Sweet

28. Will

Chapter twenty-eight

Will

W eird. As I walk to the front door to enter the house, I almost think I can hear voices. And nonsensical as it may be, temporary rage flashes through me. Who the fuck is here? With my boyfriend. The answer should be no one. I whip the door open without knocking and…

“Jess?” I bark.

“Oh, thank fuck,” Jess exclaims with apparent relief. “Will, your boyfriend is fucking nuts.”

I turn to Cas, who’s standing right in the foyer with a handgun hanging in his hand. He’s all shivery when he zips over and buries himself against me. Only when I wrap an arm around him and hug him to my side does he calm down some. “Whose gun is that, baby?”

“Jesse’s.” He squishes into my side even more. “He was in the house when I came home and he’s been saying a bunch of stuff about me that doesn’t make any sense. I managed to get it away from him, but I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Jess, what the fuck?” I bark.

“No. Do not fall for that shit. He’s playing you like a fiddle,” Jess yells back.

“See what I’m talking about?” Cas whispers.

“He killed Riley, and he’s going to do something to you next.” Jess gestures in the direction of Cas while he screams.

Cas flicks the safety back on and nudges my hand with the gun. “Take it. I don’t even want to hold it,” he says to me with a small frown.

“Sure thing, baby.” I tilt his head closer for a kiss and double-check the safety. Then I turn back to Jess. “So, let me get this straight. You broke into my boyfriend’s house and pulled a gun on him, because he’s unhinged. Not you.”

“He’s manipulating you.” Jess stares at us like we’ve got two heads each. “Ask him what happened to Riley. Go ahead.”

I wordlessly look down at Cas, who takes a shaky breath before he swallows hard. “Promise you won’t be mad,” he croaks.

“Of course not, baby. You can tell me anything,” I say while hugging him even tighter to my side.

“Riley and I… we never left town.” He pauses for another shivery breath. “My meeting got canceled, so we decided to stick around here. Right before we were supposed to head out together, he told me never mind. He’d been texting Jesse while we pregamed at the house, and since Jesse was already done hanging out with you and we’d never left town, Riley said they were going to meet up at his place. I really did make sure he left here in one piece, but that was the last time I saw him.”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” I ask.

“Jesse was right there when you asked me and I didn’t know what to say, so I lied. I didn’t want to assume the worst then, but I’m really starting to think he did something to Riley,” Cas says while worrying his lower lip. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve said something sooner, but… Jesse’s your best friend. I thought maybe he was just embarrassed and didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want to accuse him of anything or get him in trouble. When he acted like he didn’t know what happened to Riley, I panicked and lied.”

“That is not what happened. At all. Go ahead and check my phone,” Jess screams.

“Of course, because he’s probably deleted all the messages by now,” Cas whispers beside me.

“Jess, this is pretty fucked. I know you don’t like him, but to try to accuse my boyfriend of something you know he couldn’t have done? That’s pretty extreme,” I yell at him. “Did you think you could get rid of him and have me all to yourself or something?”

“What? No,” Jess snaps. “I literally had no reason to kill Riley.”

“And that’s the other thing. He keeps talking about Riley being dead when he’s only missing ,” Cas whispers beside me.

“Jess.” My whole body deflates when I exhale.

“Fuck, I didn’t do anything. You’ve got to believe me,” Jess screams and steps closer to me.

Cas recoils but sticks by my side, so I wrap my arm even tighter around him.

“Unreal. The both of you.” Jess takes a few more steps forward.

“Jess, back the fuck up. Seriously,” I say.

Jesse doesn’t listen. He comes right for me, trying to wrestle his handgun away from me. I don’t think he’ll use it on me, but I also never thought him capable of murder. Now I’m not so sure on either count, and I’m not taking the chance. Not with Cas right here. Then the moment comes when it’s wrenched from my hand and the safety clicks while being turned off. I look at Jess. He looks at me. And he’s got his gun pointed right at me.

That is, for all of half a second. Cas wraps an arm around Jesse’s neck from behind in a firm chokehold. I smack the gun out of Jess’s hand the second it’s pointed away from me. Cas wrestles Jess to the ground, and I have a moment where I wonder how long until he’s considered subdued. Jess keeps fighting, but Cas stays expertly perched atop him, riding him like a rodeo cowboy who refuses to be thrown off a bucking bronco. Exactly the same way he managed to stay on me the one time he wrestled me to the ground. I don’t move. I just watch. And then Jess isn’t moving either.

“Is he…?”

Cas shivers all over and releases a small hiccup while he looks at me, tears streaming down his face.

“Oh, baby,” I say while I rush over to him. I bend down to scoop him right up, and he wraps his legs around my waist while he clings to me. He’s shivering all over and so scared and so… hard. Hard as a fucking rock as his hands cradle my face and he kisses me furiously.

“It’s okay,” I whisper. “I got you.”

“You own me,” he corrects. “Completely.”

“I do.” I rake his hair back with my fingers and his legs squeeze me even tighter. Jess is wrong. Cas cares about me. I know he does.

