Just the Facts, Volume 1

by Edward Kendrick

  “Tell me the code.”

  “No. Damn it, I survived four years in prison and I’ve kept in shape since then. I can defend myself if he’s in there and jumps me…us. So stop babying me!”

  Reid wanted to say, “Against a gun?” but didn’t. He understood where Michael was coming from. I’d feel the same way if our situations were reversed. “Okay. But be aware. If you see anything that looks different or out of place, even if it’s a book you know you left open on the coffee table that’s closed, now…”

  Michael nodded. “I’ve seen my fair share of cop movies.” He unlocked the door, opened it a crack to peer inside. With a nod, he pushed it the rest of the way open and went in, disarming the security. “Satisfied?” he asked when nothing happened.

  “I am.” Reid followed him into the living room, set down his bag, then, putting a finger to his lips, pointed to the bedroom and bathroom, indicating he’d check them while Michael took care of the kitchen.

  “Told you, nobody’s here,” Michael said when they got back to the living room.

  “I know. We’ll consider this a dry run for tomorrow and however much longer it takes.”

  “Okay.” Michael didn’t look happy, but obviously accepted what Reid had said. “Are you hungry?”

  “Starving. What do you have? I’d even settle for hotdogs right now.”

  “I think I can do better than that,” Michael replied. “Burgers, tacos, burritos…”

  Reid laughed. “Homemade fast food?”

  “You did say you were hungry.”

  They settled on burgers and fries, and had barely finished making them when there was a buzz from the callbox. Michael went to see who was there, with Reid right behind him.

  “Michael,” the man on the phone said, “It’s Steve. Barnet asked me to drop off the book he borrowed since I was in the neighborhood.”

  “Book?” Michael asked.

  “Yeah. You know. ‘The Keys to Successful Pictures’.”

  Reid chuckled. “Code for he has the key to your shop and is here to install the cameras?”

  “I guess.” Michael buzzed him in. A couple of minutes later there was a knock on the door. He looked through the peephole, calling out, “I’d like to see some ID.”

  The man held up his wallet with his badge and ID, which said he was Officer Steven Grange. Satisfied, Michael let him in. “Why the code, as Reid called it?”

  “There was a couple in the entryway, so I decided better safe than sorry,” Steve replied. As he handed Michael the key he sniffed. “Don’t let me interrupt your dinner. This will only take a few minutes.” Going into the living room, he set the case he was carrying down on the coffee table.

  Taking him at his word, they sat down to eat while watching him hide two cameras in the living room, and another in the kitchen. When he went into the bedroom Michael rolled his eyes. “There goes my privacy.”

  Reid grinned. “You can always throw something over it when you’re getting ready for bed.”

  “If I can find it. I wonder if he’s put one in the bathroom, too.”

  “Nope,” Steve said as he reappeared. “The one in the hallway covers the bathroom door, and the window in there is too small for anyone to get through. I want you to change your code on your security box, just as a precaution, and do the same for the one at your shop, first thing in the morning.”

  “Will do,” Michael replied. “Is there anything else?”

  “Yes. I’m going to install a camera in the exterior hallway, in the light fixture. Like the other cameras it’s motion sensitive and will let us know whenever someone approaches your apartment. The interior ones will let us know whenever anyone’s in here. The same for the ones at your shop. If we see anything wrong, an officer will be dispatched immediately.”

  “Thank you.” Michael let him out and then reset his security code. He started to tell Reid, stopping when Reid mimed writing it down, and did so. “Erring on the side of caution?” he asked.

  “Always,” Reid replied.

  They finished eating, cleaned up, then settled down to watch TV. Reid took a chance, even though he thought it probably really wasn’t one, and put his arm around Michael.

  Michael smiled, resting his head on Reid’s shoulder. “This is nice,” he murmured.

  Kissing his temple, Reid replied, “Better than nice. I could get used to this, given half a chance.”

  Looking up at him, Michael said, “I’m not going anywhere,” and then he kissed him.

