Gutsy, page 18
A man and a woman stood out there, and they didn’t look like they belonged, for lack of a better word. The tall balding man in a brown leather jacket was fit and far too tan, as if he’d spent time on it, and the blonde woman had a posh black wool trench coat—but their looks didn’t matter quite as much as the gold shield the man raised to shove in my face. I almost went cross-eyed reading Detective on it, and Vanheim curved along the bottom.
No one had managed to fire off a word yet by the time Pious came stomping up the porch stairs, and the man whirled around, his hand going to a gun holster secured on his belt.
Pious immediately lifted his hands. “Whoa there, friend.”
The detective laughed, and I assumed the woman was also with the police and wasn’t disappointed when she pulled an identical gold shield in a leather holder out of her pocket and flashed it all around. “Vanheim PD,” she said, although she’d rather lost the element of surprise.
“Why don’t you come in? Looks like you had a long drive.” Pious gestured toward the door, and I died a thousand deaths as I stepped back to allow everyone past me.
“I’m Detective Wrigley,” the man said, and his eyes narrowed unpleasantly as he stared at my face. “You are one difficult guy to find, Mr. Sturms. This place is off the beaten trail.” I was jolted by the fact he was looking at me and speaking to Pious, but the detective transferred that intent perusal to him next.
“I had no trouble finding him,” I said quietly. I could feel my muscles tightening. I was probably acting strange but couldn’t stop. My stomach twisted, and while my hunger hadn’t been much before now, a sharp pang nearly doubled me over. I caught the delightful scent of the newcomers—both savory—and sighed, trying not to draw a deep breath in again. My mouth already watered. This was bad. Why hadn’t I felt this way with Pious? Or Amos? Just my fucking luck. I glanced at the man’s gun and tried to stay focused on everything going on around me and not my creeping hollowness.
“I’m Detective Li,” the woman said as she smiled at me and edged closer. I backed away a step, and Bratty began to bark again, raising her doggy voice as if terrorists were trying to burn the house down. It turned into chaos, with Detective Wrigley asking if something couldn’t be done about the dog.
Pious scowled, which sent Detective Wrigley’s hand twitching toward his gun again, and with a sigh, scooped up Bratty and headed toward our bedroom. I felt terrible because the poor thing stared at me like I’d betrayed her while she started to howl and all four of her little legs scrambled as if she was trying to run to our defense. I went to follow them, but Detective Li put out a hand to stop me.
“I do apologize, you quite took me by surprise.” I flashed my best smile and decided manners would fix this.
Detective Wrigley snorted, but Detective Li seemed like she softened a bit toward me. She nodded. “Your parents want you home in Vanheim.”
“Huh?” I said with less-than-extraordinary eloquence as Pious returned to stand near me with his arms crossed, which made him about as welcoming as a starved wolf. I shook my head at him, but he didn’t budge. “Since when is the Vanheim Police Department in the habit of playing nursemaid to grown men?” I smiled wider to soften the blow, but I seriously couldn’t believe that was what had brought them out into the elements.
“Your mother insisted you wouldn’t leave the city for any reason, at least, not for the countryside. She thinks you’re being held here against your will.” Detective Li’s gaze slid to Pious, then back to me. I almost expected her to ask me to tap my foot once if kidnapping had been my fate.
I glanced at Pious, and he only raised his eyebrows.
“As you can see, I’m not.”
Wrigley growled and sounded as snippy as Bratty. “Do you want an escort back to the city?”
Why were they pushing this so hard? “No, I’m fine.” Pious surprised me when he stepped closer and put an arm around my shoulders, and I wasn’t certain that would convince anyone I wasn’t being held captive. I leaned into his embrace. “Perfectly fine.”
Detective Wrigley dropped his head and stared at his shoes for what felt like centuries. “We need to talk to you. Will you please get your wallet and coat and whatever else you need?”
