AN: As a token of my appreciation to my readers and reviewers, here is a slightly longer chapter.
Is it evil for me to say I am enjoying writing cliff hangers? I was, after all crowned "Queen of the Evil Cliffie" by my beta in the "Hawaii Five-O" fandom when I wrote my first piece of fan fiction, so I guess old habits are hard to break ;-)
Tanith
Chapter 41
Back at Bryant Street, Mike and Irene wearily entered the bureau with their take-out bags of burgers and fries. Hungry and tired, they both decided to grab a quick bite. After driving past Steve's place a second time and seeing he wasn't home, they decided to head back to the office to wait for Tanner. Mike knew the Inspector had planned to work late that night so chances are he was due back any time soon.
The duo ate in silence. Each were buried in their own thoughts. When Bill eventually walked through the doors and headed for his desk, Mike wordlessly pointed in his direction. Irene turned in her seat then both abandoned what was left of their dinner and rushed out toward Tanner's work station.
"Mike! Irene! Did you catch Steve?" Bill said by way of a greeting as he opened the box of take-out noodles.
"No, he wasn't home. Listen, you mentioned earlier that Steve had something important he wanted to tell me. Do you have any idea what it was or where he might be?" Mike questioned.
Tanner looked from Mike to Irene and read the apprehension written on each of their faces. It dawned on him that Steve must've gone to Whitney's without waiting for Mike. After all, where else could he be? Unless he was asleep? He did take some mediation before leaving the hospital. Maybe he was drowsy? "Are you sure he wasn't home? I mean, you did go in and check? He could've been asleep after those meds he took before he checked out."
"No, I didn't go inside. I left the spare set of Steve's keys in the drawer in my office but I'm sure he wasn't home. Did he say anything to you about what it was he had to tell me?" Mike continued.
Tanner took a deep breath then exhaled heavily, bracing himself for Mike's reaction. He was, after all, partly responsible for making sure his partner made it home safely and now Steve was conveniently missing. "He's been hounding me all day to run some background checks on Jeannie's fiancé so I did a little digging."
Mike's frown deepened. "And? Did you find out anything?"
Tanner nodded. "Yeah, I did but Steve told me he wasn't going to do anything until he saw you first."
"What did you find out that Steve wanted to see me about?" Mike prodded.
"It would seem that Whitney has a short fuse and a history of losing it to the point of using his fists. Steve suspects he's the one who attacked him that night."
"What made him suspect that Whitney broke into his home and beat him senseless? Does he….does he have any proof to back this up?" Mike grilled. He didn't want to sound defensive of Whitney but he needed to know what it was that Steve found so damning that he came to such a conclusion.
"According to Steve, Whitney's had it in for him from day one and it has to do with Jeannie. Mike, I'm not saying what Steve did was right by going behind your back to do these checks. Heck, I'm guilty too, but it makes sense. Whitney decked a guy back in his senior year and broke the kid's teeth. Charges were laid then later dropped. He obviously has some anger management issues and his father has very deep pockets," Tanner revealed.
"What else?" Mike wasn't buying that this was the only reason behind Steve's theory. There had to be something else. And why hadn't Jeannie told him about this incident? The two kids had gone to high school together. She would have had knowledge of what happened and he was surprised there was never any mention that a friend of hers had gotten into some trouble with the law. Pushing that thought aside for now, Mike concentrated on the bigger picture: Steve.
"Steve said Whitney had started accusing him of making a move on your daughter and that's what set him off. I don't know this guy but I do know Steve well enough to know that he would never make a play on someone else's woman and definitely not Jeannie. He wouldn't disrespect you like that," Tanner replied, hoping that he hadn't just made things worse.
Mike paid close attention to Tanner's body language as he divulged some of the information he needed but he sensed that the African-American detective was skirting around something else. "I know that, Bill. I also have a hunch that you know where Steve might be. So, spill it!"
Bill sighed and slumped in his seat. "I gave him the address to Whitney's new pad."
Mike exchanged a look with Irene who had remained silent to allow him to handle the questions.
