Thank you all so much for the kind reviews and time spent reading this. I have a busy weekend coming up on the farm with the significant weather change rolling in, likely won't be able to post for a few days. Take care y'alls!
Steve woke up with a start.
Rubbing his tired eyes, he realized in horror that he'd fallen asleep at his desk. After leaning back in his chair with his hands intwined behind his head, the long night had gotten the better of him.
Looking around to see if anybody had noticed; he sighed in relief when both Tanner and Healy seemed deeply engrossed in a conversation a few desks away. Sekulovich stood by the telex machine, repeating a quiet mantra for the stubborn piece of engineering to keep working. Daring to glance to the left, he saw Mike reading off a file intently.
Not exactly sure when he'd fallen asleep, it seemed that at least he hadn't been out for too long.
Leaning forward, Steve massaged the back of his neck and reached for his coffee cup.
The couple dozen calls he made this morning had yielded depressingly few results. Nobody he talked to knew of any sort of farm catering to the homosexual crowd. Heck, half the time, the people seemed offended at the question and threatened to hang up.
Taking a sip of cold coffee, he slowly rose from his desk, then leisurely moseyed towards Mike's office.
The Lieutenant had planned to make a few calls of himself, mostly to local LE's and even some bars. Hindsight, the seasoned detective's approach had made a lot more sense, that much Steve admitted.
But then again, his way had been a lot more fun despite the bruise on his face from Sandy being a lot more passionate about all things romance than he remembered.
Not wanting to disturb his partner's brooding, Steve waited by the door frame until Mike looked up and removed his black-framed reading glasses.
"Glad to see you up and about. Did you have a good nap?"
Deeply embarrassed, Steve fell silent until he saw his partner chuckle.
"Don't worry. I was going to give you five more minutes and then wake you up. Don't think Rudy would like to see you get your beauty sleep in at the office."
"Have you gotten anywhere?", the young Inspector asked, hoping to bridge the awkward situation.
"Kind of.", Mike replied disappointedly before leaning back in his chair and folding his hands in his lap, "I found out that many people really do not like talking about homosexual men."
There was sadness in his voice as Mike's eyes dropped to the meticulously organized desk before he glanced back up at his partner.
"Ostrich principle.", Steve muttered and slid into the guest chair with a sigh, "If you don't talk about it, it doesn't exist."
Nodding in understanding, Mike fell silent. After working with him closely for several months, Steve had learned to read it as deep, reflective brooding.
"Well, none of my leads turned into anything substantial either.", the young Inspector finally admitted, folding his hands behind his head once more, "I am still waiting to hear back from three of the farms, but I am not holding my breath. Honestly, I am beginning to wonder if we looked at this situation wrong all along and-"
The nearby phone rang, disrupting their engaged conversation and Mike leaned forward to grab it.
"Homicide. Lieutenant Stone?"
Studying his expression, Steve saw a flash of surprise on his partner's face.
"Yes, yes he's here. Hold on a second."
With a raised eyebrow, Mike handed him the receiver. This time around, Steve knew right away who was on the other end, when he saw the Lieutenant mouth a surprised "Stephen Jake".
"Yes, this is Inspector Keller?"
"Stephen Jake!", Magnus said delightfully and he could hear the loud bar conversations in the back, "I have something for you. I think this might help you guys."
"What is it, Mag?"
"Well, I talked to Florian this morning. He's our AM bartender. He knew Glenn too, in fact they shared the same…how would you say…family troubles."
Noticing the sad undertone in the other man's voice, Steve nodded empathetically.
"Anyways, so Florian said that Glenn tried to talk him into coming up north sometime. He said he'd found a farm, it was called…hold on…"
When he heard the man on the other end shuffle the receiver around, Steve gestured for Mike to hand him a pen and piece of paper.
"Ok, here we go…he said the place is called Paradise Ranch. But it sounded like this is some sort of youth or young adult camp. They help people with PTSD and anxiety overcome their issues."
"Great. That helps a lot.", writing down the information, Steve nervously played with the pen in his hand, "Did he give you any indication on the location?"
"A bit. He said it's just south of the Sonoma Coast State Park. You gotta get off on Interstate 1, going east and follow a side road to a dirt road sort of thing. Glenn mentioned it was a bit secluded. Kind of like a sanctuary. And that they have horses. That's all I got though."
"No, no this is great Mag. Thanks so much!"
Noticing his excitement, Mike stood up as well, anxiously putting his hands by his side.
"You are more than welcome. Oh, and one more thing."
"What's that?", Steve asked curiously, while handing his partner the note.
"Somebody up there killed Glenn. I am sure that person won't stop at that, especially when there're cops asking questions. Be careful out there, Stephen Jake. God's speed!"
The phone line went dead before Steve could reply. Biting the inside of his cheek, he took a second to digest the new information. Paradise Ranch. Helping the youth. Just what exactly did that have to do with Glenn's desire to run away? Had he been there when he was younger? Or perhaps somebody he knew had told him about the place, suggested it as a safe haven from all his troubles?
Across the desk, Mike read the note and turned around to study the nearby map.
"I will call up the Sheriff in Carmet, see if they can help us at all. It's 2:30pm already…let's plan on leaving here in half an hour. I'll let DeVitt and Olsen know where we're going. "
Nodding, Steve followed his partner's hand sliding across the map.
"There are some big forested areas once you get off the highway. I better remember to grab my hiking boots."
Smiling, the Lieutenant shook his head before gently grabbing his elbow, hoping to draw his attention.
"What's all that talk about Stephen Jake? Did I miss anything back at JC's?"
Deep in thought, Steve nodded hesitantly, before meeting his partner's questioning eyes.
"I'll fill you in on the way up north."