Just the Facts, Volume 1

by Edward Kendrick

  “Waiting for me?” Reid asked with a smile when Michael came out to greet him.

  “I thought you were here already,” Michael replied, explaining why.

  “It could have been someone who pushed the wrong buzzer and realized it when you answered,” Reid said, but he didn’t look convinced. Putting his arm protectively around Michael’s shoulders he said, “Let’s get out of here.”

  Michael nodded, looking around as they walked across the street to the car. He didn’t see the man, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t him who had buzzed. If he was trying to find out if I was home. He shivered at that idea.

  “Michael,” Reid said when they were on the road. “There’s no reason for him to stalk you anymore. The police know what he looks like so showing up? Uh-uh. He can’t be that stupid.”

  “He might not know they know,” Michael pointed out, but he had the feeling Reid was right. Whoever had buzzed had pushed the wrong button. That was all. “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “Aiden’s, again. The food’s good and we had a nice time while we were there,” Reid replied.

  “Until the man showed up.” Michael shot him a look. “Are you hoping he will again?”

  “No. Honestly, I’m not, so get that idea out of your head right now. As a matter of fact we’ll go…you name the place.”

  For a moment Michael was tempted to do just that then shook his head. “It is a nice restaurant. We’ll sit away from the window, though.”

  “Deal.”

  Reid found a spot in the same lot they’d used the last time. As they walked from there to the restaurant, Michael glanced at the people on the pavement across the street, seeing no sign of the man. When they got inside, he gave his name to the hostess and a few minutes later they were seated at a table well away from the windows.

  The waiter took their orders for drinks, iced tea for both of them, and their meals. When he left, Michael said, “If we knew his name…”

  “According to the tag on his vest, it’s Parker.”

  “Not the waiter’s name. Damn.”

  Reid smiled. “I know, and for the next couple of hours the guy and the murder are off the table. Period, end of subject.” He leaned back, asking, “So when do you start worrying about Halloween?”

  “A month ago.”

  “It’s only August,” Reid pointed out.

  “And? I have to place orders for costumes we’re going to buy, plus all the accessories like masks, makeup, anything you can think of that people want for the holiday. Carolyn and I decide which costumes should be on the top of her make-list, based on what movies and TV shows are popular. Well, some of that we figured out a while ago, otherwise she wouldn’t have time to sew and help out when I need her to.”

  “Why only the two of you?” Reid asked.

  “It’s a small shop. A good one, but not so large I need dozens of people working for me. I think I told you, I do hire temps to work from the end of September through the holiday season. Once Christmas is over, we’re back to me and Carolyn except for the week before Mardi Gras.” He turned the question back on Reid, asking, “Do you have a busy time of year?”

  Reid snorted. “Every day. Okay, not true. Since I cover the crime beat, how busy I am depends on what goes down in any given week. Holidays are prime time for theft and larceny. Assaults and rape tend to go up in the summer, as does burglary. But that’s a generalization. Any of those can happen at any time.”

  “Burglary because people have gone on vacation?”

  “Yep. This is all according to statistical analysis, but I’ve found it tends to be accurate, at least here.”

  “So statistically, it’s not surprising Ms. Lee was murdered this month.”

  “Michael, that subject…”

  “Is off the table. Sorry.”

  Reid reached over to take his hand. “You need to think about other things for now, like, umm, what we’re going to do next Sunday.”

  “Another movie?”

  Reid nodded. “Or…There have to be other things to do.”

  “Hit up a museum or…” Michael grinned. “Hang out at a mall and pretend we’re in high school again.”

  Laughing, Reid replied, “I remember doing that, though it wasn’t the girls I was eyeing.”

  “Me, neither, although I acted as if I was. Mom may have known I was gay, but the kids I went to school with? Nope. And I wasn’t about to come out to them. That didn’t happen until college.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t ask, but what about when you were in prison?”

