Back at the station, Nick and Schanke filled out mounds of paperwork. Schanke alternated between humming cheerfully, but tunelessly, and munching on a gigantic souvlaki. As always, Nick felt vaguely nauseous at the smell of his partner's favorite snack food.
Schanke glanced up, and noticed Nick's pensive look. He grinned. "What's wrong, partner? Upset because for once yours truly put together everything and solved the case?"
Nick shook his head. "No, it's not that." He paused. "I don't know. It just doesn't feel right. It was all too simple somehow. I keep thinking we missed something."
Schanke snorted. "Whaddaya mean, we missed something? Natalie took the bullet out of the stiff. Ballistics matched it to the dead dude's buddy's gun. We even had a witness." He puffed out his chest. "Okay, at first she didn't want to talk, but a bit of that old Schanke charm soon had her eating out of my hand. Wham! Presto! Case closed."
Nick frowned. "I know. I know. There just seems to be something missing. That's all."
At that moment Natalie walked by. Schanke flagged her down. "Natalie, will you reassure this guy about the Carson case."
"What's up, Nick?" she asked. "Something bothering you about it?"
"Yeah, Nat. It was just too neat. I'm missing something."
Natalie grinned as she leaned down and whispered something in his ear. Then she patted him on the shoulder, winked at Schanke and left.
Nick bent down to finish his paperwork. Schanke waited expectantly for a moment. "Okay, Nick. What'd she say?"
Nick didn't look up. Schanke couldn't be sure, but he thought his partner was blushing. "Oh, nothing Schanke, you were right, that's all."
Nick was so embarrassed that he forgot he wasn't supposed to make that admission without a fight. Schanke was so surprised at the admission that he forgot to crow about it. As Nick filled out papers in quintuplicate, Natalie's parting words ran through his head.
"Of course it was too simple, Nick. You didn't have to go to the Raven for information. You didn't have to hypnotize anyone. And most important, you didn't have a single flashback. Deal with it."