The Jess Incident, as I shall forevermore mentally refer to it, gets handled by Cas. Mostly because, uh, that’s my best friend. Well, was my best friend. And the less I know, the better. I can legitimately claim ignorance on the matter. Not that I’ll ever be telling anyone about this. Yeah, my boyfriend may have flipped out and strangled my best friend in a panic. Said best friend may have pulled a gun on him first and even pointed it at me while loaded. Mistakes were made.

We go away as scheduled, mostly because we agree it would be more suspicious to suddenly stay home instead. The next four days are spent disassociating and repressing the memory. Not that I blame Cas. Fight or flight in a life-or-death situation and all that. It’s not as if I can even claim I would’ve done differently if someone threatened him. And if it had been an open and shut case of self-defense, I wouldn’t have even stopped to think of the consequences. But it’s not. And I’m not letting my boyfriend go to jail over bullshit that’s not his fault.

A month passes. Everything feels chillingly normal despite the obvious differences. Cas is the same. I am the same. Our relationship, the same. Ironclad obsession, unwavering on both ends. Only difference is no Jess, and that kinda hurts but can’t be helped. His absence is noticed right away, of course. His family has reported him missing, but that was the end of it. No twenty-four-hour news coverage and search parties for a missing queer man. Definitely not in this town.

Right before Christmas, I get called down to the police station. Admittedly, I internally panic, but it makes sense they want to talk to me. It’s well known that Jess and I are not only coworkers, but friends. Some people maybe even know we briefly dated, since neither of us were subtle about it. So, here I am, sitting in an interview room and cooperating in good faith, meaning I can leave at any time if shit gets too personal.

“Thanks again for coming down. I’m Detective Sax,” he says as he takes a seat. “And you’re Mr.—”

“Will. Will is fine,” I interrupt.

“Would you like a drink? Soda? Coffee?”

“No, thanks.” I’ve seen SVU, dude.

“Then let’s get right to it. I take it you know what this is about,” he says.

“My best friend is missing.”

“And by that you mean…” He pauses to check a file. “Jesse Miller.”

“Yeah,” I say with a deep exhale.

“Before we get to that, I wanted to ask you about something else while I’ve got you down here.”

“Anything to help,” I agree.

“Excellent,” Detective Sax says. He opens a file folder and lays out a row of photographs. “I was wondering if you could tell me what these men all have in common.”

Jesse. Riley. Jason. Henri.

All missing guys. Half of which are ones we know. Knew. Oh, fuck.

“All them fuck other dudes,” I say with a cocky grin. “Actually, that’s not fair to say. At least one of them was a strict bottom.”

The detective sputters a bit, yet doesn’t waver otherwise. “That is… insightful. May I ask how you came to that conclusion?”

“Easy. I fuck other dudes.” And I smile.

“You’re saying you slept with all of these men?”

“Of course not,” I scoff. I point at Jesse’s photo. “Jess is my best friend. We kinda dated before I got serious about my boyfriend.”

I point at Riley next. “Riley worked with us. He was new and Jess was newly available, so they were supposed to go out at some point. Then Riley no-call, no-showed one day and we never saw him again. It can be kinda awkward working with someone after hooking up, so I wasn’t too surprised he quit without notice.”

On to Jason. “I don’t actually know this guy. I only recognize him from the farmer’s market. He used to flirt with all the guys whenever he came with his wife. He may have gone out with some guys in town, but I can’t say for certain.”

Henri. “And I don’t know this guy, either. Never even met him. But Jess told me one night they went out a few times after we saw a news report about him.”

The detective opens his folder and adds one more picture to the pile. Cas. Fuck.

“And that’s my boyfriend,” I plainly state. “We met at the farmer’s market a couple of years ago and started dating this fall.”

“What if I told you that we’ve known for a while someone has been targeting gay men?” The detective folds his hands onto the table.

“Jess is bisexual,” I interrupt.

“Is that important?”

“Uh, yeah? It’s why I said all these guys have sex with other guys. Saying they’re all gay would be too much of an assumption.”

“Understood,” Detective Sax says. “We’ve known about this problem for a while. It’s a small town. Not a large gay community. When people start disappearing, and a pattern develops, it’s easy to assume we’ve stumbled onto a serial killer.”

I frown.

“Now, your boyfriend,” he says while moving his hand from Cas’s picture to Jess, then Riley, and Jason. “Also happens to know these three men, either from the farmer’s market or the farm where you work. Which is a big coincidence.”

“Small town. Like you said. Anyone who worked at the farmer’s market last year could say the same.”

“Jason, we almost missed, since he’s not a year-round resident. And the bit about Henri, that’s news to us. Bailey didn’t recognize him, and Henri’s the only piece of the puzzle that we couldn’t fit so far.”

Three major things happen simultaneously at this very moment. Not only do I realize how easily all of this could also be tied to me, but that the police have already spoken to Cas. Which means I have to stop myself from blurting that Cas’s last boyfriend, who he told me was murdered , happened to be named Henri. How the fuck did that slip past me until now?

