Page 68 of Zero Divergence
“She suggested we could get a place together, and it would be the two of us like it used to be before she met Stan,” Blakemore said. “Mom also hoped I could help her get started on a separation agreement since I am studying to become a paralegal. I told her I didn’t have enough schooling under my belt yet, but I knew some basics. I promised to talk to Vivian about it on Monday. I told her we’d find a way.” Blakemore took a deep breath. Misery was etched all over the guy’s face, and his shoulders slumped like he carried the world on them. “I called my mom today to let her know what happened to Vivian, and she was appropriately sad she had died and moderately concerned I was the one who found my friend’s dead body, but mostly Mom wanted to tell me she’d had a change of heart.Again. She’d overreacted and decided to work things out with Stan.Again. And by work things out, she meant she is going to overlook another affair. It wasn’t his first rodeo, and I promise it won’t be his last.”
“That’s tough,” Sawyer said sympathetically.
Blakemore shrugged. “It was the wake-up call I needed. I can’t stay with Jonah forever, so I picked up an extra shift when a coworker texted me today asking if I could cover for him. Let me give you my mom’s number. You can call her and confirm my statement.”
Sawyer pulled his phone from his pocket and typed the number into his note app as Blakemore rattled it off. “I only ask that you don’t tell her about Jonah.”
“She knows you’re gay, right?” Royce asked him.
“Of course, and she’s never had a problem with it, but I don’t want her getting her hopes up that I’ve met ‘the one.’”
“Jonah isn’t the one, huh?” Royce asked.
Sawyer looked over at his partner. What was with him and the matchmaking lately? Was he looking to start a side hustle or have a backup plan in case this policing thing didn’t pan out?
“Neither of us is looking for a serious relationship right now. And in case I got a different idea, Jonah made a point of letting me know I was staying in his guest room. We had a great weekend, but it was nothing more than a hookup. It just took us a while longer than usual to work each other out of our systems.”
Royce shrugged. “If you say so.”
Blakemore glared at Royce. “I just did. Any other questions?”
Even though he thought Blakemore wasn’t involved in Gross’s death, Sawyer wasn’t willing to tip his hat and show a picture of Bonita Brothers to him. He decided to go a different route. “I noticed the bouquet of pink roses in Vivian’s office. Were they a recent delivery? Do you know who they were from?”
“Vivian had some kind of floral membership at Sattler and Sons and received bi-monthly deliveries,” Blakemore replied. “She chose Saturday afternoons to receive them. The flowers usually arrive before I leave for my shift, but they were late this weekend. I left before they showed up.” Then Blakemore’s eyes widened. “The delivery person might’ve witnessed something. You gotta talk to them.”
“We’ll do that first thing in the morning,” Sawyer assured him. “Did the same person deliver Vivian’s flowers each time?”
Blakemore shook his head. “No, but surely the florist keeps a record of deliveries.”
“I’m sure they do,” Sawyer agreed.
“Take care, kid. We’ll be in touch if we have more questions,” Royce told him.
“Forgive me for saying so, but I hope not,” Blakemore quipped.
“Sugar! What the hell are you doing here?” a whiny voice asked from behind them.
Sawyer and Royce turned around and found two waiters appraising Blakemore. One guy was blond and had on a uniform like Blakemore’s, and the other man was a brunet who wore gold shorts and body glitter like the VIP lounge waiters. Both men sported pissy expressions as they raked their eyes over Blakemore in disbelief.
“Spence, snagging the hottest guy ever to grace this club over the weekend wasn’t enough for this slut,” the golden guy said.
Blakemore threw his head back and laughed, making the two waiters look at one another before casting their gazes back on Blakemore, who had tears running down his face. “Oh, god, that’s rich, Tyson, considering I saw you sucking off Spencer’s boyfriend in the parking lot during dinner breaks this weekend.”
Blond boy narrowed his eyes at golden guy. “Bitch, he better be lying about you and Brett.”
Ah, no wonder the bartender was so sure about Blakemore’s dinner breaks.
“Baby,” golden guy said, “would I hurt you that way? We’re besties.”
Blond boy let out an ear-piercing battle cry and launched himself at his former bestie. Unfortunately, two more waiters were walking by with heavily laden trays of drinks and wings. Sawyer got hit in the eye with a chicken wing, and booze and soda rained down over his head. His eye burned like someone had poured acid in it, and through his one good eye, he saw Royce move in to separate the two divas who had started to thrash and roll around. In the process, they knocked over a patron, who toppled into another waiter, who fell into a guy dancing at the edge of the floor, creating a domino effect.
In the uproar, fights broke out all around them, which was why Erik fired the two waiters when the gold dust settled and Royce and Sawyer were forced to haul Spencer and Tyson into the station when a patron wanted to press charges for bodily harm. He had slipped in spilled milk and broken his wrist, so there was no avoiding the arrest. Rather than radio for a patrol unit, Royce took the opportunity to lecture the two bickering men whenever he could get a word in edgewise.
“Have some fucking respect for yourselves,” he snarled.
Then he started questioning them about Erik’s management style and whether the guy abused his power. The divas told them Erik was a jerk, but they weren’t aware of any inappropriate behavior. Royce gave them tips on how to get out of an unwanted position and urged them to report sexual harassment if it ever occurred.
“Yes, daddy,” golden guy purred from the back seat.