“What happened to your hands?” Detective Li stood so quietly to the side I’d nearly forgotten about her, after the brash assault of her partner’s words, but my heart raced. It was clear she was the one who would notice anything off about us. She tilted her head and her gaze darted down my body as if checking to see if the rest of me was intact.
“Frostbite.”
“Jesus.” Wrigley wiped his hand over his mouth. “I always heard that was a nightmare. You losing fingers or something?”
“Not yet,” I snarked. “Maybe if you hang around long enough, something will fall off.”
Pious shook me around, and I snorted out a laugh, even as my stomach gurgled loud enough that everyone in the room glanced at it.
“I missed breakfast,” I mumbled.
“There’s no reason for you to take him anywhere. You’re welcome to talk to him in the kitchen or have a seat.” Pious gestured vaguely at the couch. “I can go work, I have plenty to do.”
“No,” Wrigley said.
“No?” Detective Li furrowed her brows at her partner as if maybe she hadn’t been in on this part of their plan.
“I agree. I am not inspired to leave the house at the moment. So, no.”
“A man is missing. He could be dead.” Wrigley took a step closer, and I tried not to cringe against Pious’s side. He seemed like maybe he thought I was guilty of something, even if it wasn’t killing Eddie. . . or was he suspicious about Officer Dubro? There were too many dead bodies. Plus, his scent teased me and got into my head, making it difficult to think. I glanced down at his stomach, slightly rounded, and decided it would taste like bacon.
“We need to talk to you.” Wrigley glanced over his shoulder at the door and my stomach gave a sick pang that had nothing to do with my hunger. He tensed. Did some instinctive part of his mind recognize me as a predator? Or was he simply jumpy because he was working?
“So, talk,” Pious said in that no-nonsense way of his, but Detective Wrigley scowled as if he thought Pious was being difficult.
“Not here,” Detective Li said quietly. “My partner is right, it would be easier to take him to the sheriff’s office in New Hope.” She smiled, but it didn’t sit naturally on her face. Was she scared as well? Was I reading too much into everything?
“Easier for whom, precisely?” I leaned my weight against Pious. “Should I be contacting the family lawyer for some reason?”
She glanced at her partner and shook her head. “No, but you would make my life a lot simpler if you joined us.” She sounded absolutely exhausted, and after the New Year I’d had, I fully commiserated. I glanced at Pious.
He shrugged. “Up to you.”
“No, it’s up to us.” Detective Wrigley sneered and I liked him even less.
“If you don’t have a warrant to haul him somewhere, it isn’t,” Pious snapped, and a vein bulged in his neck. He dragged me more firmly into his arms, and I leaned back against his strong chest, feeling both smug at the way the detectives took a couple of steps back and alarmed at the implication of violence. The last thing I wanted to do was bring more attention to myself, and in the end, the need for discretion decided me.
“This tension isn’t necessary,” I said, dragging out my best manners and flashing a smile. I stood on my own, and Pious let me go, though his hands lingered on my hips for a few moments. “This is about poor Eddie, is it? You’ll have to forgive Pious, I’m recently injured and he’s protective.”
Detective Li smiled at me. “That would be good. Thank you for cooperating with our ongoing work.”
Detective Wrigley didn’t say shit, but then again, I hadn’t truly expected him to. Frustration ate at me, and Pious leaned forward to whisper, “Do you want me there?” I hesitated, but after almost no deliberation, I nodded, and he hugged me lightly from behind.
“I’ll drive him,” Pious said, without leaving room for argument, then strode over and opened the front door. “You can follow me, in case you can’t find the sheriff’s office.”
Detective Wrigley’s face flushed, but the poor bastard had mentioned getting lost, and Detective Li appeared to be doing her best not to laugh as they took their leave.
Pious and I stared at each other for a few long seconds after he closed the door behind them, but what was there to say on the subject? We both got ready to go out into the cold, and once we were prepared to leave the house, he went around the side of the milking barn and came back in a nice red truck I’d never previously seen. The detectives sat in their boxy old Crown Victoria and watched us as Pious gave me a step up into the large vehicle, and shortly after, we were on our way.
