"That'll teach me to put my bet on Stephan Levonkowsky."
With a frustrated headshake, Forester hung up the phone he'd used over on Steve's desk, before joining Mike in his office for what seemed like the tenth time in less than three hours.
As midnight approached, the two men were the last remaining souls manning the darkened office besides the cleaning crew stopping by to empty wastepaper baskets and clean floors.
"That doesn't sound like he's our guy…", Mike assumed, only to receive a curt nod in response.
"Yeah, Johann says he's clean as a whistle. They checked him out from every angle imaginable. That was a lot of wasted time and effort."
"Not if it brought us closer to finding the real killer, Captain. Method of exclusion, remember?"
The stern voice was followed by a shake of the head, as Mike took off his reading glasses and slid them back into the top drawer of his desk.
"As a matter of fact, it will give us a great start into the files of the other four guys first thing tomorrow morning. I don't care how long it takes; I know we will find the man responsible for that bloodbath."
"You are right, Lieutenant, pardon my Boston temper getting the better of me. Must be the jetlag still.", Forester admitted smilingly, then proceeded to lean against the desk, "Ready to call it a night then?"
"For today, yeah. Let's meet here again bright and early around 6:30AM."
Not surprised by the significantly shortened window of sleep, the Captain was ready to spin around and grab his belongings, when he stalled.
"You never told me what you did to get stuck with Barney."
With a fleeting smile, Mike deposited his .38 Special, badge and handcuffs in the right-hand drawer, then glanced back up.
"I didn't get stuck with him. I picked him out myself."
"Oh?"
Eyebrows raised, Forester studied the Lieutenant intently, the skepticism clearly visible in his dark brown eyes, as both men headed toward Steve's desk.
"How about I fill you in over a beer, Captain. My treat. It's been a long night and this is an even longer story."