"I think I am getting sick to my stomach."
"Well that makes two of us, Buddy Boy.", Mike mumbled as he stared out of the windshield.
It was getting dark by the time they crossed the bridge back to San Francisco and traffic was much lighter than earlier in the day. The radio had fallen disturbingly quiet, disappointing Mike more than he cared to admit.
The APB on Chantal had yielded no leads so far and while he believed Dylan, there wasn't much the young man had said that helped them advance their case. At least not in a direction he expected.
Hopefully, with Dylan off the streets, Chantal would show face sooner rather than later. Steve had been right about the parents. And truth be told, Mike couldn't wait to have them brought into headquarters for an interview.
What information they had gathered from Davey Rodgers was enough to paint a very clear picture. One filled with despicable lies and childhood trauma.
For what seemed like the hundredth time, Mike rubbed his tired eyes as they left the Oakland Bay Bridge behind.
Tomorrow would be a challenging day to say the least. Perhaps it was time to scratch some items off his personal to-do list before his life would once again become inundated with death and trauma.
"I have some more running to do, so let's drop you off at your apartment and I'll pick you up at 7.", he suggested, only to watch Steve nod his head in sheer exhaustion. They both had been running on fumes for days, and the amount of human heartbreak involving this murder seemed never-ending.
"You mean, I get to enjoy a few hours of social life and go on a date?", the young Inspector tried, but even his voice had lost all its cheer.
"Will it involve you and Diane, the deli dietician, swapping bites of bird seed and spoiled buttermilk beans?"
"Mike…", Steve complained half-heartedly, before turning towards Union Street, "You keep this up and we'll save you some leftovers."
They both chuckled for a while, a much-needed break to their morose daily schedule.
Finally, Mike fell silent and his face turned serious again, as he reached over and squeezed his partners forearm.
"Try to make it an early night and get some rest. I have a feeling that tomorrow will challenge both of us."