  “I kept it to myself and since I don’t fit the stereotype, so to speak, I survived. I guess I was lucky. A couple of guys…” He stared off into space for a moment. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I don’t blame you, and I should have kept my mouth shut.”

  “No, not really,” Michael protested. “If we’re getting to know each other we have to ask questions. Right?”

  “Right, but we don’t have to answer them if we don’t want to. So, back to the original topic. What do we want to do next Sunday?”

  Michael took a drink of his iced tea, which seemed to have magically appeared although he knew that was because he’d been more intent on their conversation than what was going on around them. “A museum, the zoo, a picnic lunch?”

  “A picnic lunch at the zoo,” Reid replied.

  “Sure, that works. Now watch, it’ll rain all day.”

  “Nope. I won’t let it,” Reid said with a firm nod.

  “You control the weather? Great. How about no snow except on Christmas Eve.”

  Grinning, Reid replied, “I’ll put on my weather wizard hat and make it so.”

  Their meals arrived at that point; putting an end to any conversation for a while other than talking about how good the food was and where they’d go the next time they decided to eat out together.

  “Dessert?” Reid asked when the waiter began clearing away their dinner plates.

  “If you’re asking me,” Michael replied, “I’ll pass. I’m stuffed.”

  “Nope, I was asking the waiter.” That earned Reid a chuckle from the man, and a raised finger from Michael.

  Michael paid the bill and left a tip. Then they walked to the movie theater, which was two blocks away.

  “You’ve finally relaxed,” Reid said, halfway there.

  “Umm, I guess?”

  “You haven’t once checked who was around us.”

  “Oh. Hmm. You’re right. Being with you, I feel safe. I mean, not that he’s going to do something even if he is still stalking me, or us.”

  “He’d be stupid to try,” Reid replied. “Okay, enough of that. We were going to table any discussion of him and I just blew it.”

  “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

  “Be still my heart.” Reid grinned, then took out his wallet since they were at the theater. When Michael protested that he could pay for his ticket, Reid said, “You sprang for dinner, I’ll buy both of them. If we decide to stop for coffee afterward it can be your treat.”

  “Fair enough,” Michael agreed.

  Chapter 5

  They did go for coffee and were sitting on the shop’s patio when Michael’s phone rang. He checked the caller ID, shook his head, and muttered, “Does he work twenty-four-seven?”

  “Daniels?”

  Michael nodded as he answered.

  “Michael? Detective Daniels. I have some news about Mr. Trask.”

  “Who?”

  “Sorry. Robert Trask. He’s the man you saw with Ms. Lee.”

  “You found him?” Michael held the phone so Reid could listen in.

  “We found his body, or rather a guest at the Mann Hotel did.”

  Michael hissed in a breath. “He was murdered?”

  “Yes. Strangled, like Ms. Lee, and left in a restroom stall. The guest who found him immediately called us.”

  “Damn. You’re sure it’s him?”

  “Yes, Michael, I’m sure. I do know what I’m
doing,” Daniels replied.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I guess I should say I’m relieved, but…”

  “If it connects with Ms. Lee’s murder, then maybe he wasn’t the man who killed her,” Reid said.

  “I’m leaning in that direction,” the detective replied. “I won’t be able to say for certain for a while, one way or the other, but I thought you’d like to know.”

  Michael thanked Daniels and they hung up. “I guess I can stop looking over my shoulder, now,” he said to Reid.

  * * * *

  “Probably. I mean, yeah, you can,” Reid replied. But he wasn’t certain that was true.

  “Probably?” Michael frowned.

  “If the two murders are connected, their killer is still out there.”

  “He won’t be looking for me. The only person I saw with her is dead.”

  “Yeah.” Reid took a drink of his coffee to give himself time to decide if he should point out that wasn’t quite true.

  Michael beat him to it. “You’re worried about the two men she was with on the balcony, right? I didn’t see enough of them to be able to identify them. I told you and Daniels that.”

