WLiiA Love's Fan Fiction Archive

Small Town

Title: Small Town
Author: Katri

Beta: TheEmpressAR
Rating: PG to 17+
Pairing: Ryan / Colin eventually, and several other charachters from Whose line (Drew, Brad, Jeff, Greg...)
Summary: A dead body was found in the forest. Special investigator Mochrie gets a new assigment and travels to a Small Town near by the sea.


OCTOBER


Chapter 1

It was getting dark. Colin still had a one hour drive till he reached his goal. He hoped that his rental car’s navigator system would work in these outlying parts too because darkness was reaching him. He was on his way for his new working place.

His destination this time was a small town near nowhere; a place where he knew no-one, as usual. Colin specialized in serial crimes. He had done this job for nearly 15 years now. Before that he was just a common officer, but then his absolutely infallible capacity for making profiles of criminals and his keen hunch for finding evidence was found, they were hiring him in the national group of special investigators.

He was single. Moving around over the years didn’t actually help him find a partner. His latest relationship with a woman had ended when he was 18; ever since he noticed that he was more affected by men. He had a long term relationship with a man before he started at the special unit but it had faded itself because of his constant traveling. After that he was so into his job that he didn’t have time for relationships at all. Sometimes it made him sad, sometimes it made things easier.
Colin had a small hole he called a home in Albany, NY, because everyone has to have an address. But he didn’t spend a lot time there. Whenever he had week or two of vacation, he traveled to a silent place near the sea but not the people.

Colin loved the sea! He could just sit and watch it for hours. That’s why he was a little more than eager to get this specific assignment because this new target was by the sea. The Population was around 50,000. The town was called Boonsville.
Colin turned off the Sinatra CD in the car’s stereo when he began approaching the town. He drove slowly and looked around. There was a market, a post office, and a movie theater on the left. A little flower shop, bakery, and coffee shop on the right. The town hotel's bright signs caught Colin’s attention and he headed that way. He parked his car in front of the hotel and got out. He stretched his legs. They were stiff after 6 hours of driving from the airport. He took his CD out of the stereo and with his entire luggage, he headed to the front desk of the hotel.

"Good evening, my name is Colin Mochrie and I have a reservation for one."

"Good evening, Mr. Mochrie. We were waiting for you". The receptionist answered and gave him a big smile. "You have room 22 with an ocean view on the second floor as you requested. Here is a message for you."

The girl extended a small, white note to him and the room key. ‘It must be from the town’s police chief. No one else knew of his location.’ He mused.

"Can I now go to my room? I’ve had a long day today. And thank you..."

"Karen"

"...Karen. I was asked to leave these rental car keys here with you."

Colin lifted his suitcase and headed for the stairs. Karen was still wishing him a nice stay and a good night but Colin really didn’t hear her anymore. He was concentrating on finding his room. There wasn’t an elevator since the building was only 3 stories high, but it was high enough for Colin’s tired feet. He set his mouth firm and started to climb the stairs one by one. What was in these old buildings? The space between two steps was always so high. He had to use all the power he had left.

Finally, he found his room and opened it. It was worth all of the pain. The modern times hadn’t reached this hotel yet, like it had done to so many over the country. A Double sized, oak, sturdy bed ruled the room. Little figures were engraved on its ends. A writing-table was as old as the bed and made of the same kind of wood, and fluffy armchair was in front of the TV set. He took his shoes and socks off and felt the soft woolen carpet under his sore feet. He sighed.

He went to the bathroom which contained a bathtub and a toilet and also a small cabinet for his hygiene products and towels. Colin took off all of his clothes and stepped into the shower. Warm water ran over his tired body and washed the days dust off of it. After standing there for only five minutes, he stepped out, dried himself and slid between cool, white sheets. He fell asleep immediately without noticing a dark figure on the beach staring into his windows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colin began to regain consciousness. The time was 7:20 am. It was the usual time when Colin woke up. He removed the covers and immediately felt cold shivers. He opened his suitcase and searched for his bathrobe. He was starving and he could kill for a cup of coffee. Then something else crossed his mind. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could smell the sea even though he hadn’t seen it yet. He slowly turned to the window and looked the view. The day was beautiful. The sun was up and was showing all the signs of autumn. The sea was deep blue. Sun beams were dancing on the top of the waves. He could see the fishers far away catching their hauls. He smiled for the first time since he has arrived.

He saw a white note in his nightstand. He had forgotten it in the evening so he opened it now.

Mr. Mochrie
Welcome to the Boonsville. Hope the room pleased you.
A man of ours will be around shortly for you by 8am.
Chief Carey

"Oh shit, I have to hurry!"
Colin took a quick shower and shaved. He dried his hair with a towel, well what was left of it. He went bald early. Coworkers had joked about it for a while but Colin didn’t take lightly to it, so they stopped. Nowadays nobody made fun because he was highly respected. Colin missed those times when he was just a part of the gang. Now he just went to where he was needed and after becoming familiar with everyone he had to leave. He has learned to keep a little distance. It made easier to say goodbye.

At eight a.m. sharp the phone in his room rang. Colin picked it up.

"Hello, its Josie from the front desk. Your driver has arrived and is waiting for you in the lobby."

Colin said that he would be there in a minute and set the phone on the hook. ‘What a beautiful English accent she had’, he thought. Colin took his jacket from the chair and checked his pockets making sure that he had everything he needed. He took his briefcase and headed downstairs.

A tall, dark haired man was standing there in a uniform. He noticed the older man and grinned at him.
"You must be investigator Mochrie, right?" He stretched out his hand to the man.

"I am", Colin answered and shook his hand.

"My name is Brad, Brad Sherwood, and I am honored to pick you up. Welcome to our humble town."

Colin followed the younger man to his car. Colin looked over the town while they were driving through it. There were already people going to their jobs and shopping. No one seemed to be rushed.

The police department wasn’t that far away. Colin estimated that if he walked there it would only take ten minutes. He decided to do so every morning.

Brad led him through the doors into a cozy lobby. Behind the desk sat a busy looking man talking on the phone. Brad motioned to him that they were going forward. The man nodded.

"That one behind the desk is Esten. He takes all the phone calls and looks after all the intakes. You will get your access pass from him later."

They walked by a couple of doors until they arrived at the doors of a large room. There was a big table and stools for 15 people. Colin counted quickly in his head. Brad asked him to step in and picked up a phone on the wall.

"Chief, we’re here" he said and ended the call.

Colin picked a stool and sat on it. He was opposite the door. That way he could see immediately who was coming in to the room. He loved these moments. All new people, all new stories. He loved psychology; he loved to build up peoples profiles and guess what they were made of. Sometimes people thought that he was medium or something when even they couldn’t understand his specific descriptions of themselves. Colin knew better. It was based on just observing.

He looked up at the door when a slightly overweight man stepped in. The man had thick black glasses and short hair. He had a light mark on his left hand ring finger and a wrinkled suit. He was unshaven but otherwise he looked very friendly.
"I’m Chief Carey. It’s good to have you here now. This case is mystery to us.
Chief Carey talked fast. Colin liked the way he went right to the point without babbling.

"No evidence has been found except the bullet in that body."

"Yes, we had a similar case a few months earlier. The bullet matched the one you found", Colin added.

They spread the papers all over the table and started to read them closely. Colin was surprised that the chief was so into it too. Usually the chiefs just kept the phones in their hands and let the others do the job but everything in this place was different. That was the benefit of small towns.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chief Carey and Colin were exploring things for a couple of hours now. They kept a list of details on a dry erase board at the end of the room. It was already a long list. Colin was so deep into the files that he was startled when the chief suddenly stood up and picked up the stool and slammed it on the floor.

"I need food so that my brain works"Carey rumbled.

Colin smiled at the man and remembered that he hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday.

"We’ll take a lunch hour if you don’t mind." The chief yelled on his way to the door.

They went to a small restaurant next to the department. Chief Carey ordered for both of them. Grilled chicken with salad and potatoes. They ate it with a hearty appetite and Carey told Colin that he was just divorced and was getting used to it little by little. Colin smiled, he already knew it.

When they were walking back, Carey told him that they had flexible hours in the department. That’s why there were so few of them in the place right now. Others would be behind the desk if something sudden should happen.
Colin shook his head. ‘That’s a small town for ya’. There is an unsolved murder, possibly done by a serial killer that they could attach the other case to, and nobody is in a rush. If this had happened in a large town, everybody would run all over, someone would yell at others, and yet nothing more could be accomplished. Colin liked it in here. He had peace in his work for a change.

Colin stepped in the doors of the department when he felt like someone was watching him from behind. He turned his head but nothing special was there. He stepped in and closed the door behind him.

In the front desk the clerk, Officer Chip Esten handed an access pass to Colin and asked him to sign a paper. With this he could walk freely around . The chief told him that there were 30 officers working in the department and five office clerks. He hung the pass around his neck.

It was noon. More officers were appearing in the corridors. Chief Carey introduced him to everyone on their way to the conference room. Others seemed to know of his reputation already. He felt respect in their voice.

At four p.m. they stopped. They were going through all the papers they had so far and got familiar with all the information what was collected. They gathered all the paperwork and the chief led him to the new office that was to be his during the case. It was small but cozy and everything Colin needed.

"Brad will drive you back to the hotel now. Tomorrow we’ll show you the crime scene. Is nine a.m. ok?"

After politely turning down the ride to the hotel, Colin took his briefcase and stepped out on the sidewalk leading to the hotel. Walking in the fresh air was exactly what he needed now. His head was full of details. He needed to clear and organize them now.

A young man was killed and hid in the woods. His body was found there two weeks ago. He was naked when they found him. A bullet had pierced his brain. Locals found his body there. No real evidence was there, and no other matching DNA. The murderer had vanished into thin air.

