Steve rolled in at the DeHaro house around seven-thirty.
Checking in with dispatch an hour earlier to put his partner's worry at ease; he'd taken the long way back to clear his mind. The disturbing nature of Melinda Malcolm's attitude towards one of her children nagged on him; a lot more than it should, he knew that.
But regardless of how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the feeling of utter horror when he envisioned how Glenn must have felt pondering on the right words to tell his mother that he was gay.
Putting the Galaxy in park, he sighed in defeat and walked down the sidewalk. The cool breeze coming off the Bay sent shivers down his back. For the first time during this difficult day, his empty stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten since lunch. Climbing the stairs to Mike's house, he took two steps at a time, reaching the door just slightly out of breath.
His partner opened it before he ever got a chance to knock.
"Don't you look like death warmed over..." , the Lieutenant noted worriedly and moved aside for him to come in.
"That bad, eh?"
Trying himself in a half-hearted smile, Steve stripped out of the beige sportscoat and allowed Mike to hang it on the nearby clothes rack. With exhaustion running through every pore of his body, he unceremoniously loosened his tie and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, before collapsing on the nearby couch.
Mike appeared by his side with a cold beer, and an apologetic smile on his face.
"The daughter told me Momma Dearest can be a handful."
Unable to keep a straight face when his partner's smile widened, Steve took a long overdue sip of beer, before leaning deeper into the couch.
"You get the angry mother next time, and I'll take the grieving daughter."
"Did you get anything useful out of her?", Mike then asked, quickly returning to Detective mode.
"Oh yes. Yes. Turns out that Glenn was gay."
When his partner wasn't shaken by the news, Steve figured that Sarah may have told him already.
"He came to her house to…I guess…open up about it a couple weeks ago. That went way south when she caught him kissing another man."
Mike nodded quietly, a frown forming as he pondered.
"Yes, Sarah said that her mother called to "warn her about his homosexuality" and practically disowned him. She wanted her to stay away from her brother. When she reached out, Glenn was visibly upset and proceeded to tell her that he was heading north for a while."
"Did she mention anything about his boyfriend? Name is Ludwig or something like that."
"No. I didn't know he had one up until now."
The doorbell rang, signaling a food delivery. Mike gestured for Steve to remain seated and reached for the wallet in his back pocket to take care of the delivery boy.
"Yep. Supposedly he was with him when they went to Melinda Malcolm's house. Maybe he can point us in the right direction."
"Sounds like a good start for tomorrow morning." Mike suggested when he returned from the front door with dinner, then disappeared into the kitchen to grab plates and silverware. "Check with your buddies at Vice first thing to see if there are some clubs in the area that cater to the homosexual crowd. If they were a pair, they may have gone out together. Especially if it meant being around people of their own kind."
Leaning his head back against the couch and closing his eyes, Steve couldn't help but wonder about Mike's attitude towards this whole situation. Although he dealt with it remotely in college, homosexuality was still a taboo around most households. The few friends he knew that came out openly were shunned by their family and chastised by their peers. How would Mike's upbringing and religion come into play in these cases? Feeling somewhat uneasy himself, he wondered if there were any concerns behind Mike's ever-present façade of professionalism this time around?
Steve woke up from his daydreaming when he felt a warm hand on his elbow.
"The pizza isn't getting any warmer, Buddy boy."