Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Dan took the coffee with a sigh. “Thanks. I need this.” He inhaled its pleasant aroma before meeting Gary’s concerned gaze.
“Relax. I’m okay now.” He was thankful Gary had brought him to the case room.
Dan was aware of scrutiny as he walked along the precinct’s hallways.
He knew from Riley that Travers had informed the Homicide unit of his arrival, and he guessed there had to be guys out there as skeptical as Lewis.
“It shook you up, didn’t it?”
Dan forced a smile. “Damn. And there I was thinking I’d hidden it so well.” He stared into his black coffee. “Can I ask something? How do you feel when you look at a dead person? I mean, it must be a commonplace event in your job, but….”
Gary leaned against the table. “If I’m honest, my first thought is always the same. ‘I hope they didn’t suffer.’ When it’s clearly murder, it… makes me sad, I suppose. Someone was robbed of life. They could’ve had so much in front of them, so much to live for.”
Dan’s mouth dried, and he hastily took a drink from his cup. He fought the urge to move closer to Gary, to touch him. Gary gazed at the board, oblivious to the tumult of emotions at war within Dan. “What’s on your mind?” Dan’s voice was unsteady.
He pointed to the letters. “Seven murders. Six letters. P-R-E-E-X-P. Is the lack of a letter in this case meant to indicate a space? It doesn’t make sense.
Unless it is a copycat, and Robin Fields’s death has nothing to do with the others.
” Gary frowned. “Something at the back of my mind is niggling me. For some reason I keep thinking of Agatha Christie.”
“Hey, if you want her for a consultation, you’re talking to the wrong person. I don’t see dead people, remember?”
Gary chuckled. “Another of my favorite movies. Even if I did piss Cory off the first time we saw it. Not to mention most of the people sitting near us in the movie theater.”
“How did you do that?”
“We got to the part where Bruce Willis is having dinner with his girlfriend or wife, and Bruce is doing all the talking. I turned to Cory and said, ‘Hey, what if she’s not replying because he’s dead and she can’t see him?
’ Cory glared at me and said if I’d just guessed the plot, he was never going to the movies with me ever again. ” Gary smiled. “He lied, of course.”
Dan gaped. “Oh my God.”
“What?”
He couldn’t freaking believe this. “I did the same thing. I mean, I had the same thought, but I wasn’t in a movie theater.
We were watching it on TV, and the thought slipped out.
My dad looked at me and said, ‘Well, you’d know, wouldn’t you?
’” What surprised him was how much the remark still burned.
“You said your parents don’t talk about it, but that’s not the whole story, is it?”
Dan looked him in the eye. “You know, you may not be psychic, but you’re very intuitive.
” And attractive. Damn, you’re attractive.
But there was more to Gary than his appearance.
Not for the first time, it occurred to him that he knew Gary.
How Gary’s body felt against his. The intimate sounds he made when he fucked, punctuating each thrust. The gentle touch of Gary’s hands on his body as they rocked together, locked into a sensual harmony.
His name on Gary’s lips when they came together.
Back on track. Get your mind back on track, for God’s sake.
He drank a little more to steady his nerves. “The best way I can describe it is… there’s a wall between us, and they were the ones who built it.” Gary flinched, and Dan’s throat tightened. “What did I say?”
Gary swallowed. “You got me near the bone, that’s all. Not something I want to talk about, okay?”
“It’s okay.” Dan kept his voice soft and soothing, as though he were inching closer to a skittish horse. And there it was again, the urge to reach out and touch, to connect….
The door opened, and the moment shattered. Lewis came into the room. “Officers contacted Robin Fields’s boyfriend, Quinn Dalmont. He’s here, and he wants to know what we’re doing to find Robin’s killer.”
“He can wait a minute. What turned up on the CCTV recordings?”
“A guy in a hoodie. Couldn’t see his face. And he knew where the cameras were, because he didn’t look once in their direction. He didn’t knock at the door, though. He used a key and strolled right on in there.”
“Did you speak to Robin’s neighbors on his floor?”
“Yeah. Robin didn’t have a lot of visitors. They said Dalmont moved in about a year ago.”
“The guy in the hoodie part… that’s been in the papers. Interviews with neighbors of the victims.”
An officer stuck his head around the door. “The desk sergeant says to let you know this Dalmont guy looks pretty distraught. Says he wants to speak to the detectives in charge, like, now.”
“Then let’s talk to him.” Gary thanked the officer, who withdrew. He glanced at Dan. “You can watch the interview via the camera.”
Lewis’s face darkened for a second, but he said nothing.
Dan followed them to the interview rooms, where Riley waited for them.
