Putting an end to things wasn't exactly the direction his conversation with Conden was going. If anything, they were peddling in the opposite direction.
With a disgruntled sigh, Mike ran a hand across his face, stopping midway to rub his eyebrows, before glancing back up at the Police Chief, trying to contain his fury beneath the façade of concern for the department as well as the integrity of their current case.
"This has gone too far. She's openly…depicting my partnership with Keller. What is she going to do next? Type out our current case for the whole town to see? We're running a high-stakes, high-profile serial killer case right now. Articles like hers can get all our investigative work thrown right out the window, John."
"I already told you we can't stop her, Michael. It's called 'Freedom of Press'. Like it or not.", Conden retorted impatiently, having loathed yet another meeting about this situation, "And quite honestly, I just don't see your point right now. Yeah, she's been watching you two work together and is using that for her…her manifesto, but everybody else does the same thing. Everyone here knows how you and Keller operate. All she's doing is putting a nice spin on that and turning it into a very good PR piece for police. People are loving these adventures. We finally have someone out there who managed to put something together that's not tarnishing our names, or insinuating that the police force is inherently racist. She's getting people to emphasize with our line of work, to make them understand that behind that badge, we're human beings, that we care, that the…the ehm things we see day in and out are…well…that we take them home with us. It's a great way to gain public benevolence when we need it the most."
"Mike is right though, John, what if she decided to reel in this latest case? She has enough information to put it out there."
Even Rudy's passionate plea did little to change their superiors' thoughts on that dreary morning and Conden shook his head, before taking another sip of coffee. Leaning back, he ran a hand through his short salt-and-peppered hair and grunted indifferently
"This didn't just start yesterday, guys. She's done this for a couple of months now and has never overstepped that line. I am assured she won't do it now, because she knows that we can get her for interference with an ongoing investigation. She's spent enough time in the Hall of Justice Building to know her way around the law. This is the third time we've met about this issue now. Why can't you just…just take this as a compliment, Michael? She's obviously grown fond of you and Keller. Why not have her share that…that appreciation with the whole town?"
"She's been following us to witness interviews.", Mike said, annunciating each word as his voice began to quiver, "She's been showing up at parties that Steve attended. For all we know, she's been following us around town as we tend our private business. She's beginning to cross the line, John. The next step will be to bring in this investigation, and destroy everything we worked for, letting a mass murder get off for the sake of some…some misguided agenda of stalking us while living out her sick fantasies about our lives in the damn San Francisco Telegraph!"
"You're being melodramatic now, Mike, come on…", Conden tried and shook his head, "She's living out some sort of subconscious fantasy, I am with you and Lenny on that one. But this stuff is harmless. She's idolizing you guys and getting a heck of a following in this city by doing so. I am being approached by the Mayor and City Council about this and they're loving these pieces. People look forward to reading the next installment week after week. We finally have something good going for the department, and it could even prove favorably in the upcoming Budget Meetings. How about you just enjoy the fact that you and Keller got a fan out there in the printed press community? It's a heck of a lot more than most of us on the force have."
Knowing that his valid arguments had once again been rebutted, Mike stood up slowly, trying not to let the overwhelming anger boil to the surface, well aware that his concerns would do no good in a closed minded situation such as this.
"A couple dozen people are dead and their severed limbs have shown up across several coasts of the continental US. The killer has now zoomed in on our city, quite possibly ready to expand on his…his Frankenstein-eque experiments to re-attach limbs to amputees with ample money in their pockets. I hope that if Gifford decides to meddle with our investigation, possibly giving this monster a chance to get away before he can be caught and brought up on charges…well, I hope all that positive Police PR will still be worth it then."