The victim's name was Jonathan Price. He lived in the city next to Boonsville, called Gull town. But since he was found here the body belonged to the Boonsville police department. There wasn't much information on Jonathan. He had moved to this county less than a year ago and worked as an engineer. Officers questioned his co-workers and his boss, but they all said that Jonathan was silent, and nobody had actually known him that well. They didn’t find anything remarkable in his apartment either. It looked like the man didn’t have any history behind him before moving here. That's why Colin was pretty sure that Jonathan Price wasn't his real name.

The other victim a few months earlier was executed with the same gun. That's why they could connect these two cases.

Back in his hotel Colin greeted Karen, who was behind the desk and asked when dinner would be served. He had time still. He went up to his room and changed into his track suit and went back outside. He just had to finally get closer to the sea.


Chapter 2



The next day alarm clock woke Colin 7:30 am. He was well rested as he took care of his morning duties. He was ready at 8:50. He figured that he had time to catch a cup of coffee before leaving. He went downstairs. He had on a black turtle neck with a track jacket and blue jeans. They were going to be in the forest for several hours and definitely not going to sweat out there in a suit.

He got a big styrofoam mug of steaming hot coffee from the hotels restaurant. Rushing through the lobby he almost bumped into another man. The man had a police uniform so Colin figured he must be his chauffeur for today.
"Good morning. I’m Detective Mochrie. You must be my ride to the forest?" Colin took the opportunity to speak first.
He had to stretch his neck to reach the guy’s eyes. The man was really tall. His eyes were searching Colin’s. They were staring at each other for a while like that until the tall man started to speak.

"Yes I’m Stiles, Ryan Stiles. I’m the deputy chief. I’m supposed to show you the crime scene. I was there first when the body was found."

Colin looked at the man. His voice was deep and calm. He had green eyes. That shade of green that is the color of the sea when the water is warm. He was staring at him with a challenge; not looking up to him. Colin did a routine inspection of the man. He found no rings. The uniform was spotless, his hair was freshly cut and he used a common aftershave. Colin couldn’t get a feel of this man from his outward appearance alone. He had to wait until they started talking to catch the needed information that way.

They were driving now for about ten minutes. The center of town was left behind them and the view was changing to the forest. Fewer buildings and more trees. Stiles hadn’t said anything yet so Colin had to start talking, which he rarely did.

"How long it will take?"

"15 minutes"

"What’s the weather been like for the past two weeks?"

"Rain and shine. All the evidence is pretty much washed away."

"Do you remember anything special, that they didn’t put in the paper?"

"If I did, why wouldn’t they have been in the papers?"

Colin was amazed. The man had passed his first test. He showed that he was quick thinker, in other words, smart. Colin was thinking about more questions to ask, but Ryan was first.

"Do you think you are going to find anything else here? We’ve searched every inch already. Even though we are a small town, we know how to gather evidence."

Colin heard hostility in Ryan’s voice. He was thrilled, because he figured out another interesting quirk in Ryan’s character. The man was angry because he thought that somebody was questioning his skills. Colin looked at Ryan and answered with diplomacy.

"Well I’m sure you have found everything that could be found out there. I just wanna see the place, get a feel of the area. The possibilities for the transportation of the victim’s body. He wasn’t killed there I read. The photos don’t tell any of that, nor the files. Otherwise I could take care of this case from my home."

"Maybe you should have." Deputy Stiles snapped.

Colin was amazed, but for other reasons than before. He noticed that the man’s anger was deeper than he thought at first and it seemed to be personally towards him. He thought since he was a stranger here he would be at least politely received, but in only half an hour of their meeting, it looked like he was being told to go home.

They were at the crime scene. The rest of the drive was passed in silence. Now the tall deputy was walking ahead of Colin without caring if Colin was there or not. After six minutes Stiles stopped.

"This is the place. We found him here."

He pointed to the place with his finger. Colin stood at the spot and looked all around. The murderer wanted the body to be found. It was near a small path.

Colin had a question but hesitated to ask it from the man who sat on a rock with arms crossed.

"Go ahead, ask me!" The man said.

Colin looked at the man. He had found a person who was step ahead of his thinking. Usually he was the one. Colin almost forgot what he was going to ask.

"Umm, I was wondering if there are other roads or water near here."

"No the road we arrived from was the nearest. No chance that anybody could carry that body for that long. The forest just gets deeper everywhere else. Besides there were drag marks and foot steps in this path. The sea is in the other direction."

"Are there swamps around? Have you checked them?"

"Well, if I were a murderer, I would hide things in the swamp, so we checked everything. There aren’t any swamps around." A bored voice answered.
Colin was tired of the attitude. He was there helping, using his skills to solve the case. The murderer was somewhere free and all he got was this crap.

"Did you check all the bird’s nests around and any underground holes?" he asked seriously.

Stiles looked at him. He was going to say something but closed his mouth. He examined the older man's eyes to see if he was joking. Colin knew what he was searching for and kept his poker face. He was pleased. Finally he got one point.

"Well, we haven’t. We were looking at the trees but didn’t see anything of interest there, so we didn’t climb them."

"Maybe you should ask the men to come back here to search then." Colin said as he sat next to Stiles.

Colin didn’t believe that anything would be up there and made the comment half joking, but on the other hand he had learned over the years that nothing could be overlooked. That's why he was so good at his work. He felt a little sorry for the deputy. He was the type who couldn't lose and had to be right in every matter. That was a pity. Those kinds of people were always stuck in the middle, never reaching the top because they couldn’t admit that they were wrong and that held back their creativity and success.

"I’ll call them from the car. You want to stay or have you seen enough?" Deputy Stiles asked submissively.

Suddenly they both froze. They each turned in the same direction. Nobody was there but instinct couldn't be wrong because they both sensed it. They stepped forward and now they saw it. A dark shadow between the trees glanced. It was hard to tell if it was human or an animal. It was too far away. They took steps towards it. Ryan opened his gun holster and reached for his gun.

"You have a gun with you?"

"No."

"Then go behind the rock."

His strong arms pushed Colin away and he ran away silently. Colin peeked from behind the rock and tried to listen for voices. Soon a car started somewhere and it left with its tires squealing. Colin stood up. He couldn't see Deputy Stiles so he started walking on the path in the direction of their car. In a couple of minutes he saw Stiles walking towards him.

"Did you see anything?" Colin asked

"No, he was faster and he had too great a lead." Stiles said while catching his breath.

"So now we have to call the officers here and rope off the sight. We might get tire treads and then we need to search the area again." Colin ordered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colin fell into bed. ‘Too much fresh, clean air today.’ he thought. He had just returned from the forest. They were searching all day until it became too dark. They still left some technicians there to follow up. They found nothing. The tire treads used by the stranger were too common to be helpful. They were unable to turn up any evidence in the surrounding woods. No hair, fibers or cigar butts were found. The suspect knew what he was doing, if that was him. Colin remembered the feeling like someone was watching him yesterday and thought if it were true, and not his imagination, someone was keeping an eye on him. He was totally focused now on the case. He went through all the details again, while showering and preparing for dinner. He was hungry and over energetic, even though his legs were exhausted.

Colin went to the dining room. There were a few other hotel guests eating and he found a lonely dark corner for himself. He ordered fish and a glass of white wine. While waiting for the food he got back on the case. He closed his eyes for a bit and looked over the pictures in his memory.

He saw the other investigators searching the woods, piece by piece. Deputy Stiles gave them orders and Colin had to admit he was good at it. All the men obeyed him immediately. There weren’t any questions about who was the boss. Then Stiles turned to him searching for acceptance from Colin and nodded confirmation back at him. Then he remembered Ryan giving him the report on the findings and telling him that Officer Sherwood would drive him back to the hotel. Colin was almost disappointed. He wanted to share his thoughts with Stiles.

Colin ate his meal with a good appetite and went back in his room. He wanted to go to the beach but he was too tired. He decided to go to bed and read a book he had taken with him.

When Colin turned the lights off and was asleep for awhile, a dark shadow passed by his room. The shadow slipped a thin note under the door and disappeared as fast as it appeared

Chapter 3


Colin woke up, and did his routine like every morning. He was just heading to the door when he noticed the paper.

Mr. Mokrie

I might know something

Meet me at the Villa Rosa

Tonight 8 o'clock.

Don't tell anyone.

Come alone.

J

Colin stared the note. His name was spelled wrong. It was common for people, to misspell it that hasn’t actually seen it written. So the writer had only heard of it said somewhere, he couldn't be anyone from the department then or hotel staff. Handwriting told that it was probably a man.

While walking to department, Colin thought what he should do about it. He's instinct told him not to mention this to anybody. He knew small towns. He knew that everybody knew each other. The writer had approached him probably because he was outsider. He was impartial. He decided not to tell anybody, at least not today.

At the department he went straight to the conference room. The others were there already and Chief Carey asked him to sit down. "We have something there. We found a ring from a foxhole near the place where the body was found. Forensics analysts has missed the last time. and we are pretty sure it belonged to the victim or the murderer. We called over to the morgue and there is a mark on the victim’s finger indicating that there had been a ring. It is now at the lab and we are taking DNA samples from it. It takes a while but we can keep it now as evidence.

Chief Carey handed him a photo of the ring. It was shiny silvery ring but there was writing on the inside:

Love J

Colin pinched his eyes. ‘Too many J's today’ He thought. He was thinking of telling everyone about the note but decided to hold it at least until tomorrow. He felt a little guilty about it.

Colin looked around the room. Ryan wasn't there. After the meeting broke up, Colin went to his office. He threw his jacket in the chair and headed to the coffee machine. He just reached for a mug when he heard a deep voice behind him.

"Congratulations"

And then he was gone. Colin turned around but he all he could see was the back of a tall man in a uniform who had rushed into his office and slammed the door behind him.

Colin was undecided. ‘Do I go after him or not?’ `Should he let him calm down first?` Colin almost wished they hadn't found any evidence at all. The ring was ten times smaller help for the case than it was a questionable symbol for Stiles's and small town's capability to gather evidence. Colin decided to face the problem immediately.

