“That’s enough of that,” Mike said. “I just wanted you to see that we had actually watched the footage from interrogation.”
“Okay… so what was said?” Kane asked, almost hesitant to know. “From the look on your face, my guess is that it had to be important.”
“Yeah, we’re getting there. It was well-known to those cops who investigated the murder that Enoch Moore carried around a pristine Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver with a black six-inch barrel and wood stock. He bragged on many occasions that his own father had given it to him when he came of age. Since those weapons were manufactured beginning in the 1950s, that makes sense.”
“The Colt revolver uses .38 caliber ammunition,” Kane said.
“Yeah it does,” Cassidy said.
“Okay, but that gun was never found,” Kane reiterated.
“Right, but in this interrogation, do you know what he said when he was asked where the gun that killed your father was?” Cassidy asked.
“No.” Kane felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.
“He said that if he ever owned a gun like that, it would be a souvenir he’d keep always because whoever had it, got the job done,” Cassidy said.
“God dammit!” Kane shouted, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. He glanced at Kelly whose eyes were wide and glittering with shock.
“What is it?” Mike asked, looking just as interested as Kelly.
“Today, when we were in the pub, Brandon Moore opened his cash register and I saw the .22 he keeps in the drawer. I specifically remarked on the nice pea shooter he had there,” Kane said. “You wanna know what he said?”
“Yeah,” Mike and Cassidy said in unison.
“He said it got the job done,” Kelly said.
Kane felt himself shiver, unable to stop the hopeful way he suddenly felt. “That means he more than likely kept the Colt Python that his father gave him.” He looked around the room at the other detectives and swallowed hard. “He still has the gun that killed my father and I think I know exactly where it is.”
“The FBI didn’t find it,” Kelly reminded him.
“No, they didn’t, but they did find this,” Kane pointed to the paper Mike had handed him earlier.
“One carved wooden box. Gunpower residue,” Kelly read. Then, she suddenly looked up. “That box must have been returned to Brandon after the LAPD was finished with it nineteen years ago. It has to be the same one that’s sitting beside the cash register.”
Kane nodded frantically. “That’s right. I’d bet a million bucks that after Shawn Manning got busted, Brandon cleaned house and removed the gun before the FBI came in to search. After they were done and found nothing, Brandon returned the gun to the box to keep it close. I’d bet another million bucks that if we could somehow open that box, we’d find the Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver that killed my dad.” He looked up into the eyes of men he called friends. “Even if we do find it, it won’t mean anything, though. I mean Enoch already went to jail for my father’s murder without it.”
“Yes, but we all know that Brandon most likely held on to it because of the legacy that gun carries with it. If we test it, think of the ballistics we might get off of it. For all we know, Brandon has used it since his father went to prison,” Cassidy said. “The reason the FBI has been pushing to make a case against this bastard for so long is because they have several open murder cases that they believe are tied to Moore’s organization. If he used that gun to commit any, just think of the implications.”
Kane nodded. “I don’t know what to say, guys. Thank you.”
Cassidy pointed to the list still in his hand. “It’s a lead. Now you have to work out a way to get a look inside that box, legally.”
“Yeah, legally, Delancey,” Mike said. “And, oh, by the way, we told you before, we have your back… you and Murphy, even though she’s a hell of a lot better looking than you.” He slung an arm around Kelly’s shoulders and squeezed. She smiled up at Mike before looking over at Kane.
Kane smiled back, gratitude flooding through him at the knowledge that he could always count on these people.
“Mike’s right, Delancey,” Kelly said. “No matter what we do to get a look inside that box, it has to be legal if we want it to stand up in court. We can’t let this scumbag slip through the system again.” She turned to Ryan and Williams. “You should see how empty his eyes are. The man is vacant of a soul.”
