EPILOGUE
Exactly one day later, at the same location and at nearly the same time, Mike couldn't shake off an eerie feeling of deju-vu, as John and he once again faced the press, this time with decidedly better news.
Just like last time, his friend from Channel Twelve was present, eagerly waiting for a break in the conversation to ask additional infuriating questions.
"When dealing with mentally unstable individuals such as our two suspects, the questions as to why they did what they did is hard to answer. We have spoken with our resources in this field and there truly is no single answer that would satisfy your curiosity, or ours. I wish there was a flow chart with which we could label patients and know who could potentially turn into a serial killer…but that is wishful thinking. In the end, from every aspect of our investigation, it has become very obvious that regretfully, there was nothing we could have done to avoid any of these outcomes, or see this coming. This was an overall tragic case, that took the lives of five innocent young men, and that of our two suspects. This is never, and I will reiterate that, this is never a desired outcome."
Mike's attention span had been waning over the past few minutes, as he tried to remain alert enough to pick up bits and pieces of John's statement to appease the public interest in a case that had gone decidedly more than just skin-deep.
With his mind far away, at some isolated room at the lower levels of Franklin Hospital to be exact, Mike remained stoically quiet, as the Chief continued to defend every single action that had been taken to stop the inevitable outcome, even if the work had been in vain.
Several minutes must have gone by in silent contemplation, when the mentioning of his partner's name pulled him back out of his daydreaming.
"Our lab has confirmed that a total of four shots were fired inside the residence, one in the hallway, hitting Albert Mulligan in the heart and killing him instantly. Three of them were fired inside the apartment, all of them hitting murder suspect Susan Hamlin in the torso, two of them would have been fatal. It is conceivable that she engaged into an argument with Inspector Keller at the time of his escape, and that our Detective had no other choice but to react, especially considering the significant number of drugs in his bloodstream."
John Condon's voice was somber and quiet that afternoon, as they wrapped up a case that, although not ending up with the desired outcome, at least put an end to the month-long terror streak going on along the northeast side of town.
"Lieutenant Stone, have you been able to piece together exactly what happened in those twenty-four hours that your partner went missing and Randy Anderson was murdered?"
Roger William's pleading brown eyes seemingly begged him for an answer, but Mike shook his head, a slight shiver running through his body, as he considered the answer.
"Not at this point. We're still in the beginning stages of this investigation. There is a very good chance that our murder suspects might have taken that information to their graves."
"What about Inspector Keller, Lieutenant.", Salvador Tidari interrupted, rudely as usual, "Is there going to be an internal investigation into the shooting that claimed the lives of your murder suspects? I mean, without knowing what exactly happened and no witnesses to tell the story, how do we know if this was a justified shooting? Don't you think it's a bit…excessive that he shot Susan Hamlin three times?"
John glanced over at him, ensuring that Mike would be able to keep his calm after a night and morning that had left everybody at headquarters at the seat of their pants. Pursing his lips, the Lieutenant shook his head firmly, before addressing the reporter.
"Inspector Keller is currently in the hospital, recovering from what our team of doctors described as three times the dose of mind-altering drugs that were given to all of the other victims, almost six times as much as what a doctor would administer. We believe this happened because he tried to save Randy Anderson's life, maybe became combative even, as he tried to free himself and our other victim. Judging by the surprising amount of…of common sense the Inspector displayed when we found him, there's no doubt in my mind that his decision to shoot and kill our suspects was not just justified, but perhaps the only possible defense he had left at that time. Our experienced team of psychologists agree that there was a good chance that Albert and Susan were returning to the apartment after dropping off Randy's body and were preparing to kill the Inspector as well."
Tidari grunted in disapproval and made a few notes, before clearing his throat again.
"Lieutenant Stone, excuse me for being so blunt, but do you think there would have been an IA investigation had it not been your partner, who was involved?"
Knowing that it was only a matter of time for the reporter to bring up fraternizing, his favorite topic right after police spending and staffing, Mike shook his head again, his bright blue eyes piercing the pretentious reporter.
"We don't play favorites in Homicide, if that's what you're insinuating, Mister Tidari. As a matter of fact, everybody at headquarters will be happy to report that I hold any of my Inspectors to the highest degree of accountability, especially my partner. So unless you have an actual question about this case and not some irrelevant comment trying to further your ongoing police-hating agenda, I would suggest you leave the interview questions to the real reporters around here."
Huffing in frustration, Tidari eagerly scribbled away in his notebook, nearly breaking the pages in his frenzy. Glancing down and meeting the grateful eyes of Roger Williamson, Mike nodded faintly, before a question aimed at Condon from the other side of the room disrupted the tense stillness, returning the press conference back into the intended direction.
Feeling Tidari's angry stare on him, Mike glanced up to meet the reporters cold and calculating brown eyes with carefully guarded neutrality, his curious mind wondering just how many future conflicts with law enforcement could be avoided if there weren't people like Salvador Tidari, swaying the unsuspecting public to hate the very people who vowed to protect them with their lives.