Chapter Nine #2
Clay’s anger was evident. When he stepped under the fluorescent lights of the office, Trevor noticed that Clay’s gray eyes mimicked thunderclouds.
Of course, Clay’s tense stance and the tick on his left cheek were other clear signs.
Trevor didn’t think it was good for Clay to get so agitated, cleared for duty or not.
“Clay. Calm down. It’s not good for you. Besides, if you keel over from a stroke now, Logan will kill me.”
“My blood pressure is fine. Now talk.”
Instead of sitting in the chair, Trevor moved over to the window and braced his back against the cool, clear pane of glass.
He looked over at the captain. “The first scene of the video showed my neighbor’s dog.
I found her dead on my front landing back in November.
At the time, I thought it was a random act of violence against my neighbor.
He’s an old man, and I occasionally look after him.
I didn’t understand why someone would want to target him. Mr. Carlyle has never hurt a fly.”
“Well, I think we can put that theory to rest,” Frederick stated calmly.
Trevor nodded. “I have no idea where the other stuff on the video came from. It seemed rather random to me.”
Frederick shook his head. “The images didn’t come from a single source, but they were hardly random.
Every one of them showed a similar theme.
Imprisonment, torture, and rape. The words at the end of the movie made it clear that someone feels they have ownership of you, and the images suggest that whoever is behind this feels that’s what you deserve for escaping. ”
“This is what happens to pets that disobey their owners,” Trevor said under his breath.
“What was that, Mitchell?”
“There … there was a note under Mindy’s head when I found her. That’s what the note said.”
“Jesus,” Clay whispered.
“And you didn’t happen to think at the time it could be a clue?”
“No! I thought it was some deviant’s idea of a sick joke. Why would I possibly think it had anything to do with me? I haven’t escaped from anybody.”
“An old lover? A jilted potential lover?”
Trevor shook his head. “My relationships in the past never reached a level that would warrant this kind of obsession, and I’m not a man whore.”
“Maybe someone who wanted to get serious, and you walked away?” Clay asked.
Trevor thought hard about any of the men he’d seen in the last couple of years. A handful of one-night stands, and two short-term flings that ended mutually. He’d dated one guy for a couple of months, but brushed that off since the man had broken up with him, not the other way around.
“I want to see the video,” Clay said.
“You’re not active duty yet, Phillips. I know Mitchell is your friend, but I can’t let anyone not connected with the case view evidence. You know that.”
Clay rolled his eyes, then stared down the Captain. “Are you kidding me?”
Frederick shrugged his shoulders. “Had to be said.”
“And now you’ve said it. So let’s see.”
Trevor’s head whipped back and forth as if here were watching a tennis match. It was a stand-off. Who would cave first? The down and dirty Southie detective, or the white shirt whose roots went deeper and branches reached parts of the city Trevor avoided like the bubonic plague?
“Mitchell, give me the copy. I’m going to view it again to get a better understanding of our perp. I’ll be down the hall.”
The captain walked out without another word. Seconds later, Clay moved to follow him, but stopped to look over his shoulder at Trevor.
“Are you coming?”
Trevor shook his head. He had no desire to watch that gruesome footage again. Clay looked as if he was about to say something, but then jogged down the hall toward the A/V suite.
“Mitchell! Where’s the on switch for all these gadgets?”
Trevor shook his head and smiled. He went back to his suite, cued up the video on the big screen and left without a word.
Several minutes later, Clay and the Captain came back into the office, where Trevor had waited.
Clay walked right up to him and gathered Trevor in his arms. Trevor stiffened up for a few seconds, in part because he didn’t want to aggravate Clay’s injury and in part because he wasn’t used to such demonstrations of friendship from Logan’s partner.
Logan was Trevor’s close friend. He’d always assumed that Clay put up with Trevor to make his partner happy.
“I can’t do much until I’m reinstated, but I promise to watch out for you. You realize Logan is going to flip his lid when I tell him, right?”
Trevor looked up at Clay and was momentarily taken back by the open and concerned expression. “Do you have to?”
Clay looked back, and his face told Trevor that he was nuts to think Clay would keep something like this from Logan.
“Damn it. He’s going to kill me,” Trevor said under his breath.
“Hey, this isn’t your fault. You know that, right?”
Trevor shrugged. “Logan’s always lecturing me about taking stupid chances. I’m sure this is just more fuel for his fire. I swear, Clay, I don’t know who’s behind it though. I can’t think of anyone.”
Clay glanced over at the captain and then back at Trevor. “I don’t want to embarrass you, but I need to ask you something, and it could be important to finding out who is behind everything.”
Trevor shrugged again. It was his usual reaction when a situation got uncomfortable. “Go ahead.”
“Some images on the video were clips of hardcore BDSM scenes. Do you play like that?”
“No!”
“Have you ever played?”
Trevor shook his head, violently. “I had a few hook-ups that wanted to, but I scrammed out of there so fast Speedy Gonzales couldn’t catch me. It was a casual situation, though. Nobody I actually dated was into that stuff.”
“Okay, what about other stuff?”
“Well, because I’m not exactly Arnold Schwarzenegger from Predator, occasionally a guy would be a little too aggro for my tastes.
” Trevor crossed his arms over his chest. His frame didn’t make the stance as impressive as when Clay had done it earlier, but Trevor was determined to show that he was no pushover.
“I may be small, but I can take care of myself.”
Clay’s lips twitched. “When have you ever seen Predator ? I thought you hated new movies? I’ve seen your video collection. I’d bet my badge there’s nothing released post 1965.”
Matt and Niall had managed to get Trevor to watch a few of their movies filled with loud explosions and a couple of creepy thrillers, which had had Trevor watching half the movie between his fingers.
However, he’d managed to partially convert Matt and Niall over to the dark side as well.
A few of his classics now lined the shelves at Niall’s place, and Matt had recently asked Trevor to sit and watch Footsteps in the Fog with him again.
Trevor’s chin jutted out. “I’ve had my horizons broadened recently. While I admit that the art of entertainment has woefully degenerated in the last forty years, not everything released is a complete waste. Besides, just because I may have watched it, doesn’t mean I liked it.”
“Fascinating.” Frederick deadpanned. “Now can we stop discussing cinematic history and get back to the matter at hand?”
Trevor had actually forgotten that the captain was there for a moment. “Sorry, sir.”
Clay inclined his head at their superior, then looked back at Trevor. “Don’t think you’re off the hook yet. I want all the gory details,” he finished with a smile.
“All right, you two. I’m going to take this evidence to be logged in and processed. Mitchell, you’re going home.”
Trevor got ready to argue, but before a word crossed his lips, the captain had his hand up in the classic don’t talk to me position.
“I don’t care what you’re about to say. Phillips, you have a car?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Take Mitchell home,” Frederick stared at Trevor for a second, “or wherever he wants to go. Mitchell, you’re going to have a uniform pick you up to bring you in and drive you home every day, unless you make other arrangements. No more late-night subway rides and walks in the city alone.”
Trevor’s jaw dropped, and he stared at the captain. He glared over his shoulder at Clay, who was chuckling under his breath.
“Yes son, I know all about how you get home every night. Normally I wouldn’t say anything. You’re your own man after all, but in this case I agree with Detective Phillips and Mr. Callen. Until we figure out exactly what is going on, it’s simply not safe. I’m not willing to risk your safety.”
The captain didn’t elaborate, and Trevor was left questioning whether his boss had intended for that statement to mean that he actually cared about Trevor, or was worried about something happening to an employee. Then again, did it really matter?