“If the recording I watched is anything to go by, I have to agree,” Cassidy said. “By the way, after Mike got a hold of that videotaped interrogation today, we asked the captain if it would be okay to help you guys out with this case. He bitched about how constrained he is with a shortage of detectives and an abundance of cases until we pointed out that the LAPD shouldn’t look bad in front of the Feds.”
Kelly smirked. “Good going, Ryan.”
“So he gave you permission to help?” Kane asked.
“He says if we want, we can devote some of our time to helping you do whatever you need to do to bring the Boston mob down as long as the LAPD takes credit for it and makes the final bust. He’s not going to hand credit for this over to the FBI and if he’s forced to, we’re all gonna be looking for jobs somewhere else,” Cassidy said.
“Well, we’d better make sure everything is done legally, then,” Kane said. He held out his hand and shook the two detectives’ hands. “I can’t tell you how much this helps, guys. After today, we were worried that we had no leads to go on.” He felt lighter than he had in days as he shook his friend’s hands.
“So, what do you say we meet for breakfast tomorrow and see if we can come up with a game plan to get him to expose the interior of that box,” Kelly said.
“Sounds good to me,” Cassidy said.
“Mm, breakfast. Now you’re talking. How about Dupar’s?” Mike asked.
“Dupar’s sounds great,” Kane said. “Nine, okay?”
“Nine is good. Thanks again, guys,” Kelly said. “We’ll see you then.”
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Kane felt better about things than he had in a long time. As he sat down at his small dining table with his Hungry Man frozen dinner that evening, he tapped keys on his laptop. He’d come home and fed and played with Dorothy and Toto for a little while after cleaning their enclosures. The kits all looked healthy and he’d booked an appointment to take mom and babies to the vet next week to have them all looked over.
After checking his email and answering messages from several adoptive parents for the ferrets, he scrolled over to Facebook. He checked through his notifications. There weren’t many. He was hardly ever online but he had sent a friend request to Luca the night he’d gone out to find him at The Abbey. He knew he shouldn’t look to see if he’d accepted his friendship but he couldn’t help himself. Something he couldn’t deny drew him to the young man. It was dangerous territory and Kelly had been right. If he was straight, he had no business leading him on. He clicked over to Luca’s page only to find that he was no longer on Facebook. How was that even possible? He scrolled down the list of Luca Price’s and only then did he realize that maybe Luca had blocked him so that he couldn’t see his profile.
Son of a bitch.
Not only had he not accepted his friendship request, but then he’d blocked him. He really should have been angry but it was more than that. Kane felt… hurt? No way. No way could he feel hurt by being blown off by Luca Price. He suddenly remembered the way things had gone down the last time he’d seen Luca several days before. He’d made him promise to be at the store at eight to pick him up to take him to Hamburger Mary’s for bingo and then not shown up. He hadn’t called and he hadn’t gone by to cancel which would have been the grownup thing to do, but instead Kane stood him up on what Luca could have only construed as a date.
I’m an asshole.
Kane shut down Facebook and shoveled his cooling dinner into his mouth, chewing as he thought about how he’d behaved in the jewelry store.
He remembered how Luca had at first been standoffish and then a willing participant of their make-out session. The man was passionate and the sexual chemistry between them was off the charts. He grew hard just looking at Luca. Kane couldn’t deny how much he wanted the man but on the other hand, Kelly was right. He shouldn’t lead him on. Doing that was wrong on every level.
Then he remembered the way he’d caught Luca kissing the stunning older man outside the jewelry store. When Kane had seen Auerbach pull Luca into his arms and kiss him square on the lips, pausing to taste him right out on the street where everyone could see and then found out later that he was his boss, it made him angrier than he could have imagined. Why had he felt anger? Nothing about seeing the two men kissing was disgusting to him. It wasn’t the fact that they were two men. It was the fact that one of those men had been Luca and for some damned reason, the only thought in Kane’s mind at the moment was that he wanted it to be him in his boss’s place.
