"I don't know if I should consider it a Christmas miracle that you're taking me to a nativity scene…", Mike teased as they made their way west on Turk Street toward Jefferson Square Park.
After a patrol unit had confirmed that animals could indeed be found at the park, and with the upcoming press conference looming overhead, Mike had decided that clearing their minds and following up on a lead was worth another trip across town, even if it meant they might have to conduct parts of their research in the twilight of the approaching evening.
"No miracle, just good old detective work…", Steve returned with a smile, his warm eyes resting on his partner a moment longer than usual, as if he was worried about his state of mind with the upcoming holidays.
Returning the smile, Mike drew in a deep breath as they approached the park, recognizing the makeshift barn from afar, surprised, and pleased by the amount of people gathered around to appreciate it.
"It didn't say anywhere in Sullenger's file that he was religious…", Steve noted and pulled the tan Galaxy into a parallel parking spot right next to the set-up.
"He didn't have to be.", Mike countered facetiously, eyes focused on the commotion ahead, "Maybe he just liked to pet the animals, just like you do. Come on, let's check it out, Buddyboy."
"We're sorry we had to bother you this late in the day, Mister Darrow."
The stout man approaching from the northeast corner of the park smiled understandingly, as he waved off the two detectives, briefly taking note of the badge Mike was showing apologetically.
"No trouble, detectives. Once I heard what this was all about…now, how could I be mad?", the man in his mid-fifties said jovially as he approached, one arm tracing the top of the wooden fence that served as an outer barrier to the sheep and goat enclosure, "I have to admit, this is the first time in several decades that I had police stop by a place such as this. You said that you had questions about somebody visiting the animals?"
Trying to talk over the bleating and grunting of the various critters eating their dinner of hay and vegetables nearby, Mike put his badge away again, then surfaced a file photo of Roy Sullenger out of his coat pocket.
"We were wondering if you have seen this man here in the past few days? Was he here to feed the animals perhaps? Pet them?"
Frowning, as he accepted the picture, Mark Darrow squinted against the last rays of evening sunlight, trying to discern the face, before shaking his head.
"No…no, I don't think so. See, the sanitation department has been giving us a lot of grief over the past few years when it comes to the critters. They're all worried about some of the manure getting washed into the gutters and such. They don't care about junkie needles, but fear that some goat dropping might endanger the sewage system and other nonsense like that. So we had to make some changes and keep the public farther away from the animals and change bedding every single day."
With his outstretched hand, the man gestured toward the array of goats, sheep, a miniature cow and a donkey all corralled in a straw-bedded area next to the lit-up barn, which featured ceramic figurines resembling Mary, Joseph, the three wise men and baby Jesus in the manger. Up above, the large star of Bethlehem hung suspended from the peak of the roof, dangling in the nighttime breeze.
"They keep harassing everything that is related to religion, but yet when I call the police on some punk kid across the street stealing purses from the elderly, nobody bats an eye."
With a faint nod, Mike pointed his chin back at one of the goats peeking its head through the steel fence panels.
"Mister Darrow, so you are saying that no visitors would be able to go in there to interact with the animals?"
"Not really, besides feeding them treats while I am around.", the man said somberly, then ran a hand across his balding head, "In the olden days, we'd do donkey rides and I had a team of goats to pull a wagon, if you can believe that, detectives, but with all these restrictions and having to stay so many feet away from the sideway and gulleys, well…we're very limited on our religious display here."
"We found traces of animal feces on the soles of the shoes of our murder victim.", Steve finally said, deciding to cut to the chase as darkness fell over the trio, "Our lab crew says it came from both poultry and small ruminants, such as what you have here."
Mouthing the words as if it would help him understand the question better, Darrow hesitated for a second, then shook his head sternly.
"It couldn't have come from here, that's impossible. I keep the paddock meticulously clean. If he somehow got manure on his shoes, he had to have climbed into the area with the animals. But at any rate, I don't have any poultry. They're not part of the nativity scene, as you very well know, young man."
Bypassing the cynical counter-argument threatening to roll off his tongue altogether, Steve glanced around at the nearby roofs.
"How many pigeons are hanging around here daily? Could he have gotten into some of their manure if he was climbing into the…the paddock?"
Reaching into the paddock when one of the sheep stopped by for a pet, Steve was surprised when the other man shook his head once again.
"Nah, I haven't had to deal with those flying rats much anymore since they installed barriers to stop them from roosting nearby. I think they've moved closer to the bay now. Not so much to eat around here anymore. That out of control alley cat population is making sure of that."
Sharing a fleeting glance with his partner, Mike pursed his lips, then accepted Roy Sullenger's picture back.
"How often do people climb this fence to pet the animals would you say, Mister Darrow?"
With a broad smile, the older man shook his head, then pointed at the donkey happily eating from the nearby hay rack.
"Not at all since I got Jackson here. He's one of those livestock guardian donkeys. Bought him from a cattle rancher in Mexico. Best investment I've ever made. If anybody he doesn't recognize goes in there, well…they've got all but a few seconds to get back out again."