"Come on now Gerry, there's gotta be something we can do."
Mike released a frustrated breath.
Pacing Rudy's small office in furious agitation, he put his hands on his hips, as the ADA shook his head.
"I am telling you Mike, back off. You know Henderson as well as I do. He will turn that case into a racist witch-hunt in the flick of a switch. We just don't have enough evidence."
Glancing around the room, Mike ran a hand through his silver hair and huffed in anger, only to meet both Rudy's and Lenny's worried stares.
"I have two people saying that Johnson beat his daughter. Since when is that not enough evidence?"
Gerry O'Brian took a deep breath, not allowing the tense atmosphere to get the better of him. Instead, he leaned back in Rudy's office chair and nodded in kind understanding.
"Dylan Harris' testimony is shaky because of the CSC charge. Henderson will tear that kid apart so bad that he will regret ever laying eyes on Mavis. Same thing with Chantal Simmons. Intentional or not, she killed Johnsons daughter. The only other thing you have is Bernie's autopsy report. But there is no direct link that can prove that Harry Johnson beat his daughter. We only know that she was beaten at one point. It won't stand up in court no matter how much we want that to happen."
Mike gritted his teeth and looked down, while rubbing his chin.
"We have one other thing, Gerry. We have our gut feeling. If we can talk to Doloris alone, we might be able to get her to spill the truth."
"Michael."
This time it was Rudy who spoke up. The Captain took a puff out of his pipe, before shaking his head.
"Remember how I spent twenty minutes with Henderson to talk him out of a potential police harassment charge because of what Steve did? We can't keep playing with him like that. He's made a killing off these very types of lawsuits. He's already hinted at going to the press claiming that you guys were doing racial profiling…. especially now that we know what really happened, it would make you look like you're harassing Johnson for a personal agenda. We can't let that happen. We just don't have enough proof. It sucks Mike, it really does…but it is what it is."
Before Mike could say anything else, Rudy handed him a newspaper cutout.
"Here, take a look at this. I don't want to go any farther down that road because of this very nonsense."
Glancing at the article, Mike immediately recognized the picture. It was taken at the scene of Steve's accident and pictured him and Scott Sorrensen kneeling over his unconscious partner. The headline read "Taking more than one step at a time; Homicide Investigators trip on wrong lead."
Swallowing his growing fury, Mike put on his reading glasses and scanned the text briefly, immediately knowing where the information came from. It mentioned both his and Steve's name, questioning the follow-through of their investigation and the undue stress they'd put on the grieving parents.
Near the bottom, it cited Rudy pledging that the way the investigation was handled "was not the desired outcome" and that "swift corrective action would be taken to ensure a more balanced and empathetic approach in future homicide investigations."
"This is ludicrous.", Mike growled and started to pace the room again, when Lenny cleared his throat.
"Why don't you accept Rudy's suggestion and take a couple days off, Mike? You and Steve have been working this case harder than I've ever seen you work any case before. And it was an awful one. Bernie and I are still shaken up from it, and we weren't even as involved as you two. Check on Wonderboy and have a couple beers or something…Gerry is right, there just isn't anything you can do to indict Harry Johnson at this point. And that is a damn shame. I wish somebody would have come forward sooner, because it may have saved Mavis' life, but in the end…"
Lenny didn't finish his sentence when Mike glared at him, his blue eyes piercing straight through the Psychiatrist.
"In the end we have a fourteen-year-old girl dead, her boyfriend will be a convicted felon, a charge that will haunt him for the rest of his life…her best friend has to fight a manslaughter charge for the ironic fact that she accidentally shot Mavis while trying to save her from killing herself, Harry and Doloris Johnson are free people, even though we all know he beat his daughter, as the mother stood by and watched it happen. And Steve and I are being treated as a public nuisance for trying to bring justice to these people?"
When all three men across from him fell quiet, Mike snorted in anger and turned towards the door.
"That's what I thought…I'll be gone for the rest of the afternoon to check on my partner. Tomorrow I will take the day off, and when I get back into the office Friday, perhaps we can all sit down and figure out what kind of justice we want to preserve in this city. Because for all I care, Harry Johnson murdered his daughter and ruined the lives of several other innocent people along the way. I'd like to see him justify that to his congregation."