Chapter Two
Joshua snuck a peek at Greg’s face. “You all right?” Greg seemed a little pale, and quieter than usual.
“Your leg still giving you problems?” Not that he’d need the crutches for much longer: his last visit to the hospital had been positive, and his physical therapist, Fran, was pleased with his progress.
Greg shook his head. “I didn’t sleep well, that’s all. Thinking about this meeting, I guess.”
“I did try to help,” Micah murmured on his other side.
Greg snickered. “Yeah. Funny, but your kind of help usually ends up with neither of us getting much sleep.” Micah let out a strangled coughing sound, and Joshua tried his damnedest not to laugh.
“I’m gonna guess that last remark comes under the heading of TMI.
” Joshua gave Greg a hard stare. They’d been sitting outside the office of Alexander Rycliffe for the past five minutes.
His assistant told them Mr. Rycliffe was in conference, and would be with them soon.
Joshua pointed to the sign on the door. “Does this guy need any more titles?” The panel read Campbell County Attorney and Prosecuting Attorney.
Greg fired him an alarmed stare. “He might hear you,” he whispered.
“So what if he does?” Joshua huffed. “And why does he need two titles? Is one not good enough for him?”
Just then the door opened, and a tall man appeared, with short, dark brown hair and a beard that showed grey at the chin.
He wore a dark grey suit that gave him an elegant air.
“In answer to your question that I couldn’t help overhearing, they give me two titles because around here I get to do everything.
Two titles, two jobs, but one salary.” Keen blue eyes focused on Joshua, the skin around them crinkled in amusement.
“I’m going to guess you’re not Greg Chambers. ”
Greg got to his feet, holding on to his crutches. “That would be me, sir.”
Mr. Rycliffe glanced at his leg briefly before extending a hand. “Much as I admire politeness? Sir makes it sound like you’re addressing your grandfather. I’m Alex Rycliffe. I see you’ve brought reinforcements.”
Greg smiled. “Is that okay? This is Micah Trant, my partner, and his father Joshua.”
“Totally fine. Step into my office, gentlemen.” He stood aside and let them enter, before following them into the room and closing the door.
Two chairs sat in front of a wide desk, on which sat a monitor, keyboard, and several files.
Next to the desk sat another man in a suit.
Joshua recognized him as the detective who was in charge of Greg’s case.
Alex gestured to him. “I believe you all know Detective Riley? He’ll be joining us this morning.
” Detective Riley gave them a polite nod.
Alex went over to the side of the room and brought another chair across.
“Have a seat.” He then sat down behind the desk and peered briefly at a sheet covered with handwriting.
Greg placed his crutches on the ground beside him. “I have to say, sir—I mean, Alex—I’d given up hope of anything coming of this.”
Alex smiled. “How does the saying go? ‘Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small.’ Put it another way? Though it may take a while, those who need to be punished will be punished. God sees everything.” He picked up a pen and tapped the sheet in front of him.
“And we’re here today to give me a chance to meet you, go over your account of what happened, share where the investigation is up to, and… to ask you for your help.”
Joshua stared at him. “What more help can he give you? He’s told you everything he knows, for God’s sake.
If that isn’t enough, then at least tell us.
Don’t waste our time and get his hopes up.
” Greg laid a hand on his arm, and Joshua sighed.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have interrupted like that. It’s just that—”
“You care for him.” Alex regarded him steadily. “That much is obvious. So let me say what I have to say, and then we’ll see about doing what we can to put these guys where they belong—behind bars for a very long time.” He cocked his head to one side. “Okay?”
Joshua nodded slowly. “Okay.”
Alex flashed him a quick smile. “Now, Detective Riley and I need to talk to Greg, alone. So if you and Micah could step outside for a while? We shouldn’t be long.”
Joshua had a brief rumble of concern. “Is everything okay?”
“Nothing to worry about,” Detective Riley said smoothly.
“But you or Micah might be called as witnesses about Greg’s injuries, or how he was after the fact.
” He smiled. “Besides, if you sit in on the interview, you could be called by the defense to discuss what was said.” He gave Joshua an expectant glance.
