Chapter Two #2
Alex’s smile reached his eyes, and those lines were once more in evidence. “Good man. Then let’s get the ball rolling. Detective Riley will be in touch with the names and phone numbers of those men who are willing to meet with you. I must stress that part. It really is up to them.”
Greg’s breathing hitched, and just like that, Joshua knew what was coming. “About the charges…”
“You want to know if they’ll be charged with perpetrating a hate crime, don’t you?” Alex’s eyes were kind.
Greg took a deep breath. “If you’d heard the things they said to me while they were kicking the shit out of me, the hatred in their voices….”
Alex let out a sigh. “But proving it was a hate crime would be extremely difficult. Not only that, it might… muddy the waters a little. For one thing, you’d have to prove the victims were all gay.
They might not be. Secondly, there are a lot of statistics out there that show a lot of men who do this turn out to be gay themselves.
If we stick with kidnapping and aggravated assault and battery, the chances of putting these guys away are a lot stronger.
” His smile was sad. “I know, Greg. You want the world to know why they did this. And believe me, they will. The charges I plan to put to the grand jury will allow us to provide evidence of what happened at trial. This will keep the jury focused on what happened, your injuries and the lasting effects, which is where the spotlight belongs.”
Joshua held his breath. He knew how strongly Greg felt about this, but he also knew Alex was right. He prayed Greg would see the truth of it.
Finally, Greg nodded. “Okay. I see your point. You… go after these guys in whichever way you think right. What matters is that they don’t get to do this to anyone else.”
Alex got to his feet and walked around his desk. “Agreed.” He held out his hand. “Thanks again for coming here today.” Alex shook first Greg’s hand, then Micah’s.
Micah chuckled. “I know, I didn’t say much. I don’t need to when my dad’s around. He tends to say what’s on my mind. I just sit there and take everything in.”
“That’s a good way not to miss anything,” Alex told him. He turned to Joshua, his hand held out. “Delighted to have met you. And I’m glad Greg has you in his corner.”
Joshua was pretty good at judging people. “And I’m glad he’s got you there too.” He liked Alex. The attorney had a pleasant manner, but there was something in those steel blue eyes that told Joshua he could be a hard ass when he needed to be.
“Will I see you again at future meetings? Or was this a one-time thing to make sure I was up to scratch?” Alex’s eyes sparkled.
Damn. Joshua didn’t think he’d been that transparent.
“Okay, you got me. Thing is, I’ve been reading about this case where the perps used Grindr to target gay men.
And there was a similar case in the UK, only…
the victims ended up dead. I just kept thinking of the possibilities, I guess.
” He gazed at Greg. “He survived. Their next victim might not be so lucky.” Joshua shivered, then looked Alex in the eye.
“So yeah, you’ll see me again, because I plan on supporting both Greg and Micah while they go through this. ”
Alex patted his arm. “Then I look forward to the next time.” He led them to the door of his office, and opened it for them.
Detective Riley shook Greg’s hand. “I’ll be in touch with the names and numbers of the witnesses. Good luck meeting with them.”
“Thanks. I’ll do my best.” Greg walked carefully toward the main door of the building, Micah at his side, his hand resting protectively against Greg’s lower back.
“I need to make a quick call,” Detective Riley told Alex. “I’ll be right back.” He gave Joshua a nod. “Good to see you’re taking care of Greg. He’s lucky to have you and Micah.”
Joshua smiled. “Micah think’s he’s the lucky one.” The detective walked away from them.
“Will Greg need the crutches for much longer?” Alex asked quietly, his gaze on Greg and Micah as they left the building.
“No. He’s just about all healed up. We knew it was gonna take time, an injury like that.” Joshua scowled. “The bastards must’ve stomped on his leg.”
“Which is why we’re going to put them away,” Alex said confidently.
For some reason, Joshua was finding it difficult to tear himself away from Alex’s side.
Then it hit him. When was the last time I had a conversation with another adult?
Meeting Alex had been a genuine pleasure.
“I hear ya.” He gave Alex a warm smile. “Good to meet you.” And with that, he forced himself to walk away.
Joshua liked running his own business. He liked the fact that it was just him. But it hadn’t been until that moment that he realized he needed the company of other adults. Not that he didn’t love spending time with Micah and Greg, and Naomi when she was home.
Maybe it’s time I made some new friends.
He climbed into the back of Micah’s truck and belted himself in. “Well, that went well, I thought.”
Greg twisted in his seat to look at him. “I like him. I thought he was great.”
“You sure you’re okay about meeting these witnesses? If you need me to go with you, I’ll do it, no problem.” The last thing Joshua wanted was Greg stressing out about this.
“Thanks. I’ll bear that in mind.” Greg’s phone pinged, and he pulled it from his pocket. He laughed. “Naomi. She wants to know how it went and will we be home soon because she’s making lunch.”
“Tell her we’re on our way.”
Micah pulled out of the parking lot in front of the building, and turned onto the street. It wasn’t until they were halfway home that Joshua realized the Lord had answered his prayer.
Alex Rycliffe was going to be an ally.