He took his coffee and knocked on Ryan’s door. A voice asked him to enter. Stiles was sitting behind his desk.

"What do you want?"

Colin studied him for awhile. There was a little anger behind his eyes but at least he looked back straight at him .

"I know you did good job at the crime scene earlier. I know you are very smart as well, but sometimes someone from outside might see things from another point of view. I just got lucky in that. Please don’t let that affect you." Colin said while locking his eyes with the other man.

Stiles’ eyes softened slightly, and he leaned forward.

"I know your reputation; I know you are the top of your field. It’s just..."

Colin listened carefully to what the man was going to say. Ryan almost opened up about the reasons why he felt so strongly against him. Colin just waited silently for him to finish the sentence.

"I ...I don’t want anyone stepping on my toes. I can handle this case perfectly on my own; but, since you are here, we can co-operate."

Colin thought that this was well said. The man meant that he had approved Colin to the team but just couldn’t bring himself to say it. His words meant lot to him so he made a quick decision. He shut the office door behind him and sat on the stool in front of Ryan.

"Can you handle a secret even if it's against the rules?" Colin started and leaned over the desk.

He explained the note. What was on it, and his analysis of it. Stiles listened attentively. When Colin ended Stiles stood up.

"Why did you tell this to me?" he asked.

Colin thought that he has to be as honest as possible now. He told Ryan that he appreciated his skills and instincts. He also admitted that he trusted Ryan fully and wasn't sure about what to do. Ryan sat back down and looked thoughtfully at Colin.

"Well, you shouldn’t tell this to the others just yet. I think you should go there alone. I live opposite the location and can watch from the window in to see whose going in and out. Stiles was good at dishing out the orders.

Colin knew it was a smart decision to tell him about the note. Eventhought he was educated in apprehending criminals and in his previous job he made arrests, he hadn't been in the field for awhile, so it was nice to know that he was covered. He was deep in his thoughts but suddenly he glanced up and caught Stiles's face. He could bet that there was a hint of a smile in that mainly strict face. Colin memorized it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

After changing into casual clothes, Colin called Ryan. Ryan told him that there was no one he didn’t know passing the main door to the restaurant and it was quite safe to enter. Colin was now on his way there. He watched the house on the other side of the street and tried to find Stiles's face in the window but he didn't see him.

He stepped in the restaurant and looked around. Nobody seemed to pay him any mind. He sat at a free table far from others and made sure that he saw all the incoming customers. From nowhere a man came and sat at his table. The man had brown hair, and was wearing jeans, and a black sweater. He looked nervous.

"Mr. Mochrie, I wrote to you. My name is Jeff and I wanna talk . I knew Jonathan, the victim..." man's voice broke .

Colin listened and he handed a handkerchief to the younger man. He waited until he calmed down. Colin was sure that man near him wasn't the murderer.

"You want to go outside go for a walk while we talk?" Colin suggested.

He wanted Stiles to see the man he was with. He knew he would follow them if there were any worries.

They walked to the beach. The sky was already darkening and the sun colored the water in orange. It was a breathtaking view and Colin's soul sighed for the beauty. They sat down and the man started telling the secrets of his heart.

Jeff had always lived in this town. He had left home when he was 18 years old. He always knew that he was gay but hadn't told it to anyone. It was difficult in a small town like this. He had left school early and got a job from the fish factory in town. It closed two years ago and because of that he became unemployed. After that he was a swimming coach for kids during the summer and a part-time cook in the winter. Five months ago Jonathan had arrived in his life. Jeff met him at a beach party. It was a local tradition for the townspeople to greet the beginning of summer.

Jonathan sat alone, away from others, and drank beer. Jeff was already a little drunk and approached him, smiling. "Is there room for one jolly fellow?" Jonathan had looked up and burst into laughter. They talked through the night and after that they were always together. It was the first serious relationship for Jeff and he had fallen in love with the man. Jonathan lived in the next city from Boonsville. It was a three hour drive from there. On the weekends, Jeff drove to Jonathan's town, which was much bigger than his. They shared their deepest secrets; they made love under the stars and laughed in coffeehouses. They didn't care about people’s disapproving looks behind their backs while they walked hand in hand down the street. During those weekends they were a couple, they were normal lovers, they were young, and they were in love.

Jonathan was from New York originally. His job transferred him here eight months ago. He was engineering for a big company. Also he needed an escape from a previous relationship. He hadn't told much to Jeff about it but sometimes he looked scared in places where there were lots of people. He had nightmares. Sometimes he talked in his sleep. Jeff heard the words "You hurt me, let me go" several times but never asked about it. On those nights he just gently woke Jonathan up, held him close and smoothed down his hair until Jonathan fell asleep again.

2 months ago they had bought rings for each other to mark that they belonged together. Jeff showed Colin his ring. There was also an inscription… Love J.

Colin looked at Jeff who now had a dreamy look in his eyes when he looked out over the sea. Colin didn’t want to break his beautiful memories but he had questions in his mind. He knew he had the keys in his hands which would help a lot in this case.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

"Yes. I will tell you anything that helps you find out who murdered Jonathan." Jeff said sighing.

"Why you didn't tell police before?"

"I was going to but then everybody would find out about us and I couldn’t do that to my parents."

"Have you told anybody else? How did you know who I was and that I was in town?"

"I haven't told anybody else. I spend my evenings sometimes in the town bar and Deputy Stiles goes there often. You know him, right? He was saying about a week ago that a special investigator was sticking his nose around this place. Someone called Mochrie. I knew then that this was my chance, to tell you what I know. You are from the big city; you don't judge us, do you?" The younger man asked desperately.

Colin was touched by Jeff's sincerity and decided share a little of his private life too. He almost never did that but somehow he needed to comfort this lonely, lost man.

"I... am gay too. I don't have a partner or lover. I haven't had one in a long time, but I’m gay. So don't worry. I am not judging you."

Jeff looked at older man with tears in his eyes. Colin opened his arms and Jeff nestled against his body. They stayed like that for a moment. Colin sighed. He hadn't let anybody this close to him for such a long time.

"You know I have to ask you to come to the police station and tell all you know. Deputy Stiles and I will ask you the questions; nobody outside the department has to know you and Jonathan were lovers, except us."

Jeff pulled himself away from Colin’s arms and looked terrified.

"But...but...Deputy Stiles knows my parents."

Colin took Jeff's hand in his and calmed down the frightened man.

"You don't have to worry, we’ll just ask questions and we won’t tell anyone else but we need to do this officially. Trust me you’ll be protected. Besides I know you want to get the murderer too. You can be a big help in this!" Colin gave a convincing argument.

Jeff promised to show up at the department the next day. They walked back silently. Colin didn't see Ryan anywhere but he felt he was out there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colin went back in his room. He was just opening the door to his room when he heard steps behind him. He turned around and saw Deputy Stiles approaching him. He opened the door and they stepped inside. Colin explained what he just heard from the younger man. Ryan listened carefully.

"I always thought Davis was gay."

Colin studied the tone in Ryan’s voice. There was no disapproval in it. It was just a statement. Colin was relieved. Maybe he and Ryan could ask Jeff questions tomorrow without scaring him away.

"Do you know him well? He said you knew his parents." Colin asked.

"His mom and I were in the same class in school. I do know them, and I understand where Davis is coming from; it's not easy to be gay in a small town. We have to take care of this sensitively."

Colin wondered why Stiles was so delicate with this. He seemed to be human after all. Colin couldn't believe his profile of Stiles changed all the time.

"Deputy Stiles, thanks for being friend in crime today." Colin said to the tall man.

"You’re welcome and for fuck’s sake, you can call me Ryan already."

The man was a total mystery to Colin. One moment he was soft and caring and in the next tough and angry.

"So should we think about our line of questioning...Ryan?"

"You got pen and paper?"

They were talking about the case and things they should ask Davis for a couple of hours. Colin sat at the desk and wrote while Ryan was half laid out in the arm chair. They both new that this would be a breakthrough in this case. Colin shut the notebook and yawned.

"Ok, I'll take this as a hint to get out of here." Ryan stood up and stretched his arms.

"We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and which one of us is going to tell Chief Carey?"Ryan smirked to Colin and placed his hand on Colin's shoulder with a little grasp.

After Ryan left, Colin changed into his pajamas and went to bed. He thought about Ryan. He looked at the armchair where Ryan had sat. He could still see his masculine figure in it, and when Ryan was lying stretched out on his back that way, Colin could see the rise in his crotch. The vision made Colin feel way too uneasy. He felt his own erection grow. Colin got out of bed and took long, cold shower.

Chapter 4

Colin sat in his office and sipped his coffee. Chief Carey had taken their story surprisingly well. He agreed with them that it was the best way to take care of things, and since Stiles was covering it, there was no danger. For Colin it was a more difficult thing to face Ryan. The night wasn't easy for him. He had several dreams about Ryan. In some he was chased by someone and he always ended up in Ryan’s strong arms. In others Colin could fly and he was searching for Ryan in different places. Finally when he would find him he would disappear. Colin was so confused about his dreams. He did realize that he was drawn to the man and in some ways that felt good, but the fact that he had to leave town after the case brought him down. He sighed and buried his head in his hands.

"Your visitor has arrived. I escorted him into Stiles’ office" Brad shouted from the door.

When Colin arrived at Ryan's door, Jeff was sitting there looking sad. Colin extended his hand to the younger man and asked how he felt today. Jeff stood up and shook Colin's hand and slightly leaned toward the older man's shoulder. Colin patted his back.

"It's alright." He whispered in Jeff's ear.

Ryan had come into view, meanwhile. He looked straight into Colin’s eyes. Colin saw a hint of feeling he didn’t recognize. He let Jeff go and asked him to sit down. Ryan shut the office door and went behind his desk. He pulled an extra seat next to him and asked Colin sit down. Colin pulled the chair a little away from Ryan. He just couldn't sit near him and focus on his work. Ryan glanced at him but turned his eyes quickly to Jeff.

