The first coffee hadn't done the job in settling his nervousness that morning and Steve was on his way to the beverage station for a refill, when he heard the door to the glass-walled vestibule open.
Unwilling to glance up and meet the unbridled fury that would undoubtedly charge through, he decided to relish the last few seconds of semi-peace and poured himself another coffee, contemplating on leaving a dollar bill on the plate to make up for his ridiculous consumption over the past few days.
"Hey…Stephen?"
To his left, Tanner's insecure voice pulled him out of his cowering and Steve glanced over at the African American Inspector, surprised to see him bite his lip nervously, then cock his head into the direction of the vestibule.
Much to his surprise, it wasn't Mike who'd come through the door after all.
Soon enough, his surprise turned to unconcealed anger and dread when he put the cup down and walked toward their latest visitor.
"You've got some nerve…", Steve hissed, feeling Tanner follow his path across the barren bullpen, keeping a few feet of respectable distance, "Haven't you done enough damage for one day?!"
Completely impervious to his growing anger, Gifford lowered her head, then nervously interwove her hands in front of her lap.
"I did not come here to cause trouble, Inspector Keller.", she said and bit her lip, then sheepishly looked back up, "And I am truly sorry if my latest…my latest chapter offended you in any way. You may rest assured that I meant no harm and that you and Lieutenant Stone both have my greatest respect."
Sensing that his patience was wearing thin that morning, Tanner stepped forward, wrapping a gentle hand around his elbow in both, unspoken support and restraint, if the need arose.
"Then why did you come here? Trying to get more…more ammunition for your work? See what other dirty secrets you can dig up and spread around town? Gathering accolades from your readers while dragging our name through the dirt and ridiculing my friendship with Mike?"
"Stephen…"
Tanner's gentle voice pulled him out of his heated monologue and the hand around his elbow tightened slightly.
"I am truly sorry if my write-up gave you that impression, Inspector Keller.", Gifford backtracked and moved from one foot to the other, "It is obviously not my intention. But this isn't the reason I came here, and it certainly has nothing to do with digging into your personal business. I came here because I think whoever killed our Happy Artist is now after me."