Case Study

Holy snap.

I started to open my mouth and Doc said "Two hundred and seven." I raised an eyebrow.

Meyer added "He was systematically tortured, Alex. For several hours. By an expert."

I opened my mouth again and Doc said "About eight hours before his death."

I wondered if they had rehearsed this little routine before I came down.

"Why..." Meyer cut me off again.

" The only thing in his pockets was this." He held up a little plastic evidence bag, sealed with red tape and initialed as was proper. Inside was one of our business cards. Andy had been so proud of those when we first got them. They were crisp and clean and professional looking.

Only this one had a major flaw.

In the center of the card was a set of lip prints, as if someone had kissed my business card before slipping it into my pocket.

Kissed it with black lipstick.

Violetta.

Had she really...?

Oh, snap...

My mind raced as I tried to think. Surely she wouldn't have been stupid enough to do this. Surely not... And if it was one of her "thralls" I don't think there would be any way I could cut him loose this time. He'd be cooked for sure. Not even the "Boss" who ran the club could cover this one up. Not even with his scary connections.

My brain ran in circles.

"We got the shooter."

"Wait... what?" Meyer directed me over to a laptop on the desk while Doc covered Mathers up with the sheet again. A few mouse clicks and a video popped up on the screen. Was I going to have to watch this whole case unfold over a computer screen?

It was a scene I had witness countless times. The interrogation room upstairs. The same steel table and the same plastic chairs. The same gray room. Always recorded from the same angle.

The battleship. Beatrice Mathers. No longer crisp and pristine in her nurses uniform. She wore a half an acre of flower print dress which was severely wrinkled and mussed. Her hair was wild, with sprigs sticking out in all directions and those beefy arms were obviously cuffed firmly behind her back which strained both her shoulders and the material of her dress almost to the breaking point.

"Neighbors heard the shots, called it in." Ron said calmly. "It took six officers to get her cuffed and into the car. One nose and six ribs got broken. None of them hers."

I wasn't really all that surprised.

The video began.

Beatrice Mathers was raving like a lunatic. Her eyes were wild and flecks of spittle flew from her mouth while she shouted.

"We had it all! That little slit was our meal ticket and the weak little fuck lost her! He fucking lost her! All because of his stupid sick little playacting games! Of course I killed him! That bitch had millions and we could have had every dime but he was too fucking stupid and too fucking weak! Aaaahhh! Fuck! Stupid fucking weak little shit perverted fuck!"

The video stopped with a mouse click.

"It goes on like that." Meyer rolled his eyes. "For quite some time."

Even though their case was open and shut, they had questions.

Naturally.

It took some creative thinking and sidestepping to keep my client and all of the other scary people out of the official records. Nothing illegal, of course. I just left out... certain bits of data which had little or no bearing on their case. I'd investigate Kelvin Mathers as a side inquiry in a domestic case I was working. He had little or nothing to do with my investigation and was pretty much a nonentity. One of the things I had uncovered was his propensity for bondage and kinky sex. He really seemed to like the rough stuff, which might explain... part of the condition of his body.

The police had come to the same conclusion. His PVC gimp suit had been found on his bedroom floor. The outside had been thoroughly cleaned but the inside was ripe with his DNA.

I had no idea who had given him my card, and no idea what the lipstick was all about.

No, I had no idea who the girl was the sister was ranting about.

When I softly suggested I thought Mathers tastes ran to other than girls, Meyer flinched and grimaced and decided he had heard enough. Since my retirement I felt no need to remain in the closet and everyone knew Andrew and I were a couple. Most... not all but most... of my former comrades in the City force accepted me and my new status as just another thing.

Some of the more staunch heterosexuals were still a bit squeamish though.

They'd get over it. Or not, as was their choice.

I'd made my choice and I couldn't possibly be happier about it.

Skipping a cab ride I walked home in the rain, wanting time to sort things out in my head. Mainly I just wanted to spend a couple of hours with Andy's arms around me. Even if we kept our clothes on.

I wanted this case to be over.

Eight

The case wasn't over and my partner wasn't alone when I returned to the apartment. Andrew was first and foremost a healer at heart and by profession and when he saw someone in pain he wanted nothing more than to make them well again. One of the reasons why he was such an amazing physical therapist.

I couldn't really fault him for those parts of his make up. My partner and lover had healed my body and my heart and my soul with his love. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be the man I am today and I loved him with my entire existence.

Nevertheless, it didn't stop me from being a little bit cranky when I found him holding our client in his arms.