"Jeff, you don't have to be worried about this. I'm not going to say anything to your parents."

The frightened man looked thankfully at the deputy and sunk deeper into his chair.

"Thank you Deputy Stiles. I hope you are not disappointed in me."

After the hearing, Colin sat in his office and thought about all that had happened during the questioning. Ryan had told Jeff that he didn't judge people by their sexuality. Colin looked at Ryan and noticed that he really meant that and was not just saying it. They found out that Jonathan's real name was Jonathan Mangum. Colin e-mailed it and other information Jeff provided to his headquarters. There they could clarify all the information they had in their database. Colin felt sorry for Jeff. It wasn't easy for him to go through all the memories. Ryan gingerly asked all the questions they had in the notebook and more.

They still didn't know the motive for the murder. It must be revenge somehow. According Jonathan's dreams which Jeff had mentioned there was someone who scared him. They had to find the link between victim number one and Jonathan, and Colin was pretty sure the link had the same name. He just didn't know who it was.

After two hours when Jeff was exhausted and his eyes were red from crying, they decided to end it. Colin offered to escort Jeff outdoors but Ryan interrupted him and said he would do that. He told Colin that he should watch the e-mail so that they could start the process of solving this as soon as possible.

Colin's phone rang. It was his coworker Greg Proops from headquarters.

"Hey Proops, did you find anything?" Colin asked.

Colin listened attentively to what the man had to say. Meanwhile, Ryan had come into the office and sat opposite Colin’s desk. Colin wrote in the file "Database has found matches." Ryan nodded.

He observed Colin while he was speaking. After about five minutes, Colin covered the phone and said to Ryan, "victim number one and Jonathan lived in close proximity to each other in New York." Colin told Greg to send some men there to ask about Jonathan around the neighborhood. They agreed that Proops would call back as soon as he received the new information.

Colin informed everything he had found out to Ryan. They both hoped that the guys would find out something about Jonathan's history and his previous lovers.

"We can't do anything else right now other than wait for the call, but I think we are on the right path now." Colin said.

Ryan agreed. They went to Chief Carey's office and told him what they found out. The Chief thanked them and insisted that they take rest of the day off. Officer Esten would locate them if anything new surfaced.

They stepped out to the street. Ryan offered to drive him to the hotel and Colin accepted it. He really wanted to walk outside now that he had the chance to do so in the daylight, but the desire to sit next to Ryan beat that. Colin sat in the police car. He finally looked at Ryan when he still knew he was staring at him.

"Wanna grab a bite somewhere?" Ryan asked.

"That sounds good. You choose, I am hungry enough for anything."

After the dinner, Colin suggested to Ryan that they could go for a walk on the beach for a while. They both needed fresh air after their enormous pasta dishes. They headed near the water and sat down on a bench. The beach was empty. Only few seagulls were flying above the water.

"You questioned Jeff very tactfully" Colin began.

"I've known him for many years. I know he is very sensitive. I actually dated his mother back in school. We didn't make a good couple but we stayed friends after the fact. When Jeff was a teenager he got into his rebel phase rather suddenly and I saved him couple of times from trouble. That’s our brief history."

As Ryan sat there relaxed and smiling, Colin felt irresistibly willing to get close to him, he wanted to press himself against his wide chest. And take a deep breath of Ryan's scent. He knew he couldn't and it hurt him a little.

"Penny for your thoughts…" Ryan interrupted.

Colin quickly looked away, embarrassed.

"C'mon, I saw your face. What is it?" Ryan teased.

Colin was torn. On one hand he wanted to tell Ryan so badly about his desire for him. He wanted to ask permission to kiss him. Except, he would never do that, it was absurd. He thought urgently of what to say to the waiting man but couldn't come up with anything.

"I just..Oh...uhmm...never mind."

Ryan didn't let him get off that easily. He gripped Colin's shoulder and squeezed it a little too hard.

"I have my questioning methods you know."

"Oh you can't get anything out of me, you miserable cop!" Colin went along with the game and laughed.

"You wanna bet?"

Ryan wrapped his arm around Colin's neck and pulled his face close to his own. Colin pretended to resist. Ryan took Colin's ear between his thumb and forefinger and pulled.

"Tell me now or I’ll bite your ear off."

Colin laughed hysterically. Even though he knew this was really childish and inappropriate he enjoyed it a little too much.

"Stop, stop, I’ll tell you!"

Colin paused when he noticed Ryan's open mouth coming near his ear now. Ryan didn't let him go,his face was really close now.

Colin’s face grew serious and he whispered:

"I want you Ryan."

Almost immediately he regretted his words. They just fell out of his mouth. He wasn't supposed to say that. Ryan looked at him still close. He opened his mouth little then shut it and just stared for a while. He let Colin go and stood up. He still looked like he was going to say something but turned and ran away.

Colin yelled "I’m really sorry" to his back but Ryan didn't turn. Colin stayed on the bench and swore to himself, not knowing what to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he arrived at the hotel, he saw Jeff at the front desk. He was chatting with Josie. Jeff turned to face him. He smiled at Colin but when he saw Colin's face he became serious.

"Did something happen?" He asked.

Colin shook his head heavily and passed by a surprised Jeff. He started to climb the stairs. He really wasn't in a mood to talk to anyone. Jeff didn’t give up. He followed Colin and slipped in his room after him. He had no strength to turn younger man away. They both sat on his bed.

"What happened?" Jeff asked again.

"Nothing, I’m stupid and you really shouldn't be here since you’re our only witness at the moment. I really can't talk with you about my private life." Colin poured out.

"Bull shit. You can talk to me. Remember how I told you my secrets the other day. I consider you as my friend, not the police." Jeff tried.

Colin hesitated. It was none of Jeff's business but he felt a strong bond between them somehow. Colin sighed.

"I told Deputy Stiles I wanted him."

As he said it, Colin stood up and went to the bathroom and rinsed his face with cold water hoping to wash the embarrassment away."

"You did what? What did he said?"

"Nothing, he just walked, no…ran away."

Jeff took Colin's hand and lead him back his bed. He leaned into to Colin and wrapped his arm around the poor man's shoulders. Colin couldn't believe his weakness right now. He just let Jeff comfort him. His head was full of confused thoughts. And he just couldn't be the authority figure that he should have been. He didn't know what was happening to him. He was a professional, he was good at his work and now he completely lost all strength in front of one giant officer, Ryan Stiles. And he ruined everything. Luckily the case was maybe at its solving point and he could leave the town soon.

"Jeff, I appreciate your care here and your kind words but do you think you can let me alone now? I have to organize things in my head."

"Ok, I'm sure Ryan understands you. It's not end of the world even it feels like it now."

"Thank you Jeff."

"You’re welcome and I have an invitation for you. You know Karen and Josie from this hotel. They are having a little garden party tomorrow. I insist you come too."

Jeff told Colin that Karen and Josie were living together. They had been a couple for 4 years now. They wanted to throw a dinner party to cheer Jeff up. Colin thought for a moment. Why not. He felt a certain warmness in this little town. Like he had found finally something cozy and real. And he wanted to see more of that life style and maybe that would help him to forget his mistake too.

They stood up and Colin walked Jeff to the door. They stepped out into the hallway. Jeff turned and said:

"I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow from here. So be ready by then!"

Then he hugged Colin quickly and touched his face with his palm.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be just fine"

And then he left. Colin went back inside. When he shut the door, a tall man in uniform stepped out from around the corner. He looked angry and headed to the stairs

 

Chapter 5

The next morning Colin walked to work. The closer he got to the department, the slower he walked. He just didn't know how to act if he saw Ryan. He couldn't look the man in his eyes. He opened the door. Officer Esten shouted over to him. He told him that everyone was already in the conference room and waiting for him. He opened the door and stepped inside. Everyone silenced and looked at him. For a moment he thought that Ryan had told everyone and now they would mock him, but that was just absurd. He sat down quietly and Chief Carey resumed his talk.

"We don't have much information now. Investigator Mochrie’s department at the main headquarters upstate has questioned neighbors and relatives. Friends of the first victim said that they knew he was seeing someone for about a year. No one ever saw him with the person in question. They said the victim’s personality changed after meeting him. They broke up and three months later he was found dead. That much we already knew. It appears that the same MO has happened with the current case. Mangum knew something was wrong, feared for his life, and moved without giving his address to anyone. His friends just found out that he was murdered, wondering all the while where he had gone. So they may need a little more time and we might get more information later. Mochrie call to your headquarters after the meeting is adjourned."

Colin sat there and listened. His total concentration was on Chief Carey's lecture, but after he wrapped up and everyone started to chat freely, Colin took a peek in Ryan's direction. Ryan soon noticed and turned his eyes away from Colin. Colin sighed and stood up. He went to his office and shut the door. He dialed the number to Detective Proops.

"You left me a message to call."

Proops told Colin that HQ’s Chief didn't need him to be there anymore. The case was easier than they thought and they had enough information to solve it on their end so he should pack his bags and be there by Monday. Colin was relieved and sad. He had been here less than a week and he had fallen in love with the place. Colin felt that it would solve the personal matter between him and Ryan, more Ryan’s than his, which was a relief because Ryan wouldn’t have to see him anymore.

It wasn’t going to be easy to forget Ryan. He had awoken all the abandoned feelings Colin had deep inside. He sometimes thought that he would never be in a relationship and that he didn't need anybody, but now...he was surely confused with what to do with his life.

There was a knock on his door. Colin gave a start but it was only Chief Carey.

"Did you call already? What they say?" He asked.

Colin told him that his mission here was accomplished and he was leaving in the morning.

"You are leaving already? Well it was pleasure to work with you. I wouldn't mind if you would stay longer, but I guess we can't do nothing much about the case from here."

After saying his good-byes to the Chief, Colin cleaned out his office, took his files and left the room. He went to the front desk and gave Esten his access pass.

