Hugging Jeannie tightly, Mike rested his chin on the top of her head as he listened to her heart wrenching sobs and heard the heartbreaking, tearful confession she murmured into his chest, "Ohh Mike, I'm so sorry. I…I didn't mean any of this to happen. But... but he…he had a knife! I…I thought that he was going to rape me … I…I was so scared. All I could think of was I needed to get away…"

Hugging her a little closer, he murmured soft reassurances that everything was going to be okay.

Blinking away his own tears, his heart broke at the terror Jeannie had endured at the hands of the man she had killed in what was obviously self- defense. Lightly kissing the top of her head, he glanced up as the interrogation door opened and Tom Hawkins stepped inside.

Waiting a moment for Jeannie's sobs to subside, he released her from his hug and brushed the strands of hair that had fallen over her damp face, tear stained face as he told her, "Everything's going to be okay, Sweetheart. Just tell Tom and Steve everything that you just told me."

xxxxxxxx

After watching the lawyer enter the interrogation room, Steve turned back to Bill and asked, "Okay, what else have we got?"

"A statement from the witness, a Mrs Hazel Winters, who called the stabbing in," Bill sighed softly as he watched Steve open the file and flick through the few pages inside, until he came to the page he was looking for as Bill continued, "And it's pretty damning, Steve. She says she heard some sort of an argument in the alleyway below her window, so she went to have a look what was going on. She saw Jeannie arguing with the victim. She wasn't sure just what the argument was about, she only caught snatches of it, enough to know that Jeannie called the victim John and he called Jeannie by her name. Mrs Winters said although she didn't know just what they were arguing about, by the way she saw them pushing and shoving each other, it seemed pretty intense. She claims she heard Jeannie threaten Solace before Jeannie took the knife out of her bag."

Steve's head snapped up, "She saw Jeannie take the murder weapon out of her bag. Is she sure?"

Bill nodded, "Positive, Steve, she said Jeannie pulled the knife out of her handbag before Jeannie stabbed Solace with it."

Steve sighed and shook his head as he closed the file and started to walk slowly across to the interrogation room as Bill fell in step beside him. "So, far it looks like an open and shut case, the only thing we haven't got is motive, I just hope Jeannie can tell us what just what happened and why." he murmured as they neared the glass lined room and Hawkins opened the door.

Stepping past the lawyer, Steve carefully placed the folder on the table and took out his pocketbook, before placing it on top of the folder as Bill positioned himself against the side wall. Looking across the table at Jeannie, he gave her a small reassuring smile as he sat down on the chair opposite and began softly, "I'll try and make this as easy as I can, Jeannie, so the best way to do that is why don't you tell me what just happened tonight."

Grabbing Mike's hand, Jeannie bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Okay," she whispered, "Where -where do you want me to start."

"How about you start at the beginning with how and when did you get to San Francisco, and we can go from there." Steve smiled encouragingly as he removed his pen from his pocket and opened his notebook before looking back across at Jeannie.

Grabbing Mike's hand, Jeannie held onto it as she gave Steve one small nod and brushed away a tear that trickled down her cheek with her other hand. Taking a deep breath, her voice trembling, she answered nervously, "I- I caught the greyhound bus and got into San Francisco about midnight. My mid-term exams ended early, and I wanted to surprise Mike…" She began to explain as she watched Steve jot something down in his notebook. "I wasn't sure if you and Mike might be working so I – I was going to catch a cab home."

Steve frowned, "So you were going to catch a cab, why didn't you?"

"After I got off the bus and started to head across to the cab rank, Jeannie swallowed hard as her grip on Mike's hand tightened, "That's when I first noticed him, following me."

Steve nodded as he jotted something down before he looked back up at Jeannie and asked softly, "And that was the first time that you had seen him?"

Jeannie shook her head, "No, I think I saw him on the bus. He must have got off and followed me."

"And you are sure that you have never met him before?" Steve asked softly.

"Positive," Jeannie answered as Mike sat up a little higher on his chair and stared questioningly at Steve.

"Not even at Uni?" Steve pressed a little harder.

"No, I don't think so," Jeannie shook her head slowly.

"Okay, Jeannie, what happened next?" Steve asked as he looked back down at his notebook and jotted something down.

Jeannie swallowed a small sob, as she grabbed Mike's hand harder, squeezing his fingers tightly as she struggled to go on, "As I was walking past the alleyway…he-he grabbed me. He -he grabbed me around my waist and I - I felt the knife against my throat as he warned me not to scream and- and pulled me into the alley. I-I thought that he was going to rape me."

