This time, the body would lead him into the depths of the Tenderloin where a bar famous for its chicken wings and infamous for its nightly fights was located on the corner of Hyde and Eddy Street.

The victim was female, found behind the dumpster by one of the dish washers who had arrived early for his shift.

So far, very little else was known about the situation, making Steve wonder if the actual murder occurred there or if this particular spot had been sought out as a dumping ground only.

With a sigh, he pulled the LTD into a parallel parking spot along Eddy, just a few feet away from the coroner's van and a fleet of black and whites that had cordoned off the area to keep curious spectators at bay.

Wincing slightly as he got out of the car, he buttoned up his beige corduroy jacket, narrowing his eyes at the stiff breeze that was cutting right through him. Even though the fall sun was near its peak, it did little to light up this intersection, much less send some warmth their way.

"Hey Steve!"

Off to the right he could hear Haseejian's bellowing voice, the call followed by a hand waving him over to a spot behind a wall of yellow caution tape.

Acknowledging the sergeant with a faint nod, he crossed the one-way street to join the others, ignoring the group of curious civilians that had gathered on the sidewalk to watch their every move.

"If I'd known this was going to happen, I would have taken you to lunch with me earlier and save you the extra trip. I was right around the corner when the call came in.", Haseejian grumbled and lifted the tape for him to enter, before pointing at the body lying next to the dumpster, covered with a white sheet.

A fitting answer was on the tip of his tongue, something sassy regarding the well-known spending habits of a certain co-worker when it came to greasy food choices; but instead, he nodded stoically, the lack of a response noted with a worried frown from Haseejian's side.

"So, the lucky one is one Amber Wagoner, pretty brunette, blue eyes, 5'6", 160lbs, strangled to death. There are some defensive marks on the body. Scarf tied around her neck. Her purse and wallet were still with her, doesn't seem to be missing anything. Dan is running down the next of kin as we speak."

They approached the murder scene walking side by side, quickly coming upon a weary-faced Bernie who rose back up from his crouching position by the body and waited for them to arrive, before clearing his throat.

"Good day to you Stephen, you're looking better. How's the lieutenant holding up?"

"Pretty good, for the most part…", he replied and managed a faint smile for the first time since his release from the hospital, "He is home finally, which makes him pretty happy. And all the doctors and nurses too, I am sure. Got a friend staying with him for a few days to keep an eye on him."

"A friend? Somebody we know?"

"I don't know. It's somebody he knew from working the beat. A…ehm…a Bobbie Parker."

Instantly, the ME glanced over at Haseejian, his neutral expression shadowed by concern, before he frowned.

"I am surprised that guy's still around. I guess being with Stone is going to keep him on the straight and narrow.", Bernie replied cryptically and shrugged before crouching down to lift the blanket off their victim, drawing their attention back to the murder scene, "She was killed approximately eight hours ago. Rigor is completely set in. Judging by her defensive wounds, she put up quite a struggle. You can clearly see the bruising on her neck from the strangulation. It was done with bare hands. Our killer has strong fingers, long too. Not sure if the lab can get a print off anything. The overnight showers compromised the area significantly. Looks like he tied her scarf back around her neck when he was done."

With all his senses in overdrive at the worrisome news regarding Mike's friend; Steve could barely concentrate, too anxious about questioning Bernie what he meant. After everything they'd been through these past few days, the last thing he needed was for the lieutenant to run into trouble yet again.

Unfortunately for him, Haseejian cut him off before anything else could be brought up about Parker.

"I have a couple more guys from the lab crew on their way and three unis are canvassing the area, checking trash cans and dumpsters just in case our killer left anything behind. I was going to head down the street here in a moment; there's a small liquor store that might have a camera facing this way. It's worth a shot."

Slapping him on the back, Haseejian stepped away, mumbling something to himself that Steve couldn't understand and eventually disappeared behind a row of uniformed officers.

Ceasing the opportunity to dig deeper into the other pressing matter, Steve shifted awkwardly before reaching for Bernie's arm, squeezing it in undisguised urgency.

"This…this Bobbie Parker guy…is he an ok guy? I mean, should I worry?"

"I wouldn't worry too much…", the ME replied and bent down enough to grab his large tool case before running a hand across his half-bald head, "He's just…you know…used to be a shifty kind of character. I never worked directly with him, I just heard that about him. But that's all I know. And I mean, you know the lieutenant. He wouldn't be friends with the guy if there was some funny business going on. He might know more about him than the rest of us. I'd trust him to keep that guy honest."

"Ok…thank you."

He hadn't meant to sound so disheartened, but the ME picked on it immediately, sending him a sympathetic smile before returning to his van.

Drawing in a deep breath, Steve let his eyes drop to their latest victim, still seeing the terror in her eyes hours after she was killed.

And something deep inside told him that this case and a certain friend of Mike's had the potential for plenty of drama over the next few weeks.