Dead Ringer

by Pandora Pine

  “Beats me how Carson gets any sleep at all.” He’d had enough of this beating around the bush bullshit. He walked to Tennyson and pulled his husband into his arms.

  “I missed you,” Ten whispered into his ear. “Even if you are stubborn.”

  “Yeah, well we’re equally matched then, because you’re stubborn too, but I understand now where you were coming from.” Ronan pulled back, taking Ten’s face in his hands. “I love you. I’m sorry I was an inconsiderate asshole.”

  “That’s not a half bad apology.” Ten shot his husband a shy smile. “I’m sorry too, for flying off the handle like I did even though you were safe. I just remember what it was like seeing you in that hospital bed, not knowing if you were going to survive. I’m not in any hurry to be back in a situation like that again.”

  “I know, babe. To be honest. It never crossed my mind that the letter from Tom Hutchins could be anything but genuine.”

  “It never crossed my mind that the letter could be anything but a ruse.” Ten shrugged. “This case is like a role reversal. Usually I’m the Pollyanna of the group, thinking everything is rainbows and unicorns. You’re usually the skeptical son-of-a-bitch.” Ten rested his head against Ronan’s heart as if he needed to hear it beating for himself.

  Ronan wrapped his arms around his husband and held him close. He’d missed this last night. “You’re right. I can’t argue with a single thing you just said. The only excuse I have is that I read Tom’s letter. It was genuine. We talk all the time about your gift versus my years of gut instinct. I went with my gut.”

  Ten pulled back from Ronan. “Did you explain all of this to Kevin?” He sat down at the table and took a sip from his tea.

  “Yeah. I told him all about our fight and then after we had dinner, we sat down and went through the whole case file.”

  Ten held up his hand. “I don’t want to hear any of it.”

  Ronan’s brows knitted together. “Wait, I thought we were making progress here.”

  “We are. If I’m going to come into this Hutchins thing, I don’t want to be influenced by what you or Fitzgibbon think.”

  “Are you saying you want to read the letter and the file?”

  Ten nodded. “I don’t have any readings scheduled until this afternoon, so I was planning on grabbing a couple hours sleep in my own bed. Maybe we could call out for pizza tonight and I could read the file after dinner?”

  Ronan liked the sound of that. He only wished he could go back to bed too. “Yeah, that works. I’m gonna run up and grab a shower before I have to head in to the office for the day.”

  “Are you really going to work or off on another wild convict chase?” Ten grinned up at his husband.

  “I’m going to work. I swear.” Ronan held up his pinkie finger. “Cap has some new files he’s assigning to us. He’s going to meet with us about them on Monday when you’re back in the office.”

  Tennyson perched on his tiptoes to press a kiss to Ronan’s lips. “Can’t wait.”

  Neither could Ronan.

  10

  Tennyson

  Tennyson was pleasantly surprised to see Ronan was home when he got back from the Magick Shop a little after 5pm. Not only was Ronan home, but the house was spotless and so was Dixie.

  “Shit, Fitzgibbon didn’t fire your ass, did he?” Ten asked as he scooped his fresh smelling baby into his arms. Dixie responded by bathing his face in her love.

  “No, of course not. I hightailed it out of the city around 3pm after I spent the day working on the new cases the captain assigned to us. I also spent some time putting together bullet points for each one of them so you’d be able to catch up quickly and we could hit the ground running.”

  “Sounds good.” Ten wrapped his arms around Ronan. “Why are you really home early?”

  Ronan laughed. “Because my ass is dragging. I slept for like ninety minutes last night and O’Dwyer taped me snoring at my desk. He told me if I didn’t get my ass home, he’d put the video on Facebook. So, I packed up and came home. I’ve got my laptop so I can work from the sofa while you read the Hutchins stuff later.”

  “You mean you’ll turn the computer on, open documents and fall asleep in front of an episode of Ozark?”

  “Or Fuller House.” Ronan shrugged. “How many eighteen-hour shifts have we put in when we’ve been on a case? Plenty! It’s not a big deal for me to miss a few hours here or there because I was a big, fat jerk.” He pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “Hawaiian pizza from Greek Life?”

