Mike drew in a deep breath as he reached for the small padlock, slid the key into the hole, then turned it ever so carefully as he waited for the shackle to pop open.
With the faintest of clicks, the small lock gave and he dropped it into the pocket of his black overcoat, before slowly turning the knob to Leanne Harris' apartment, swinging the door wide open once it released.
Standing near the right side of the framework, Mike poked his head around the corner, immediately drawing in a deep breath at the sight that greeted him.
Noticing his reaction from two steps behind in growing concern, he could see Steve reach down to open his holster, his right hand nervously resting by his belt, ready to draw his revolver if need be.
With an imperceptible shake of the head, Mike took a step forward, his partner following along quietly, then slowly entered the large living room where their victim had been found, and the person who was sitting beside the outline of the body, sobbing quietly.
Quickly clearing his throat, he decided to stick with the most peaceful approach he could muster.
"Why don't you follow us back to headquarters, and we'll get everything sorted out, Maria."
She didn't react to his voice right away.
If anything, their arrival seemed to have produced another round of weeping, when Gonzales dropped her head to her chest, then shrugged, fighting an internal battle the two San Francisco Homicide detectives knew so little of.
"I loved her.", she finally muttered, never looking up from her position, as if to hold vigil by her friend's place of death.
At the startling news, Mike glanced back over at his partner in time to see Steve raise his eyebrows, before slowly beginning to fan out toward the stairwell leading to the bedroom.
"Why'd you kill her?"
Keeping his voice free of any accusations, the Lieutenant took a step toward their suspect, far enough away to keep her at a safe distance, yet close enough to see her red-rimmed eyes.
"It was an…accident!", Maria bellowed in gut-wrenching frustration, then put her hands in front of her face to disguise another emotional outbreak.
Sharing a glance with his partner, Mike hesitated, briefly re-evaluating the way he would approach the situation based on their newest piece of evidence.
A rock-solid confession in the making.
"What kind of an accident?"
Throughout the sobbing, Maria shook her head in defiance, seemingly unwilling to go into any lengthy detail.
"Just an accident. I made a…I made a mistake."
"Well, I've made many mistakes in my life too. But killing another human being was never one of them."
He'd settled on the flippant comment, hoping to coax another reaction out of their suspect, the tone causing Steve to tense up instinctively.
"I was trying to help her prepare for her test. But my…my technique was too hard. By the time I heard her neck snap, I knew it was too late."
As a set of sirens approached their position, Mike pursed his lips for a moment, torn between feeling sorrow and utter horror of the image Gonzales had painted.
It explained everything from the bruises, to the lack of forced entry, to the eventual killing.
It even explained the secrecy when it came to her private life and struggles.
And it had been right in front of them the entire time.
"How long have you and Leanne been dating?", Steve asked from his corner of the room, green eyes completely fixated on their suspect, making sure they were both safe from her dangerous hands.
"On and off for just over a couple of years. I was the one who introduced her to Horus and the dojo. I was the reason she was talking to him, because all of a sudden, she'd had second thoughts about being with another woman and wanted to go back to dating men. He promised a listening ear but all he did was take her money and live off her problems."
Glancing up at the young Inspector, Maria wiped the tears from her face, her expression remorseful, and understandably so.
"Why didn't you call the police when it happened? Why go through the length of trying to cover up what led to Leanne's death?"
This time it was Mike who spoke up, daring to take one step closer when he heard a couple patrolmen make their way up the apartment stairs.
"I wanted to make it look like Horus did it. Because in a roundabout way, he is to blame for all this mess.", Maria explained and slowly stood up, causing Steve to draw his .38 and aiming it at her chest in no uncertain terms.
As she turned to face Mike, Gonzales drew in a shuddered breath, her strong shoulders slumped, summoning the energy to continue her explanation one painful sentence at a time.
"He is the one who kept pushing her to keep testing for new belts, rise in the ranks of his dojo because each time she tested, he made money. He kept making her feel good about those things, as if her belt color were the only thing that mattered in life. Not her job. Not her family and friends. Not her self-respect. Only that stupid belt color. He wanted for her to be a black belt by next spring, nudging her to take over the dojo for him and he'd just sit back and collect the money. Of course he did all that under the guise of telling her that she's ready to take over a leadership role and be a guiding light for women in distress across this town."
"I take it she was preparing for another…another belt test when the…the accident happened?"
His peculiar choice of words seemed to warm Maria's heart and she nodded gently, then held up her hands ever so slowly.
"Me…I just did it for the exercise and to be able to defend myself one day if needed. But look at me, Lieutenant. Nobody is going to try and rape me. The problem is my strength. And the trouble I have with gauging it at times. Horus never has been much help in guiding me to limit the…the thrust I put into certain techniques, and it got a couple of the other girls hurt before. And I don't know if that's what it was that night, or if my…my anger about his self-endowing discussions with Leanne was putting me over the edge. But we rolled around on her carpet just like we did in class, I held onto her tightly, she began to fight hard, going as far as trying to bite my hand. I reached up to put her into a headlock but…but then I heard the snap."
Swallowing hard, Mike nodded in understanding, his mind solemnly going over the charges the woman in her late thirties would face, unfortunately enough of them that she'd spend a significant amount of her forties and possibly fifties in prison.
With his heart aching at the end of a case that was a loss-loss situation on every angle imaginable, Mike put a hand in front of his mouth, his keen eyes studying the distraught woman intently.
"Well, Miss Gonzales. I won't pretend that you won't have to answer for this situation in front of a judge. But it would be in your best interest if you were to cooperate now and follow us back downtown. We can help you with legal counsel and evaluate the situation from a more…level-headed approach. Steve, read Miss Gonzales her rights…"
Upon his order, Steve lowered his gun and reached inside his breast pocket for the Miranda card, when Maria shook her head so hard, that it made her black hair wave wildly.
"Why can't you just kill me? I don't want to go to prison. If I attack you now, will you kill me?"
The question sent chills down the Lieutenant's back, causing both of the patrol Sergeants behind him to draw their gun in unison, Steve already one step ahead of them.
"Believe me, you don't want to die.", Mike explained calmly, then shook his head, "And you don't want to hurt innocent people trying to commit suicide that way. That's not the answer. The only answer is that you come with us, and take responsibility for your actions, Maria."
"Please…can't you just kill me? I don't want to go to prison."
The repeated plea made his heart ache as Mike slowly shook his head again, his expression growing warm and empathetic, carefully gauging each word on his tightrope dance trying avoid certain disaster.
"Maria, you're a smart and caring woman. This world still needs you. It's time to put an end to this before more damage is done. Please. Do not hurt more people, including yourself. You don't deserve any more pain. There's been enough already."
Time came to a standstill as the lady gauged his sincerity for many long moments, her dark eyes hidden beneath a deep frown. Eventually, Maria drew in a labored breath, then slowly sank to her knees, keeping her hands securely weaved behind her head, as another round of sobs ran through her body.
A brief nod in his general direction was all that was needed for Steve to rush forward and place the handcuffs on their suspect, the relief in the young Inspector's eyes mirroring his own when he finally glanced up.
"Read Miss Gonzales her rights, Steve, then let's head back to McPhearson's dojo for some more questions. If anything, I am intrigued to see if he found all his teeth by now."