"Oh you’re leaving already?" Esten asked.

"Yes, you don't need me here anymore."

"Oh that I can disagree, but I know you have more important cases to solve. It was a pleasure to meet you and good luck!"

Colin shook Esten's hand and went to the door. He pushed it but at the same time he felt a strong pull and he went with the door and fell against something warm and solid. It was Ryan. Colin blushed and couldn’t speak for a moment.

"Look out!" his angry voice said.

Colin looked up and saw the piercing look in Ryan's eyes.

"I'm sorry, didn't see you coming."

Colin stepped aside and gave enough room for Ryan to come through. Ryan passed by Colin with long strides and hurried away. Colin looked at his retreating form said to himself "Good-bye Ryan" and then left the department.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colin stood next to the bed and looked at the open suitcase. He started to pack the things he thought he didn’t need anymore. He really wanted to leave now but his promise to Jeff held him there and the fact that he couldn't get the rental car until the next morning. This was the part he hated the most in his job. Just as he was getting used to one place, the pillows, the bed, and the view from the window, he had to leave. He went through that fight with himself every time he packed. He kept trying to convince himself to quit his vagabond lifestyle and settle somewhere. He just hadn’t found the place yet. Until now, he thought. And that hurt him most. He had burned all the bridges behind him for this town, at least that’s how he felt.

Colin still had half an hour before Jeff would pick him up. He was dressed and ready and was watching the sea from his opened window. He was daydreaming that he would still have time tomorrow to go for a walk on the beach one last time, when he heard a knocking on the door. Jeff was early. Colin went to the door and opened it.

"You’re early!" he said but the words died on his lips.

"Did I interrupt something?" Ryan said in a low, deep voice.

Colin gasped. He asked Ryan to step in but Ryan refused.

"I hear you’re leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"I just stopped over to say goodbye, so…bye."

As he turned to leave, Colin refused to stand idly by this time and watch. He wouldn’t let him run away again. He rushed after Ryan and grabbed his arm.

"Look , I’m sorry for what I said. I don't know what came over me and yes, I like men, but so what. I’m really sorry I ruined everything."

Colin tried to look into the taller man's eyes, but Ryan wouldn’t look back. He just stood still for a moment and said "Apology accepted but what do you care? You’re leaving tomorrow, moving on to the next place and the next man and leaving others here to collect the pieces of their lives all over again."

Colin couldn't say anything. He let Ryan’s arm go and stared at him open mouthed.

"What? Who did I break?"

"You’d like to think that!"'

And then he was gone. Colin couldn’t believe his ears. Did Ryan mean himself? Colin was shocked and a fluttering of butterflies rose in his belly. He went back to his room and sat down on the bed. He sat still on the edge of the bed until Jeff came to pick him up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Actually the evening turned out to be fun after all. They all ate in the garden. It was chilly, but they didn't care. When the sun set they all went inside. Karen played the piano and Josie sang with a wistful voice, old British tunes. Colin enjoyed himself and laughed.

Jeff put another beer into Colin's hand, and sat down very close to him.

"Aren't they super sweet?" he whispered in Colin's ear." Without them I wouldn’t make it."


When they arrived back at Colin’s hotel it was already midnight. Jeff walked with him upstairs and hugged him strongly at the door.

"I’m so sorry you have to leave! Will you keep in touch with me about the case and other things?"

Colin promised to call him next week to let him know how things were going. He said goodbye to Jeff and watched as the young man disappeared down the stairs. He pulled his key from his pocket and put it in the lock. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement. Someone stepped out of the shadows. It was Ryan.

"Did you have fun with Jeff?" he asked.

"Yes. He took me to his friend’s house. I had a nice time, I guess."

Colin wasn't in the mood for an argument. He looked at Ryan with tired eyes.

"What are you doing here Ryan?"

"I...just didn't say good-bye to you properly…earlier, and ...I don't know what to say." Ryan hung his head looking sad and lost.

Colin approached him slowly. He placed his palms on both sides of Ryan's face. He looked at Ryan and tried to find any sign of feeling there, but all he could see was this sadness. Colin placed his lips to Ryan's forehead and pressed a little kiss on it. Ryan didn't resist. Colin lowered his face until he reached Ryan’s lips. They looked so soft. Colin pressed his mouth against Ryan’s and tasted his upper lip. Ryan still didn't move. Colin's tongue brushed against Ryan's mouth, asking him to open his lips a little. Colin's tongue found Ryan's. Ryan tentatively explored the sensations beginning to respond to Colin's kiss. He wrapped his long arms around Colin and pressed himself against the man.

Colin was the first to break away. He looked at Ryan who was now breathing heavily.

"Ryan, it's too late." He said forlornly. "I'm leaving tomorrow. Let's not make this more difficult than it already is."

Ryan didn't answer at first. He just stared at Colin. Finally he softly whispered, "Can we at least have this one night?"

Chapter 6


Colin closed his eyes and breathed deep. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Being near someone he really liked. He didn't think of tomorrow's departure anymore. He just wanted to be close to Ryan. He took Ryan's hand and led him to his room. He pushed himself really close and raised his head so that he could reach Ryan’s lips. Ryan smiled shyly back at Colin. Just when their lips were about to touch again, Ryan's cell phone rang.

"What the..." Ryan looked at his caller id. "This is from work. I have to answer." Ryan spoke briefly and ended the call, swearing. "Looks like there’s a situation. A domestic dispute. Some guy lost it and now he is threatening his wife with a gun. I gotta get there. I’m really sorry. I’ll call you as soon as I get back, ok?"

Colin was left alone. Ryan kissed him before he left. Colin walked over and stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror. He decided at last to get some sleep. He had long drive ahead in the morning.

~~~~~~~~~~

Colin woke up early the next day. He had slept with his clothes on and without a blanket. Ryan didn’t call during the night. Colin packed rest of his stuff and closed the suitcase. He called the police station. Esten told him the stand off was still on. Colin ended the call and headed to the receptionist desk. He had to leave now if he was going to catch his plane. He wrote a little note and gave it to Karen who was at the front desk. He asked her to give it to Deputy Stiles and Karen promised to do that. Colin thanked her again for the nice evening and wished her and Josie the best. He also told her to look after Jeff. They hugged and Colin took the car keys and went outside.

The car was waiting there. He threw his things in the backseat and sat behind the wheel. He picked his Sinatra CD out of his travel case and inserted it into the player. Old Blue Eye's voice filled the car.

When somebody loves you
It's no good unless he loves you all the way
Happy to be near you
When you need someone to cheer you all the way

Taller than the tallest tree is
That's how it's got to feel
Deeper than the deep blue sea is
That's how deep it goes if it's real

Colin slowly drove through the town and said his goodbyes to the sea and the streets. He sped up when he reached the high way.

He had been driving for two hours when it started to rain. The sky was grey and heavy raindrops like tears were dripping on the window. Colin was discouraged. He thought of Ryan. He felt a little bad that he had left so abruptly, but he had no options after all. He pictured a tired Ryan outside of someone's house trying to negotiate in the rain. He decided to call him when he got home.

~~~~~~~~~~

The flight was quick. He was on and off the plane, in two hours, landing safely in the place he called "home.". Colin took a cab and 20 minutes later he arrived home. He went to bed and fell asleep immediately.

Sunday morning Colin looked around. He took a shower and shaved. After that he loaded his washing machine and started it. He stepped out to the market to get a newspaper and some food. He decided to just take a day to relax.

Around two p.m., Colin called the police station in Boonesville. No one answered. He tried again around six p.m., but still nothing. He concluded that it was closed for the day. He called directly to Ryan's cell phone but it was shut off. It seemed like the whole town took the day off.