  Ten shook his head. Pineapple wasn’t floating his boat tonight. “Why don’t we get the Mediterranean pie with the feta and plum tomatoes?”

  “Sold!” Ronan punched the contact on his phone and placed their order. In addition to the pizza, he also ordered a Greek salad.

  Tennyson loved ordering out from Greek Life. It was a small, family-owned place over by the Salem State campus. They did a lot of business over at the college and it was because they had the best pizza in town.

  “While we’re waiting for the food, why don’t you show me the letter from Tom Hutchins.”

  Ronan shot Ten a questioning glance then ran out of the kitchen. When he came back a minute later, he was carrying the two accordion files he had last night. He set them down on the kitchen counter and pulled out a single sheet of paper, which he handed to Tennyson.

  Shutting his eyes, Ten set his right hand down on the piece of paper. He could feel desperation and sadness emanating from it. He wasn’t surprised. If he were facing life in prison, he’d feel those emotions in spades.

  What was of bigger importance to him was what he didn’t feel when he touched the letter. There was no malice. No anger. No obvious signs of deceit. If Ronan had given him this letter the night before he’d taken his little field trip to Cedar Junction, he would have felt better about his husband making the visit.

  “Well?” Ronan sounded impatient.

  “I don’t feel any deceit or ill will in this letter.” Ten opened his eyes. “He’s not trying to snow you or trick you into coming down to meet him.”

  “So, if I’d shown you the letter, you would have been okay with me going down to see Tank and his dream team?”

  Ten raised an eyebrow. “I would have felt better if you were wearing a Kevlar suit and had Fitzgibbon and the nastiest Belgian Malinois on the police force with you, but yes, I would have been okay with you going down there to see him.”

  Ronan let out a sigh of relief.

  “You realize how many pitfalls there are with this case, right?” Ten shook his head. “Twins are never an easy thing to deal with. They have the same DNA, but not the same fingerprints. Not to mention the family dynamics.”

  “I mentioned the twin issues to Tank. He’d already considered the DNA issue. It was a bit harder explaining what Lorraine saw, or more specifically what she would tell you she saw the night she was killed. If Lorraine McAlpin saw her killer, she’s going to say it was Tank, even if it was Tim. I’ve seen a ton of pictures of the brothers together and they’re impossible to tell apart.”

  “That’s what the defense attorney is going to count on. I’m surprised he got convicted at all. Usually the explanation about twin DNA is enough reasonable doubt for any jury to acquit.” What was that old saying about putting your fate in the hands of twelve people too stupid to get out of jury duty?

  “Well, I won’t spoil anything for you then. You can decide how you want to look at everything I brought home.” Ronan was about to open his mouth again when the doorbell rang. He dug his wallet out of his back pocket. “What do you mean ‘family dynamics?’”

  “If Tank didn’t kill Lorraine then that means Tim did. Tank’s own brother sat by and watched his twin get arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to twenty-five to life. Talk about tearing a family apart. How do you ever forgive your brother for doing that to you?” This was one of those moments Tennyson was thrilled to pieces he was an only child.

  11

  Ronan


  Ronan had to admit the pizza choice was excellent. What wasn’t so excellent was the wait for Ten to read through all of the Hutchins documents.

  Fitzgibbon had sped through everything last night. Ronan supposed that after nearly thirty years on the force you knew how to read evidence reports and trial transcripts quickly and in a way that you were able to cherry pick the relevant data. Knowing Tennyson, he was reading every damned word.

  He was sitting on the living room couch, with Dixie curled up next to him, watching an old episode of Law and Order, of all things. Whatever network he’d landed on was showing a marathon of episodes. In the time he’d been watching, Detective Stabler had beaten up three suspects, chased another one down an alley, and had taken his shirt off twice. Ronan was beginning to see why Ten liked this show so much.

  “Okay, I’m finished,” Ten said from the kitchen doorway. “I’m exhausted. Can we go to bed now?”