  “Not to scare you, but if one of them was her killer, he doesn’t know that. If he was aware you were out there when he was…” Reid saw Michael wince and said, “Okay, I’ll shut up. He probably wasn’t, since he was paying attention to her.”

  Michael nodded, but he didn’t look as if he believed Reid. Still, he replied, “Remember what I said earlier. We have to be open with each other if we want things to work between us. I don’t think the killer will come after me, but I’m going to continue to be careful until he’s caught.”

  Reid wanted to say that would be hard while Michael was at work. Anyone who comes in saying they want to look at costumes could corner him somewhere and kill him. It wouldn’t be all that hard since it’s only him and Carolyn and I bet she spends most of her time in a workroom making more costumes.

  “Do you want to get out of here?” Michael asked, bringing Reid back to the present.

  “Yeah, we should. You have to work tomorrow.”

  “So do you,” Michael pointed out.

  “True, but I can keep my own hours as long as I come up with stories for my column. Speaking of which, I need to talk with Daniels. I’ll do that after I take you home.”

  “Okay. You will let me know what he says.”

  Reid grinned as they got up. “You can read it in the paper tomorrow.”

  “Smartass.”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Most of the time,” Michael grumbled, but he was smiling.

  On the way back to the car, Reid put his arm around Michael’s shoulders. He told himself it was to make him feel safe, but he knew he was kidding. He liked having Michael so close to him. I’d like it even better if he were much closer and naked, but that’s not happening any time soon, if at all.

  When they got to Michael’s building, after a relatively silent drive, Michael said, “Call me if you find out anything from Daniels.” He gripped Reid’s hand, looking directly into his eyes. “I do not want to wait to read it in the paper.”

  “I will, I promise.” For a moment Reid hesitated. Then he did what he’d wanted to for the last hour. Hell, for the last couple of days. He kissed him.

  Michael pulled away and Reid was certain he’d blown it. Then, smiling, Michael leaned in to kiss him back. “I guess this proves one thing,” he said a moment later. “We are moving toward being more than friends.”

  “You had any doubts about that?”

  “Not really, but it’s nice to know you agree.” Michael kissed him again, quickly, and then said, “I should get moving. Carolyn will shoot me if I’m late for work tomorrow.”

  “We don’t want that to happen. If I do learn anything from Daniels, I’ll wait until morning to let you know.” Reid grinned. “Before you get a chance to buy the paper.”

  Michael snorted in amusement as he got out of the car.

  Reid waited until he was certain he was safely in the building before taking off, heading to the hotel where Trask had been killed. There were the usual compliment of gawkers hanging around outside, even though Reid was certain the body had been moved to the morgue a couple of hours earlier. Thankfully, as far as he was concerned, there were no reporters, which he figured had to do with the fact the murder had been discovered around eight and it was now almost midnight. They would have left by ten-thirty, after interviewing the police for their nightly news programs.

  He went inside, flashed his ID at the desk clerk, asked where the police were, then walked down the hallway where the clerk pointed.

  An officer he knew stopped him before he got to the restroom, saying, “You’re like a bad penny, Reid. You always show up. I can’t let you inside, but I’ll tell Daniels you’re here.”

  Reid thanked him and leaned against the wall, figuring it would be a while before Daniels came out. He was surprised when the detective appeared a few minutes later.

  “I don’t have much for you,” Daniels said. “I wouldn’t tell you what I do know if I didn’t trust you to keep it to yourself until I say otherwise, and because I think Michael should know.”

  Reid almost joked, “Keep it to myself but tell Michael.” He refrained because he didn’t want to alienate the detective.

  “The ME’s primary assessment after examining Mr. Trask’s body is that he was probably drugged before he was killed. That fits with what happened with Ms. Lee, who was given Rohypnol just prior to her death.”

  “A roofie would definitely make it easy to murder them without they’re being aware of what was happening and fighting back.”

