"If that wasn't the quickest, most thorough research in a while."
With a victorious smile, Steve used the file in his hand to knock on Mike's door, before slowly entering.
Not even an hour had passed since Sekulovich had escorted a foul-mouthed Kristen Miller downstairs to get fingerprinted and booked, giving him barely enough time to get over the sight of his partner having a steak knife held against his throat like an animal about to be slaughtered.
"My, my…Lieutenant, I can see you're just blown away by what I just said and can barely contain your excitement."
Having noticed that his friend's mind had wandered someplace else, Steve hesitated; worry flooding his caring green eyes for a second, before his features lit up with the ever-cheeky grin, hoping to lift his partner's spirits.
"Sorry. I was just thinking about something…", Mike mumbled quietly, before running a hand down his red vest, "What have you got, Buddyboy?"
Accepting his pathetic excuse for the time being, the young Inspector focused back on the file in his hand, as he ceremoniously dropped into the guest chair.
"Coreen Smith, age 45, divorced, living in an apartment in the Dogpatch. No kids, works as a Customer Service Rep for Bay Area Bank, her friends say she likes to look for wealthy men to pay for her shopping habits…", taking an overdue breath, Steve's smile returned when he pointed his finger downstairs, "And…she has an airtight alibi for the night of the murder. Was booked on a DUI charge Thanksgiving morning, presumably on her way to Sullenger's apartment, because it happened near 16th Street. She just got out of jail this morning. Took her a while to sober up."
"So Miller's story is made up.", Mike countered with a slight twitch in his voice and leaned back in his chair.
"Not necessarily. Smith's friends did confirm that she was seeing Sullenger, and that the couple was fighting on and off. They also said that she's a pretty high maintenance kind of lady. So then I thought that Miller might have gotten enough information on that situation to put together a nice story for us to believe, when in fact she could be the killer."
A proud smile spread on Mike's lips at the thought pattern his partner was following, a combination of years of mentoring along with a bright mind he enjoyed challenging more each day.
"And well…I did some research and found the phone number of the Roy Sullenger fan club and maybe I pretended to be a grief-stricken fan and did some digging into whether I could talk to the Chair Woman I'd heard so much about and what are good times for a call. Well, turns out that she spent Thanksgiving with her parents in Oakland, and did not drive back home until mid-day. They're vouching for it too."
"Mhm"
With his forehead wrinkled, Mike ran a hand over his tired eyes, then shrugged.
"Could she have snuck out the door while they were sleeping after a…a very filling Thanksgiving dinner?"
"I knew you were going to ask that.", Steve said and raised his index finger triumphantly, "But as it turns out, Miller too has a bit of a drinking habit. Her parents said she finished a whole fifth of vodka that night and passed out on the couch. Woke up in the same spot she fell asleep at."
"Wonderful. So we're back to square one."
He hadn't meant to sound so disheartened, and yet, his young partner caught onto it immediately.
"Yes and no. Smith went to visit an aunt or something right after being released, but is due back tomorrow afternoon, so I was planning on talking to her then. I can also run a few more makes on the rest of the higher up's in Sullenger's fan club, see if that helps us…Are you sure you're ok? I can drive you home if you want to call it an early night. I won't tell anyone."
Initially, Mike wanted to put up an argument, convince Steve that he was fine and more than capable of putting in a sixteen-hour day. But then again, at a complete lack of leads, with his body hurting, and his soul still weary after Jeremy's death, perhaps that wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Nodding faintly, Mike pursed his lips and reached for his belongings in the top drawer, causing his partner to worry even more.