Page 18 of Line of Sight (Second Sight #4)

GARY FINISHED his report for Travers, not that they had all that much to report on, but Travers wanted to be kept in the loop.

Scott McCarthy’s file sat on his desk. Gary could understand why the case had baffled detectives at the time: no motive and no suspects. And while both his and Dan’s instincts were telling them Greg Collins needed further investigation, he couldn’t get past that alibi.

I didn’t imagine it, did I? Greg was rattled. And then there was the whole business of not shaking Dan’s hand, not to mention the fact that Greg had known Brad too.

Coincidence?

The door opened, and Dan came in. One glance was enough to tell Gary something was wrong. Dan was pale, his lips curled in an expression of disgust, his face tight.

Gary froze. “What’s happened?”

Dan closed the door, and Gary saw sheets of paper in his hand. “Apparently I relaxed too soon.” He tossed them onto Gary’s desk. “From our fan club.”

Gary peered at the sheets. One was another cartoon, unsigned, depicting him and Dan in rainbow attire, makeup, and high heels. Dan carried a rainbow flag, but Gary’s was pink on the top and royal blue on the bottom, with an overlapping purple stripe in the middle, and they were leading a parade.

“This one was stuck to the door,” Dan told him.

He frowned. “I recognize the rainbow one, but what kind of flag is this?”

“That’s the bisexual pride flag.”

Gary bit his lip. “I suppose I should be flattered they bothered to get it right.” He smirked. “And I could never walk in those heels. I’d break my leg.” Then he realized Dan was still tense. “Either you’re taking this way too seriously, or I’m missing something here.”

In silence, Dan laid aside the cartoon, and Gary caught his breath. Written across another page in red lettering were two lines.

Has Gary stocked up on AIDS meds yet?

Which one of you is the woman?

“I found this in my internal mail,” Dan gritted out.

Gary lurched to his feet, grabbed the sheet, and pushed past Dan to fling the door open. He strode into Homicide to find most of the desks occupied.

“Can I have your attention?” he said in a loud voice.

Heads jerked in his direction, and the room fell silent.

Gary straightened. “I know some of you might think the present political climate gives you carte blanche to come out with the kind of disgusting garbage someone just sent to my partner, but I’m here to tell you that if you try this again, I will find you, and I’ll make sure the chief throws the fucking book at you.

” He paused. “And do your research. AIDS? That’s old now. We call it HIV nowadays.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowded space, and Gary scanned the sea of reddened faces. From the rear of the room, Gary saw Lieutenant Travers push through the assembled detectives and uniformed officers, his face stony.

“Is there a problem here?” he barked as he strode to where Gary stood.

Gary held out the sheet to him. “You tell me.”

Travers stared at it, his eyes blazing. He turned slowly to face his subordinates.

“If any of you knows who is responsible for this, I suggest you take one of two actions. Either tell me their name or speak to them directly and tell them they’d better start thinking about a transfer, because this kind of harassment is unacceptable in this department, and God help them if I find out who they are. ”

Gary was shaking, his stomach roiling.

I got complacent. I thought I was in a safe space.

What burned him was that some POS didn’t have the courage to say this to his face.

“Let’s take this to your office,” Travers murmured.

Gary nodded and led the way. Dan stood in the doorway, his eyes wide.

“I heard every word. Probably everyone in the precinct heard.” He gazed at Gary in obvious admiration.

Travers coughed. “Next time, bring it to me first?”

Gary glared at him. “There’d better not be a next time.”

He glanced at Gary’s desk. “You done my report?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then go home. And take Dan with you. That’s an order.” He paused at the door. “One last thing. I’ve got your back, okay? No one comes out with crap like this in my department. And the chief will tear them a new one if this happens again.”

“Thank you, sir.”

As soon as the door closed, Dan was in his arms.

“Have I told you lately that I love you?”

Gary smiled. “Maybe? But I wouldn’t mind hearing it again.” He kissed Dan on the lips. “But wait until we’re home.” He glanced at the whiteboard and frowned. “What am I thinking? We can’t just leave. We’ve got work to do.”

“Gary?” Dan smiled. “It’ll wait until Monday. They’ll still be here.”

He gazed at the five faces staring back at him.

And there’d better not be any more.