Colin watched TV until midnight and then went to bed. Tomorrow he would have to go back to HQ to learn about his next assignment. Maybe they still wanted him to continue to work on this case but since they had enough clues now to solve it without him it was just a matter of time until they would make the connection between the two victims.

~~~~~~~~~~

Early Monday morning Colin arrived at his main office. He went to the elevator and hit the button marked 10 and, after passing by several offices, finally reached the one he was looking for and entered.

"Hey Greg! Anything new?"

Detective Proops welcomed him by handing over a large pile of files containing the results produced by the interrogation of the neighbourhood.

"You need to go through the files. Yesterday we’ve found out something interesting. Mangum's previous roommate was able to tell us a lot about this mysterious boyfriend of his. Everything’s in there. So how was your trip?"

Colin took the file, sat down next to the Greg and gave his report about his visit to the town and the people there while Greg poured them some coffee.

After that Colin went in search of some privacy to review the file.

Most of it was useless but the last few pages were interesting. Patrick Bristow, Mangum’s former roommate had stated that he thought that Jonathan's last boyfriend was rather scary. They had met on the internet one year ago and after a while started dating. Patrick had always been chased away from the apartment when he had come over. Only once Patrick had been there without the other two noticing. He had seen them in the living room, had even seen the boyfriend’s face, so they could make an artist rendering based on Bristow’s description. Colin decided to send it over to Jeff to find out if he recognized him.

Bristow also stated Jonathan eventually got so scared of his boyfriend that he moved to another town to get rid of him. Jonathan hadn't given him all the details but what he had told him made Bristow conclude that apparently the guy wanted to play it a little too rough. Patrick continued saying that, after Jonathan had left he received several phone calls from a man asking about him. After a while he decided to change his number and later move out of the apartment also. Apparently the suspect found Jonathan after all.

Greg had said they were now searching the web history in Patrick's computer. Jonathan had used it for net surfing and they were hoping that they could get some hints from that direction too.

After Colin finished reading he went back to Greg's office and asked if he could use his computer. He called Jeff and asked for his e-mail address so he could send him the picture of the suspect.

Jeff called him back shortly after but unfortunately couldn't remember seeing anyone who looked like that. Colin wanted to ask about Ryan but didn't dare since this wasn’t a private call. Finally they said their goodbyes and promised to keep in touch.

Since there were no new assignments coming up for him, Colin told Greg that he’d go home, but if anything came up, they knew how to reach him.

At home Colin thought about what to do. He really wanted to call Ryan but every time he picked up the phone, he froze. He couldn't think of what to say to him so he would hang up and try to focus on his case instead.

What was the link between the first victim, John Sessions, the suspect, and Jonathan? Had the two Johns known each other? Colin called Greg and asked if anyone had considered that option yet. No one had so Colin told Greg to make sure that someone showed the picture of Sessions to Bristow immediately. Greg promised to take care of that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Wednesday morning Greg called. They had found out that Sessions was Mangum’s former boyfriend. There was the connection and Colin felt that he was close to the motive now. The question remained: Was Jonathan killed because of John or was it the other way around?

He decided to call Chief Carey and update him on the correlation between the two victims. He dialled department’s number. Officer Esten picked up as usual. He put Colin through to Chief Carey.
Colin told him all the new information he had found. Carey listened carefully and asked Colin to wait for a moment. Colin waited as he repeated his story to someone. Colin then heard the familiar voice.

"Let me talk with him."

Colin's heart skipped a beat. It was Ryan. He heard him pick up the phone.

"Hey it's Stiles! So whatcha think?"

Colin got flustered. He couldn't say anything at first but then he pulled himself together and told Ryan his ideas. His concern was that if the motive was Jonathan, Jeff might be in danger. He reminded Ryan of the stranger in the woods and the feeling that they were being watched. Ryan promised to check on Jeff and put him under surveillance just in case. They ended the call and Ryan promised to call him back later after checking on Jeff.

After the call Colin had to sit down. Hearing Ryan’s voice made him shiver. Colin felt an enormous longing, all of the sudden, for the man. So much that he couldn't handle it. He stood up and walked around the room but he couldn't help the tears from coming to his eyes.

After calming down, Colin went back to the case, but he was interrupted by the phone.

"It's Ryan. I went to check on Jeff, but I couldn't find him. He wasn't at work today or yesterday. His apartment was empty. Do you know of any places where he could be?"

Colin said that he should ask Josie or Karen from the hotel. Ryan hung up, but called back in 5 minutes.

"They haven't seen him. They’ve been trying to reach him for a couple of days but he hasn't responded. Looks like his boss was the last person who saw him on Monday evening around 10 when he left home."

Colin said that he needed to call Headquarters but promised to call back. He called Greg who ordered him to get back to Boonsville immediately. Colin knew the case best and should be helping with it over there.

Colin started throwing his clothes into his suitcase again. Proops booked the plane tickets for him. The next flight over would leave in two hours. Colin called Ryan and said that he was coming. Ryan promised to pick him up from the airport.

Chapter 7


When Colin arrived, there was still no one there. He sat down on the bench to wait. He was thinking about where to start looking for Jeff. He was worried. If the murderer had Jeff, they had to find him as soon as possible. He made a call to Proops, but nothing new had come up.

He had been waiting an hour when a door to the terminal opened. Ryan strode in. Colin stood up and walked toward him. Ryan looked worried. He had dark lines under his eyes. Colin approached him with an outstretched hand and Ryan shook it quickly. They headed to the car. Colin offered to drive. Ryan was thankful. He sat on the front seat and slouched down. Colin reset the seat’s position and started the car.

They drove in silence until Colin found the junction to the highway. Ryan started first.

"We don't have any more information about finding Jeff. His neighbors didn't hear him coming home that evening so he disappeared on Monday night. No one saw him after he left the restaurant. Oh, I feel so helpless!" Ryan shouted.

"We’ll find him. I just hope that it's not too late." Colin said in a muffled voice.

Ryan looked at him seriously and put his hand on Colin's knee.

"I'm glad you are here."

Colin felt dizziness but shook it off quickly. He had to concentrate on driving and couldn't answer right away, so Ryan continued.

"I’m sorry I didn't come back that night, this mess was still going on and I had to be there."

"I know I called the station. I had to leave early to catch my plane as well as I told you in the note." Colin answered.

They were both just sitting and watching the passing road thinking about what to say next. Colin wanted badly to pull over the car and kiss Ryan but they both knew that Jeff was most important now so he just drove on. Ryan turned on the radio and they listened to music.

After a while Colin noticed that Ryan was asleep. Colin watched the sleeping Ryan. He wondered how he could ever imagine forgetting him. He had to quickly look back at the road because a truck's bright lights shown in his eyes.

When Colin was about to reach the town, he woke Ryan up. Ryan yawned and looked around.

"We’re almost there, why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"You looked like you needed that sleep."

"Ok then, pull over and let me behind the wheel." Ryan ordered.

Colin slowed down and guided the car to the side of the street. They both got out of the vehicle. When they met in the middle, Colin couldn't help himself from grasping Ryan's hand. Ryan stopped short.

"Ryan..."

Colin didn't have time to say anything else. Ryan pushed his mouth against Colin's lips. A little slight sigh escaped from Colin's throat. They held onto each other as close as possible. After awhile Ryan freed himself and they went back to car. Colin's heart was beating fast. He was shivering. If it wasn’t for Jeff's situation, he would ask Ryan drive to the nearest hotel and rip all his clothes off but they had a mission and everything else had to wait.

They drove to Jeff's apartment. Ryan opened it with the key he had with him. Colin went inside. Nothing seemed disturbed. No signs of a fight. Colin looked around. It looked like an ordinary bachelor’s place. A big screen TV, collection of DVD's, books and CDs, everything was in perfect order. Colin looked in the bedroom. It was in order as well. Colin looked around. Something bothered him, and he just couldn't figure out what it was. What happened the last time he talked with him? He was sending Jeff an email on the suspect. Colin didn't see a computer anywhere in the apartment.

"I've got an idea." he said all the sudden. "If you don't have internet connection of your own, where do you go?"

Ryan looked at him confused. "The library and net café are the most popular."

"Are they still open?"

They rushed out of the apartment and drove to the net café. It was open and the owner was there as well. He knew Jeff and remembered seeing him on Monday. Colin asked if there was anybody else there at the same time. The owner thought back and he remembered someone he didn't know, who wasn’t from this town, was on the other computer. Colin took the sketch picture of the suspect from his pocket and showed it to the owner. He looked at it closely and finally his eyes brightened.

"Yes that's him, I remember. He just has a moustache."

Colin asked if he followed Jeff after he left, but owner didn't remember anything else that was helpful. Also several other people had been on the same computer so fingerprints were surely destroyed. Ryan gave the man his cell phone and police department numbers and they left.

"How many hotels are there?" Colin asked.

Ryan called Chip and confirmed that there were three hotels in the town. They drove to the one where Colin stayed on his latest visit. Josie was at the desk.

"Hello, anything new on Jeff?" she asked.

Colin told her no and showed the picture again and described the possibility of a moustache. Josie didn't recognize the man. He shouted to Karen who was in the backroom, but she didn't know the man either. They went to the next hotel.

They had better luck there. The receptionist remembered checking that man out on Tuesday. He searched his name in the reservation book. Antonio Mendez. The book also showed his driver’s license plate number and his signature in the book. The receptionist also remembered that Mendez drove a dark blue Volvo. Colin immediately called Proops and told the name. He kept the line open while he said.they ran back to the car.

After five minutes Greg got the data and he read it to Colin. Colin put it on speaker phone so that Ryan could hear it too. Antonio Mendez was 36 years old, and had a history of crime. He had been arrested for attempted murder, released four years ago and after that had no arrests or further offenses. Colin asked Greg to also check if there was a car in his name. It came up that he actually owned a Volvo. Colin wrote down the tag number.

Colin ended the call when they arrived at the station. They rushed into Chief Carey's office.

"We got him." Ryan yelled from the door.

They all three went to Officer Esten's desk and he called in to all units the description of the suspect and his automobile and ordered them to drive around. Colin and Ryan ran back to the car while Chief Carey made out a search request for the neighboring counties too.

Colin stopped Ryan and asked him to think.

"You know this town, if you were him, where would you drive, where would you hide?"

