"Feeling any better?"
Mike knew that Steve secretly enjoyed the good-natured nudging he'd bestowed upon the young Inspector since his return to the office. It hadn't taken a genius to see that the events from the previous day were still wearing heavily on him, severely testing the deep level of caring with which Steve approached life and the people around him.
It was also obvious that in his fatherly ways, Mike's job would be to help steer the young man's attention and emotions back into a more productive direction than the quiet brooding he'd been overindulging in.
As he already knew after the phone call with Scott Sorrensen; their latest case wasn't exactly for the faint of heart. It was safe to say that it would require both of their best efforts and experience to solve the puzzle thrown at their feet.
Glancing down but keeping his partner in his peripheral vision, Mike dug his fork into another juicy piece of thick ham, then drowned it in the egg yolk floating between the meat and hash browns. So far, Ernie's grandson earned his utmost respect for the quality of breakfast foods offered at the small hole-in-the-wall restaurant near the corner of Clay and Laurel.
They'd picked one of the handful of tables along the sidewalk for their impromptu case discussion, and Mike thoroughly enjoyed the sounds and sights of his city after a day spent in the wilderness.
Carefully glancing up as he chewed on the ham, Mike was relieved to see that Steve had finished most of his breakfast, his bright green eyes lacking the glum expression from earlier in the morning. He couldn't be one-hundred-percent certain, but it sure seemed that the veggie omelet had done wonders to the young man's disposition.
"Yeah. This was great. Thank you for suggesting it.", Steve said and gulped down the last of his orange juice, the cheeky grin once again returning to his features, as he stacked his silverware and napkin onto the plate.
"Sometimes it's good to take some time to fill your stomach and walk away from a case. Gives you a whole different perspective when you get back, you know what I mean?"
"Mhm. Like wondering how I am going to stay awake, now that I am stuffed.", the young Inspector countered with a yawn and leaned against the back of the small metal chair, his eyes drifting across the busy intersection ahead, "I think I want to have our victims' wristbands analyzed too. Those tie-dye ones she wore? They're not always just from concerts. I have also seen them on people during the peace protests and freedom-of-speech marches. She could have belonged to a…a social equality group. A group hated enough by somebody to do this to her."
"You think this isn't so much about her, as it is what she stands for?"
Mike's question caused the young Inspector to glance up before he shrugged insecurely.
"It's just a hunch at this point, no more, no less. I still think you've got an angle on that thumb situation. Bernie was out when I called but Ariel said he'll be back at 1. Something tells me that whatever happened to her thumb, whichever way it was ripped off or removed, may give us a better direction on a potential motive."
"Now you're starting to think like a cop again.", Mike praised, only to receive a sheepish grin in return, "Let's go finish our coffees and then head over to 11th, see what we can find. I don't know about you, Buddyboy, but I sure feel lucky today."
