steve…you two are my best guys for the job, so don't take this the wrong way, but I am getting worried here. This is getting out of hand fast. Five bodies in one week is too much for my taste, and it's obvious that this killer is taunting you guys. I fear that this is getting too big for our britches. After the news conference later this morning, I want to sit down with you guys and Vice and form a task force."
Mike inhaled sharply, wanting to interrupt, when Olsen raised his hand, stopping him in his tracks.
"This is not negotiable, Lieutenant.", Olsen said and chewed some more on his pipe, "Have you two looked at yourselves lately? You haven't slept in days, and it's only a matter of time until one of you makes a mistake. You could get hurt. Or overlook evidence. Experience or not, you are both mentally and physically exhausted and I can't have you handle this case alone at the speed with which it's spiraling out of control."
Mike pursed his lips, unhappy with the decision but knowing well enough that no arguing in the world would change it. if anything, it would only serve to prove Olsen's point.
Glancing up at Steve briefly, he noticed a small degree of relief on the young Inspector's face, as he quietly leaned against the gray file cabinet, his arms behind his back and his shoulders sunk.
Nodding at him unperceptively, Mike reached for his coffee, allowing the gulp of lukewarm energizer to wake his senses some more, before answering.
"Alright…It's a deal."
Olsen seemed pleased with the truce and nodded approvingly, before slowly rising from the chair again.
"I'll be sure to reiterate the point that you two have spearheaded this case since the beginning, Mike. So don't worry about any of the big egos from Vice interfering. I will meet with Condon on this at lunch, hopefully we can get responsibilities designated and catch this guy before more people are killed. The press is having a hay day with this."
As he headed toward the door, Olsen turned around one more time, a solemn expression on his face.
"You two be careful, please. I don't know why this lunatic is playing games with you, but I just…I don't want to see either one of you get hurt."
Mike nodded quietly and watched the Captain leave his office, and the two detectives to their own pondering. Biting his lip, he tried to remain calm and focused despite the avalanche of new information, murders and procedure changes heading his way.
Steve must have sensed his brooding and cleared his throat as he walked up to Mike's desk.
"I eh…I was going to head to the Tenderloin, see if I can find Tahoola. He might be able to point us in the right direction. Thought you might want to come along, we could grab a bite for breakfast and then check out the neighborhood, ask questions…"
"That's not a bad idea…", Mike breathed and checked his wristwatch, "Looks like we have about six hours before we get to deal with Dixon…let's make good use of them. On the way out, we can check on Nancy's progress and let her know how to get a hold of us through dispatch. Who knows, we might crack this case before we have to play nice."