They were both frozen to the core within just a few minutes of walking the ferocious shoreline of Point Reyes Park, the spray from the ice cold ocean waters only adding to their misery on that Christmas Day.
Keeping a safe distance to let the pupil embark on his discovery mission; Mike found his muscles growing stiff and slow from the prolonged exposure to the hostile elements, the frigid temps and high humidity seeping into every old fracture and scar on his body the longer they stayed on the beach.
Steve was bravely marching ahead, his eyes travelling left to right, then right to left as he took in the scene, looking for three-week-old clues where nature had eaten away at the landscape, making almost anything indiscernible that would have been found here the day of the discovery. And yet, like a hunting dog on point, the young Inspector had caught the scent of a breakthrough whether he knew it or not, and Mike would not stand in his way to let those active senses do their job.
Something was out here, and the longer he watched his young partner, the more convinced thereof even Mike became.
Off in the distance, he could see a tanker approach San Francisco, the large vessel taking its time to come into harbor on that windy day that saw no daylight, just dreary mist that seemed to encapsulate the entire Bay Area.
"Hey Mike…"
It was the two magic words he'd been longing to hear ever since the freezing cold sand had filled his treasured dress shoes and began to rub his toes raw.
A dozen feet ahead, Steve had stopped in his tracks, his shoulders turned toward a small rock formation out in the surf, six or seven large boulders situated in knee-deep water, just enough to break the waves and catch seaweed.
His initial joy turned into unspoken dread when he sensed what his partner was about to say next.
"I think I want to check this out. It's right in the path of the waves. Maybe something got caught up in it, so it's hidden from sight…"
Mike wanted to question his sanity, he really did, but regardless of the miserable cold seeping into his bones, stopping Steve now would go against everything in their method of investigation and along with it, everything they both fiercely stood for. So, he resorted to a gentle frown, then hesitantly pointed his chin toward the rocks.
"Out…there?"
"Yeah, out there. You don't have to come along. I'll just take my boots off and wade out there. Chances are nobody's been on these rocks with the water being so cold but maybe something got stuck in it. It's worth a shot…or some frozen toes."
"I'm coming with you…", Mike reassured against his better judgement, already loathing the sensation of losing feeling in his feet but knowing that it was the right thing to do, "If there's good evidence out there, I want to get some of the credit too, you know."
Steve rewarded his off-the-cuff comment with a hearty chuckle and took off his cowboy boots and socks, trying to fold up his dark gray dress pants to his knees but the expensive material rolled back down to his ankles in no time. Then, as if that wasn't enough, he also took off his sportscoat and .38, before curling the revolver up in it to protect it from the sand.
Following the move, Mike took off his shoes and socks, cringing at the freezing sand touching his bare soles, before gingerly walking over to his partner.
"You're ready?"
"Yeah, I'm ready.", Steve countered with a cheeky grin, then walked toward the cold waters, "I kinda like this new Christmas tradition of ours…road trips and hunting for clues."
"Speak for yourself.", the Lieutenant countered facetiously and hissed involuntarily when his feet touched the icy waters, each wave bringing on another round of agony to his senses, his entire body beginning to shake from the exposure.
Seemingly unaffected by hypothermia, Steve crossed the short distance to the rocks, stopping for a moment to gauge the best way to approach the formation while waiting for his partner.
Once he sensed Mike's presence, he stepped up onto a small plateau and reached for an old rope somebody had affixed to one of the rocks, turning it into a sun tanning and exploration spot away from the crowded beach.
Following the young Inspector one step at a time, Mike carefully placed his bare foot onto the slippery spot ahead, tugging onto the rope before hoisting his weight up onto the largest of the boulders in the formation that resembled a balled fist.
The wind seemed even harsher those few feet up in the air, each gust cooling his body off until he was no longer shaking from the cold.
With unwavering enthusiasm, Steve inspected each rock as he navigated the uneven terrain effortlessly, entirely immune to the treacherous weather and its effects on any regular human being. Driven by his need to find overlooked clues, he crouched down on top of every boulder, leaning uncomfortably far over to see if anything had gotten washed up alongside it, then move on to the next.
Mike watched his search with a mixture of unmasked pride and admiration while growing suspicious that his partner's intense focus on a comparatively puzzling case perhaps had more to do with trying to blend out a dread-filled holiday altogether, hoping to bury himself in work instead of sorrow.
Either way, the young Inspector followed his search dutifully, leaving no stone unturned, literally and figuratively, before finally coming to a sudden halt.
"I think I've got something…"
Even Steve's chattering teeth didn't distort the surprise in his voice when he went down on his knees near a crevice where three of the boulders met, the occasional strong wave sending water all the way through it like an erupting volcano.
Approaching cautiously, Mike glanced over his partner's shoulder, unable to make out anything in the four-foot deep gap between the rocks.
"There's something lodged down there. Here, can you give me a hand?"
Without waiting for an answer, Steve went down on his stomach and leaned into the hole head first, gasping when an ice-cold wave hit him in the face within a few seconds. Undisturbed, he inched deeper and deeper until his entire upper body disappeared from sight.
"You've had better ideas before, my friend…", Mike cautioned worriedly and knelt down beside his partner, keeping one hand wrapped tightly around his expensive leather belt to pull him back up if needed.
Below his palm, he could feel Steve inch his way farther down, using his knees to brace himself against the hole, when another wave came crashing in, undoubtedly soaking the young Inspector to the bone by now.
"You doing ok down there?", Mike asked worriedly, briefly considering reaching down to grab a hold of his partner's shoulder but knowing that the hole was too narrow to fit both of them.
"…M fine.", Steve gasped before moving farther down, "Give me another couple of inches."
"Ok. Don't drown though. Any deeper and I won't be able to pull you back up…"
Despite Mike's word of caution, Steve crawled deeper into the cavern, even Mike's hand holding onto his belt starting to disappear from sight.
In an effort to avoid disaster on what should be a holiday, the Lieutenant wrapped his forearm around his young partner's waist, the move forcing him shoulder first against the cold rocks but allowing him to balance Steve's weight better should he slide.
With his chin pressed into the young Inspector's spine and feeling every inch of movement down below, he waited patiently until he noticed Steve beginning to backtrack.
His ascent was far slower than the descent and Mike used the hand around his waist to slowly help him back up, first his lower back, then the rest of his body after a painstaking few moments.
"Found anything?", he gasped and leaned back on his heels, more than ready to trade the churning ocean for a hot tub when Steve turned toward him and smiled victoriously, his water-soaked clothes sticking to his cold skin as he carefully retrieved his pungent bounty.
"Found a leg. Except this one looks to be from a woman."