The drive into New Hope took a while and I was spaced out for most of it. It seemed like magic that we went from tree-lined country roads traveling as fast as the weather would allow, to 35 mph and houses built close together. We passed one stoplight and hung a right onto a street lined with two- and three-story old brick houses that each had storefronts in the bottom. He stopped near a squat tan building at the end of a block and turned into the small car park attached to it. The small white sign said New Hope Sheriff’s Office in simple black letters, and it was an ugly if functional little thing.
Pious waited for me near my door when I got out of the truck, and he held out his hand. I found myself laughing far too hard as we worked out that I could hold his fingers in mine, and I wanted to touch him so badly that I did it, even though it was a bit ridiculous. We looked like dancers in a strange ballet. The detectives pulled into a spot near ours and followed us to the front doors, not trying to direct us anywhere else; although, the building was so small maybe there wasn’t an additional entrance for official business. Inside the tinted glass doors was a shock. The entryway opened into the work area for the department, and there were several officers, who appeared busy, at desks littered haphazardly around the room. My mum, however, was perched on a desk chatting with a blushing officer, and he appeared quite entranced with her.
Groaning, I waved. “Hello, Mum.”
She hitched her purse higher on her shoulder and stood squarely on her heels. The glare she fixed on me had my balls shriveling. Would it be childish to hide behind Pious? I glanced at him anyway. Maybe I didn’t care. In a flurry of clacks, she rushed toward me across the tiled floor, and I awkwardly caught her up in a hug.
“Why? Why did I have to come out here to this dreadful place and hunt you down like a wild animal?” Her flowery perfume swirled in my nose, overpowering at first, but my mouth watered.
I choked on a laugh that wanted to become too hysterical and forced it back.
“You left school?” She stepped away and studied my face, a furrow forming between her brows. “What is going on? I want to know this very instant. Were you so shaken up by Edward’s disappearance? Was it speaking with the police? What is it, love?” She stared at me.
The entire office full of people stared at me.
The detectives who had slunk in to hang out near the doors stared at me when I turned to check out the escape route. I wanted to fall through the floor and hide underground until they all went away.
“Can we not do this right now, Mum?” My face blazed hot with a combination of embarrassment and fear.
“You walked away from your entire life, jellybean.”
Okay, now the humiliation was complete. She hadn’t called me that since I was twelve. I closed my eyes, but this didn’t turn out to be a hallucination brought on by too much fresh air.
“I demand an explanation! You were having some sort of health scare you never informed me about. Your doctor called because you missed an appointment, but he said you were too old for him to tell me anything without your direct consent. The nerve of that man.” She shook me around a little. “You’re my son, why call if he couldn’t tell me anything!”
“Maybe he wanted you to do this?” Detective Li piped up, then shrugged when her partner glared at her. “What?”
A low-grade terror slithered through me as the heavy gazes around the room weighed me down until I wanted to lie on the floor to escape the pressure. I didn’t want to go to jail, but this was about more than that. Everyone was judging me, wondering what I was doing with Pious, probably making up lies about me in their heads. I let out a long breath. I’d never been with anyone long enough to bear the weight of public scrutiny, and I was beginning to think I wasn’t nearly as brave as I imagined. It was easy to take someone home and fuck them and walk down the street alone—harder to do it with a man at your side.
“Well, it all was rather much. You’re right, I had a health scare, and then a man I knew went missing.” My voice wavered and I cleared my throat. I had no idea how to play this, but I was emotional, so whatever.
“What health issue?” Mum shook me around. “Tell me now!”
“I. . . can’t.” I shrugged, and Mum’s eyes went wide. Her face flushed, and I braced for impact.
“Journey Baral!”
I shook my head.
Detective Li slid up next to us and smiled at me. “We would like to ask you a couple of additional questions, since you’re here.”
