Page 16

Ray

“You want to tell me why your wallet was found near the body of Mr. Cross?”

Elias asked, his tone deadly. He wore an earpiece to hear Conor, who was watching through a live feed in another room.

“Lost it months ago,”

Jake growled from across the table in the interrogation room.

“Lie,”

Conor reported.

“You’re going to have to do better than that,”

Elias huffed. “Your time spent behind bars for the shit you pulled around here years ago hasn’t seemed to have knocked any sense into you.”

Jake Gerard used to run the local real estate agency in Marshall, and Julia was his secretary until the day Jake sent the single mother out to seduce Brick into selling his property. He’d threatened her with being fired, with no way than to care for her young son. Brick ensured Jake never had the chance to take advantage of another person, and Julia and her son were made safe, with him giving her a job and a home with the team.

“What were you doing out in the middle of nowhere?”

Ray asked.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Jake huffed.

“I see your manners haven’t improved,”

Brick said as he entered the room.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Jake asked.

“Detective Ray Sommers is working on this case to answer your first question,”

Elias said.

“And for your second,”

Brick growled as he leaned over the table, invading Jake’s space. “I heard you were in town and wanted to get reacquainted. My team and I look forward to spending time with you.”

Jake’s tough demeanor melted like ice cream in the hot sun.

“Do I need to ask you the question again?”

Ray asked.

“I was out there taking pictures for a possible buyer,”

Jake grunted.

“Partial truth, there is a buyer, but he’s hiding something,”

Conor reported into their earpieces.

It didn’t escape Ray’s notice that the property was within the yellow area on Cross’s map they’d found in his basement.

“What the hell are you doing in real estate again? Your business was shut down,”

Elias asked.

“Yeah, thanks to you, asshole,”

Jake spat out in Brick’s direction.

Ray could use this idiot’s anger at Brick to his advantage. He’d wait for his moment.

“You have no idea what I’m truly capable of, Jake.”

Brick smiled wide. “But you’ll find out soon enough.”

“You can’t threaten me in front of the law.”

“I didn’t hear anything,”

Elias said casually.

“It’s on camera.”

Jake motioned to the camera set up in the corner.

“Those,”

Elias chuckled, “haven’t been turned on.”

Jake’s expression changed as realization began sinking in, and Ray made his move.

“This is my case,”

Ray announced. “Back off, the man has rights.”

Elias and Brick easily slipped into this new scenario. They would have been great at improv.

“Fuck you, Sommers. This asshole is the scum of the earth,”

Brick growled.

“I’m going to have to ask you both to leave. This is my case, and I’m pulling rank. You two are too close to the individuals involved to have a clear and unbiased opinion.”

“You can’t pull rank on me.”

Elias feigned shock.

“Yes, I can. Take it up with the State.”

Ray had no idea if he could, but he had to get Jake to believe he was on his side.

“Fine, but this isn’t over,”

Elias said before shoving a chair with a good amount of force across the room.

Elias grabbed Brick’s arm and dragged him from the room, slamming the door behind them. Damn, their Oscars were in the mail.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,”

Ray continued. “Let’s start again. I’m investigating the death of the town veterinarian, Mr. Cross, and while I was on the site where his body was found, your wallet was found, which you’ve got to admit is very suspicious. Can you explain why it was there?”

Jake looked around the room as if deciding on his best course of action, so Ray hedged his bets.

“I can only help you as much as you help me,”

Ray said. He knew bigger fish were in this pond, and Jake was a minnow doing what he was told.

“None of this is on me,”

Jake said after a moment. “I didn’t kill no one.”

“Truth.”

“I believe you. Your previous issues with the law don’t lead me to believe you’re a cold-blooded killer, but you’ve gotta see how bad this looks for you. If we can’t find any other viable answers, that leaves me with no other choice but to charge you with the murder and let the courts decide your guilt. However, with your history, I honestly can’t see a judge and jury siding with you.”

“I didn’t do it.”

“Truth.”

“Then who did? You gotta give me something to go on. No one is going to be able to reach you here. We’d keep you safe in a cell while we find the real murderer.”

Jake’s eyes shifted from side to side, and this time Ray remained quiet. Letting the guy work himself up until he spilled something useful.

It didn’t take long.

“There’s shit going on in Marshall, and Cross was no angel.”

“What was Cross up to?”

“When I said I was out there taking pictures for someone interested in the land, I wasn’t lying. You need to look into who's buying up the land around here.”

