Making a right turn onto Union, Steve pulled alongside the curb closest to his apartment. The drive from Tahoe had been frustratingly slow due to the icy roads, but he considered himself lucky to have made it through the mountain passes at all. He would not relish the idea of telling Mike he'd been delayed by weather. Mike never took vacations, so he opted to keep his occasionally extended weekends to the mountains decidedly low key.
Steve began unlatching his skis from the car brackets when he saw the too familiar tan LTD pull up behind him. This would be the second time that Mike acted as a one man welcoming committee after a ski weekend. The last time, Mike drafted Steve for an undercover assignment. Observing the expression on the older man's face as he exited the vehicle and walked toward his Porsche, Steve felt an odd pang in the pit of his stomach. He knew this would not be another undercover opportunity. Something has happened.
"Everything okay?" Steve greeted Mike cautiously.
Hedging a bit, Mike instead decided to make small talk. "I see you got back in one piece. No broken arms or sprained ankles?"
"No broken bones and no concussions; just a slight hangover from a couple nights ago." Steve grinned.
"Meet any snow bunnies?" Mike returned the smile.
"Of course, I did. They were all over the slopes."
"Uh-huh. But none that followed you home I see," Mike said as he looked around.
"No one followed, but one did ride alongside. I dropped her off at her apartment in Knob Hill. Her name is Bunny, oddly enough. Cute little blonde…"
Mike sighed and shook his head. He didn't know if Steve was kidding or not, but at this point, it wasn't important. He needed to break the news of his friend's murder, and he knew it wouldn't be easy.
Steve could easily read past the chit chat. It was uncharacteristic of Mike. "I'm thinking that this isn't just a social call, Mike. Did something happen?"
"Let me help you with your luggage and skis. I'll tell you about it when we get inside."
That statement did not make Steve feel anymore at ease. He handed Mike his bag, but now the grin was gone. "Is it one of the guys at the station?" Steve asked as he balanced his skis on his shoulder while they walked up the steps.
"No, the guys are fine."
"Jeannie? Did something happen to her?" Steve asked anxiously.
"Do you think I'd be standing here holding your suitcase if something had happened to my daughter?" Mike was unintentionally defensive in his response.
"Guess not." Steve said as he fished his apartment keys from his coat pocket. He unlocked the door and ushered Mike inside. After propping his skis against the wall, he grabbed the luggage from Mike's hand and pointed to the sofa. "Thanks. Have a seat. I'll be back in a second" He dumped the luggage in his bedroom and then took off his coat and scarf and plopped them on the bed. Finally, he made his way back to the front room and took his place in a chair opposite Mike.
"Layoffs?" he asked nervously.
"What?" Mike was not expecting that question.
"Am I getting laid off? You know, budget cuts." The economic stresses of the seventies had caught up with the city. Layoffs was a fear that many had.
"No, nothing like that. You're fine." Mike said as he tried to come up with a good way to break the news. "Steve, I don't quite know how to say this, so here goes. Your friend, Joe Joplin, was found murdered yesterday. The autopsy showed that he was killed a couple of days ago. Tanner is working the case jointly with Chief Ironside's team." Mike saw the shocked look spread across his partner's face. "Steve, I'm sorry. I know he was a good friend and you two had quite a history."
Steve looked down and ran his hand through his hair. "I wasn't expecting that." He closed his eyes and let the words sink in. Since the case two years ago, Steve and Joe had reconnected. Steve had been a guest at the Joplin house on a few occasions. Joe and his wife, Corbie, lived a stable life made all the more safe by Joe's efforts, especially after he learned he could work with the police. "How, Mike?"
"Shot twice. It looks like it was close range. Joe never stood a chance." Mike sat on the edge of the sofa and was uncomfortable. Conversations such as these were a part of the job, but in this instance it was made all the more difficult being so close to home.
"Corbie. How is she doing? My God, they have a little boy." Steve's voice wavered at the end.
"I'm not sure if you knew this, but one of Joe's cousin is Mark Sanger. You remember him from when he worked with Chief Ironside? Anyway, he's taking care of Corbie and the boy."
"That's good. I'm glad there's family around. But who could have done such a thing? Could it have been someone getting back at him for the work he did to clean up his neighborhood? Not everyone was happy with what he did."
"So far, we have nothing," Mike began as he recalled the events of the prior day in detail for Steve.
"Mike, I want to help. Give me a minute to get changed."
"Hold on there, Buddy boy. We've got solid expertise on the case already. You heard me say that Chief Ironside is involved. Plus, Bill is working on it for our team."
"I know, but I just can't sit here and do nothing."