  Reid returned it and the kiss deepened until he eased back to say, “We should stop or I might be tempted to take things further. Not that I don’t want to, but it’s still early on, and I don’t mean the hour.”

  “I know.” Michael traced his finger over Reid’s lips. “We’ve got all the time in the world, so one step at a time.” He grinned. “Damn it!”

  Reid laughed, but at the back of his mind he prayed that was the truth. With the killer out there somewhere, and the story we came up with that’ll be on the front page of the paper tomorrow morning…He hugged Michael tightly. “Yeah, we do.”

  Chapter 7

  “I never thought I’d find someone who would care about me,” Michael said as he and Reid made breakfast the following morning. “Not at my age and with my background, I guess.”

  “First off, thirty-two is not old. It better not be because I’m thirty-three and in my prime, as far as I’m concerned,” Reid replied. “As for your being in prison? You made something of yourself when you got out, which is what counts, so you have nothing to be ashamed of on that score.”

  “Tell that to a couple of guys who ran as fast as they could when they found out,” Michael muttered.

  “They were stupid. I’m glad they ran, though. I would have lost out on finding the perfect man for me if they hadn’t.”

  Michael looked at him and saw the sincerity of his words in his expression, which made his pulse beat faster at the same time that it disconcerted him. Swallowing hard, he quipped, “Even though I made you sleep on the sofa?”

  “Yep. That’ll change in time. We both know it,” Reid replied, kissing him quickly. “Right now, though, let’s eat and get you to work.”

  “Where you’ll leave me to Barnet’s tender mercies.”

  “You bet.” Reid paused to put the eggs and sausages on plates, while Michael poured coffee. He continued as they took everything to the table in one corner of the living room. “If we get lucky, the killer has read my story and is already planning how to deal with you.”

  “Hopefully sooner than later. I mean, I don’t really want him to try killing me, but if he doesn’t, the police are pretty much back to square on.”

  “Unless Daniels had turned up something since we last talked. But if he has, I think he’d have let us know.”

  “God, I hope so.”

  Changing the subject, Reid asked, “What are we going to do this Sunday?”

  “I thought we decided on a picnic at the zoo.”

  “Right. I forgot.”

  “Better not have. You promised to make sure it didn’t rain.”

  “I’ll dust off my weather wizard hat as soon as I get home,” Reid promised, laughing. He hugged Michael. “You know one reason I like you? You’re fun.”

  “Me? You’re the comic. I’m just the foil.”

  “Uh-uh. Not even. We make a good pair, you and I. And if we don’t eat and get moving, Carolyn’s going to have your ass.”

  “No kidding.”

  * * * *

  “Oh, hell.” Michael looked at the TV trucks parked on the street in front of the shop and cringed. “Keep going and drop me at the alley.”

  “That won’t solve the problem,” Reid replied.

  “Sure it will. They can’t come inside to interrogate me without my permission.”

  “Unfortunately, they can. It’s a business, not a private residence.”

  Michael’s shoulders slumped. “Okay. Let me out here. I’ll tell them I’m under a gag o
rder from the police. They can like it or not.”

  Reid chuckled as he pulled to the curb. “They won’t, but there’s not much they can do about it. Give me a kiss and I’ll see you tonight.”

  Michael did, got out of the car, and, squaring his shoulders, he crossed the street.

  “Mr. Wright,” a reporter called out, shoving a microphone at Michael. “Do you think you’ll be able to give the police more information about the killer while under hypnotism?”

  “No. I’m doing it to entertain them,” Michael replied sarcastically. “If I didn’t think it would help, I wouldn’t do it.”

  “According to the police, you saw the killer at your building around the time of the first murder. Aren’t you afraid he might come after you to keep you quiet?” another reporter asked.

  “He’d be stupid to try,” Michael spat out as he reached to front door and unlocked it. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a business to run.” He waited when he saw Carolyn a couple of feet away, smiling to himself when she deftly avoided being questioned by reporters.