“Truth.”

“Is this something new?”

Ray asked, already knowing the answer.

“No. It’s been going on for generations. When land came up for sale, they bought it, and when the owners weren’t willing to sell, other things happened.”

“Truth.”

“What do you mean by ‘other things,’ and who is they?”

“That’s all I can say. Look into it.”

Jake was getting progressively more nervous, and Ray knew he was nearing the end of getting any usable information.

“Do you know why they want this particular patch of land?”

Ray asked, attempting to get one more question answered.

“No, but it’s gotta be big.”

“Truth.”

“Okay. We’re going to keep you here in a cell for your own safety until we have those responsible. It’s likely whoever this is knows you’ve been brought in by now, and if they’re willing to kill Cross, they won’t think twice about killing you.”

Jake’s face paled. The gravity of the situation finally hitting home.

About damn time.

***

Ghost

Later that evening…

“That was one hell of a performance,”

Ghost said as he and Ray crawled into bed. He never wanted to take these moments for granted.

“Thank you,”

Ray chuckled as he pulled Ghost close. “I’ve often found if you can appeal to someone’s sense of self-preservation and show understanding, they’re more likely to take the easiest way out to save their skin. Unless they’re a psychopath, then there’s no reasoning with them.”

“Spencer and Harris are still digging into the land purchases, but it appears Brick’s intuition is leading him in the right direction,”

Ghost said.

“Something tells me your team leader is typically a step ahead of most. I guess that’s what makes him the best.”

“After watching you work today, I’d say you’re the best at what you do.”

Ghost had been truly impressed by Ray’s ability to get Jake to cough up information when it was obvious the man didn’t want to.

“You’re biased,”

Ray chuckled.

“It’s true. You got Jake to talk. No one else in that room would have.”

“Thank you, but I’ll be happier when we know what’s really going on around here. It seems we’ve gone down a damn rabbit’s hole, and whatever’s happening has been well planned out for a very long time.”

“Me too,”

Ghost said, then he remembered something important. “Once we solve this mystery, what are your plans?”

“Plans?”

Ray looked honestly confused by the question. Had he not thought this far ahead?

“Yeah. Like returning to Seattle kinda plans,”

Ghost explained.

Ghost hadn’t realized until then how nervous he was about Ray’s possible answer. Would he stay even if he didn’t like living in a small town like Marshall, or would Ray want Ghost to move to Seattle? Could he move to Seattle after finally finding his home among the Fire Lake team? For Ray, he’d try to do anything.

“I told you, you’re never getting rid of me. I’ve already decided to give my notice back in Seattle,”

Ray said easily, as if this was a given.

“You’re moving back to Marshall? But you don’t like it here. I don’t want you to resent me for making you live somewhere you’d hate,”

Ghost said. It would be worse if, after everything, Ray grew to regret his decision.

“That was back when I was younger. I never felt like I fit in here, especially with your family being the law. Friends were hard to find, but judgment from everyone was readily available. However, Marshall has changed over the years I’ve been gone. It’s much more open and accepting, and I believe you’re happy here, right?”

“Yes. It feels like I finally have a home.”

Ghost’s heart was bursting with happiness.

“Well, then it’s decided. We live in Marshall somewhere,”

Ray declared with a grin. “We could live in a hut, and I’d be happy as long as you’re with me.”

“Thank you, baby.”

Ghost dove in for a kiss. “But I believe we’ll have better options for living accommodations.”

“I would never do anything to hurt you, ever. I mean…”

Ray fell quiet, and when he looked down, the look on his face rendered Ghost speechless. “I think I love you. You’re the first man I’ve ever said those words to, and you’ll be the last. You and me, we’re forever, babe,”

Ray said, running the palm of his hand along Ghost’s jaw. “You’ve made my world better. Hell, you are my world. I’m a very selfish man, so there’s no way I’m letting you go.”

Ghost had never been someone’s whole world before; it was an odd and exhilarating feeling. He straddled Ray’s waist and hugged him close.

“I love you too. I’ve always believed I was better alone, but now I know how empty it would be without you.”

“You’ll never have to find out,”

Ray assured before pulling Ghost in for a long, lazy kiss that quickly turned heated, and soon both were lost in their need for each other as hands roamed freely over their heated bodies. Nothing had ever been so right. Ray was his, and no one would take him away.

That night, they spent hours expressing their love for each other in multiple ways until both lay exhausted and satiated for the moment.