“You and I will conduct the interview,” Gary told him. “Lewis, stay with Dan and show him where he can watch.”
Lewis’s brow furrowed. “I’m not a babysitter.”
“No one said you were. For God’s sake.”
Dan’s stomach clenched. He had no idea how Gary and Lewis had gotten along before his arrival, but their interactions left a sour taste in his mouth.
Riley patted Gary’s arm. “It’s okay. You two go in, but make sure you lead the questions.” He fired Lewis a glance. “I’ll stay with Dan.” Riley gave Dan a warm smile. “You come with me, and I’ll get you the best seat in the house.”
“Sounds good.” He followed Riley into another small room with a wall of monitors. Riley grabbed two chairs and they sat. He pointed to a screen. “This one.” He handed Dan a pair of headphones, then plugged them in.
The view wasn’t ideal—Dan wanted to zoom in to get a closer look at facial expressions, only the camera angle was fixed—but the sound was crystal clear.
Dalmont sat at the table, his eyes reddened and puffy, a crumpled Kleenex clutched in one hand.
“He’s got good taste. Or someone has,” Dan murmured.
“What do you mean?”
He pointed to the monitor. “That suit? Prada. You wouldn’t get much change from three grand.”
On the screen, Dalmont gave each of them a nod as Gary made the introductions. “Are you the detectives in charge?”
“Yes, Mr. Dalmont. I’m Detective Mitchell, and this is Detective Stevens. When was the last time you saw Mr. Fields?” Dan admired Gary’s calm manner.
“Friday. I went away for a few days to see family.”
“Did you talk to him on the phone over the weekend?” Gary asked.
Dalmont nodded, wiping his eyes. “He was staying home to get some work done. He… he was planning to buy another company and wanted the time to concentrate. That was why I went away. You know how it gets, two people living in each other’s pockets. You need a little space now and then.”
“And he seemed okay when you spoke to him?” Dalmont nodded. “How long were you two together?”
“Three years.” Dalmont’s face contorted, and he covered his eyes with the tissue. “We… we were getting married this year.” Then he straightened. “So have you gotten any closer to catching this maniac?”
“I can’t comment on the case.” Gary’s response was quiet and measured.
“You don’t need to. The media is already doing plenty of that.” He gaped at Gary. “Surely it’s obvious the same man is responsible for Robin’s death. Robin is the seventh victim.”
Dan shuddered. “Mask.”
Riley’s hand was warm on his. “Hey, you all right?” Dan gave him a hopefully reassuring glance, then refocused on the screen.
“So you and Mr. Fields were monogamous?”
Dalmont froze. “Of course we were. Didn’t I say we were getting married? Robin was the only man for me.”
“But you obviously weren’t the only man for him,” Lewis interjected. When Dalmont stared at him, Lewis shrugged. “Hey, just telling it like it is. There was someone else in that apartment, and it wasn’t you. CCTV caught a guy going up there. He had a key.”
“You mean you’ve seen him? Then why aren’t you out looking for him? And I have no idea why Robin would look for sex elsewhere. I didn’t think he was a cheater.”
“Who mentioned sex?” Gary asked quietly.
Dalmont rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding? With everything that’s appearing in the media, you think I can’t put two and two together when the police show up to tell me my boyfriend’s been murdered in our apartment?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Gary’s tone was smooth. “I didn’t realize the apartment was in both your names.”
Dalmont coughed. “It was Robin’s apartment, but he was going to make half of it over to me once we were married.
” His expression grew pained. “Except that’s not going to happen.
It’s only now occurred to me—I’m homeless.
Unless Robin made some provision for me.
” He paused. “Do you… do you need me to identify the body?” He grimaced.
“Contrary to what you might see on TV, that’s not usually how we do things. Identification will be made using fingerprints, dental records, and DNA. And speaking of fingerprints… we’ll need a set of yours before you leave.”
“What for?” Dalmont gaped at them. “Are you suggesting I had something to do with this? Because that’s… that’s horrible. I just lost my fiancé, for God’s sake.”
“We need them because there were prints all over the place. Once we’ve eliminated yours, Mr. Fields’s, and the cleaner’s, any unknown prints could point us to the killer. Okay?”
Dalmont shuddered. “Of course. I’m sorry. I’m not thinking clearly right now.”
Gary rose to his feet. “Understandable, given the circumstances. Officer Hollins will take you to be printed. Could you leave us your contact details? In case we need to talk to you again.”
“And we will,” Riley muttered. When Dan gave him a quizzical glance, Riley’s face hardened. “This guy gives me a bad feeling.”
Dan patted his hand. “Welcome to my world.”