The detective studies me quietly, but there isn’t anything to say without being asked a question. “You seem pretty distraught by this.”

“My best friend is missing and you’re telling me a serial killer is picking off guys like us. How should I be?”

“That’s understandable, Will.” Detective Sax crosses his arms while staring at me. “Let me tell you what I know, followed by what I think.”

“Go right ahead,” I say with a sweeping gesture.

“As of right now, Henri DeSantos and Jason Wilton are still missing. We found Riley Snyder’s body in the woods yesterday afternoon, only a couple of miles from the dairy farm run by Jesse’s family.”

“Oh, my god.” I sit up straighter and lean forward. Riley’s dead. Actually dead. “And you’re sure it’s him?”

“Yes, despite decomposition we were able to make a positive identification. We’re also working on collecting some DNA.” When I don’t say anything more, he adds, “What are you thinking, Will?”

“I’m thinking, I didn’t know Riley long or well, but… I can’t believe he’s actually dead.”

“Now that you know what I know, I’ll let you know what I think.” Detective Sax leans closer to the table and continues. “Henri and Jason both vanished without a trace. Whatever happened to them would’ve been calculated. Practiced. Controlled. As for Riley…”

He pauses and slides a crime scene photo in front of me. Fuck me, that’s gross and I can’t help recoiling.

“Riley pissed someone off, which means his case isn’t like the other two. This was angry, and it was sloppy. And I think he knew it, and he panicked, so he left town before we caught up with him.”

“I’m sorry, who?”

“Jesse.” Detective Sax takes the crime scene photo and places it back in the folder. “You’re right when you say it’s easy to connect most of these men to multiple people. Bailey, for example. Even to you. But given some evidence we found at the crime scene and the location of Riley’s body, and his disappearance coinciding with Jesse’s, we have reason to believe Jesse had been involved.”

“Jesse did this?”

“I understand he’s your best friend, but if you know something about this, now is the time to tell us.”

“I… I don’t even know what to say.”

And I really don’t. Holy shit. Until today, Cas has been right all along. Hasn’t he? I don’t want to believe Jess did any of this. I don’t really like the alternative, either; that Cas somehow managed to get away with four murders.

Even while I consciously try to suppress that idea, one thought keeps resurfacing: Cas pointing out to me how Jesse kept referring to Riley as dead when he was only missing . That slip of the tongue seemed so damning then. And just now, the detective said Henri is still missing. Not murdered. Missing. Maybe Cas simply assumed the worst, but it’s enough to make me stop and think. And question. And doubt. Only one other person fits into this puzzle perfectly, one who even Jesse said has been lying through his teeth to me.

“Has Jesse tried to contact you in any way?”

“No, he… our friendship really wasn’t the same after I started dating my boyfriend,” I mutter.

“Bailey,” Detective Sax clarifies. “So far, you’re telling us almost everything he already did. Except, Bailey was well aware that Jess didn’t like him very much.”

“Yes, things were tense for a bit. I was sort’ve seeing them both for a short period of time but they knew about it. I ended up with my boyfriend. Jess and I agreed to remain friends.”

The detective hums. “Then you’re both lucky to be alive. Henri and Jason disappeared some time over the last twelve months. Best we can tell, Riley was last seen leaving work on the twentieth of last month, and as you said, he didn’t show for work the next day. Can you recall what you were doing the night before?”

“I’m sorry… this is all just…”

“It’s fine. Take your time. The twentieth of November. The week before Thanksgiving.”

“What day of the week was that?” I ask while rubbing my brow. Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me. I already know and I think I’m going to be sick.

“Friday. It was a Friday.”

I need a deep breath before I can continue. I take it all back. About Riley. About Jess. About Cas. About everything. Finally, I have the perfect fucking man. Literally made for me. And there’s a very real possibility he’s slightly homicidal. What the fuck does that say about me?

“Will?” Detective Sax prompts.

“I always close Fridays. I remember Riley telling me before his shift ended that he had plans to go out that night. He left the farm a few hours before closing.”

I pause and take a deep breath. Am I really going to do this? Can I do this? It’s so fucked, but Jess is already gone and I can’t lose them both. I can’t. I won’t. I exhale and let the rest spill out as calmly as possible.

“Jesse closed with me, then we both left for the evening. I went to my boyfriend’s place since I always spend the weekend with him. We were together all night.”

“That coincides with what Bailey told us earlier. We have reason to believe that after Jesse left work, he met with Riley that night.”

Fucking hell, Cas. You knew. You made sure you knew where everyone would be. You knew that I would remember where Jesse really was that night. And you knew I’d cover for you, anyway. You probably even knew that I’d catch the lie as soon as I heard it, and you still took the chance. Fuck you, dude. Killed my best friend and pinned everything on him. I tent my nose and let out a sigh.

“Are you okay, Will?”

“Yeah, it’s just… a lot. To take in. All this shit… about Jess.” About Cas.

“I understand,” Detective Sax says. He begins putting the rest of the photos back in the folder. “If he attempts to contact you at all, please let us know immediately.”

“I will,” I say with a shaky breath.

And with that, I’m free to leave.