Chapter 5 Pressure Points #2
“Who was it?” Clayton asked. “What’s his name?”
Esther consulted the papers lying before her. “Wayne De Luca.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of him,” Colin grumbled. “But, Esther, this stuff is purely circumstantial. We’d need a lot more before a grand jury would indict.”
“We’re still combing through Lexi’s phone records. If we find any calls to De Luca, that could help tighten things up.”
“It would. We need a clear narrative that connects De Luca to the murder,” Colin said, his voice heavy. “And so far, we don’t have it. Good as this stuff is, it’s simply not enough.”
“The forensic investigation may change that,” Esther continued.
“Fingerprints, trace evidence, ballistic evidence—they’re all in the works.
One of them is bound to tie De Luca to the murder.
” She glanced up at Colin. “Don’t sound so gloomy!
It’s only been a couple of days, and we already have a person of interest.”
She leaned toward him. “Plus—and you’ll love this—SWAT teams did two raids yesterday at businesses run by Elias Moreno.
They confiscated records, computers, and several cell phones.
We also have a team investigating Elias’s financial transactions, bank accounts, and business records.
” She gave Colin a grim smile. “And believe me, Elias is not at all happy about it.”
“He should rot in hell,” Colin grumbled.
“He probably will. But our goal at the moment is to pressure him into cooperating, both with our investigation of Hannibal’s murder and of Lexi’s threats against this office.”
“You mean against me,” Colin responded.
“When one of us is threatened, we’re all threatened,” Esther told him.
Colin ground out a low, unintelligible growl, and Clayton smothered a smile. “True enough, boss lady,” Colin griped. “But we’re not all being forced to live in a hotel room surrounded by armed guards while being deprived of my husband’s home-cooked meals.”
“Think of it as a vacation,” Esther told him. “Paid for by the city.” She gave him a long look. “How’s Josh?”
Colin gave a soft shrug and shook his head. “He’s scared, Esther. He went through a lot when I was shot a few years back. He’s just… scared.”
“I know he’s pissed at us, but I’m not sure what else we can do at this point other than what we’re doing.”
“He’s not pissed, “Colin told her, then smiled. “My husband is a creature of habit. That’s his safety. That’s his security.
And his safe, secure routine just got tossed into a meat grinder.
Add to that the fact that I’m being threatened, and he’s reacting all over the place.
Give him a few days. Josh is an introvert.
He has to sit with things until he’s had time to process them internally.
Then he rights himself. It took me a long time to figure that out. He loves you, Esther.”
“Well, I love him too. And I thought I told you to stay home today?”
“I had to be here for the Blaire child abuse case. That kid is in danger. I won’t ask for a continuance.”
“How did it go?” Esther asked, rising from her chair.
Colin shrugged. “Well, I think.”
“Good. Now, get the hell out of here and go home.”
“I wish I could go home,” Colin muttered.
“All in good time, Colin. Now stop whining and get back to the Omni.” She waved him and Clayton out of her office.
Colin nodded. “OK, Boss. See you on Monday.” He turned to go, then spun to face Esther again. “But Esther? Please get in touch with me if there are any breakthroughs in either of these investigations.”
“I will, Colin.”
At the Omni, Colin left his security detail at their duty station and unlocked the door to the suite. “Josh!” he called. “Where are you?” He tossed his briefcase to a nearby chair and paused in the living room, listening.
“I’m in here,” Joshua replied. “In the kitchen.”
Colin wandered into the kitchenette area and found his husband hovering over the counter, rearranging several items. “What the hell, Josh?” Colin asked as he moved to Joshua’s side. “What happened here?”
When Colin left that morning, the small counter had held only a tiny two-cup coffeemaker and a mini microwave. Those items had disappeared. In their place stood a full-sized coffeemaker, a full-size microwave, a toaster, and a sizable three-burner hot plate.
“I happened here!” Joshua told him with a grin. “I called downstairs this morning and informed them that their kitchenette was totally inadequate. I told them if they couldn’t get us some actual adult-size appliances, I’d book a suite somewhere else. Guess who caved?”
Colin tilted his head back and laughed. “You are absolutely badass!”
“More likely that they don’t want to piss away all that nice city hall money.
” He gestured to the small refrigerator.
“There’s no room for a bigger fridge, so I can’t store much food, but I called Instacart, who are more than happy to deliver.
So, tonight, I’ll be cooking your dinner.
” He cupped Colin’s face between his palms and kissed him.
“I can only do so much with this stuff, but at least I can cook you something.”
“Plus, we can have more than one mug of coffee in the morning,” Colin replied, rocking Joshua in his arms. “Baby, you are a miracle worker.”
Joshua huffed out a sarcastic laugh. “If I were, we’d be eating at home tonight.” He kissed Colin several times. “God, I’m glad you’re here! How did it go in court today?”
“It went well. I’m optimistic.”
Joshua took his hand and drew him into the living room. “Any news from Esther?”
Colin fell onto the couch with Joshua beside him.
“There’s been some movement, but it’s all pretty much circumstantial at this point.
” He saw Joshua’s face fall. “We’ve only been here two days, bud,” he murmured.
“Can we give it a little longer before we get all doom and gloom? The case will break our way. We’ve got every law enforcement agency in Charlottesville putting pressure on Moreno, with a few state and federal agencies thrown in. ”
He grabbed Joshua’s shoulders and turned to face him. “Look. No one in law enforcement wants Lexi to get away with threatening someone in my position. It paints a bull’s-eye on everyone’s back.”
“I know, babe. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to whine.”
“You’re not whining. It’s been an upsetting couple of days.”
“Well, it’s only three days ‘til Saturday. Then we’ll have the whole weekend to relax and try to get used to this place.”
Colin breathed out a disgusted huff. “Fat chance of that.”
“David said he and Nate would come over. We could order pizza and play some cards.” He skated his fingers across Colin’s furrowed brow. “That might make things feel more normal.”
Colin shot him a look, his expression skeptical.
“C’mon, Counselor. Work with me here. I’m trying to make the best of things.
” He half-turned on the couch, draping his body across Colin’s lap, giving a contented sigh as Colin’s arms instinctively closed around him, pulling him closer.
For several minutes, they held each other in peaceful silence, eyes closed, savoring their soul-deep unity.
Joshua’s face nestled against Colin’s throat, his fist gently clutching a fold of his husband’s shirt.
Colin’s hand traced comforting paths along Joshua’s spine before sliding up to thread through the silken strands of Joshua’s hair, relishing the sensation as the warm, thick curls twined around his fingers.
Colin drew in a long, deep breath. “Jesus, I love this,” he whispered. “When I close my eyes…” he leaned back far enough to meet Joshua’s eyes, “…it almost feels like we’re home.”
“You told me once that ‘home’ was wherever I was.” He smiled and caressed Colin’s cheek. “Well… here I am.”