“Whathappened?” Joshua asked. He sat down next to Colin and laid a hand on his arm. “You look… I don’t know… haggard, worn out…something. Are you alright?” He shook Colin’s arm. “Answer me! What do you mean, ‘it’s over’?”
“There was another guy involved. And they were both at fault,” Colin muttered. “In fact, they were both behaving like fucking jerks.”
“Did youcatchthe other guy?”
“Williams is his name. Clark Williams. He turned himself in. But witnesses had already come forward about the incident.” He shot Joshua a glance. “It was road rage bullshit of all goddamn things. They were trying to run each other off the road. Eventually, they pulled over to continue the argument. While they were going at it, René attacked Williams, who shoved him backward, trying to defend himself. When he did, René stumbled, fell, and hit his head on the curb. That’s what killed him.”
“Oh my god, Colin. Is Williams being charged?”
“Yeah. With leaving the scene and probably with involuntary manslaughter. But every single witness corroborated their story. It was an accident, pure and simple, and theybothprovoked the incident.” Colin sighed and shrugged, his face twisted into a frustrated grimace. “I’ll have to plead it out. Williams’ lawyer will request probation, and I’ll have to go along with it.”
“Honey, I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about,” Colin told him, stroking Joshua’s cheek.
“Did you tell his wife?”
“I did. She didn’t seem surprised by René’s part in the matter.” Joshua saw his face twist in pain. “She’s justsad, Josh,” he said finally, then peered at Joshua and lifted an eyebrow. “Thus ends my first murder case.”
“Are you upset that it turned out the way it did?”
“Upset? No! Not upset at all. It was the right outcome. It was just.” He rasped out a sigh. “If anything, I’m pissed because so many high-level resources were wasted on what turned out to be nothing but a couple of hotheads behaving likeassholeson a public highway.”
“Does the rest of the task force know?”
“They do. And they were pissed as hell for the same reasons that I was.”
Joshua got to his feet, his hand resting on Colin’s shoulder. “Can I soothe your frazzled nerves with a good dinner?”
Colin nodded. “I’d appreciate it.” He blew out another sigh and gave his head a taut snap. “Christ, I need a vacation!”
“How many cases are you handling?”
“Right now? About twenty-five felonies and maybe forty misdemeanors.”
Joshua frowned, then moved to the stove. “That seems excessive,” he commented as he filled their plates.
“You’ll get no argument out ofme.”
Carrying their dinners, Joshua walked past Colin and nudged his shoulder as he passed. “C’mon, if you’re hungry.”
“Is that meatloaf?”
“It is.”
“With that incredible mushroom gravy?”
Joshua glanced down at Colin’s plate as if scrutinizing what was on it, then turned back to face his husband. “It would seem so! Wow! Someone must really loveyou!”
“Man, Josh, you are just the best.”
“I’ll remind you of that the next time you’re ready to strangle me for some as-yet-unknown transgression.”
Colin slouched into his accustomed place at the dining room table. For a long time, he stared down at the gravy-covered meatloaf. “Please don’t talk like that,” he said, his voice soft and tinged with sadness.
Joshua, absorbed in pouring wine, looked up in surprise. “Honey, I—”
“Just don’tsaythings like that.”
