"I should have told you," Mike continued softly, guilt competing with the pain creasing his strong features. "And I apologize for that, I really do."
Steve's smile was faint but laced with understanding. "I already knew about it…"
"From Dan and Norm?" Mike asked a little too quickly, anxiety briefly replacing the remorse.
The younger man shook his head. "No… they never mentioned a word until I told them that I knew."
"So you knew…?"
Steve nodded slowly. "Nicole told me."
Mike blinked at him blankly a couple of times. "You mean she knew?" he asked almost breathlessly.
Bobbing his head, Steve shrugged slightly. "Yeah… she did…"
"Son-of-a-bitch," the older man whispered, his gaze unfocusing briefly before he looked at the young man again. "Did she tell you how she knew? I mean, I thought I was being pretty discreet… I didn't want you to find out so…" Mike looked down, avoiding the green-eyed stare.
"No, she didn't… she just told me you knew her as Mary Leary…"
"Yeah, she was passing herself off as a private eye but that was easy to poke holes in. The trouble was, she was preying on vulnerable people who took her at her word so she could pull it off."
"That kind of chutzpah is impressive if it wasn't so damned frightening," Steve said heavily, more intrigued than ever to find out what Mike had uncovered.
"There's a lot of things about Nicole Sanderson we obviously don't know… but Steve, what if I hadn't kept my investigation to myself…?" He shook his head almost imperceptibly as he tried to come to grips with this new information. "My god, if I'd've told you… that Linda was set-up just as much as we were… maybe she would still be alive…" He sounded disconsolate.
Steve leaned forward quickly. "You don't know that."
Mike looked at him. "I had a composite made… I knew what she looked like."
"You knew what Mary Leary looked like. You didn't know it was Nicole. Nobody, it seems, knew it was Nicole. She changed her appearance that much, believe me."
The older man exhaled heavily, wincing at the effort. "I had no idea, I really didn't…" He looked shattered.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I had no idea it was her either… she literally had to introduce herself to me. To me," he emphasized, shaking his head in bewilderment.
They fell silent for a few seconds, both of them realizing that the guilt they were feeling was going to stay with them for a long time, if not forever.
"I still don't know what I'm going to say to her parents when I finally get the chance to pay my respects and try to explain what happened." Steve dropped his head into his hands then ran them slowly down his face and let them drop into his lap.
Mike was watching him. "I want to go with you when you do… I want to tell them how much she meant to you and how special she was… and how very sorry we all are…" he explained quietly.
A small grateful smile briefly lit the younger man's features and he nodded softly. "I'd like that."
Mike smiled back, tilting his head. "Well, until we can do that, why don't we put our heads together and clear your name and nail Nicole Sanderson for murder…"
Steve stared at him for a long beat then nodded. "You feeling any better?"
Nodding, the lieutenant let his head drop back onto the pillows. "Yeah, the pill is finally kicking in. So let's get going before it starts to wane."
"And before I have to go bake those chocolate chip cookies I've been ordered to make," Steve chuckled, watching the older man's eyebrows raise.
"Oh yeah, I'm looking forward to those."
"Don't get your hopes up." He picked up one of the pads and a pen. "You want this?"
Still lying back, Mike shook his head. "Not right now, thanks… I'll ask for it if I think I need it."
"Okay."
They shared an expressionless look then Mike nodded slightly. Taking a deep breath, Steve leaned forward and put his elbows on his thighs. "Linda'd called me early that afternoon to tell me she was getting off early and she was going to my place to make us dinner. She had a key. Ethan and I were going to go back to Belmondo's but we decided to wait a day so I headed home.
"There weren't any lights on when I got there and that surprised me 'cause she didn't call to tell me she was running late. But there was a message on my answering machine… from Linda, and she sounded terrified. She told me I had to go to Hunter's Point, to an old garage, and that I had to come alone and not tell anybody or they would kill her."
"'They'?" Mike interrupted, jumping on the word.
Steve nodded. "I'm sure Nicole made her say that so I wouldn't know it was just one person."
"Okay…" Mike said slowly, "so why wasn't the message used -"
"It was erased."
"What? You didn't -?"
Steve shook his head quickly. "No, of course not. But it was gone when Bill went to my place to get it."
"How?"
Sighing angrily, the younger man shook his head in frustration. "I have one of those machines where once you listen to a message, the cassette resets. So we figured at some point Nicole called my number and just kept the line open and didn't say anything and recorded over Linda's message." He shrugged.