  Ronan laughed and patted the space next to him on the couch. “You read it all?”

  Ten nodded. He curled up next to Ronan and reached out to scratch Dixie behind her ears. The dog scrambled into his lap. “I could have never been a lawyer. What a boring-ass job.”

  “Did you get anything from the trial transcript with your gift?”

  “You mean aside from the fact that the judge is having an affair with the stenographer? No. Nothing that will help us figure out who killed Lorraine McAlpin.”

  “Do you think it’s worth a trip to Walpole for you to meet Tank?”

  Tennyson didn’t move. He barely breathed. “I’ve never been to a prison before.”

  “Neither had I before yesterday.” Ronan didn’t want to keep harping on the fact that he’d been to the prison yesterday.

  “Is it like Oz? With men getting raped and stabbed all over the place?” Ten shivered.

  “I saw very little of the place. Just the main office, a hallway, and the visitor’s room where I met with Tank, his lawyer and the P.I.” Ronan hugged Ten closer. “Since when do you watch Oz?”

  “When I was single and home alone on Friday nights. Detective Stabler was in it before he was on Law and Order.”

  Well, that explained it…

  “Speaking of Stabler, it looks like you’ve become quite the fan.” Ten pointed at the television.

  “No way. That was Dixie. It was her turn with the remote. This is what she picked. Right Dix?”

  Dixie’s head popped up from Tennyson’s lap. Her mouth dropped open and she yawned at Ronan. An obvious affirmative answer.

  Ten raised an eyebrow. “Oh sure. Law and Order has a huge canine fanbase. What does Fitzgibbon say about this case?”

  Ronan shook his head over Ten switching gears so quickly. “He said technically it isn’t even a case. Tank has been convicted and sentenced. He says the ball is in your court. If you want to look into it, he says we have his permission so long as it doesn’t interfere with our regular work. Anything we find though, he wants us to bring to him, not to the lawyer.”

  “I get that you want to help but tell me you understand just how difficult this case is.”

  “I do,” Ronan affirmed.

  “If Lorraine McAlpin didn’t know either of the brothers, she won’t know which one of them killed her. The DNA evidence doesn’t differentiate between them. All we’ll really have to go on is my reading of them which is inadmissible in court. It sure as hell isn’t enough to get the original verdict overturned.”

  “What if someone other than the Hutchins brothers killed her?” Ronan asked. “If that were the case Lorraine would be able to tell you neither of the brothers killed her.”

  “Then how do we explain the DNA?” Tennyson asked.

  “Cross contamination,” Ronan answered quickly. “You hear about that kind of lab mix up all the time in the news.”

  “Christ, don’t tell that to Lyric Vaughn. She’d have a conniption fit if she thought her lab made that kind of mistake. After the lab passed the state exam with flying colors, rumor has it she’s in line for a big promotion.”

  “There are other ways DNA gets to crime scenes, Ten. Maybe Tank or Tim knew this woman. Maybe one of them was having an affair with her on the down low. I know there was no evidence of either of them in her house, but maybe they met at hotels?”

  Tennyson sighed. “Or maybe the evidence is right. Maybe the Boston Police Department and the Suffolk County DA’s office got it right. Maybe Tank Hutchins killed Lorraine McAlpin.”

  Ronan had to admit Tennyson had a very valid point. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

  Ten rested his head back on Ronan’s shoulder. “Call his lawyer in the morning, Ronan. I’ll agree to meet with Tank and read him. Just promise me we’ll both be safe.”

  More than anything Ronan wanted to make that promise, but he knew it was one he might possibly have to break. Things went wrong in maximum-security prisons all the time. Riots broke out. Prisons went into lockdown. Weapons were smuggled in or fashioned out of bed frames or toothbrushes. The only thing they could do to stay safe was to stay alert. Ronan hugged Tennyson tighter and kept his mouth shut.

  12

  Tennyson

  If Tennyson had to pick his least favorite month in New England it would have to be November. Even though he’d gotten married on November 1st, the rest of the month sucked with it’s cold, harsh rains. He would almost rather have December’s snow instead of November’s raw, bitter days.