Ryan thought and went through all the places that he knew. He couldn't think of anything specific except for the old fish factory. That was set off from everything and wasn’t used anymore.

"Let's start with that."

Chapter 8

Ryan called the switchboard and told the operator where they were going and asked for backup to be ready if they found anything. After fifteen minutes they turned to a side road. There was a gate that was usually locked with a chain. Now it lay in the road and the gate was ajar. Ryan told Colin to call Chip and he got out of the car. He fully opened the gate carefully, and went back to the car. Meanwhile Colin made the call and they would have backup shortly.

Ryan turned the car’s lights off and they started to creep slowly closer to the factory. It was dark but the moon helped their vision. Ryan drove around to one side of the building. They couldn't see any other cars or any unusual activity.Ryan asked if Colin had his gun, but Colin shook his head. Ryan took another one from the glove compartment and handed it to Colin. They exited the car and closed the doors quietly.

They saw several doors and they started to try the handles to see if any of them would be open. The fifth door on the seaside of the building gave in. Ryan opened it and turned on the flashlight he had with him. He swiped the area and pointed his gun in the emptiness.

"Stay close to me." He said to Colin when they stepped in.

They entered a big hall. An old fish sorting machine stood in the darkness and threw shadows all over the place. They proceeded silently around the next corner. There was another door. Ryan opened it a little and peeked inside. It was just an abandoned office. Old papers were lying on the floor, nothing else. They kept going. After a while they opened a door to a bigger hallway. There were no windows so it was pitch black. Ryan raised the flashlight and shown it into the long corridor It was empty but there was another door on the opposite side. They had to get to it.

There were stairs to the upper level. Ryan stopped Colin and started to climb. After checking the space, he motioned Colin to follow. It was an empty hall with windows. Most of the windows’ glass was broken, so a chilled wind was all around.

All of the sudden they heard footsteps from a far. Ryan drug Colin behind an old counter and they crouched behind it. A voice came toward them but stopped and they heard a door opening and closing.

"Should we wait for backup?" Colin asked.

"Yes, we should go back outside and wait." Ryan answered and stood up.

A gun shot filled the air.

"Hold your ears!" Ryan shouted at Colin.

Ryan pointed his gun in the air and shot. He hoped that it would distract the shooter. They both ran toward the sound. Ryan was first to yank the door open. He pointed his gun inside and saw someone lying in the floor. Other than that the room was empty.

The man who was lying on the floor was Jeff. The floor was starting to color with blood. Ryan checked him, and there was a strong pulse. Jeff looked at him with frightened eyes.

"Deputy Stiles...How did you find me?" He said with a weak voice.

"Shh, did you see where he went?" Ryan whispered.

Jeff pointed at door on the opposite wall. Ryan stood up and grabbed Colin.

"You take care of Jeff. Call an ambulance, I’m going after him." He ran off.

Colin lowered to the floor and took Jeff's head in his lap. He checked the place where the bullet had hit him. It was on his left shoulder, not far away from his heart. Colin took the phone out of his clip and called 911. He ordered them to send an ambulance and call the police.

"Jeff...Jeff...are you with me? It’s Colin. You are going to be fine...we’ll get help here."

He held Jeff and tried to staunch the flow of blood. He removed the tape that bound Jeff's arms and ankles. Jeff was already losing consciousness but he continued breathing.

Colin heard two more gunshots. Then total silence for a while. Then he heard the sirens. He knew that help was near. He was afraid for Ryan. He uttered a silence wish that Ryan was ok.

Then things started to happen. Medics rushed inside and pulled Colin away from Jeff. After stopping the bleeding, they lifted Jeff onto the stretcher and covered him with a blanket. They put an oxygen mask on him and started to carry him out to the ambulance.

Colin followed them and tried to find Ryan. Officers were everywhere and Colin tried to ask them what was happening, but no one knew yet.

After stepping out of the building, Colin saw Officer Sherwood.

"Do you know what happened? Who was shot?" Colin tried to ask him.

But he didn't know either. They went back inside the building together and headed to the other side of the factory. There was a body lying in the floor. Ryan sat in the corner and held his arm. Another medic was checking him. Colin ran to Ryan.

"What happened? Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yes that bastard shot me, but luckily it just grazed my arm. I got him good."

Colin looked again at the unmoving body. He recognized the man from the drawing.

"How's Jeff?" Ryan asked with concern in his voice.

Colin told him that Jeff was unconscious when they took him away. Ryan stood up but he felt a little dizzy. Colin took his arm and kept him still. Brad promised to drive them to the hospital. They crowded into the car and Ryan called Jeff's parents. His mom promised to meet them there.


Chapter 9


They rushed through the hospital’s doors. Ryan led them to the emergency wing. They ran to the information desk.

"Where is Jeff Davis?" He grasped the reception nurse's arm and shouted at her.

They were told that he was being operated on now to remove the bullet. The nurse guided them into the hallway and asked them to wait for the doctor.

Colin sat down on the bench next to the window. Ryan walked back and forth nervously. And every time a door opened somewhere he lifted his eyes and looked like he was ready to rip them to pieces with his anxiousness.

Colin asked him to sit down and calm a little. He also reminded him that he was shot too. Ryan looked at him sharply, but when he saw Colin's face, he relaxed a bit and sat next to him.

"I am perfectly fine..It just...did you see where the bullet went in?" Ryan asked.

"It hit his shoulder on the left. Close to his heart but not actually there at least that’s what I think." Colin answered.

"What’s taking so long?" Ryan yelled frustrated.

Colin took his hand and tried to convince him that Jeff was going to be all right, but Ryan continued to groan. Colin started to think about why Ryan was taking this so seriously. He was just about to ask when the doors opened and the doctor walked over to them.

"Are you with Davis?" He asked while drying his hands to a white towel.

"Yes, how is he?" Ryan asked with nervousness in his voice

Colin noticed that Ryan was using all his power not to yell at the doctor.

"The bullet didn't destroy any organs. It hit the bone, but it broke a major blood vein and he has massive blood loss. He has a very rare blood type. We don't have enough that in our storage so we had to order it from another hospital. It takes some time and until then Davis's condition is critical."

"Is he B negative?"

The doctor looked at Ryan and gave an affirmative answer.

"Then take some of mine" Ryan said and walked toward the examination rooms.

The doctor followed him and asked a nurse to be there too. Colin was left alone. He called to Esten at the station and told him that Jeff was still unconscious, but he and Ryan will stay there if he wakes up and they will ask him what happened.

After a minute, the operating room’s doors opened again. A hospital bed came through, and Jeff was on it. He was pale and his eyes were closed. Colin stood up and followed it.

Jeff was transferred to the intensive care unit. Colin was told to wait outside the room. There was a glass window so he could see Jeff all the time. Jeff was plugged into the life support machine and blood from a special bag was slowly flowing into his veins.

Colin looked at him. He was just lying there, helpless. A machine showed that his heart beat was a slow rhythm. Otherwise there were no signs of life. Tears rose to his eyes when he thought of what may have happened during the almost three days when he was held hostage. He didn't notice when Ryan appeared behind him. He noticed when he felt the hand on his shoulder.

"He's your son, isn't he?" Colin asked without looking at Ryan.

The doctor interrupted them by rushing to Jeff's room with the fresh blood.

"They almost didn't approve my blood because I lost some earlier today, but I convinced them that the wound wasn't that bad. They had other questions and I barely passed; but since I am a regular donor, they lowered their standards."

Colin noticed that Ryan avoided his question so he didn't ask again. He just watched the worried man and a wave of tenderness went through him. The day had been action packed and Colin was exhausted. What he really wanted was to lean on Ryan and feel his warm arms around him.

The doctor came over to them again and told them that Jeff was awake and they could see him for a moment. Before they stepped in the room, Ryan whispered in Colin's ear not to mention the father issue. Colin nodded.

When Jeff saw Colin he smiled and tried to lift his hand but he was still too weak. Colin put his palm on Jeff’s and squeezed a little. It was cold and sweaty.

"Hey! Would asking how you are be quite ironic?" Colin started.

"Did you come here for me?" Jeff said.

"Yes, I did. I came to search for you when I heard you had disappeared."

Ryan's facial expression tightened and his breathing grew heavier.

"Ok, let's get to business, can you tell us what happened?"

Colin looked him surprised. So did the doctor.

"You must lower your voice. We don't want to make the patience nervous." The doctor warned.

Colin went to Ryan and made him sit down. Then he pulled another chair close to Jeff and asked him what he remembered.


"I was leaving from work and a man came up to me and asked for a light. I didn't have any matches. Then I looked closer at the man and it was him. The man from the picture you sent me. I guess he followed me because he realized that I knew him. He covered my mouth with his hand and showed his gun. He made me get in his car and he drove to the factory. He locked me in that room for a day. He came back the next night. I couldn't do anything, my hands and legs were bound. I didn’t get anything to eat or drink . He came in and asked about Jonathan and me and then he told me that he knew that I was just a substitute for Jonathan. He said that they belonged together but he had run away so he had to "take care of him" the way he "took care of" his ex. He was going to get rid of me as well because I stole something that he owned. ..´"

Jeff's breathing became erratic and the doctor asked Ryan and Colin to leave. Colin touched Jeff's forehead and told him that he was safe now. Then they left the room.

Before Colin managed to say anything to Ryan, Ryan hand his phone out and was contacting Chief Carey. He told Carey that Mendez had told Jeff that he was responsible for the two murders. When he ended the call he excused himself and went to the men's room.

When Ryan exit bathroom, a worried woman ran toward him. Her jacket was open and she had been crying.

"How is my boy?" She asked urgently.

Ryan brought her into his arms and told her that Jeff was weak but he was in good care now. He calmed the woman and led her to the window so that they could see Jeff. Jeff was asleep again and doctors and nurses were continuing to check on him. Colin watched how Ryan tenderly held Jeff's mother. He could see that they were close. He wanted that closeness with Ryan too. A feeling of jealousy hit him.

All the sudden Colin had enough. Too many things had happened during the day. He took his jacket from the chair and left the hospital. He needed to get away from there. He needed time to think alone. He started to walk without knowing where to go. He remembered that all of his belongings were in Ryan's car and the car was left at the factory. He swore and tried his inside pocket. He didn't have his wallet either. All he had was some change. He decided to walk to the police station to borrow some money or to find out if anyone had brought Ryan's car there already. He needed a hot bath and a good sleep now. He didn't care about anything else.

Colin's cell phone rang. The screen showed that it was Ryan. Colin didn't want to speak to him just then and he pushed the red button and continued walking. He remembered that he had to call Proops and pushed his button on the speed dial. Proops answered right away.

