Crashing Waves

by C J Baty

  “Do you really think if you find more of them, it will give you the answers you’ve been looking for?” Robert leaned forward, looking intently at Marcus.

  “From everything we discovered from the ones we already have, yeah. I think there are a couple missing that may contain exactly what we are looking for. Answers. Answers to questions that someone is desperately trying to find or hide.”

  Marcus finished his sandwich and beer.

  Robert didn’t say anything else. He just stared out in space, like his mind had drifted off somewhere. His face held the expression of someone who was lost. Finally, he spoke very quietly. “Sometimes, the past just needs to stay in the past.”

  Anna returned and asked Marcus if he wanted another beer before he could ask Robert to explain what he meant.

  “Do you get the feeling Lee is somehow involved in all of this?” Robert’s face had returned to a stony business like glare.

  “My gut says yes . . . but proving it . . . may be very hard to do.”

  Marcus pulled his wallet out as he stood. He placed a twenty on the table. It was enough to cover the bill and leave Anna a nice tip. A voice shouted from the direction of the entrance to the bar. Both men turned to look.

  Justin stood at the opening. His face frantically searching the room until he spotted Marcus.

  “There’s been an accident. Let’s go!”

  ––––––––

  JUSTIN FILLED him in on the phone call he’d received from Richard Brooks as they drove out of Beaufort on an old gravel road Marcus had never traveled on before. Richard and Daisy had gone to see Celia like they’d said, and when they arrived they’d found her dead, lying in a pool of her own blood at Marta’s old place.

  An ambulance was pulling away as Justin brought the car to a stop in the front yard of the rundown building.

  “She lived here?” Marcus shook his head as he got out of the car and got a closer look.

  “I guess so,” Justin answered, shrugging his shoulders.

  Richard and Daisy were huddled together at the side of the house, Daisy sobbing into Richard’s shoulder. And standing in the middle of the yard, Moses Lee towered over everyone, including the coroner that Marcus had met several times last summer.

  “It was an accident, Chief Lee. Her foot went through that rotted board there,” the coroner pointed at where Celia’s shoe was still sticking up from a broken board. “She fell backward onto the porch. The whole porch is rotten.

  It couldn’t support even her tiny frame, and she fell through the boards. The wound on the back of her head most likely rendered her unconscious. The sliver of wood we found in her neck severed her aortic artery, and she bled out. It was quick.”

  As Marcus followed the coroner’s finger, pointing out the specifics of the incident, he took in the blood pooled on the porch, and his heart ached for Daisy.

  Moses Lee, however, stood stoic, his face showing no emotion. Marcus was shocked at his coldness. The dead woman was his mother and yet he didn’t argue, didn’t question, didn’t seem to care. It just wasn’t . . . human.

  When his own mother had died, even though he knew it was the cancer that had stolen her life, he had raged. He’d torn the hospital room apart. The

  doctors and nurses who had taken such great care of his mom had taken his angry words and actions, giving back compassion. He’d known for weeks that her death was imminent, but he still felt the shock of her loss. Truth was a day didn’t go by that something didn’t trigger a memory of her.

  “Chief Lee! Look what we found inside,” one of the deputies called out as he cautiously stepped around the bloody, broken steps. “Seems like someone else has been living here besides Miss Celia.”

  The young officer handed Lee a pile of clothes and a tattered old backpack.

  Lee ripped at the threadbare carrier, tearing it into two pieces. A worn leather wallet fell to the ground. Lee bent over picked it up and smiled when he opened it up to look at its contents.

  “Guess we know where the kid has been hiding out now.” He showed the crowd of onlookers Alexander Thompson’s driving permit.

  “Maybe her death wasn’t an accident after all.” Lee mumbled under his breath.

  Suddenly Daisy pushed away from Richard and stormed across the yard toward Moses.

  “He’s a child, Moses! Why the hell would he hurt her?”

  “I didn’t say he did,” Moses calmly replied. “I just believe it’s more important than ever that Joe Thompson and the kid be found. There’s a lot of questions that need to be answered.”