Derrick Gentles had his head laying on Andy's shoulder and he was sobbing. Andy was patting his back and making shushing noises. I closed the door quietly behind me. Even though my partner and lover hated it, I went and sat down on the coffee table in front of them. The wood creaked alarmingly under my weight, but I knew it would hold.

Hell, I knew that coffee table would hold both Andrew and I together. We'd tested it once.

No, twice.

They moved apart as I sat down and Andy passed over a box of tissues. The younger man wiped his eyes and blew his nose. I held out my hands to my sides.

"So...?"

"April is leaving home, Alex."

"Really."

"She..." Derrick sighed. "She has been accepted at Julliard." I raised an eyebrow.

"Not a bad thing, I think. Yes?" He shook his head sadly.

"N-no... it's not a bad thing. For her. She... We..." He paused and sighed once more. "We had a long talk when she came home. We talked pretty much all night. Sh-she told me everything. Her fantasies and how she met that man and how he tried to string her along for her money. The... the things... he did to her. I... didn't understand her wanting those kind of things... but I wanted to be s-supportive of her. She is my sister, after all." He looked up at me somewhat miserably.

"I just want what is best for her, you know." Andy patted his leg and I nodded.

"We know you do, Derrick. So then what?"

"April told me what happened at the club. S-some of it, anyway. She was a little confused. She told me about how she met this man who wanted her to play the piano again. How he could get her into the school in New York and get her an apartment as long as she would play for him."

I had a little bit of an idea not all of her playing for the Maestro would be on the keyboard.

He continued. "She came and sat in my lap and kissed me on the forehead and whispered into my ear."

"What did she say?"

"She said "I know you want me to be happy, Derrick. This will make me very happy and I will always be your little sister and I will always love you." Then she kissed me again and said "I want you to be happy too, big brother. Admit to yourself you're gay and find somebody to fall in love with." Then she went to pack her bags."

"Quite the revelation."

"But... I'm not... I mean, I n-never..."

"Never?" He blushed deeply and shook his head.

"N-no. Never."

"Not even with a girl?" He blushed even deeper, his pale cheeks a flaming red.

"Ummm... n-no."

"Andrew... kiss the man."

"What? I d-don't... Mmmm!" Then "Mmmm..." For a few seconds Derrick fought and trembled like a rabbit in a trap before he settled down and surrendered into it. I knew full well how wonderful Andy's lips felt and what a good kisser he was. If that young man was gay in his heart, Andrew and his perfect kissable lips would bring him straight out of the closet.

"I don't know, Alex." My partner said a few moments later when he sat back. "Maybe you should kiss him too, just to make sure."

"All righty then."

"Mmmm.. what? Uh... Mmmm..."

I leaned in and hooked a hand behind his neck and kissed Derrick long and hard. He felt nice and tasted good, but some of that I was attributing to the lingering taste of my lover on his lips. Andrew's kisses were soft and loving and passionate. Mine were hard and insistent and demanding that somebody better get naked quickly. I thought it might be good to give him both kinds just to be sure he liked it.

It turned out he did like it.

Ten minutes later he was naked in our bed and within the hour he was no longer a stranger to the act of making love to another man. Or two, as it turned out. It was a first for Andy and I as well. Not anything we intended on doing regularly, but if it did turn out the pretty young millionaire was lonely and in the vicinity, we wouldn't turn him down.

About ten hours after that young Derrick Gentles finally staggered out the door again, on his way home to see his sister off on her trip to New York. Between my partner and I we had managed to drain him completely of all of his juices but we also filled him back up with ours just to keep him healthy. He went home with a new outlook on life and an intent to see his sisters wishes fulfilled.

Despite our trying to talk him out of it, he dropped another check on the coffee table before he left. He insisted we had fulfilled our part, getting his sister back even if he was losing her again so quickly. At least he didn't need to worry about her anymore.

I counted the zeroes and whistled softly.

Last

It was raining again, but I didn't mind.

The trench coat was waterproof and my fedora was thick felt which would keep my head warm and dry. My clothes dared the rain to try and assault me. The 1911 nestled in the shoulder holster in my armpit dared anything human to get cute.

It was raining again, but I didn't mind.

The City was my home and I had no plans on going anywhere else.

My life was here.

I put one foot on the stairs going down when the door opened behind me. Soft orange light spilled out into the hallway casting a man shaped figure onto the floor in shadow. I turned my head.

A naked male Adonis stood in the doorway. Bold, unashamed and quite obviously aroused.

He smiled and held out a hand.

"Alex..." He said softly. "I need you. Come to bed."

I never even looked back.

The City... and the rain... could wait.

"Yes, Andrew."