Kane swallowed the last bite of the disgusting TV dinner and closed the laptop before standing up. He took the tin tray to the trash and dumped it before washing his fork and then walked into the bedroom to change. He was going to explore this desire he had for Luca Price once and for all. If it took all night, he was going to hunt him down at every club in West Hollywood. By the time he was dressed and ready to leave, he’d made a mental list of every gay club he knew. He only hoped he’d find him. He shrugged into his black leather jacket, tucked his badge and his backup weapon into a boot, and headed out.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Luca walked to the bar and placed his third drink order, deciding on yet another Long Island Iced Tea. He waited for the drink to be prepared, glancing around the interior of Dance Hall Boys, one of his favorite haunts. The club was located just inside the West Hollywood city limits but it was one of the most popular places for guys to go when they were serious about getting picked up. The fact that the drinks were cheap at Dance Hall, made it all the more fun. He’d taken a bus to the club since it was too far to walk from his apartment but he’d planned on leaving late since he wasn’t scheduled to work the next day. After being blown off by Delancey several nights before, he’d been working long hours to keep himself busy.
Being stood up by the gorgeous detective had hurt more than he’d wanted to admit. The truth was, Luca wasn’t accustomed to being stood up. He never had trouble getting dates—Corey had been right about that when he’d said it to him weeks ago. He knew he was a decent looking guy. Men told him that all the time. Corey was right. He never had trouble getting someone to fall in love with him, even if it was only for one night. Unfortunately, he had to admit, the one man he wanted, didn’t want him.
Well, fuck him.
Luca was going to have fun tonight if it was the last thing he did. He paid for his drink and turned to look out at the dance floor, leaning both elbows back on the bar. Several guys were turned his way, checking him out. He knew he looked good in his skintight turquoise jeans and black mesh muscle shirt over the teal tank top he wore beneath. He’d put on his turquoise Converse low rise sneakers with no socks and he wore only his black leather cord bracelet with the single silver bead as his only jewelry. He’d penciled extra-dark kohl liner around his eyes and even contemplated putting in the aquamarine contacts he’d purchased on a whim, changing his mind at the last minute. They made his eyes look exotic but he thought the mesh muscle shirt conveyed the right message. Tonight’s message was: Luca is ready to make some noise. He was drinking happily and raring to go.
He let his gaze wander over the crowd. The night was still young, only a little after eleven. He knew the time because he’d checked it only minutes before when he’d gone to the bathroom. Going to the bathroom was no easy task in these jeans. He’d almost wished for a decent mallet and chisel. He’d had to peel them down his hips like a banana just to get the phone out of his back pocket to check for messages and pee.
Most of the guys on the dance floor weren’t his type. After meeting Kane Delancey, he knew he had a very specific type. Though he’d always been attracted to big muscular men, apparently, when they were also broody assholes with a side of bastard, that made them completely irresistible. He lifted his drink and took a long sip of the strong Long Island and when he lowered the glass, he spotted Greg, one of his friends. The man waved and began pushing through the crowd, heading Luca’s way when he waved back.
Luca liked Greg, whom he’d met orbiting Planet Corey. Since Corey went out clubbing even more often than Luca did, he had friends everywhere. Every club had different sets of men who drank with them, danced with them, and sometimes fucked them. Greg was often at Dance Hall Boys and he often told Luca he wanted to sleep with him. Unfortunately for Luca, Greg wasn’t his type at all—small, fine-boned, and very much a hungry little bottom—they weren’t the least bit compatible. Luca had topped before, it just wasn’t his preference. It was one of the reasons Kane Delancey did it for him. He had no doubt the man would be a rough top in every way. Even his kisses conveyed the sheer dominance of the man.
When Greg got to him, he threw his arms around him, nearly making Luca fall, the result of a lot of alcohol and leaning back against the bar, unprepared for the hug, though he should have been. He wrapped his own arms around Greg to steady himself, encompassing his body in an ungainly hug since he still held his drink in one hand. He felt it slosh over his fingers behind Greg’s back.
