Mike couldn't hide a relieved smile upon seeing his partner stand near the for-sale sign by the Saunders' house, ready to share some news and put their heads together after his time spent in the Records Department of City Hall.
Rosie's words had raised several warning bells in his mind when it came to ulterior motives.
Most of all, he'd been bothered by the seemingly hasty way with which the bank and the city had given up on Kevin and gutted the house, then put it up for sale.
It had been a strange thing to do after a homicide like this, whether there were next-of-kin around or not.
He was even more bothered by the fact that Alex had told her he was convinced that somebody from this city had done it.
Had the Saunders soured relations with somebody nearby? Or was there something going on when it came to little Kevin nobody but them and the killer knew? But what about the house? Why worry about the house with a killer on the loose?
No matter which way he turned it, it seemed to make little sense for a rich bank to worry about a tiny house like that and sell it to the city to recover any losses.
He pulled the Galaxy in park along the curb and scooted over to the passenger side of the front bench while Steve circled the hood.
With a warm smile, he waited until the young Inspector resumed his position in the driver's seat, then sighed.
"This time around I think I got the short end of the stick. My eyes are burning…", Mike said, his smile turning into a frown when Steve looked over at him.
"You might change your mind once you hear my story."
"What happened to your face?"
As if he was trying to assuage his partner's concern, Steve rubbed the bruise on his cheekbone, then shook his head.
"I haven't seen it yet but I am sure it looks worse than it is. I had an interesting encounter in the woods nearby."
"In the woods?"
Mike pursed his lips, his mind trying to follow his partner's words, pulling up the mental map of the outlying areas and remembering the park across I-280.
"I just thought I'd check out the area that Alex's guys had canvassed after the murder, seeing if there was a chance that somebody had a hideout somewhere out there. Half an hour into my walk, I get jumped by some guy who smelled like he'd been living out there for a while…"
Steve stopped when he saw his partner tense up, the notion of danger putting all the Lieutenant's senses into overdrive.
Much to his surprise, the young man reached forward to grab his shoulder reassuringly.
"It gets better, believe me. So, he knocks me to the ground, and begins to go through my stuff. Doesn't touch my gun, doesn't touch my wallet. All he went for was my badge. And once he found it, he looked at it and suddenly his demeanor changed completely. It seemed like he felt bad for attacking me. I opened my eyes and tried to see who I was dealing with but the guy was gone as fast as he came. You should have seen him run through those woods. It was unbelievable."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was an animal protecting its territory. That is…beyond bizarre. Maybe we should have you checked for rabies."
Mike used his free hand to reach for his partner's chin, slowly turning his face to the side to see the bruise that was gaining in color.
"What little I saw of the guy's height and weight vaguely matched the person from the post office picture. Maybe we should get with this…this Captain Morris and get him to put together a search party for us…"
Nodding at the young Inspector's words, Mike pulled his hand back, then grabbed the case file on the dash.
"While we're at it, I think I have a few questions of my own for the Captain."