“You checked the perimeter?”
“Of course I did, but it was night, and they had a nine minute head start on me. I had a flashlight, but I didn’t find anything else. Everything seemed normal. I didn’t pass any cars on my way in either. The whole thing was weird, but there was definitely someone here, messing around where they shouldn’t be. There was no way I was leaving Elijah here alone.”
“Well, it looks like you made good use of your time, at least,” Chris said, as he turned away to look at our phones. He said it so nonchalantly that I almost missed it. He finally turned back to us. “I mean, the alibi’s good enough for me. I’m not sure it will be for everyone, though. You’re one person, Mason, and even though you’re a detective, you know they might say you’re covering for him. I’m glad you were here, because it’s better than nothing, but I’m still worried.” He looked at Elijah. “Come on, man, please, can you help me out? If you’ve seen or felt anything, you can tell me. I’ll look into it on my own. No one will know yousaid anything.”
I kind of wanted to tell Chris to lay off. He was too adamant that Elijah knew more than he was letting on, and it was starting to bother me. Elijah threw his hands in the air. “I told you it doesn’t work like that, Chris! I haven’t seen anything.”
Although,thatwasn’t the complete truth either. I was starting to piece things together myself, and I didn’t like it. “Besides your dreams,” I put in. They both turned to me. “That they’re after you,” I added, looking pointedly at Elijah. “It’sthem, that’s what you’re dreaming about. They’re trying to frame you. Then they take out the suspect, get away with murder. It’s their whole plan.” Elijah was glaring at me for opening my mouth, but having Chris watching out for him, a police officer in his own jurisdiction, was better than me alone.
Chris turned to Elijah. “What’s this now? What dreams?”
“They’re just dreams,” He mumbled. “They’re vague. I have no idea who or what is after me, just that I can’t escape it.”
I hated to side with Chris on this, but I wanted to help Elijah. To do that, I needed to know what we were facing. I said, “I’m trying to get him to go out to the cabin to see if he gets any feelings from there.”
Chris looked at Elijah, who’d shrunk in on himself a little bit. “I have clearance to be there,” he said. “I’ll go with you. No one will get into trouble. We’ll be quick. We can go after I go on duty this morning.”
“Um, excuse me,” Elijah cut in. “Don’t you think it would look a little suspicious if I missed work right after my second former lover was murdered?” He made a frustrated sound at his own words and flopped down on the couch. “What the hell is going on?” he cried. “Why is this happening?”
I couldn’t tell how he was feeling about the news that Brock had died. I wasn’t sure if he’d cared about the guy or not, but I did feel his sadness when he talked about Brandon, even though the guy had obviously been a total tool. “It could still be a coincidence,” I said, walking over to the couch and sitting beside him.
He looked over at me as though seeing me for the first time that morning. I wasn’t sure why he was looking at me like that until he said, “You need to leave.”
I was offended and more than a little hurt. I thought we were through all that. “What? Why?” If he kicked me out angrily, Chris was there to witness my walk of shame, making it doubly awful.
“We can’t do this, Mason. You’ll end up on whatever kind of sick, twisted list this is. You have to get away from me. I’m cursed in the most literal sense.”
I grabbed his arms, a little relieved that he wasn’t trying to kick me out just because he was still pissed at me. I wasn’t scared of those assholes. “Fuck that. It’s too late for that. I’m here and I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. Call out of work today. We need to figure this out, even if we look suspicious doing it.”
His eyes widened and he looked at me. “Mason, I don’t want to see him, and I’m afraid I will. I’ve been to that cabin plenty of times, and it doesn’t hold good memories. I don’t think I can.” His eyes were welling up, and I felt bad that I’d caused it. If I made him cry in front of Chris, he’d never forgive me.
“I’ll be right there with you,” I said softly. “But we need to see if you feel anything that will help us put a stop to this. We need something to give us the upper hand. Please. For me. I’m worried about you. I’ll hold your hand and won’t leave your side. Then I’ll dick you down when we get back, if that helps.”
Chris rolled his eyes. “Alright, then, I have to get to work. Elijah might actually have a point about missing his work, though. Maybe we should do it later. This evening, before I’m off duty, if you guys are both up to it. They’ll want to question you eventually, Elijah, but I’ll make sure I’m involved. Try not to worry. I’ll see you both soon.”
Then Chris was gone, and Elijah was suddenly ready to get rid of me. That was a shame, because it could have been a good morning if Chris hadn’t shown up to ruin everything. I was pretty sure Elijah was getting closer to forgiving me, and we mayhave gotten there this morning if not for the rude awakening. “I have to get ready for work,” he said curtly.
“You really don’t have to go,” I tried. “I’ll make sure they know you were home.” I paused, but looked him in the eye. “Why are you really so scared to go out to the cabin?”
“Look, Mason,” he sighed. “The night I ended up in the hospital started in the cabin. It doesn’t have many good memories for me, but itdoeshold memories. And let me tell you, of all the dead people I could see, Brandon is one of the least appealing.” He stood up. “I just want to go to work and try to feel normal for a little while. I’ll text you when I’m off, okay?”
I conceded, since he was still being amicable, and I let him get ready, but I didn’t leave. I wasn’t going to leave him alone. Not at all if I could help it. He came out in his scrubs, pausing only for a second when he realized I was still here, then walked into the kitchen to feed his cat. I stayed beside him as he locked up and followed him out to the driveway, letting him lead the way but following him all the way back to town. We separated when he pulled into the small parking lot beside the veterinary clinic, and he reluctantly returned the wave I gave him.
Chapter 13
Mason
Miller called me as I pulled into my parents’ driveway. “Hey, Mason, are you feeling any better down there?” He must have known the answer was no, just worse in a different way, since I was already asking him for favors.
“I’m hanging in. You got some info for me?”
“Yeah, I found out a little about your boy Brandon. Dude seemed like a real piece of shit. He was arrested several times. Battery, threats, public intox. Looks like a couple of bar fights. Seems he liked to pick on people smaller than him, even got suspended in high school for bullying, twice. He had a bad relationship with alcohol, all the later arrests involved drinking. Never did hard time but definitely familiar with a jail cell. Seemed like a drunk asshole. Bet he was killed by someone he fucked with and bit off more than he could chew. What’s your interest in him?”
“It’s for an old friend. He dated Brandon a while back. Some of the arrests could have been over him, though I don’t know that he ever called the cops. Pretty sure Brandon was abusive. They’re looking into my friend because he had obviousmotive, but it wasn’t him. There’s some shit going on in this town I’m trying to figure out, because someone is trying to frame him.”
Miller forgot the topic for a moment, just like I knew he would. “Yourfriend?”
I couldn’t help chuckling, and I was glad he wasn’t here to see me grinning like a fool. “Yeah, my old friend. I mean, he’s more than that, yeah, but he’s someone I hurt in the past, so I’m still groveling a little. I think I’m in the ‘maybe friend’ zone right now, if I’m being honest, even though we’re doing a lot more than friends should.” He laughed outright. “I’m working on it, though,” I added. “I’m trying to get there.”