“Luca, baybeee, how are you?” Greg purred, vibrating against him.
Luca chuckled as he returned the hug. “I’m good. How are you?” he asked as Greg finally let go and stepped back. He looked him over. Greg looked good, tanner than he’d been since he’d seen him last. He remembered Corey telling him that Greg was a model and obviously the kind of man who did well with his career. He was always dressed fashionably, wearing designer clothes like the Versace he wore now. The bright pink shirt was a paisley print of some sort and the skintight jeans of a pewter color were much like the ones Luca wore only even tighter if that were possible. He could clearly see the man’s cock outlined at the front. Luca was pretty sure he could see the veins running down the length of it going all the way from his groin to the circumcised head.
“I’m lovely, Luca darling. You look smashing,” he said as Luca wiped at his wet hand with a bar napkin. “You have to let me set you up with my agent. She’d be crazy about you.” He reached up and touched Luca’s cheek. “You are stunning you know… just stunning. You’d make bags of money as a model and all the boys would simply die.”
“You look good too, Greg,” Luca said, smiling widely as he leaned away from Greg’s touch. “But if all the boys simply died, what would we do for sex?”
Greg burst into giggles and Luca couldn’t help but smile as he took another sip of his drink. “Seriously, though, you have a great tan. Where’d you get it?”
“Fiji, darling. I just got back from a Fairy Gathering,” Greg said. “You just have to go to one. Oh… my… God… they… are… fabulous! Trust me, I’m a whole new man.”
Luca couldn’t help but laugh. Greg was definitely a fairy if he’d ever met one. He wasn’t sure he should ask but the devil on his shoulder made him.
“What is a Fairy Gathering?”
“What?” Greg’s eyes flew wide and he just stared at him with his mouth hanging open. He reached out and grabbed both of Luca’s forearms, leaning close. “You’ve never heard of a Fairy Gathering?”
“No, but then again I try to avoid places where people flutter.” He reached up and ran fingers through his hair as Greg let go of his arms. “You have no idea how long it takes to do this hair and the flapping of wings tends to screw the do.”
Greg threw his head back and laughed and Luca took that moment to finish his drink, smiling as he downed the last bit. He was really rocking a buzz by now.
“Luca, darling, a Fairy Gathering is held at a different location every year. The man who started it wanted a safe place where gay men won�
��t be afraid to express themselves and find out who they really truly are. It’s clothing optional and all the hot models go.”
“Okay, so did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Did you find out who you really truly are?” Luca asked.
Greg laughed again. “Sweetie, it’s not the end result that’s important. It’s the journey.”
“Okay, so what do you do there, tell me. It’s a week of screwing, right?”
Greg grabbed his arms again, looking very serious. “No! Not at all! There’s no fucking allowed. It’s so fun!”
“That sounds super un-fun, Greg,” Luca said. “If I’m going to Fiji for a week with a bunch of naked hot models, the last thing I want, is to join a group of celibates whose untamed bits are flapping around on a beach.”
Greg laughed again. “Oh, Jesus, you’re too funny, Luca. That’s not what a Fairy Gathering is about. We play naked twister, naked volleyball, eat magic mushrooms naked, and move heavy rocks into a circle.”
“You move heavy rocks into a circle?” Luca asked, biting his lip to keep from laughing.
“Of course. It’s amazing.”
“Only if you’ve eaten a whole lot of magic mushrooms… and are naked of course,” Luca replied.
Greg was still laughing when Luca became aware that someone had moved in close to his side. As he glanced over, he nearly groaned. Kane Delancey, dressed in impossibly sexy loose-fitting jeans, a tight black muscle T-shirt, and biker boots that matched his black leather bomber jacket, was standing there towering above him. Luca’s cock thickened before he realized he was pissed as hell at the man.
Stay with Me (The WITSEC series Book 1) Page 21
