A pile of discarded clothing and equipment signaled the spot that Steve had entered the cold water at.

With the elderly bird-watching couple standing back, too respectful to be in the way, but too intrigued to leave, Mike ducked the yellow caution tape, worry rising in his throat when he didn't see his partner right away.

"STEVE!"

His call wasn't answered, but the older lady walked up toward him, soothingly raising her dainty hands.

"He just went back under again, Officer. Just give him a second."

Acknowledging her words with a slight nod, Mike walked farther onto the dock, grateful when he finally saw a red hue coming off Steve's dress shirt a few feet beneath the surface.

Seconds later, the young Inspector re-appeared, shaking his head from side to side to get the water out of his eyes, before taking a few overdue breaths.

"Any luck?", Mike asked guardedly and crouched down by his partners coat, boots, revolver, handcuffs and ammo.

"Seen it for a second…", Steve gasped and spat out some water, "Then it rolled off the rocks. These waves…are giving me a hard…time…lemme…try again."

Without giving Mike a chance to caution him to be safe underwater, Steve dove back beneath the waves, his dress shirt and black pants vanishing in the darkness of the bay within a couple swim strokes.

Biting his lip in uncertainty, Mike's eyes never moved from the spot he last saw his partner at, his frown deepening, the longer Steve stayed underwater.

"Come on…come on…", he whispered, blinking a couple of times when the sweat from his forehead threatened to roll into his eyes.

Finally, his partner reappeared several feet off to the right, following the current that had taken their potential evidence farther south. Gasping for air and coughing violently for a few moments, the young Inspector slowly paddled back toward shore, managing a brief smile between breaths.

Climbing down the rocky embankment low enough without getting his dress shoes wet, Mike reached out a hand to help Steve out of the freezing waters of the Bay. Gently guiding him past the slippery rocks, he waited patiently for the young Inspector to catch his breath, as he sat down on the wooden deck, shivers running through his ice-cold body.

"Well…since you have your ways to prove a point…you'll be happy to know; I am officially not hot under the collar anymore. Actually, more or less the opposite.", Steve coughed, and slowly raised his left hand holding a shiny set of keys, "Here's your prima facie evidence, Lieutenant."

Grasping the keychain containing two car keys held together by a bright green carabiner, Mike smiled triumphantly, before rubbing his partner's soaking wet back affectionately.

"Let's get you dried up and then bring those to a nearby dealership to check them out. If they fit a Buick Skylark, you just bought yourself some fancy dinner, Buddyboy!"