My apologies for being absent for a few days. It's been pretty hectic here to say the least. Thanks for all the kind feedback!

"Which one are you going to take, left or right?"

He'd been unable to wipe that victorious grin off his face ever since Ricky walked up to them, hands behind his head, willing to negotiate terms in order to get his treasured raccoon back. And all that despite the angry protests in the back.

While his methods may have been unconventional to say the least; they had yielded the desired outcome, allowing two weary San Francisco Homicide Detectives to pick and choose from an array of persons of interest to further their search for the truth.

Hoping to finally answer some pressing questions in the murder of Lester Joseph Corbin, Steve held out hope that the daring maneuver would be worth it in the end, even though there would be a PR nightmare to tackle once word got out about the chili cook-off.

Pushing the unpleasant thought out of his mind for the time being, Steve watched his partner glance back and forth between both interrogation rooms, eyes completely alert yet unreadable, shoulders straight back, that experienced mind working overtime to make the best decision possible.

Freshly cleaned up and back in his dark gray suit, the Lieutenant stood there quietly for many long moments, pondering away.

Eventually, Mike cocked his chin to the left, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"You take Ricky. I'll grab Albert."

"What? You still don't want to be close to that raccoon?", Steve teased amicably, only to have Mike slap his shoulder in return.

"I'm too old to get rabies…", the Lieutenant countered before his expression turned somber again, "Besides, I want to feel out Albert. See where he stands. He's the…the fragile kind. I could see him clam up if we ask the wrong thing, so I am planning on treating him with kitten gloves- not raccoon paws."

"You are bad, you know that? You're really bad."

With an exasperated headshake, Steve headed toward the interrogation room, flanked by his partner, when Haley's worried voice held them back.

"Hey Mike. You've got a Father Tenpenny on line 3. Wants to talk to you immediately. Sounds pretty upset."

Following the exchange with a smug grin, Steve slowed down and watched Mike clench his jaws for a moment, definitely dreading the looming conversation.

"Tell him we are busy right now. I'll call him back tonight."

Hesitantly, Haley picked up the phone again to relay the message as Mike and Steve headed to the adjacent interrogation rooms once more, shoulder to shoulder, each man ready to tackle a different scenario.

"You know you can't push Tenpenny off forever…", Steve said as he grabbed the door handle, "He's going to find you and unleash that Catholic wrath as soon as he can."

"Speak for yourself.", Mike countered and shook his head, "People have been putting a good word in for me upstairs for many years. Hopefully, He'll forgive me, even if his servants might not."