  Shock filled Daisy’s eyes, and she stood motionless as Moses walked away from her. Richard quickly came to Daisy’s side, catching her before she collapsed to the ground. Her sobs returned as soon as she was in the safety of his arms.

  “Marcus, I don’t believe Alexander had anything to do with this,” Justin whispered to him as Moses crossed the yard and got into his squad car.

  They’d been standing out of the way, watching the circus going on in the yard, and Marcus wasn’t sure Moses had even noticed them.

  Moses snapped out some orders to his deputies from the open window on the driver’s side of the car over the rumble of the engine. He gave the crowd one last long look. There was no smile on his face, but he didn’t look like he was grieving. There was no emotion on his stone cold face at all. Marcus shivered as the car rolled away. He wondered if Moses Lee was capable of feeling anything.

  17

  ––––––––

  IT HAD BEEN a long day. Justin couldn’t remember a longer one, except for the day after Caroline was shot. Winnie’s dinner had been perfect, as usual.

  He just didn’t have any appetite and he noticed Marcus hadn’t touched much of his food either. All he’d really had on his mind since they had

  returned from Marta’s place was getting Marcus into bed. The feeling had nothing at all to do with sex. He needed to hold Marcus and be held. A living breathing emotion-filled connection to another human being so he’d know he was still alive himself.

  Watching Moses today had left Justin with a gnawing feeling in his gut. He never realized anyone could walk around and yet be so dead. Moses Lee was either completely devoid of all human emotion or he was some kind of robot.

  The total lack of feelings at his own mother’s death shocked Justin to the core. He and Moses were never friends, but he didn’t realize exactly how cold Lee really was until now. How could someone look at a scene like that and not feel anything?

  Justin closed his eyes and rested his head against the headboard of his bed.

  He’d showered first and was waiting for Marcus to finish his. The water finally shut off, and the door opened a few minutes later.

  Marcus was naked. He rubbed a towel through his dark curls roughly, causing his cock to bob up and down with the movement. Justin didn’t think he would ever get tired of looking at the man. He made his mouth water. His gaze shifted, and he caught a glimpse of the ink on Marcus’s body.

  It wasn’t the first time he’d seen it but he suddenly had the urge to explore it further. What did it mean to Marcus? Why ocean waves and flying gulls?

  “You keep looking at me like that and we aren’t going to get much sleep tonight,” Marcus growled as he dropped the towel on the floor. Justin had been caught staring, and he knew it. Frankly, he didn’t care.

  Marcus stalked across the floor. His eyes never looked away from Justin’s as he climbed onto the bed. He tossed pillows toward the foot of the bed and stretched out. It didn’t miss Justin’s attention that they were aligned perfectly for him to get a closer look at the ink he’d been caught staring at.

  “Something on your mind?” Marcus asked, a sweet smile curling at the corners of his lips.

  Justin slowly ran his fingertips up Marcus’s leg. He liked the feeling of the stiff, dark hairs bending as he traveled along. Changing positions on the bed, he lay on his stomach so he was closer to the skin he ached to touch and kiss. He l
eft a soft peck on Marcus’s knee and trailed his lips up the muscled thigh. The muscles went rigid under his kisses. A soft moan from Marcus had Justin smiling to himself.

  When he finally reached the dip between Marcus’s upper thigh and hip, he traced the intersection with a light touch then licked the dip that formed there with his tongue. The cock that moments before had lain heavily against Marcus’s hip grew stiff. It bumped against Justin’s cheek making him chuckle.

  “Have some patience,” Justin said.

  “It’s a little hard . . .” Marcus’s voice sounded rough and dry.

  “Ha, ha very funny.” Adjusting his position again, Justin could reach the tattoo, and he kissed one of the unique creamy-white gulls on Marcus’s body.

  “I’m admiring the artwork. Is there a special meaning behind the design?”

  Justin felt Marcus’s body tense. Had he said something to upset his lover?

  He rubbed his hand soothingly over Marcus’s thigh and looked up to find his eyes.

