No.
Budging to the repeated attempts to drive them out of town was not an option this time around, especially after Alex had paid the ultimate price to investigate this murder.
There was no way that Mike would allow whoever was behind all this to intimidate them into giving up now, when they were closer to the truth than ever before.
As such, they had called in a wrecker to return the car to the motorpool in San Francisco, then got a hold of the coroner's office to get a team down here at the earliest convenience, knowingly hitting several layers of red tape when it came to Bernie's men being summoned so far outside their usual jurisdiction.
Afterward, they rented a dark blue LTD and returned downtown, this time to take another close look at all the paperwork associated with the house and its previous owners.
Since their research into anybody who could have had unresolved issues with the Saunders had come to an unceremonious stop, it was the closest thing to figuring out the truth.
And if Mike was truly honest with himself, there was a lingering feeling in his gut that the truth was somewhere in the city archives, whether Rosie the Recordkeeper was aware of it or not.
As such, he made sure they'd stop at a small bistro on their way over, taking a moment to digest their findings and fill their grumbling stomachs, before embarking on their next wild goose chase.
The discovery of Kevin's body left him brokenhearted in more ways than he cared to admit, rising a primal anger within that Mike knew would be hard to restrain once they'd find his killer.
But for now, they had to focus, ignore those who tried to trip them up, and follow the blood trail with their undivided attention if they were to crack this case.
Then there was Steve.
Mike's heart ached as he recalled the scene of Carl practically throwing himself into the young Inspector's arms, weeping at the sheer magnitude of terror they had come across at that quiet pond, releasing the angst he'd harbored since witnessing the horrific murder.
The scene was hard to take in for any seasoned detective, much less for a caring young man such as Steve.
And while the young Inspector had mostly kept to himself after their discovery, Mike knew that the images had scarred him regardless, taking some of that lightheartedness from his soft features and turning them to stone each time they discussed the case.
There was no telling just how those images would affect both of them down the road, and Mike loathed the thought of nightmares and flashbacks already.
With a weary sigh, he glanced up from his stack of paperwork, catching his partner staring off into the distance, somewhere between the water cooler and Rosie's desk.
His green eyes were red-rimmed, his jaws tight with tension, shoulders rigidly straight; signs of a day that was beginning to wear on the young man in no uncertain terms.
"Why don't you grab both of us some more coffee?", Mike asked genially, hoping to pull the young Inspector out of his brooding for a few minutes.
Upon his words, Steve jerked awake again, nodding insecurely, before getting up and reaching for their two empty cups, then slowly headed over to the coffee machine.
The deed on the house had been on Mike's mind again as he recalled the previous owners, not coming up with a direct link his gut insisted was there.
Harry Wieland and Daniel S. Mears had been the previous owners, his background check with R&I in San Francisco yielding no priors for either one of the men.
Wieland was the first owner and would be in his late 80's by now, Mears on the other hand had acquired the house just a couple years before he sold it to the Saunders. According to the records, he was forty-five years old, single, one previous marriage, no children.
It was little to go on, and yet, he could feel the tingling sensation in his fingertips as he held onto the deed, staring at the same information over and over again.
"Lieutenant…ehm…Mike, I mean…"
Off in the right-hand corner, he heard Rosie's quiet voice, as she slowly approached their work table.
"Mike, it is…well…it's going on 5pm and around here, that's the end of my work day. If it's alright with you two gentlemen, do you mind if I head home for a bit to cook my husband dinner, and I will come back later to check on you and see if you need anything?"
Glancing up from the deed, Mike nodded eagerly, having completely lost any sense of time since they entered the windowless basement archives.
"Sure, sure. I apologize for us being here so late. Our day took…on a different direction."
Without telling her or anybody about the damage done to the Galaxie, likely by Morris or one of his men, Mike had kept his explanation comfortably vague when it came to their increased intensity into the research of the Saunders houses' past.
"Well, it does seem like you two gentlemen are used to working a lot of hours. Things down here in Burlingame are a little more…relaxed, so to speak."
Rosie's smile broadened when she saw Steve return with two steaming cups of coffee, placing them in front of their respective work areas, before sitting down once again.
"Are you two at least making some headway with all that research?"
Taking a moment to pull the black-rimmed reading glasses off and rubbing his burning eyes, Mike shook his head wearily.
"Not as much as we'd like unfortunately. But at least we can start…to exclude certain theories."
The steaming cup of coffee tempted him late his afternoon and Mike reached for it to treat himself to a long sip, before continuing.
"Say, do you mind if I pick your brain on something for a moment?"
Upon Rosie's insecure shrug, Mike pointed at the house deed.
"Do you know anything about this…this Daniel S. Mears? The man who owned the house before the Saunders bought it?"
Rosie's smile turning into a frown confirmed his hunch long before she said anything.
As the implications of his question became obvious to her, she put a hand in front of her mouth, before glancing back and forth between both detectives.
"Daniel, well...he's the ehm…he's Captain Morris's ex-brother in law. You don't…you don't think he and the Captain have anything to do with this, do you?"