Shadows Fall (9 page)

During the quick drive to the station, Charlie had woken me and asked me to give him a brief rundown of how I came to find the body. He said it was standard procedure to get an informal statement that would be corroborated later by his on-record report. Still, I came up with the same canned response that I’m sure every other witness did.

“I told you everything before. There really wasn’t much to it.”

He gave me a patient smile, probably because he’d expected the response and had heard it often enough. “Humor me. You may remember a detail that you didn’t think was important, but that could be just the thing we need to catch this guy.”

I sighed and took a sip from the water bottle one of the receptionists had brought me at Charlie’s request. A motion behind him caught my eye and I looked over. That was a mistake. Standing in back and just to the right of Charlie was the young man from earlier—the dead one.
Remember
, he whispered inside my head.

I shut my eyes tight and spoke in a quavering voice. “Okay, let’s get it over with.”

“This is Detective Charlie Hale interviewing homicide witness…” he began, and I tuned him out as he stated a bunch of technical legal jargon and police codes that I didn’t understand, plus the date and time he had arrived at the scene. “Sir, please state your full name, age, and occupation for the record.”

Hearing his voice in that brusque, formal tone caused shivers to race up and down my spine, and not the good kind. “Titus Finnbar McGinty, twenty-five years old, owner of Uptown Java.”

He had me say a few more things ‘for the record’ like my address, phone number, and social security number, and then he began the real interview. “Tell me what happened tonight, please Mr. McGinty.”

“I was walking home from the shop—Uptown Java, like I said. I was coming down Sixth Street and I stopped at the old building that’s being renovated, just on the west side of Hearst Tower… you know the one across from the library? Well, I went in there and I found this guy lying on the floor. It was really dark, and I tried to use my phone for light but then I dropped it… then I found it again, but he was dead. Didn’t need the light to tell me that. So I got the hell out of there and that’s when I called you.”

The words tumbled out in a rush because my brain didn’t want to touch the sickening, oleaginous memory of being inches from a dead body. I’d been building a nice mental brick wall since I sat down in Charlie’s car, but I could feel it crumbling.

“Easy, Titus. Take your time. Did you see anyone else around? Pass anybody on the street or hear anything out of the ordinary?”

The question knocked something loose in my head and I remembered beady eyes and strangely thick clothing for the temperature. “There was a guy. He ran into me on the sidewalk going the opposite direction. It was dark and he had a hoodie on so I couldn’t see his face at all. I remember thinking it odd that he was dressed so warmly, though.”

“Good. Can you take a guess at his height and weight?”

“Tall and skinny. Six-two, maybe six-three. I’m not good with weights… one-fifty? I don’t know.”

“And there were no other identifying characteristics that you noticed?”

“No, sorry.”

“Hey, every little bit helps,” he said with a smile.

“I hope so. Is that it?”

“One last question. Why did you go in there?”

Oh, shit
. It had never occurred to me that I might have to explain what caused me to stop. It should have. “What?”
Fucking genius.

“The building where you found the body… why did you stop walking and go inside?”

“I, uh… I don’t really remember. No, not that I don’t remember, I just can’t really explain it. I thought I heard something—probably was just a stray cat or something—and I just had this feeling. You know, like how you get when someone’s looking at you while you’re turned away… but you feel it, so you turn and look. It was like that.”

I hoped he could discern some kind of acceptable answer from my mindless babbling, because I surely couldn’t. I knew it was wrong, but I’d dealt with the cops once before when it came to my ‘special abilities’ and it did
not
go well. I wasn’t about to tell him that the ghost of the dead guy had practically forced me to go in there and find his body. The looney bin was not somewhere I wanted to vacation, thank-you-very-fucking-much.

Charlie studied my face for what seemed like ages, and I hoped he couldn’t see me sweating. Eventually he nodded and shut off the recording. I was happy to have regular Charlie back, instead of all-business Detective Hale. “If you want to wait just a minute for me to check in with my captain, I’ll take you home… maybe check your place just to make sure everything is secure.”

I breathed a sigh of relief because I’d been dreading going home. Imagining sitting in the townhouse, alone, in the dark, with visions of murder dancing in my head gave me the serious heebie-jeebies—and that was something for someone who saw ghosts all the time.

“I would really,
really
appreciate that.”

* * * *

When I let Charlie into the townhouse, I did a cursory scan of the living room to make sure it wasn’t embarrassingly messy. Riot and I definitely weren’t straight enough to have a ‘man cave’ but we had decorated the place in a decidedly masculine fashion. The walls were plaster painted a light gray, with some areas of exposed brick strategically installed for the ambience.

We’d kept the original hardwoods but had them refinished and stained. The living room was accented with a giant blood-red floor rug and two steel gray, fluffy leather couches. My favorite parts of the room were the exposed wood beams that held up the ceiling, and our gorgeous stone fireplace. Above the mantle, a rectangle recessed alcove held firewood logs, so that the circular ring patterns made up a kind of art piece. We didn’t need them, as the fire was gas, but I thought they added a rustic flavor. Across the room from the fireplace stood two massive, floor-to-ceiling bookcases that were stuffed to bursting with reading material.

“Come on in,” I said, suddenly nervous as a teenage girl on prom night. “Make yourself at home. Riot’s away for the night so it’s just you and me.”
Awkward, much?

Charlie stepped past me and executed a slow circle, looking around the room with wide eyes. “Holy shit, Titus.”

I let out a nervous laugh, uncomfortable with the attention so I attempted to deflect it. “Did I mention that Riot is stinking filthy rich? Yeah, that’s how a gypsy shop-owner from Nowheresville came to live in a fancy Fourth Ward townhouse.”

