His instincts served him well, and it wasn't too long until he spotted a sign directing him to the freeway heading south. He resisted the urge to slap the cherry on the roof and turn the siren on. He had a feeling that everyone would be looking for him, or the car, by now, and the longer he could stay under the radar the better.

Not that it would matter in the short term. He no doubt would be detained and interviewed; the possibility of arrest was also dangling in front of him, if the grunt work of this particular homicide investigation had been done with the same dedication and alacrity that he and Mike brought to their investigations. And he knew it would have been.

He stayed in the right lane, just above the speed limit, letting his mind play the events of the past twelve hours over and over, trying to find something, anything, that could prove Nicole Sanderson was responsible for every horrific thing that had transpired. But he couldn't think of one thing.

It was just after noon when the tan LTD rounded the bend on the 101 in Mill Valley and the tops of the spires of the Golden Gate Bridge came into view. And, for the first time in his life, the sight brought dread instead of elation.

# # # # #

He had managed to turn onto Van Ness before he noticed a black-and-white slide in behind the unmarked sedan and follow it down the street. Watching in the rearview mirror, he saw the driver bring the radio mic to his lips and knew his presence was being relayed to Dispatch. He wondered if he was about to be pulled over or, so long as he was heading in the direction of the Hall of Justice, if they would leave him alone.

It turned out to be the latter. The cruiser kept a respectful distance, and he was grateful for that. When he pulled into the parking lot off 7th behind the Hall, the black-and-white stayed on the street, idling, and he knew he was still under observation.

He parked and got out of the car, staring in the direction of the cruiser, and nodded his thanks, then turned towards the building. He was not in the least surprised to see Healey and Haseejian standing on the small concrete landing just outside the back entrance to the Hall, obviously waiting for him.

He had never seen them looking so grim, and his heart started to pound as he crossed the parking lot towards them. He stopped at the bottom of the steps and an uncomfortable silence filled the air around them; even the usually gregarious Haseejian seemed at a loss for words.

Steve opened his mouth but no words came out at first, then he managed a strangled, "Is he -?"

"He's going to be fine," Healey blurted out, his anger and disappointment evident in his tone. He stopped himself, looking away and inhaling deeply.

"And Linda…?"

"She's dead, Steve," Haseejian said quietly, watching his partner from under a worried brow. Neither of them wanted to be in this situation but they didn't have a choice.

Healey's eyes bored into the young inspector. "Did you do it?"

Steve wasn't expecting the question and he had never heard such fury in his colleague's voice, at least never directed at him before, and it threw him. He actually took a startled step backward before he caught himself. "Of course not!" he spit out, matching ire with ire.

Even though Healey and Steve were on different levels, Haseejian took a step forward, as if putting a barrier between them, holding up both hands placatingly. "Hey hey hey, lets cool down, okay?" He stared at his partner, who dropped his gaze to the floor, then at Steve. "Look, ah, we've got a lot to talk about, and right now you're our number one suspect. We've got to do this by the book, Steve, you know that." He glanced back at the building, then shrugged apologetically. "The, ah, the powers that be want us to keep a lid on this… for obvious reasons… so we're not gonna take you to Homicide. We're gonna use Rudy's office instead…. And by rights, you should be handcuffed but, well…" He shrugged again, and his voice sounded impossibly sad. "Just, ah, just don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Steve was staring at him expressionlessly then he smiled ironically. "Don't worry, Norm, if I was going to do something stupid, do you think I'd be standing here right now?"

Haseejian flashed a quick, melancholic smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Steve started up the stairs and the two sergeants backed away slightly to make room. Healey held out his right hand. "I need to take your gun." Staring into the younger man's eyes, he reached under the front flap of the sportscoat and slipped the .38 out of the holster. "Your badge and your cuffs too."

The inspector dropped his eyes as he reached into his front pants pocket and took out the leather case that held his badge. "I don't have my cuffs."

The sergeants glanced at each other and Haseejian exhaled loudly. "What did you do with them?"

Steve's eyes flashed, as he tried to contain his anger at the unspoken accusation. "I didn't do anything with them. They were taken from me. I don't know where they are."

From the look the others exchanged, he knew exactly where they were, confirming his worst fears. After a long silent beat, Healey reached for the door handle.

Steve held his ground. "Listen, ah, Mike's really going to be okay?" he asked softly, trying to ameliorate the tense atmosphere.

As Healey opened the heavy glass door, Haseejian put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "He's gonna be out of it for a couple of days but the doctors said he's going to make a full recovery." They stepped over the threshold.

"Has anyone called Jeannie?"

The sergeant nodded. "She's on her way home. Rudy's taking care of all that."