"And he had the knife?" Steve frowned looking up from his notes.

Jeannie nodded.

"And then?"

"I- I thought I was going to die, so I-I tried to grab the knife off him. We- we struggled and- and the- next thing I-I knew was he- he was lying on the ground and the knife was - was sticking out of his chest." Jeannie whisper ended in a half-chocked sob as Mike wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulders and drew her closer.

"And you said that you arrived on the bus tonight? Is that right?" Steve frowned, looking across at Jeannie as he reached for the manila folder.

Jeannie bit her bottom lip and gave a nervous nod.

"Are you sure it was tonight and not three days ago?" Steve's frown deepened as he removed a sheet of paper from the folder and appeared to be studying it before he looked back up at Jeannie, :Because I have a sworn statement here from the bus driver who was driving the bus that you rode on, only he says that you were on the bus three nights ago. The ticket was purchased Sunday evening, the same evening that you told Mike that you were studying for your mid-terms."

"He-he must have made a mistake." Jeanie whispered, her face frowning pale.

"No, Jeannie," Steve shook his head, hating having to be the one who was tearing her story apart, "There's no mistake. Bill found the found bus ticket in your purse. The bus driver also confirmed that John Solace also caught the same bus. Only you did know John before tonight, didn't you? The driver said that the two of you got on the bus and sat together. He said that the two of you looked quite -"

Jeannie swallowed hard as she shook her head hard, "No, he's wrong."

"Steve!" Mike warned, his anger rising at Steve's accusations.

"And Solace wasn't the one who had the knife tonight in that alley, was he, Jeannie?" Steve demanded, ignoring his partner.

"He-he did-"

"Damn it, Jeannie, stop lying!" Steve growled loudly, his hand slamming hard onto the desk, making everyone in the room jump. "This isn't a game that we're playing. This is a murder investigation!"

"Steve, that's enough!" Mike yelled.

"I agree, I will not have you abusing my client! This interview is over, Inspector!" Hawkins announced as he rose to his feet.

Flicking his notebook closed before shoving it into his coat pocket, Steve snatched the thin Manilla folder off the table as he jumped to his feet and glared at Jeannie in frustration before turning to glare at her lawyer, "You're right! This interview is over." Looking across at Bill, he ordered, "Take her down to the cells in lock-up until she decides she wants to co-operate and tell us the truth about what happened tonight!" Turning on his heel, he walked out of the interrogation room, slamming the door shut behind him, making the glass windows rattle in their frames.

Walking across to the coffee table, he tried hard to ignore Lee's shocked stare, and the sounds of Bill escorting Jeannie out of the bullpen as he threw the manila folder down onto the table. Picking up the coffee pot with a shaking hand, he took a deep breath as he tried to pour himself a mug of the black sludge the pot held without spilling too much of thick black liquid that had been stewing for several hours onto the table.

He sighed and tiredly closed his eyes, his heart beating wildly in his chest, as he heard the heavy, familiar footsteps approach him and waited for Mike's explosion.

"Just what the hell did you think you are doing in there?" Mike growled as he reached his young partner.

"Trying to get to the truth, Mike, just like you taught me!" Steve answered as calmly as he could, before picking up the mug of coffee and turning towards his friend.

"That's Jeannie who you just sent down to the holding cells, Buddy Boy, not some -" Mike spat out.

"Don't you think that I know that, Mike?" Steve snapped back angrily, slamming the mug of coffee he was holding back down onto the table behind him. "She gave me no other choice because instead of co-operating with us with the investigation and helping us get to the bottom of what happened, she's lying through her teeth! She just lied to our faces about not knowing the victim, she lied about when she arrived in San Francisco, and we have a witness who has told us Jeannie was the one with the knife, not Solace. She saw Jeannie pull the knife out of her purse before she stabbed Solace with it. Damn it, Mike, she even lied to you the night she told you she was in Phoenix, studying for her midterms." Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his trembling hand over his head before letting it drop back down to his side as he pleaded softly, "Come on, Mike, you don't really think that I enjoyed putting Jeannie through that, any more than you did watching me? I'm sorry Mike, I don't know why Jeannie's lying, but I know she is." He sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted, as he tried to warn his friend, "Jeannie's hiding something, and I don't know what yet or even why. But it's my job to find out what it is, even if that means that what I discover might send Jeannie to jail." Swallowing hard, he added softly. "And that's what I am going to do because a good cop taught me that that's what a good Homicide inspector does."