  He and Ronan were driving down I-95 South toward MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole. He was staring out the window at the trees. Gone were the vibrant red and yellow foliage colors of October. What was left now on the trees that still had their leaves, was a rusty brown color. If he were being whimsical, he’d call it russet. All of New England was drab now and would be until the first snows of December changed the landscape from fall into winter.

  “Penny for your thoughts, Nostradamus.” Ronan set a hand on Tennyson’s thigh.

  “Just thinking about how crappy the weather is in November. What about you? You’ve been awfully quiet on this ride.”

  “I was thinking about what you said the other night about our little miss.” Guilt tinged Ronan’s words.

  “Ronan, I didn’t mean to scare or upset you about her.” The last thing Ten wanted was for Ronan to walk around acting like a China doll because he was afraid that Ten would end up raising their daughter as a single father.

  Ronan shook his head. A smile blossomed across his face. “I mean I agree with you that I need to think a bit more carefully about my actions and how they will affect the future of our family, not to mention my career. I got damn lucky that Fitzgibbon didn’t suspend my ass.”

  “Yeah, you did.” Ten couldn’t disagree with him there. Investigating something that wasn’t a cold case on the clock was definitely cause for a suspension. “So, if you’re not thinking about how you need to change your behavior to be a better future-father, what were you thinking about.”

  “That!” Ronan crowed. “That right there. You used the word future. You always use the word future. Future-daughter. Future-father. I’m sick of hearing that word, Ten.”

  Ten shifted toward his husband. “What are you saying, Ronan.” He had a feeling he knew what Ronan was driving toward, but he didn’t want to read him. He wanted to hear Ronan say the words.

  “Why can’t the future be now? I want the future to be now.” Ronan took his eyes off the road for a second to look at his husband.

  Wow... Ten hadn’t been expecting Ronan to say it like that. He could see how serious Ronan was. “You want to have a baby now? We’ve only been married for eleven days.”

  “I couldn’t sleep when I was spending the night in purgatory at Kevin’s house, so I did some research. From the time a couple with no fertility issues starts looking into in-vitro fertilization via surrogacy until the day their baby is born takes on average about eighteen months. That’s the average. So, it could be two years from now until we’re holding our little miss in our arms. I wan
t her in our lives now.”

  “I had no idea you wanted to start a family this soon.” Tennyson had been gung-ho about the idea from the moment he’d realized Ronan was the man he was going to marry. He figured that after Ronan’s rocky first marriage, he wanted things to go a bit slower. He guessed he should have asked the question instead of assuming.

  “So many different things have gone into me making this decision.” Ronan flipped on his blinker and changed lanes.

  “Like what?” Ten couldn’t wait to hear Ronan’s thought process.

  “You know how much I love spending time with Truman’s babies. Even when all three of them are blowing chunks out of both ends at the same time, I love being with them. The first time they recognized who I was and reached for me, did something to my heart. I’ve also seen how much closer those little people have brought Truman and Carson.”

  Ten couldn’t argue with any of the points Ronan had made. He’d seen all of those things for himself, not to mention the changes those babies had made in Ronan. “What else?”

  “Fitzgibbon and Greeley. I know Kevin didn’t raise Greeley but seeing their father-son relationship from an adult level rather than from a child level is fascinating. I can’t wait until we can sit down and have conversations with our daughter.” Ronan shook his head as if the thought of that was too overwhelming for him to fathom.

  It had been an education for Tennyson watching Fitzgibbon and Greeley’s relationship as well. Kevin had met the boy at the age when his own relationship with his parents had ended. He understood where Ronan’s emotion was coming from. “Is there more?”

  Ronan nodded. “The final straw for me was our trip to Kansas. Seeing the way your mother treated you was the deciding factor.”

  “That makes no sense, Ronan. My childhood was so screwed up. I had to deny who I was on two levels for my entire life. When I had finally built up enough self-confidence to confess my secrets, both of my parents hated me for it. You want to have a baby with a man who has almost no good parenting experience to fall back on.”