Mum bared her teeth, and I’d never seen her look so dangerous as she swung around toward the detectives. “We donated quite handsomely to the police department to get someone, anyone, to do something about finding my son. And now you want to interrogate him?”
Every eye in the place was still on us when I did a quick check. Detective Wrigley had the decency to look embarrassed, but Detective Li didn’t flinch.
“I was driving out here either way. I found the whole situation strange. You decided to waste your money all on your own.” She tipped her chin toward Mum.
Detective Wrigley coughed, and I wanted to laugh at the way Mum’s eyes looked about ready to drop out of her head. I considered it a rescue when Detective Li waved me toward a small room nearby. Pious looked lost as I walked away from him, but he merely switched to talking to Mum, which I thought was quite bold. The room I was led into was pleasant—it had a pink couch, and a full coffeepot on a credenza, along with a portrait of a lake on one wall. It smelled clean. My sense of smell seemed to be getting stronger; I swore I could tell that someone had used cinnamon coffee creamer in here before we borrowed the room. I dropped down to have a seat, but then I was loomed over by the detectives.
Wrigley closed the door and stood in front of it, adding to the trapped sensation.
Detective Li walked over and perched on the couch beside me. She smiled as she unbuttoned her trench coat, and I was a little surprised she only had a plain black T-shirt and jeans underneath. She shrugged off the coat, then smoothed her hands over her knees.
“Is it true?”
“I beg your pardon? I’m not certain what you are getting at?”
She tilted her head and grinned, brown eyes sparkling with a quick-witted amusement. “The heartfelt song and dance your mother has been feeding us.” My stomach growled loudly, and a painful pang had me squinting. She glanced at my belly, and I shrugged. The small room must’ve trapped the air because my mouth began watering as her aroma tickled my nose. I kept my eyes on her, or I would start mentally sizing up Wrigley. He seemed like the biggest threat. With him out of the way I could take her down. . . and have them both. I gasped. I’d never fantasized about eating two people at the same time. This was getting worse, not better.
“Mr. Baral?”
“Uh, sorry?”
“Are you sick? Why did you flee Vanheim after Edward Tilly vanished? First him, then you.” She studied me as if I was the most fascinating person she’d ever met.
Detective Wrigley hummed. “It’s weird. Were you threatened?”
I dropped my chin to my chest and stared at the floor. Was this about Eddie, or my mum complaining? Or both? Maybe Mum merely incentivized tracking me down. I sighed. It was looking more and more like I was going to end up in a jail cell, and I wasn’t sure everyone wouldn’t be safer that way. Maybe I should turn myself in? What if I hurt Pious? I let out a long, shaky breath, horrifically aware that with every passing second I was making myself look worse.
Mum’s raised voice in the other room jolted me into action. “Life’s odd. That big man from the farm, he’s my new boyfriend. I was bored in the city.”
“Bored?” Detective Wrigley stomped forward and ran a hand over the top of his bald head. Detective Li watched me carefully. “All that fucking money and you were bored?”
“To be fair, it’s my parents’ money.” My stomach ached again and I rubbed it. “There are a lot of. . . .” I snorted and ended up chuckling, despite my best intentions. “There are a lot of tasty men in Vanheim, but none quite like Pious.”
Detective Li leaned closer. “We are still looking for Edward. Your parents were his sponsors, and I think it makes sense that they were scared and leaning on the department. There are a lot of bad men in Vanheim, not just boring ones, and he was entangled with a few.”
That news didn’t shock me, given that he’d been fleeing bad choices in London. A different city didn’t change a man. “What does this have to do with me?”
“Were you threatened? Is that why you left?”
It wasn’t lost on me they’d asked the same question twice, and I sighed. Should I lie and say yes? Then I’d have to corroborate it. Fuck, what to do?
“His phone was found less than a mile from your apartment.” Detective Wrigley watched me intently.
“How shocking. I wish I could help.”