He turned that intense scrutiny onto me next. “Don’t undervalue yourself, Titus,” he said. It seemed like he might say something more, but he just went back to checking out my place. “But it
is
beautiful.”

There was an awkward silence in which we both stood in the middle of the room, unable to lock eyes. Without Charlie’s quiet reassurance to calm me, I began to think about what had happened tonight. Riot was out; I’d be alone with a psycho killer on the loose.
He doesn’t know who I am
, I thought, grasping at any comfort I could find.
I didn’t see anything anyway; there’s no reason for him to come after me
. No reason at all, unless he had still been there, watching me… watching us all scramble around like headless chickens.

Finally Charlie broke the silence. “If you don’t mind, I want to check out your place. I’ll just make sure everything’s locked up tight, look around outside, see for myself that there’s nothing out of the ordinary.”

Relief washed over me like a rainbow after a storm. I did
not
want to be alone—but I was too proud to call Riot and say I was scared—so I was grateful for a few more minutes of company.

Charlie went right to work, checking windows and doors, and he eventually disappeared into one of the rooms to do more of the same. I flopped down on one of the big sofas and flipped on the TV. Riot and I had paid a pretty penny for that couch; we didn’t have a guest room, so we’d shelled out top dollar for the fancy sofa-sleeper that was actually
comfortable
as a bed, for when we had guests. For Riot, that was often… for me, it was never.

I turned on the Roku system and fired up
True Blood
. I’d just recently discovered the series and become hopelessly addicted. I lost myself in the Louisiana accents and the Sookie-and-Bill drama, so much so that I almost forgot that Charlie was there, and what had happened only hours ago.

“Everything looks good here.”

When he popped up behind the couch and spoke, I jumped. “Jesus Christmas!”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

The mischievous grin that lit his face told me he wasn’t a bit sorry. Funny how I was already starting to be able to read Charlie. He was quite guileless for his age—thirty-four he’d told me—and for the type of job he did, but it was endearing knowing that he was basically an open book to me.

Once there was no longer a reason to keep him with me, panic started to overwhelm me. I imagined all kinds of horrible scenarios that would come to pass if I was left alone, all of which ended in my bloody death. Now, I wasn’t above playing the damsel-in-distress card to get laid, but I was sincerely terrified. I began shivering again as I looked up at Charlie. “Please don’t leave me alone. I know you’ve probably got work to do, and I’m sure it’s all kinds of inappropriate for me to ask, but I really don’t want to be alone. This couch pulls out into a bed…”

He ran a gentle hand through my hair. I was surprised, even as I leaned into the touch, because it was the most overt interest he’d shown since we’d met. Of course, I
knew
he was interested; his mannerisms weren’t very subtle, but heretofore he’d been too cautious to act.

His fond smile warmed something cold deep down inside of me. “I had no intention of leaving you alone.”

I closed my eyes for the briefest of moments. “Thank god,” I breathed. “You want something to eat or drink? I have sweet tea, juice, beer, wine, you name it.”

“Well, I’m technically not on duty anymore. After thirty-six hours with less than four of sleep, they told me to go the fuck home. Since I’m here for purely personal reasons, I think I’ll go ahead and have some wine.”

I dashed into the kitchen to pour us both a glass of Riot’s 2009
Ca de Rocchi
Merlot—it was fancier than what I would buy, but not so expensive that he’d be pissed we drank it. When I came back into the living room, I was surprised to see that Charlie had unfolded the hidden bed attached to the sofa. We always kept it made in case one of Riot’s friends decided to crash. Charlie had stretched out on the Egyptian cotton and his back was resting against the cushions.

“What are we watching?” he asked as I carefully climbed onto the bed with the wine glasses.

I handed him his glass and he took a sip. The succulent liquid tinged his full lips red, and I wanted to lick it off of them. However, I imagined that would probably be a bit forward in Charlie’s mind. I hadn’t asked him to stay so that I could seduce him… much.

“True Blood,” I said, suddenly remembering he’d asked me a question. “I’ll warn you, it’s highly addictive.”

He gave me an assessing look. “I bet it is.”

I got the feeling he wasn’t talking about vampires and waitresses.

After that, we settled in to watch for a while. I grabbed the remote that controlled the gas fire and clicked it, causing the flames to jump to life. Charlie looked over at me again with a question in his eyes, but a smile was teasing his lips.

“Isn’t it a little warm out for a fire?” he asked, although he didn’t really seem to mind.

I shrugged. “The townhouse is climate controlled already. And a fire makes everything cozy. I need to feel cozy right now.”

He seemed to ruminate on that for a few seconds before scooting closer. He wrapped his free arm around my shoulders and squeezed lightly. I allowed my body to sink down into the mattress and I laid my head on his shoulder, giving in to the comfort of his big, warm body.
Cozy
.

Neither of us said anything more for a while after that. He finished his wine and I took the glass from him, setting both on a side table before snuggling back in. I had to admit, I’d watched this episode of the show before so I knew what was coming. It was a distinctly homoerotic sequence between two of the show’s very sexy, very straight male characters. It eventually turned out to be a dream, but who the hell cared, because the scene was
hot
.

I could feel Charlie’s pulse pounding in my ear where my head lay on his chest, and his breathing sped up. I couldn’t resist a look at his crotch—
I’m only human!
—and I could tell that he was getting hard. If there’d been any doubt in my mind that Charlie was gay, it would have been eradicated right then and there.

But I had no doubts. I knew he was gay, I just didn’t know if he was willing to
be
gay—to have a relationship, or even a one night stand. I debated with myself over making a move. While cocooned in the heat of Charlie’s half embrace, I puzzled over it so hard, I eventually started to doze. It was wonderful, this sensation of being completely protected, being infused with a bone-deep warmth; I hadn’t slept like that since… ever.