  “It’s okay, Marcus. We don’t have to talk about it.” Justin reached for Marcus’s cock and stroked. He wanted to coax it back to its previous hardness.

  “It’s not that. I’m just embarrassed about it.”

  “Why? I think it’s beautiful, but you know I love the ocean and anything to do with it. I just wondered what it meant to you.”

  Marcus moved in the bed until he was face to face with Justin. After propping his head up with the pillows, he looked at Justin.

  “I got it the summer after I first met you. Young and foolish, I was crushing on an older, married man. I wanted to remember everything about you, and I knew how much you loved the ocean and the beach so . . .”

  Justin let Marcus’s words soak in.

  “And the two gulls?”

  “You and me. I was supposed to go back and get our names and the words forever flying added to the tattoo. But the damned thing hurt so fucking bad the first time, I didn’t think I could stand to do it again.”

  Justin couldn’t help it. He laughed. Not some simple little chuckle, a full-out belly laugh. He laughed so hard tears filled his eyes. He grabbed Marcus and pulled him on top of himself and kissed him. Kissed him so hard it felt like he was devouring him. Drowning in the joy he felt at the moment, in just being alive and having this man in his arms. Finally Justin pulled away, just enough to look into Marcus’s eyes.

  “I’m sorry it was a painful experience, but I’m glad you got it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.” Justin thought about the person he was when Marcus had first met him. He wouldn’t have been good for Marcus back then. He wasn’t even good for himself. Justin wanted to be good for Marcus now.

  “What’s wrong?” Marcus rubbed the crease between Justin’s eyebrows. He must have been frowning for the other man to notice.

  “Thinking.” Justin wasn’t sure if he could explain his insecurities or not. “I wouldn’t have been the right man for you back then . . . I’m not even sure I am now.”

  Marcus started to speak, but Justin placed a finger over his lips stopping him.

  “Let me finish.”

  Nodding, Marcus kissed Justin’s fingertip lightly and focused on Justin’s face.

  “I want to be the right man, Marcus. One who deserves a man like you. But I’m afraid you still see the man you created in your mind.” Justin realized it felt good to get this out in the open, but waiting for Marcus to speak was like having a fist tightening around his heart and squeezing. The longer Marcus was quiet, the tighter the fist squeezed. He dropped his head and closed his eyes breathing a deep sigh.

  He felt Marcus rub his thumb across his cheek. He gently pulled Justin’s face up. When he opened his eyes, he saw a soft sweet smile on Marcus’s lips. The fist around his heart loosened.

  “You’re not perfect. You are a little slow on the uptake and you try too hard to fix everyone else’s problems. You’re loyal almost to the point of being blind. Extremely good looking and stubborn as a mule. I see you just as you are, Justin Warfield.”

  Justin frowned. Marcus was too serious and talked with a quiet steadiness in his voice, then Marcus chuckled and Justin froze.

  “You are also generous, kind, and caring. However, you are right about one thing. Five years ago you would have broken my heart, even if we had gotten together last summer, it would have probably turned out bad. I wasn’t ready for the relationship I had created in my mind. It wasn’t real.

  This is real.” He leaned forward and kissed Justin softly on the lips before he continued. “We are being honest with each other. Building a bridge where we can meet in the middle and be us. As long as we do that, I think we can work through the rest. If that’s what you want.”

  Was it what he wanted? He was pretty sure it was but time would tell, and for the first time in his life, it felt like he had time.

  The sex was unhurried. Each stroke of a hand or taste by a tongue filled Justin with more than he had imagined possible. And when it was done and the peak had been reached and their mutual needs had been sated, it was still more. It spilled over into Justin’s sleep as he cradled Marcus in his arms.

  The shrill sound of his phone ringing woke Justin from his contented peace.

  It was never good when the phone rang in the wee hours of the morning.

  Never. This time was no different.