  “The ME won’t know for certain, of course, until he does the autopsy and runs a tox screen. It’s just his feeling from the condition of the body. There were no defensive wounds, no indication that Trask tried to fight back. Even if he were attacked from behind, he would have done his best to stop the strangler, if he could have.”

  Reid nodded, promising Daniels he’d keep that bit of information out of his story. In exchange, Daniels went into detail about who found Trask’s body and who Trask was—”A minor cog in the call-girl ring Ms. Lee worked for. We don’t know why he was with her the night before she was murdered, but I intend on finding out.”

  When Daniels finished talking, Reid thanked him before saying, “You think it’s possible the killer might come after Michael, to tie up loose ends, don’t you?”

  “Unlikely, but Michael should be aware that it could happen.”

  “At least he doesn’t bar hop, so the killer can’t spike his drink,” Reid said.

  “He told me he no longer drinks alcohol. That doesn’t mean he stays away from clubs,” Daniels pointed out.

  Knowing Michael, Reid disagreed, but he wasn’t going to argue with the detective. He thanked Daniels for the interview and left. As soon as he was outside the hotel, he called Michael.

  “You were going to wait until morning,” Michael said sleepily when he answered. “What time is it, anyway?”

  “Around twelve-thirty. I would have waited but I found out something. I think we should talk so I’m on my way to your place.”

  “What did you…? Never mind. I’ll let you in when you buzz.”

  “Not until you know it’s me. Don’t—”

  “I’m not stupid. Well, usually,” Michael replied sourly. “See you in a bit.”

  * * * *

  As soon as they’d ended the call, Michael got up, went into the bathroom to throw some water on his face, and then put on a pair of jeans. He’d barely finished when he heard the buzzer. Going to the call box, he asked, “Who’s there?”

  “It’s me,” Reid replied, his voice sounding tinny over the intercom. Fairly certain it was him, Michael buzzed him in, then waited, standing in his open doorway. When he heard the elevator arrive on his floor, he tensed, ready to slam his door closed if anyone other than Reid appeared around the hallway corner.

 
; “It really was, is me,” Reid said as soon as he saw Michael.

  “I figured, but at this hour I wasn’t taking any chances.” Michael stepped aside to let him in, then closed and locked the door. “Okay, what’s so important it couldn’t wait until morning?”

  “Give me ten minutes and let me use your computer, then I’ll tell you,” Reid replied, walking to Michael’s desk.

  Michael watched at Reid booted up the computer and went online. “Filing your story?”

  “Yep,” Reid replied distractedly.

  “I’ll make coffee.” Michael did, and when it was ready, he brought two cups into the living room, setting one by Reid’s elbow. Reid nodded his thanks as he continued typing. A few minutes later he sent the story off, shut down the computer, and, after picking up the coffee he joined Michael on the sofa.

  “So what’s going on?” Michael asked.

  “This is between you and me. I promised Daniels it wouldn’t go any farther, including into my story. Do you know what a roofie is?”

  “Yeah. A date rape drug. Why?” Then Michael got it. “They found some in Ms. Lee’s system.”

  “Yep. And Daniels said the ME thinks Trask was drugged too, although he won’t know for sure until he runs a tox screen.”

  Michael sucked in a breath before saying, “If the killer does come after me he’ll have a hard time spiking my drink since I don’t drink and I don’t hang out at bars.”

  “It doesn’t have to be alcohol. It could be put in whatever you order when you take your lunch break, or stop for coffee on your way into work, or…” Reid paused and he didn’t look happy.

  “Spit it out.”

  “Remember when we were worried Trask might come in while you were at the shop? That could happen with the killer and you wouldn’t know it was him. He asks to look at some costumes and when you go into…You have a showroom, right?” When Michael nodded, Reid continued. “You go in, expecting him to follow. It would only take him a few seconds to dump something into the coffee on your desk while you’re not looking. Then he lets you show him around, tells you he’ll think about it, and leaves.”