Page 58 of Sean's Sunshine
Billy took a moment to study the picture, and as its import hit him, he sucked in a gasp.
“Is that—oh my God.”
The scene was drawn from the gallery’s perspective, as they often were, and featured Jackson Rivers on his feet in the witness stand, his back turned toward the jury as he peered over his shoulder.
His back was one giant series of bandages, following the track of what Billy would guess was a helluva knife wound, going from his shoulder blade down to his waist, where it turned into a puncture.
The caption read,P.I. Jackson Rivers produces evidence of a cover-up and a murder attempt by the Sac PD.
Ellery Cramer, who had apparently been the one to ask Jackson to produce the “evidence,” could be seen in the foreground, his face hard and angry as he looked at Jackson’s wound.
And the jury was appalled.
“Oh Jesus,” Billy muttered. “Is Henry okay?”
“Yeah,” Sean said. “See? There’s a sketch of him behind the defense’s table. I texted Christie to make sure.”
“So,” Randy said, looking scared and worried, “I guess they won their case.”
Sean shook his head. “From what I understand, the DA’s office is refusing to concede. I mean, I have faith in Ellery to get the kid off the crime but….” He shook his head. “I don’t think the cops who did this to Jackson are going to be charged.”
Billy found himself suddenly furiously angry. “And this—thisis the system you want to be a part of? This is what you want to go back to?”
Sean swallowed, and Billy realized that he’d probably cut his lover—a cop who was the son of a cop—to the bone. “Can’t fix it if I walk away from it,” he said softly before standing up. “I’m going to go grab my jacket. It’s a little chilly out there today.”
He made his way down the hallway, moving at a good clip for anyone whose lifewouldn’tdepend on their physical fitness in two weeks. Billy watched him go, setting his sandwich down not because he was afraid of gaining weight but because suddenly the nicely marinated meat and whole-grain bread didn’t taste nearly as good as it had before he’d seen that appalling picture and realized that Jackson Rivers had sacrificed his dignity, his safety, and literally the skin off his back to get a kid off a trumped-up charge, and he was probably never going to get payback.
He glanced apologetically at Randy, who was giving him a surprisingly adult look from those bright green eyes.
“Wow,” Randy said.
“I’m sorry,” Billy returned. “I don’t want to see him get hurt again.”
“Well, yeah,” Randy agreed, nodding his head. “But the world needs good guys, Billy. You should know that. The other kind are everywhere. It’s like, even if there aren’t enough good guys to go around, just knowing they’re out there gives you hope, right? I mean, even if the bad guy fucks us raw or blows us away, we can hope a good guy is out there to protect our brothers.”
Billy stared at Randy in horror. “Randy, my brother, why wouldn’t the good guy save you too?”
Randy’s mouth twisted, and again an adult self-awareness that Billy could have sworn the kid didn’t possess was written all over his angular face.
“I’m the dorky redheaded kid with all the allergies and the runaway mouth, Billy. I get killed first in all the scary movies, and my death is comic relief. I mean, you’re all nice to me at the flophouse, and my own family couldn’t love me more. In fact they didn’t, because I got the shit kicked out of me and then found myself homeless, right? Anyway, I know who I am. I’m not the guy who gets the cop or the soldier or the doctor. If I’m lucky, someday I’ll figure a way out of porn and end up with a guy who works at a gas station but doesn’t mind my fifty-dozen allergies and big mouth.” He gave that crooked smile again, and Billy wanted to cry. “But if Iamlucky, it’s because John took pity on all of us and I managed to live that long. So, you know, maybe give your cop guy a break.”
Billy swallowed. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll think about it. Do you still want to come to the park with us?”
Randy perked up. “And see all the dogs? Yes! Maybe that one you showed us climbing trees will be there, because Ilikethat dog!”
Randywasthat dog, Billy thought, his throat a little tight. Awkward and intense and too big for its body and pure of heart right down to the big feet and big ears and ginormous protrusion from a private area.
“Me too. I’m going to go drop my books,” Billy lied. He usually dropped his books in a corner of the kitchen, but he suddenly needed to talk to Sean privately.
He found Sean in the bedroom, staring sightlessly into his closet. Without a word, Billy put one hand on his shoulder and reached in to grab a fleece vest, which he held up for Sean’s approval.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, helping Sean into the vest, one arm and then the other.
“It’s not easy,” Sean replied, his voice just as soft. “These last weeks have been really….” He smiled a little. “Well, awful and wonderful. I’m still waiting for my body to recover so we can….”
Billy felt the flush rising from his cheeks and nuzzled the back of Sean’s ear. “Me too,” he murmured.
“I’ll still be a cop when we do,” Sean told him.