  ––––––––

  JUSTIN’S EYES began to sting from the tears he was trying not to shed, the closer he and Marcus got to the scene. That’s what it looked like, a scene from some awful tragic movie. Beaufort was a small community and there hadn’t been enough emergency equipment or service people for what had happened. Justin could see the names of neighboring cities on the fire trucks, police cruisers, and ambulances surrounding the Warfield.

  The sounds were deafening, even through the closed windows of the car.

  Sirens, people yelling, an occasional scream, and water . . . pounding, rushing water as it streamed out of hoses aimed at the south side of the hotel.

  This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t, those were the words that kept repeating over and over in Justin’s mind. But the evidence was right before his eyes. He felt himself slipping away from the reality before him. Someone squeezed his hand tightly. Marcus. Marcus was there, and he was holding onto Justin with a strong grip.

  “I’ve got you,” he whispered into Justin’s ear. “You’re not alone.”

  The complete assurance of Marcus’s words lifted Justin. It gave him the inner strength he needed to keep moving forward. He could handle this. He would handle it. Justin squeezed Marcus’s hand to let him know he was listening.

  “Let’s find Peter and Robert.”

  “When Peter called, he said they were setting up a checkin station on the northwest side of the hotel away from where most of the firefighters were working,” Justin said as he pressed through the crowd gathered in the parking lot of the hotel.

  Safety lines had been set up to keep anyone from getting too close to the building while the fireman still worked to put out flames. Police officers guarded the line and made sure no one crossed over it. Justin and Marcus skirted the line of police and made their way around the hotel. What he saw when he rounded the corner, stopped him short.

  Five ambulances sat side by side in a row. Their back doors were flung open.

  Guests and staff from the hotel were being treated by EMT’s running between the people sitting in the vehicles, on the ground, and standing in huddled groups.

  Justin recognized faces as he walked among the crowd. He just didn’t have any words for what he was feeling. Marcus pointed to the last ambulance in the line. Peter, who was covered in black soot, sat on the edge of the vehicle wearing an oxygen mask. A very large EMT was taking his blood pressure as Peter’s eyes frantically scanned the mass of people around him. Justin knew the instant Peter spotted him in the crowd. He tried to remove the oxygen

  mask and get down. The EMT blocke
d his way saying something Justin couldn’t hear from this distance.

  At that moment, Robert walked up to join Justin and Marcus and led them through the crowd to where Peter was.

  “We’re still waiting for an official head count, but it looks like everyone is accounted for,” Robert said. “The morning crew had not come on shift yet, so the only staff were the night shift people.”

  “Injuries?” Justin asked as he looked over the crowd.

  “Nothing serious. Mostly smoke inhalation. The worst damage is centered on the south end of the structure.” Robert finished.

  Justin heard what Robert said but at the moment he could only focus on Peter. His brother looked up and tears started to well up in his eyes. He tried to speak but the oxygen mask muffled his words. When Peter reached for the mask to remove it that same large burly EMT smacked his hand away and not sounding too friendly told him to “Leave it!” Peter glared at the man.

  “It’s his own fault.” Robert chuckled while Peter’s glare shifted to him. “The idiot stayed inside too long. He wouldn’t leave until the smoke finally got to him.” Robert had his arms crossed over his chest but a wide smile gleamed on his face. His eyes were soft and caring. “He’s a hero.”

  Peter’s eyes grew large at hearing Robert’s words, then he raised his hand and . . . flipped Robert off.

  The simple encounter between Peter and Robert deflated the tension that had been building inside Justin. He huffed out a laugh.

  “Let’s go. We need to find Chief Peterson and start checking on people. Not you.” Robert pointed a finger at Peter as he attempted to jump down from the ambulance. “Tiny. Make sure he stays put.”

  The EMT smiled broadly and took up his post in front of Peter, answering,

  “My pleasure.”

  “I’ll stay with Peter. You go on with Robert. He’ll be fine.” Justin felt the warm pressure of Marcus’s hand on his. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”

  Peter became agitated and started shouting as Robert and Justin turned to leave. Justin turned around to see that his brother was very distraught about something. Then, even though he was still wearing the oxygen mask, one word he shouted rang out crystal clear.