Steve had spent to rest of the day and the start of the next morning snooping around the area near India Basin, showing photos of the deceased man in the event someone saw or heard something. Recent camera installations that were common in the downtown area were few and far between. All in all, it was a fruitless endeavor.
When he arrived at the bullpen mid-morning, Mike greeted him with a shout out from his office chair before the young detective had a chance to take off his jacket.
"Well, Buddy Boy, while you were out there hitting the streets for answers, a lead came in on our victim from the Basin. Care to join me in my office?"
The irony of the streets not helping the young inspector in this case was not lost on Steve as he knew his mentor swore by that tactic. Suppressing an annoyed look, Steve quickly grabbed a cup of coffee and joined his boss.
"What have you got?" Steve asked as he sat down on one of Mike's visitor's chairs.
Mike reached over and grabbed the information from his inbox. "This came in from Missing Persons. They got an alert from the Amador County police for a missing person."
"Amador County?" Steve asked, his brow furrowing.
He pulled out the photo he obtained from the new Missing Person's alert and showed it to Steve. "Yes, that's east of here up towards Tahoe. You've heard of it, I'm sure." Handing the photo over to Steve, he asked, "What do you think? He's a long time resident who vanished a few days ago."
There was no name on the photo, but it was a picture of a man with his wife and teenaged children. It could have been any portrait of a happy family. He stared at it for several quiet seconds. Mike looked at Steve curiously as he wondered what he was seeing that caused such a reaction.
Finally, Steve looked up and seemed to be at a loss for words. "Is there a name?", he finally asked, his voice slightly broken.
Mike sensed that the situation may have quickly become personal and sensitive. "You're scaring me here, Steve. Do you recognize the man in this photo?"
"Maybe. I didn't see the resemblance in the coroner's report…" he responded quietly.
"His name is Jacob Goldman. He's from Tyler." Mike read from a supporting document. He awaited Steve's response and noticed that the young man swallowed hard.
"Mr. Goldman," he said as he was still holding the photo.
"You know him, don't you?"
He looked down again at the picture. "Um yeah, but it's been a while. He was my fourth grade teacher."