  As soon as they were inside, she shook her head. “I heard what you said. Are you throwing down the gauntlet?”

  “I didn’t plan on it, but the reporter…Damn, how dumb does he think I am? Of course I’m afraid,” he replied angrily, before apologizing for yelling at her.

  “It’s okay. Come on, let’s go in back so you can calm down.”

  When they got there and he saw a man standing by the coffee machine, Michael froze, ready to run…or fight. Then he realized it was Office Barnet.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Barnet said. “I got here an hour ago and let myself in by the back door.” He took a key from his pocket. “I got a copy made of yours before I gave it to our men so they could set up the cameras. This way no one will know I’m here other than the two of you.”

  “Thanks for letting me know ahead of time,” Michael replied tightly, going to get a cup of coffee since Barnet had already brewed it. He took a swig as he started to leave the room.

  “Leave that here,” Barnet ordered.

  “No. I won’t drink any more of it, but if our man shows up he’s going to wonder why I don’t have the cup on my desk, the way I always do.” Without waiting for a reply he went through the showroom to the waiting room. Setting the cup down, he booted up his computer, checked for email as well as phone messages, and answered them. With that finished, he unlocked the front door and turned the sign to ‘Open’.

  He was surprised, and relieved, to see the TV trucks and reporters had left. Going back to his desk, he began adding to the list of what he needed to order for Halloween.

  As the morning progressed, he took care of a few people who came in, mostly wanting to see what type of costumes the shop had. In between them, he began placing Halloween orders. At no point did he have the feeling he was being watched and none of the customers made him uneasy, although he did make it a point not to leave them alone in the waiting room.

  Which was stupid of me. If one of them was our man, or if someone comes in this afternoon who is, they won’t be able to spike my coffee if I’m hovering over them.

  A couple of times he went into the back room, ostensibly to refresh his coffee but mainly to take a breather from the stress of wondering if the next person through the door might be the killer. The first time he did, he found Carolyn and Barnet in the midst of a conversation about their respective jobs. The second time, she was explaining to Barnet what went into making the costume she was working on. From the looks on both their faces they seemed to be enjoying each other’s company, which made Michael smile as he wondered if Barnet might ask her out once the killer had been caught.

  Carolyn left for lunch, coming back with a sandwiches and sodas for Michael and Barnet. When she handed the soda to Michael she said, grinning, “It’s safe. It’s unopened and I chose it at random from the cooler.”

  He chuckled, popped the cap, and took a long drink. “I don’t think I’ve had anything that tasted this good in forever.”

  She snorted. “It’s just a soda.”

  “Yeah, but…”

  Smiling, she patted his arm. “I got what you meant. Keep it with you and you can finish it without being afraid.”

  Michael didn’t go that far, but he had drunk more than half of it before anyone came into the shop to look at costumes. At that point, he set it aside on the corner of his desk and didn’t touch it again.

  I know I’m being paranoid. If anyone comes in while I’m in back and tries to mess with it, or my coffee, Barnet will hear the bell and check the monitor, hoping it’s our killer and that he will drop something into the bottle, or my cup. Then, we’ll have him.

  That hadn’t happened by the time Reid arrived to pick him up. Carolyn left via the front door while Barnet waited in the back room, telling Michael that he’d stick around for fifteen minutes after Michael and Reid left. “Then I’ll go out by the back door. For your information and peace of mind, Michael, no one has been in your apartment since the two of you left this morning.”

  “What about in the hallway, or next door?” Reid asked.

  “The manager showed a man what used to be Ms. Lee’s apartment. They left together and neither one returned.”

  “What are the chances the man was the killer, checking out access to Michael’s place?” Reid asked.

  “There’s no way of knowing,” Barnet admitted. “We do have his face on file, now, and the officers staking out the front and back of your building, Michael, will keep an eye open for him.”

  “I didn’t know you were doing that,” Michael said.

