My apologies for being offline for a few days. Our "slow season" just changed when we realized that we lost our bees again. Varroa again. The beek association warned everyone early on that it might happen and to treat weekly. All the chemicals associated with that would defeat the purpose so we held off and paid the ultimate price. I always grieve when that happens. My bees hate me, and I am not super fond of them either, but we make it work each year. We've been having too mild of a winter over the past few years, so pests like mites and diseases like coccidiosis, viral enteritis and such have skyrocketed. It's been an uphill battle for a while and every loss of livestock stings. So this week it was 9 baby chicks and some 40,000 bees. It's the things our customers don't see when everything appears to be thriving in the spring. It's a painful secret for us to guard, to keep us humble, and to remind us that every animal raised here is a fierce battle against Mother Nature. And she and I have had some screaming matches over the years. So now it's off to rendering honey and wax in cold temps, hoping the house warms up fast enough to make the honey flow a bit faster than cold molasses.

"You've ever heard of the expression damned if you do, damned if you don't?"

Mike could hear the exasperation in Steve's voice from across the waiting Galaxy, as the young Inspector leaned forward, hands flat against the roof of the police car, before shaking his head in frustration.

Smiling broadly to ward off his partner's mood gone sour once again, the Lieutenant chuckled.

"I have. Do you want to know what my favorite saying is?"

Upon receiving a confused shrug from his partner, Mike pointed down at the cab of the tan sedan, a wide smile on his face.

"We have work to do. Let's get going, Buddyboy."

With his expression lighting up somewhat; Steve rewarded him with a cheeky grin, then slid into the driver's seat and reached for the keys in the pocket of his light gray sportscoat.

"Well, at least we have a description of the car now. That should be a good start. When we get back, I'll get with the DMV, see what we can narrow this down to."

"And don't forget, I want to talk to Bernie again. About the thumb. And the intercourse. And the beating."

Raising his eyebrows, Steve slipped the key into the ignition, causing the Galaxy's engine to roar to life.

"What about the beating?"

"A hunch."

"A hunch?"

"Mhm hm."

Giving his young partner a second to see if he could come up with the connection on his own, Mike watched him turn onto California, heading back east toward downtown.

"I see…you figure he beat her to a pulp, then planned to drive her someplace, maybe to kill her and then hide the body. But she got out before he could finish his plan.", Steve mumbled and reached for his sunglasses in time before the light on 10th Avenue turned green, "So if we can narrow down how soon before her death these…these bruises appeared, we have an approximate range of the exact location where the initial assault took place."

"May I be the first to congratulate you on this outstanding use of logic…?", Mike teased and affectionately patted his partner's thigh, only to hear him sigh theatrically.

"Mike…"

Glancing over at the Lieutenant, Steve's eyes grew warm, his expression that of deep gratitude and admiration.

"Thank you…for what you are doing. Trying to cheer me up and all. I don't know what it is with this case, but I'll get over it, no worries."

"I never doubted that, Buddyboy.", the Lieutenant returned confidently, took a deep breath and lowered his eyes to his lap, his hands laced as they continued their travel back to the Hall of Justice Building, "Don't think for one second you're the only one around here to have triggers like that. No siree, not for one second. But the important part is not to let them distract you from your work. Or using your head. Watching over your shoulder. Doing your job. Unlike Lew Riggs, the Senior Apartment Complex Representative, we can't afford to make errors in judgment. Because in our chosen line of work, that could mean getting yourself killed."