"Steve could've gone over there on his own when he wasn't able to reach us," said Irene.
"If he thought Jeannie was in danger, then he wouldn't have waited," Mike agreed then continued in a disapproving tone, "Still, I wish he made an official report first and had the sense to get somebody else to bring Whitney in. Preferably someone on duty who wasn't going there alone! What was he thinking?"
"Mike, I don't think he was thinking about himself," Tanner said, in an effort to smooth over the seriousness of Steve's actions.
"No, don't make excuses! He wasn't thinking at all!" Mike snapped. "As for you, I expected better. You should've made sure Steve got home and stayed there."
Tanner knew he made a mistake for misjudging the younger and less experienced detective but he felt it was unfair for Mike to have expected him to babysit his partner when he had other responsibilities. "What did you expect me to do? Stake out his place all night until you showed up? Come on Mike, I hardly think that's fair for me. Besides, he told me he wasn't going to do anything until he consulted with you. Would you have rather I made him think I didn't trust him?"
Mike's face turned a shade of red that made Irene reach out and grab hold of his shoulder in a calming manner. "Mike, he's right. There was nothing Bill could've done to stop Steve."
An intense silence filled the space between the three detectives until Tanner broke it to make peace. He understood Mike's concern and was willing to let the Lieutenant's unjust reprimand slide. "Look, Mike, I'm sorry. That was way out of line. I wanna help you find Steve and make amends."
Mike's face returned to its original color and he cleared his throat before replying with a throaty apologetic voice, "It's okay. What I said…that was uncalled for." Then to Irene he gave her an appreciative nod. "Let's go over to the property and hope my hot-shot partner hasn't done anything he's going to regret later."
"If you need anything, call me!" Bill called out.
"Thanks, Bill. Keep your line open!" Mike threw over his shoulder as he and Irene hurried out of the bureau.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Whitney demanded angrily from the doorway.
"Getting her away from you!" Steve returned heatedly.
"Put her down, Keller, or I'll call the police and I'll make sure they strip that badge off you so fast, it'll make your head spin!" Whitney threatened.
"Go ahead and call them, but I'm walking out of here and Jeannie's coming with me," Steve dared.
Whitney shook his head and took a step forward. "You're not taking her anywhere, you sick bastard!"
"Sick? I'm not the one who's sick! What the hell did you do to her, huh? She found out about you and you drugged her, is that it? What did you give her?" Steve demanded, his eyes burning like hot coals.
Thinking quickly on the spot, Whitney was surprised at how easily it was for more lies to tumble out of his mouth. "Nothing! She was ill and I called for my family doctor to see her. He gave her some sedatives to help her rest. Now I wanna know what you're doing here before I have you forcefully removed!"
"You're full of shit, Holden! You locked her in this room! If she is so sick and full of sedatives, why is she not in the hospital?" Steve interrogated. "No, you gave her something and I doubt it was anything a doctor would prescribe!"
"Fine, you don't believe me? Look, let's go downstairs and you can call . Call the police. Call the army, I don't give a damn! But once you're done, I want you out of here because right now you're trespassing on my property and I'm well within my rights to do whatever it takes to protect it and keep my fiancé safe. You got that?"
Steve advanced toward Whitney. "The only rights you have left is one to an attorney! You're finished, Holden! Get out of my way!"
Whitney ground his teeth together and attempted to block Steve's path to the door but he wasn't fast enough to react.
With Jeannie cradled in his arms, Steve braced himself as he pushed his way past the slightly taller man and carefully descended the staircase. He could feel Whitney following suit and he steeled himself for a violent confrontation. What he hadn't expected upon reaching the bottom of the wooden staircase, was Holden senior standing in the entrance hall, holding a hand over a small child mouth and another around her tiny shoulders. A child whom he now could clearly see and instantly recognized. Christina Lee.
In the split second that Steve felt himself paralyzed, the back of his neck and skull exploded in pain and his knees buckled from under him. He didn't even see Whitney catch Jeannie's body when she fell from his grasp as he tumbled into a dark tunnel.