  “After Reid’s story in the paper, you should…okay, you’d better be in the killer’s sights. The chances are, despite the precautions we’ve taken with my being here, he’s more likely to strike at your place where the only witness would be Reid.”

  “Who would be a dead witness, if he did,” Michael replied.

  “Not if we can help it,” Barnet said, at the same time Reid said, “Not if I can help it,” eliciting brief chuckles from both men.

  At that point, Barnet suggested Michael and Reid leave, “It’s already past the time you normally do, Michael.”

  They did, but not before Reid reminded him he was supposed to reset the security code, which he could do via the box by the back door so that Barnet would know what it was.

  Reid had parked in front of the shop, making it easier on Michael’s nerves as he locked up and walked to the car.

  “I almost wish the guy had tried something today,” he said once they were on their way back to the condo.

  “If the killer’s smart, and he has gotten away with two murders so far so we know he is, I agree with Barnet. He’s going to try for you at your place. Not to scare you, but if he does, I doubt he’s going to go the ‘spike your drink and strangle you’ route.”

  “He’ll come in shooting, like something out of an action movie.”

  “Or try shooting from one of the rooftops across the street, which means you don’t go near any of the windows. If it’s Fine or one of his people they’ll know what they’re doing. If it’s a john Ms. Lee and Trask were blackmailing…” Reid shrugged. “He’ll probably still go for the direct route, not from a roof.”

  “So I can’t watch the sunset from my balcony,” Michael said wryly.

  “Probably not your best idea at the moment,” Reid agreed.

  When they got to the parking garage in Michael’s building, Reid pulled into Michael’s spot since it was empty and, as he pointed out, closer to the elevator. He told Michael to wait in the car until he’d made certain no one was lurking on the emergency stairs or in the elevator. Then he beckoned for Michael to join him.

  Getting off the elevator on Michael’s floor, Reid did as he had the previous evening and checked the hallway before they went down to the condo.

  “We don’t have to search all the rooms,” Michael said when they got inside and it looked as if Reid was going to.
“Not with the police monitoring the cameras.”

  Reid smiled wryly. “You’re right, so let’s try to relax, starting with eating dinner.”

  Michael took out the chicken breasts he’d remembered to move from the freezer to the fridge that morning. “We can fry these, or get fancier and make curried or stir-fried chicken.”

  “Curried,” Reid instantly replied. “If it’s hot.”

  “Of course. Cold curry is yuck,” Michael replied, straight-faced.

  He ducked when Reid took a swipe at him while saying, “I mean spicy.”

  “I know that and it will be.”

  He was right, as Reid found out when he sampled it while it was cooking. “I hope you have some…Okay, never mind, you don’t drink.”

  “Milk works better anyway,” Michael told him. They both agreed it did, liberally drinking it between bites while they ate.

  After dinner, they settled on the sofa to watch one of the movies Michael owned. Part way through, Michael decided they were sitting too far apart and remedied that problem by sliding over to lean against Reid’s shoulder. Reid slipped his arm around him, and when Michael turned his head, smiling, Reid kissed him.

  It wasn’t like the ones they’d shared before. It was a full-out, mind-blowing kiss that rocked Michael to his core when he opened to Reid. He returned it as given, with heartfelt passion. They parted, breathing hard, then kissed again, ramping up their need for each other.

  “We were going to…” Michael managed to say several moments later.

  “We should…” Reid replied even as he began unbuttoning Michael’s shirt.

  “Guess we’re not.” Michael tore open Reid’s shirt, vaguely aware when a couple of buttons went flying. Then they were kissing again, hot, naked chests pressed together, hands tangled in each other’s hair.

  It took a second for a loud noise on the balcony to register. Reid instantly pushed Michael down, rolling them both onto the floor in front of the sofa.

  “It came from the balcony,” Reid whispered.

  “How could anyone…?”

  Before Reid could answer an explosion shattered the glass in the balcony door, followed by smoke and flames. They were on their feet seconds later, dashing to the hallway.