Joshua got to his feet, Micah joining him, and they exited the office. Alex closed the door softly behind them, and they retook their previous seats.
“He’ll be fine,” Joshua said reassuringly, patting Micah’s knee.
“I guess.” Micah sighed. “He hates talking about that night. But he’ll have to do it on the stand, so….”
“Exactly. And anyone watching him is gonna know how this makes him feel.”
They sat in silence for about fifteen minutes, as Joshua tried not to think about Greg. He didn’t doubt Greg was in capable hands: Alex Rycliffe had made a very good first impression. When the door opened once more, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Come on back in here,” Alex said, holding the door for them.
Joshua stepped inside and glanced over at Greg, who gave him a brief smile. They retook their seats, and Alex relaxed into his chair.
“Now, I know it feels like we’ve moved slowly on this case, but there was a reason. When you subpoena companies like Grindr, and telephone companies, they get thirty days to respond. And they don’t exactly work fast. It’s taken the police almost three months to get records from them.”
“Subpoena?” Joshua straightened.
Alex nodded. “The police felt there was enough of a case against the two men to warrant that. The problem is, the evidence is mostly circumstantial, and the police want more before taking the case to the grand jury.”
“That’s why I wanted to be here today.” Joshua leaned forward. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot. What if Greg wasn’t the only one those lowlifes did this to? There might be more guys out there. The police—”
“Had exactly the same idea as you, Mr. Trant,” Detective Riley said with a smile.
“From our point of view, we’d like a bigger case against these men, hence requesting the records from Grindr.” He paused.
“We got what we were looking for. So far, we’ve found four or five other cases.
There might even be more. The only thing is, whatever their reasons, the men involved don’t want to come forward. ”
“Then why don’t you just subpoena them? They have no right to say no if you do that, right?” Joshua couldn’t understand the problem.
Alex gave a patient sigh and clasped his hands on the desk in front of him.
“Mr. Trant, these men might not want to be forthcoming with me for a variety of reasons. One, they’re ashamed of what happened, and they don’t want the whole world knowing about it.
Two, they might not be out to their friends and families.
And if the grand jury decides this is going to trial, they would be outed, no question of that. ”
“Then that’s it?” Greg’s face was a picture of misery.
Alex shook his head. “Not at all. This is where you come in.”
A lightbulb went on in Joshua’s head. “You want Greg to talk to these witnesses, don’t you? You think he might be able to persuade them to come forward.”
Alex’s eyes sparkled. “You’re a bright man, Mr. Trant.”
“Joshua. Please, if you’re Alex, then I’m Joshua, all right?”
Alex nodded. “Fine.” He turned to Greg. “Joshua is correct. If you talk to these men, there’s a good chance they’ll listen to you.
We’re not expecting all of them to comply, because that just won’t happen.
But if we can get maybe one or two more men to testify, the chances increase of putting these guys away.
Right now, I’m looking to put this before the grand jury in June.
If they return an indictment, we could be looking at a trial that’s anywhere from three to six months after that, depending on the judge, and how fast their defense wants the trial.
” He gazed earnestly at Greg. “Do you think you could do that?”
Greg swallowed. “Where? I mean, where would I meet them?”
“If they decide to meet with you—and that’s a pretty big if at this point—we have interview rooms here that you could use.
The more evidence we have, the more likely the grand jury will be to issue an arrest warrant so we can start the process.
I’m going to put together the strongest case I can.
I don’t expect there to be a lot of challenges.
But to do this, I need you.” He smiled. “Think of it this way. Right now there are two smug guys out there who think they’ve got away with this.
They might even be planning to do it again.
I want them to be blindsided. They’re not going to see us coming.
And the more witnesses I can take before the grand jury to show what these guys did, the better chance we have of making sure they don’t get out of jail until it’s time to collect Social Security. ”
Greg’s eyes widened. “That long?”
Alex leaned back in his chair. “Greg, you were taken by force, against your will, tied up, and thrown into the trunk of a car. Last time I looked, that was called kidnapping. Add to that the assault and battery—and evidence that they did this to a couple more guys—and we’re talking at least a couple of decades behind bars. Minimum.”
Greg nodded slowly. “I’ll do it.”