Mike had seen that look before and knew instinctively that it wasn't good news.

With his expression turning serious, he opened the front door wider to let in his rain-soaked partner, sighing at the eve of another sleepless night.

"I am sorry, I know it's late…", Steve apologized hurriedly, unable to disguise a shiver in his voice.

"It must be important if you drove across town to see me instead of just calling."

Closing the door against the terrible rainstorm raging outside, Mike waited until his partner had stripped out of his green wool jacket, water still heavily dripping off his hair.

"I got a phone call too, Mike."

What little grogginess was left in his weary body disappeared in an instant and he approached his partner wide-eyed.

"Was it Thompson? What did he say?"

"I am not sure about that…", Steve replied too fast and leaned against the back of his couch, "The part where it was Thompson. But I am sure of it."

"How can you be sure? Was it his voice? What did he say? Did he threaten you too?"

Mike reached for his partner's elbow, squeezing it impatiently when it took an unusual amount of prying to get to the truth.

"Nothing. He said nothing.", Steve finally explained, his entire body shaking and not from the cold, that much Mike was certain of.

"I…I was gonna go to bed and then the phone rang. And I…I picked it up and there was silence for a long time. Like somebody was on the other line but wouldn't say anything. Eventually he hung up."

Letting go of his partner's elbow altogether, Mike furrowed his brows and took a step back.

"Now wait a minute here, buddy boy, have you never gotten a phone call before where somebody dialed the wrong number?"

"Of course, I have.", the young Inspector scoffed, then lowered his tone of voice considering his conversation partner, "But never at this time a night. And why didn't anybody apologize for dialing the wrong number?"

"Well, maybe he was shy?"

"Then why stay quiet for several seconds before hanging up? Why not hang up right away?"

"Maybe they liked hearing your voice on the other line."

Mike smiled inwardly, relishing the success of pulling his partner out of his frightened state into a calmer, albeit aggravated one.

"This isn't a coincidence. Thompson could have ran a make on you, then found out about me and put two and two together. It makes perfect sense."

"Just take a moment to breathe…", Mike began soothingly, for the first time realizing he was still in his night gown, "I don't doubt you. I am just saying that there might be more than one reason for that call. It could have been a perfect stranger dialing the wrong number. It could have even been a malfunction in the phone system. Maybe somebody did try to call you and it didn't go through all the way. I just want you to…consider the alternatives before…before giving Warren Thompson too much credit."

The gentle nudging seemed to do the trick and Steve hesitated before nodding slowly, his shoulders a little less rigid.

"I just…I don't know, Michael. You always taught me to follow my gut. And my gut tells me that it was Thompson."

"Suppose you're right…", the Lieutenant countered and inched his way toward the kitchen, "What are you going to do next? Get your phone line tapped in case there're more of those calls coming in? Without any threats made, there's even less for us to go on."

"If I am right, then he's already changing up his game. There's no telling what he might do next."

Deciding to let the question sit out there for a moment, Mike walked back over into the kitchen to prepare the percolator.

He wasn't surprised when Steve followed along, anxiously watching his every move.

"You know, this case is giving me some strange feelings too, buddy boy…", the lieutenant admitted as he filled the can with water, making sure to keep his voice calm, "All these…all these he-said, she-said's, all these half-truths, all the unanswered questions. It's enough to drive you crazy…or at the least, to become a bit paranoid."

Sensing the underlying truth behind his words, Steve nodded understandingly, before crossing his arms in front of his chest as he leaned against the doorframe.

"I guess if you put it that way, it makes a lot of sense. You are probably right, and somebody dialed the wrong number. I am sorry I dragged you out of bed. That was uncalled for."

"Don't you worry about it. It's perfectly human to get…worked up about something like this considering the circumstances.", Mike reassured and measured out the coffee powder, adding an extra spoonful this time around, "I don't mind a good conversation at…oh, what time is it again…two in the morning? Just grab a towel from the guest bathroom before you drip all over my living room and I will be right there."

Embarrassed about the incident that now seemed so ridiculous, Steve pushed himself away from the wall, before stepping toward the sink, smiling warmly.

"I appreciate your wisdom and your hospitality, I really do. But I thought, well, if we are going to have some coffee together, you should probably put on some clothes, Lieutenant."