Steve nodded softly. "Ah, what about…". He stopped and cleared his throat. When he continued, his voice was soft and strained. "What about Linda's family?" He felt Haseejian's hand on his shoulder tighten.

"Roy made the notification. As far as I know, he's still with the family."

They had reached the elevators and Healey pressed the button. As they waited for the car to arrive, all three of them facing the silver doors, Steve dropped his head and his entire body began to shake. Haseejian's grip tightened even more.

# # # # #

Devitt sat motionless in his parked car, both white-knuckled hands wrapped around the steering wheel. Trying not to think, he had closed his eyes, letting the muted sounds of the bustling Chinatown crowd on the sidewalk outside the closed windows waft over him.

He had just spent the better part of the morning with a devastated family. Linda's parents lived in a large, beautifully decorated apartment above their restaurant, which now had a 'Closed' sign dangling from the front door. They and their other sons and daughters were getting ready for a busy lunchtime crowd when he had arrived, not at all prepared to ruin their day but knowing that was exactly what he was going to do.

And a little part of him died every time he had to do it.

Linda's father, trying valiantly to hold himself together for his family's sake, kept asking questions that Devitt was unable to answer. Some because he just didn't know, but others he just couldn't because it was an open investigation. But, like every good cop, he promised the family that the police department wouldn't stop until Linda's killer was found and brought to justice.

Now, as he sat in his car, waiting for Linda's father to join him so he could drive the grieving man to the Coroner's Office so he could officially identify his dead daughter, he hoped and prayed that the answer to that question wouldn't tear a lot of other worlds apart.

# # # # #

No one seemed to take too much notice as the three Homicide detectives exited the elevator and made their way to Captain Olsen's office. Haseejian opened the door for the others to enter ahead of him. Steve glanced around the empty room, frowning. "Rudy's not here?" He sounded confused and slightly disappointed.

"He's at the hospital with Mike, then he's pickIng Jeannie up when she gets here later this afternoon," Healey answered curtly as he circled the desk and sank heavily into the captain's large swivel chair.

Haseejian closed the door and gestured for Steve to sit in one of the guest chairs. Frowning, the younger man remained on his feet, stating at Healey, whose antagonism he was having a hard time understanding at the moment. "I want to see him."

"Who, Rudy?" Haseejian asked.

"No, Mike," Steve responded in exasperation, his nerves now totally shot.

Healey leaned forward and rested his forearms on the large wooden desk. He snorted almost angrily. "That's not gonna happen. Nobody's gonna be able to talk to him for a couple of days and then we get first crack at him. We want to hear what he remembers first and until that happens you're not going anywhere near him." For the first time, his expression softened. "And depending on what you tell us in the next few hours, you might not be seeing him for a long time, so sit down and let's get started, shall we?"

Knowing he had to keep his quickly unraveling composure under control, knowing the story he was about to tell them was almost beyond belief, and knowing there was the distinct possibility they wouldn't believe him, Steve sank into the guest chair. As the sergeants watched, he dropped his head into his hands and inhaled deeply. "I know you're going to have a hard time believing me… but what I'm about to tell you is the god's honest truth… and I'm the only one who knows what happened."

# # # # #

Devitt made his way across the waiting room, softly smiling to himself. Rudy Olsen's head was back against the wall, his mouth slightly open, and he was snoring softly. Some of the other people in the room kept stealing quick glances at him, swallowing smiles; a few of them looked annoyed.

The seat on the captain's right was empty and Devitt slipped into it, tapping Olsen on the arm. The older man woke with a start, snorting and looking around guiltily. "Oh, geez, Roy, when did you get here?"

"Just now. Any news?"

"About Mike? No, nothing recent. " He looked at his watch. "I thought I'd just wait here till I have to head out to the airport to pick Jeannie up. I've got about 45 minutes."

"How did she take it?"

"Good… good. I explained to her that he's gonna be okay but that she should come and stay with him for awhile and I think she took it okay."

Devitt nodded. "That's good. Ah, listen, I just got finished with Linda Zhao's father, took him to the morgue to identify her body. I told him they need to do a full autopsy and he was pretty upset about that but he understands. I also told him they'd release the body as soon as possible so they could give her a Buddhist funeral." He paused. "He asked me who could do this to her…. I, ah, I told him we didn't know right now but we would find out."

Olsen stared into his colleague's eyes; he knew what they were both thinking.

"I, ah, I also got a message through Dispatch to call Dan Healey in your office. Steve turned himself in. They talking to him now."

Olsen stared at the floor, the muscles in his jaw clenching. He pursed his lips and nodded sadly. He had no idea how things could possibly get any worse.