He'd been quietly sitting in his recliner long enough to wear a hole into the fabric, rubbing his burning eyes, as he waited for his mind to comprehend the details of the latest events of the day. And yet, no matter how often he tried, Mike's thoughts grew weary at the incident that started out as a noble gesture and ended in an unintentional, downright irrevocable mess.
It wasn't a call he liked getting at home, and knowing that the press was already on site only furthered the severity of the case.
Across from him, Steve had taken a seat on the couch, staring quietly ahead, brooding in his own style. Mike just wished the young Inspector had used that bright mind of his before interfering.
Next to him, Bethany had turned to stone. Unmoving and completely silent, it was only her hand kneading Steve's that gave away that she was indeed alive. Streaks of her black eye shadow covered her cheeks, where the emotional turmoil of the situation got the better of her.
The trio had sat like this for a good half hour, before Mike shifted in his recliner, causing his two guests to flinch ever so slightly.
"Even if we forget for a moment how much the press loves stories about police officers allegedly abusing their power, why did you attempt an arrest? There was a uni stationed two blocks away, you could have just called in backup. Anything would have been better than this."
Fully aware of Mike's scorn beginning to erupt beneath the deceivingly calm surface of the Lieutenant's controlled emotions, a surface that was cracking along the edges, Steve nodded faintly, never looking over, the bruise on his cheekbone slowly turning dark blue.
"It was clear that he was coming after Bethany. I would have been forced to leave her alone to make a call to get backup. Being that Audrey was intoxicated, I figured I could take him on even if he were to become…combative."
And yet, James Audrey, retired Army serviceman, had proven astonishing body control when, despite his inebriated state, he threw his partner halfway across the street, nearly choking him to death if it hadn't been for the support called in from a neighboring store.
Once pulled off Steve, the man explained the situation as being a case of police brutality, being profiled as a sex offender by the young Inspector when in fact he had been the one who'd been misled to believe that Bethany had requested the advances and appreciated his physical touch during the previous incident, then decided to file a wrongful report when he didn't return her affection.
While Mike had little faith that the scene would make it to the court house level altogether, he did know for fact that plenty of sleezy reporters would be happy to pay big bucks for the story; refreshing their biased rhetoric with a make-believe tale of an innocent man who became the victim of an ex-hooker turned female predator and subsequently was assaulted by a police officer taking matters into his own hands.
It was a PR mess that could have easily been avoided had Steve just kept his cool.
"Well…you were wrong.", Mike countered matter-of-factly, then crossed his arms over his chest, "And for all we know, there's a chance it'll blow Bethany's case right out of the water too. Have you forgotten about the responsibility you carry as long as that badge is in your pocket, mh? I don't care where you are or what you do, but as long as you carry that shield, you are expected to act in a professional manner. You could have ordered one of the other patrons to call in support while keeping your suspect talking. You could have ushered Bethany inside the diner to keep her safe, waiting for this guy to act out of conduct and further indict himself, with plenty of witnesses around. You have the training and know-how on these types of situations and you should have acted accordingly. But instead, your…overzealous approach possibly just allowed this guy to walk out of a criminal charge."
Even though he'd kept his voice even, with no need to raise it in a situation they all agreed on, the stern message was received crystal-clear on the other end as Steve clenched his strong jaws, tapping his foot to release some of the pent-up frustration from a simple mistake that had snowballed into a life-size, media-fed avalanche.
When it was clear that the young Inspector had ran out of things to say, Mike shifted his focus over to Bethany, who at least met his stern glance with false indifference.
"And you, young lady, just lost your job over this whole affair. Is it right? No. You and I both know that. But it was their prerogative and they didn't want to deal with the drama. So, let's at least make sure you don't lose your credibility if and when this goes in front of a judge. James Audrey is a very manipulative man, somebody who now has witnesses that can testify that you were seen holding hands with my partner, before he confronted our suspect. If this guy decides to go as far as pressing charges, you better be prepared to explain this…this relationship or whatever it is you've got going on here to the judge. Both of you."
Steve's head snapped up at his words, his green eyes showing a mixture of guilt, surprise and disappointment, his hand clenching Bethany's tighter. When the young Inspector stayed silent at the insinuation that by now was irrefutable reality, Mike shook his head.
"Don't look at me like that. You and I both know what's been going on here, Buddyboy. I am not blind."
"It's not his fault, Mike, it's mine.", Bethany interrupted unexpectedly, sensing the unbridled anger beneath Mike's feign lightheartedness, as she let go of the young Inspector's hand and shook her head, "I pushed Steve into this. I…we both knew this wasn't going anywhere. I should have known better and stopped it before it went this…far. But I didn't. And because of me, we're in this whole mess now. So, if you are going to blame anybody, blame me."
"It takes two to tango, so how about I blame both of you equally.", Mike fired back, glancing back and forth between Bethany and his partner, then grunted in disappointment, "But now let's get back to the current situation. Steve, you are going to return that case file to Armin tomorrow, I know well enough that you have it. Keep your fingers out of that business, it's not your department, and not your case. Your involvement stops right here, unless Audrey decides to press charges, then we'll get Gerry involved to clean this up. And as far as you are concerned, Bethany…first thing tomorrow morning, you will talk to Sergeant Harris, explain to him what happened today, and how it all happened, and have him gather everything he has on that case. Make sure you remember every last detail of what went down the first time Audrey touched you inappropriately. The more material we have to prove just how big of a liar and pervert he is, the better."
Two obedient nods were his only answer for a long time. Feeling a faint sense of accomplishment despite the added complexity and drama that had been thrown in his lap, Mike leaned back in his rocking chair, looking over at the three beers on the small dining room table that still sat untouched, hoping and praying that Audrey would vanish like a bad nightmare.
Then, with a resigned sigh, he looked back over at Steve, sensing the unmistakable guilt exuding from every pore of the young Inspector's body, the need to make things right but not knowing just how. Eventually, Mike cleared his throat again and reached for a beer, opening the cap slowly as he gathered his thoughts.
"As for what's going on between the two of you here…let's be sure to keep what's private out of your professional lives. We have enough other things to worry about."