Mike was nodding softly. "Smart…"
"I, ah, I called you here but you weren't home and I didn't want to wait for Jeannie's incoming message to finish and then leave you one so I just hung up…" Steve's voice faded away and he looked down. Mike waited. "I never should've done that. I should've taken the time and left a message… then none of this would've happened." He nodded towards the bed. "You would've known what you were walking into… You would've been prepared…"
Mike pursed his lips. "You did what you had to do under the circumstances. You had no idea what… plan she had set in motion. You didn't know she was going to target me too. Hell, you didn't even know what was going on… don't blame yourself."
Still looking at the floor, Steve nodded slightly, taking the time to gather himself before he raised his head. "I got to Spear as fast as I could, lights and siren, but I turned them off when I got to Hunter's Point. I spotted Linda's car and parked down the block."
Mike frowned slightly; the LTD was behind Linda's car when he got there but he kept the observation to himself for now. He thought of asking for the pad to write it down so he would remember to bring it up later but decided to wait; he was reluctant to move. The quieter he stayed, the less his various injuries made themselves known, blessedly.
"Everything was black… there was only one streetlight I could see and none of the buildings had lights. I took my flashlight and drew my gun and headed to the garage. The front door was unlocked, and that surprised me, and it squeaked when I opened it. It was pitch black inside but there was this… glow somewhere towards the back. I couldn't make out what it was… it was blurry, I guess you could call it, and I started towards it."
He paused for a brief second. "I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched… you know what that's like… and it turned out I was right. I think every hair on my body was standing on end… and I knew Linda had to be there somewhere… at least I was hoping she was…." He swallowed heavily, still looking down. It was easier to talk that way, even though he was well aware that the blue eyes fixed on him were the kindest and most understanding he had ever known.
He raised his head slightly. "If she was there, I thought, then I had a chance of saving her… but if she wasn't, I didn't know what I was going to do. Anyway, I kept moving towards the light which turned out to be on the other side of that inner office, which I'm sure you saw when you…" His voice trailed off and he shrugged slightly.
Mike met the green eyes with a soft smile and nod.
"I circled the office… and that's when I saw her. It was one overhead lamp… and Linda was in that chair right beneath it…." He stopped, his mouth slightly open; his breaths were suddenly quick and shallow. "I, ah, I didn't know if she was dead or alive… and I knew it was a trap but I also knew I had to get to her… but before I could take a step, I heard something to my left and I turned… It was an involuntary reaction, I guess, and before I could stop myself, I got hit on the back of the head."
Mike frowned, lifting his head from the pillow. "Are you okay? Were you checked out?"
Steve was already nodding. "I was okay. It was just enough to knock me out for a few minutes, but long enough for Nicole to tie me to a chair… just like she did to you…" He looked so guilty that the older man couldn't stop the empathetic smile that curled his lips. "You know, now that I think about it, she could have used chloroform or something like it on me to make sure I stayed out long enough… but I don't remember smelling anything when I woke up so I'm not sure…"
Mike relaxed and allowed his head to sink back onto the pillows again.
"Turns out she used baling twine, and pieces of cloth so they wouldn't leave marks on my wrists…" He paused, looking down and taking a deep breath. "She must've burned them," he whispered to himself.
"What?"
Steve looked up. "They found a barrel behind the garage… something had been burned in it. It was still hot when they got there, they said, and all that was left was ashes… and a few pieces of metal that the lab recovered. If Nicole started that fire to get rid of evidence, then I bet she burned the twine and the cloth ties…"
Mike nodded.
The younger man exhaled loudly. "Anyway, when I came to, there was tape over my mouth and my eyes… and I couldn't move. She'd tied my arms together behind the chair from the elbows down." He snorted angrily. "Christ, it hurt. My hands were numb…. I heard a whimper and I knew it was Linda… but there was nothing I could do to help her…" He paused, looking down. "That's when I heard someone close to me, footsteps on linoleum, and I realized I must be in the office. The tape over my mouth was torn off and I asked who it was but they didn't -"
The doorbell rang. Both men froze, looking at each other with frowns.
"Are we expecting anyone?" Mike asked.
Steve shook his head, pursing his lips. "I don't think so, unless it's one of the guys with new info."
"I think they'd call first."
Steve got up and headed for the bedroom door, then started to jog down the stairs.
"Use the peephole, that's what it's for," Mike called after him.
Steve pressed his eye to the door viewer; there was a large uniformed officer standing on the landing. He turned the deadbolt and opened the door. The cop, who Steve didn't recognize, smiled warmly. "Inspector Keller?"
Steve nodded. "Yeah."
Suddenly someone else darted out from behind the officer, their face obscured by a 35mm camera, and the sound of a motor drive taking multiple shots filled the air. "Gotcha!" The second person cackled as they turned, both taking the steep concrete steps two at a time, racing across the sidewalk and diving into the open doors of a waiting car. It squealed up the street and disappeared around the corner.