"And you're not going to 'do nothing'. You are going to go see Corbie and find out if she needs anything. When you come into to the station tomorrow, I have other cases for you to work on. Sure, we'll keep you posted on what's happening, but you are too close to the situation."
"But Mike, that's not fair. I can help."
"I know you want to, but Joe was too good of a friend. Tell you what," Mike said as he sought compromise to what he knew would become a bigger battle. "Why don't you change into your work clothes and I'll take you to see Corbie. Then we'll find out what Ironside's team and Bill have been doing. Okay?"
In no time, the pair was on their way to the Joplin's apartment.
As Mike and Steve knocked on the Joplins' apartment door, Sergeant Ed Brown, right hand man to Chief Robert Ironside, answered the door.
"Mike, come on in," the tall, brown eyed Sergeant said as he extended his hand. In his late thirties, Ed looked slim and fit. It had been nearly ten years since he went to work for the Chief. Mike figured the man had the patience of a saint.
"You remember Steve, don't you?" Mike offered.
"It's been a few years, but yes. Good to see you, Steve," Ed replied as he shook Keller's hand. "Mark is here as well. He's in the other room with Corbie."
Steve said nothing, but nodded his head and gave a slight smile. He looked through a doorway to see Joe's widow sitting at the dining room table.
"Steve!" the lone woman's voice called out. She rushed over to her husband's friend and they quickly embraced.
"Corbie, I'm so sorry. I just heard."
"I can't believe it's happened. Steve, after all that we've been through and now this. It was straight out of nowhere." Joe's widow was a petite and attractive African-American, with dark round eyes and short hair.
"I can't believe it either. Corbie, I know you've answered everyone's questions over and over again, but could you just answer something for me?"
"Sure, Steve, what?"
"Any idea at all who did this? Any warning signs?"
"Warning signs? No."
"Any strange calls? Was Joe nervous about something?"
"No, none of that. He was out taking his daily walk. You know, he wanted to make sure everything was okay in the neighborhood, plus he was getting his exercise that way. He did it every evening, but then, two nights ago, he didn't come home. That's all there was to it! The next thing I know, Mark and Sergeant Brown were knocking on my door." Recalling their visit, Corbie broke down.
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. You two deserved better than this." Steve replied. Mike, Ed and Mark left the pair to console each other and stepped into the other room.
Corbie remained in Steve's embrace. He allowed her to get through the crying she needed to do. After a couple of minutes, she found her voice: "What am I going to do, Steve?"
"I don't know. But whatever you need, you know I'll be there for you."
"I know, thank you. Joe thought so highly of you."
"Believe me, it was mutual."
Ed wanted to get back to the Chief. He also knew that Mark had an appointment that he needed to make. "Corbie, Mark and I should be going. If you remember anything, please let one of us know. "
"Sure, thank you so much. I need to pick up Joey, anyway in a few minutes. He's at his aunt's."
"Would you like for me to go with you?" Steve asked.
"I appreciate it, Steve, but I really want Joey to have as much normalcy here as possible. There are so many people coming in and out of here. I just want this to be a quiet haven for him."
"I understand. If you need anything, please let me know."
The foursome bid Corbie farewell and made their way down to the sidewalk in front of the apartment.
Ed wanted to give Mike an update on what Bill was doing, so the two pairs stopped to talk on the sidewalk before going their separate ways. "Bill is working with the phone company both at the Joplin's and at Joe's workshop, trying to understand if there was someone who was trying to make contact with him."
"Do you have any other leads at all?"
"We have the ballistic reports in." Hearing Ed talk about the murder weapon, both Mark and Steve listened in. "We found out that the gun was…"
Ed's words were interrupted by three gunshots. The first one hit the ground in front of Steve's feet. Steve looked up over at a building from across the street and yelled, "On the rooftop!".
The second bullet caught him in the arm. He spun around and hit the sidewalk hard. Mark, who had been facing Steve, turned around to see where the shots were originating. Before he could say a word, another bullet caught the young attorney in the upper thigh. The burning sensation got the best of Mark, as his knees buckled from under him.
"Let's get them behind the car!" Mike yelled out to Sergeant Brown. Mike dove over and grabbed Steve from behind. He dragged him to the rear of the LTD and out of the sniper's way. Ed did the same with Mark, being careful not to further injure his leg. Both men were conscious, but dazed.
With his gun pulled, Mike looked up over the car to see if he could see anyone from the adjacent rooftop. The shooting had stopped. Seconds later they heard tires squeal from the next block over. "Call for back-ups," Mike ordered Ed, "and an ambulance."