Colin told him everything. He told him that the murderer was dead so there was no real danger anymore. He promised to write his report tomorrow. Greg told him that there was no rush now and Colin could take his time. Colin thanked him and promised to call tomorrow.

By the time he ended the call he had reached a cafe that was still open for truckers. He stepped inside and ordered a big cup of decaf coffee to go. His phone rang again. This time he answered.

"Where are you? Why did you leave? Ryan shouted so loud that Colin had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"I’m so tired right now. Can I talk to you more tomorrow?" Colin tried.

"If you don't tell me where you are now, I'm going to send all the cops to track you down, is that clear?" Ryan continued. Something in his voice told Colin that he would do that.

He gave him the name of the cafe and Ryan promised to pick him up. It didn't take long until Ryan pulled into the parking lot. He had his car. Apparently someone dropped it at the hospital. Ryan got out of the car and headed with determined steps toward Colin.

"Do you think you can run away from me again?"

Ryan dragged Colin into the car and drove away. After a while he pulled over and put emergency brake on. He turned to Colin and touched his cheek with his palm. He stroked it carefully. He moved his hand to Colin's chin. Ryan bowed his head and their lips met, but only briefly. Colin closed his eyes as a wave of emotion swept over him.

"I’m taking you to my place now. You are going to stay there overnight." Ryan announced in his plain-spoken way.

Colin hadn't any strength to resist Ryan and he didn't think he wanted to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryan opened the door to his home and let Colin in. Colin took off his jacket and hung it on the rack. He stepped forward into the cozy living room. Ryan walked in behind him and set Colin's suitcase on the floor. He threw his jacket in the chair.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" Ryan asked nervously.

"No, I want just you."

That relieved the tension. Ryan walked right over to Colin and pushed their lips together. He eased off Colin's shirt and continued kissing him. Colin unbuttoned Ryan's uniform front and pulled it off of his shoulders. Ryan moaned in pain. Colin remembered his wound and drew back a little. He removed the sleeve of his shirt carefully and checked Ryan's arm. A bandage marked the place where the bullet had grazed him. Colin started to place small kisses on Ryan's shoulder. Ryan’s breathing changed. Colin heard the quickening of his heartbeat. He continued kissing his way to Ryan’s nipples and tenderly circled one with his tongue. Ryan stood still, groaning. Colin put his hand on Ryan's groin. He felt Ryan's hardness and released it by lowering the zipper to his pants. Colin took Ryan’s penis and started to slowly move his hand back and forth. Ryan looked directly into Colin's eyes, not wanting to break the intense moment. Colin answered his look with a passionate glance of his own.

Ryan momentarily pushed himself away and led Colin in his bedroom. He pulled down the covers on his bed and threw Colin onto it. Colin started to remove his jeans but Ryan moved his hands away. He wanted to undress Colin. He eased himself and Colin’s jeans to the floor.

When Colin's cock sprang free of its confines, Ryan's eyes widened. He groaned and wrapped his lips around it. Colin felt strong shivers throughout his body. He couldn't just lie still. He started to move his hips in time with the way Ryan was sucking him. He wanted to touch Ryan as well but the feeling was so strong that he couldn't yet. He just lay back and enjoyed the sensations a bit. "Ryan, come closer, I want to touch you too." Colin breathed after while. Ryan moved. He turned in a way that Colin could reach his needy cock . Colin grasped it and started to stroke it softly at first and then he tightened his hold on it.

Colin couldn't take much more. Ryan's hot, wet mouth was around his dick, pulling and tugging, He started to feel himself come. His moaning let Ryan know and he picked up his rhythm. Colin held his breath and he felt the hot, heavy load of come explode from him. Ryan let it spray onto his chest making a very seductive sexy display for Colin to witness. Colin collapsed and took a moment to handle his dizzying height of ecstasy.

Meanwhile Ryan crawled up to place little kisses on Colin's lips. It took a little while before Colin could answer.

"Are you all right?" Ryan asked and continued to brush his mouth against Colin's.

"Never been better." Colin answered suddenly rising and flipping Ryan under him.

Colin ran his hands through Ryan's hair and slipped his tongue into Ryan’s mouth. He circled it around the tip of Ryan’s tongue. Then he started to lower himself to the ground. He brushed against Ryan's smooth chest with his cheek, and continued to move lower until he found his waiting cock. He took it in his mouth fully with a contented sigh, his tongue teasing the tender points. Ryan moaned with pleasure and pushed his hips against Colin's mouth begging for more. Colin didn’t disappoint him. He eased his hand down and gathered Ryan's balls carefully squeezing them while sucking and licking Ryan's big, hard cock.

Ryan gritted his teeth and hissed. It felt too good. He gripped Colin’s shoulders and moved his hands up to brush the fringe of Colin’s hair as Colin continued to taste him. Colin used the flat of his tongue expertly and licked up the length of Ryan’s shaft. Colin hummed in pleasure as he felt it twitch inside of his mouth. "Colin...don’t stop…" Ryan breathed, barely able to control his trembling body. Colin’s mouth felt so good wrapped around him that he almost cried. He never felt this expertly taken care of.

Colin alternately squeezed and tugged on Ryan’s sac causing whimpering, pleading moans to escape the otherwise serious officer. Colin smiled to himself. ‘Now I know how to soothe the savage beast,’ and gave another tentative lick to the head. Ryan tasted so damn good. He increased his speed alternating licking and sucking. Ryan was a quivering mass as he stood there letting Colin take him to the stars.

Ryan was close to coming. Colin felt Ryan’s change and moaned softly He massaged Ryan’s hips and really began to get into his work until he felt Ryan's essence flowing into him. Ryan stiffened throwing his head back, squeezing his eyes shut. Colin reached up and grabbed Ryan’s hand and held it tightly, holding him until Ryan relaxed, breathing heavily.

"Colin that was...that was...I can't even find words ..."
Colin placed tiny kisses on his way back up to Ryan’s mouth and kissed him passionately and then rested his head on Ryan's shoulder. Ryan stroked Colin’s face with his warm palm. Colin shut his eyes and felt pure happiness. The day had been long for Colin and soon he was asleep. Ryan looked down at him with tenderness in his eyes for a long while until he too fell into a restful sleep.


Chapter 10


The darkness changed into the morning light. Sunrays swept the floor. When they reached the bed Colin opened his eyes. He gazed across the room and saw a wardrobe with its door slightly opened. He saw several shirts, clean and ironed and hanging in neat order. He saw a painting hanging on the wall. It depicted finely muscled, barebacked fishermen hauling their catch, lifting their bountiful nets from the sea. The sweat glistening on their skin in the hot light of day. He saw a bathroom door. Ryan's right hand was tightly slung over Colin's waist. Colin liked how it felt there. Very possessive, very protective. He had to get up so he reluctantly and carefully lifted the arm and slipped out of bed. Ryan didn't move.

While washing his hands after relieving himself he took note of his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were glimmering and he looked happier than he had in a long time. He rubbed his eyes thinking it had to be a dream but when he opened them again, the happiness was still there. He dried his hands and went back to bed.

He slipped back under Ryan's arm and laced his fingers between Ryan’s. They had lot of things to do as well as talking about what had happened ahead them today, but Colin wanted to enjoy this moment of calmness just a little bit longer.

Ryan shifted. He tightened his hold on Colin's hand and eased in a little closer.

"Good morning" He said against Colin's neck.

Colin felt his breath tickling there and it gave him shivers.

"Morning." He said softly. Do you think we should call the hospital?"

Colin felt Ryan stiffen and draw back a little. Colin pulled Ryan's arm forward so that Ryan wouldn’t be able to roll over. ‘We’ll talk about that later.’ He thought to himself, smiling wryly. He didn’t want to lose the feelings of last night so soon. He brushed his rear against Ryan’s front and felt Ryan’s penis against his buttocks. Startled, Ryan tried to pull away but Colin wouldn’t let him. He continued to move seductively against him causing Ryan to moan in a low voice. Colin felt Ryan's dick as it began to firm against him. He gasped and continued moving while he felt his own erection begin.

"Oh Colin…" Ryan growled "What you are doing to me?"

ColiN reached his hand back and grasped Ryan’s tight buttcheek. He squeezed it and drew Ryan even closer against him. Ryan's fingers searched for Colin's opening. He teased it with his fingertip, making Colin close his eyes against the touch. Very soft and featherlike, tentatively teasing. He carefully slipped one finger in listening to Colin’s moan of pleasure. That was a signal for Ryan to continue further. He sunk another finger inside and began to move them back and forth.

"Ryan, I need to feel you inside of me." Colin begged in a husky voice.

Ryan withdrew his hand and pressed his penis between Colin's buttocks. Colin felt the head of it against his entrance and groaned with unadulterated lust. He whimpered and rocked his ass against Ryan's cock trying to sink the whole thing inside him. Ryan didn't hesitate anymore. With a final thrust he was hard and deep inside Colin. It went there easier than he thought and felt even better than he ever could imagine.

He started moving in and out and speeding up with each moan and cry coming from Colin’s mouth. Colin was becoming desperate. He was panting and breathing erratically, clawing the sheets in front of him. They found a mutual rhythm. Ryan's left hand was around Colin’s neck and the right one snaked its way around settling on Colin’s rock hard cock. Ryan started to jerk it at the same time as his cock was slamming in and out of Colin's body.

The room was filled with the sounds of passion. They couldn't tell which sound belonged to the other. Ryan thrust deep and long into Colin pushing both men closer to the brink. His hand stroked Colin’s shaft gathering drops of fluid making a deliciously lubricated friction. Colin cried out as he came. When Ryan felt Colin's cock shooting its warm liquid against his hand and pillow he couldn't hold back anymore. He thrust one last time, locking Colin firmly against his chest and coming hard deep inside of Colin, crying out his name.


They were still catching their breath when Ryan's cell phone rang. His pants lay on the floor where he had left them the night before. He reached for it from the front pocket.

"Stiles! Yes...Ok...Thanks...no, I can tell him, we’ll be there later then. "Ryan said and closed his phone." Jeff is ok, his condition stabilized during the night. He received more blood and didn’t have any complications from the surgery. He asked for us to be there. Chief Carey also called us to a meeting and we have to be there in 30 minutes."

"Oh well, better get ready then." Colin got out of the bed and started to search for his clothes.

After the call, Ryan went to the kitchen and made them coffee. They were dressed for work and ready to leave in about 15 minute’s time. As Colin opened the door to the outside of Ryan’s apartment, he was pulled back inside and pushed against the wall. Colin was caught off guard until his lips met Ryan’s and he was given a long passionate kiss. Colin's lips were still sore when they stepped inside the police department exactly 30 minutes after the call.

The conference room was filled. All the seats were taken so they had to stand against the wall with a few others. Chief Carey was using an overhead projector and he started to show pictures on it. He motioned for Sherwood to close the door and he started to talk.

"Good morning everybody! So we’re here to wrap up the case. We can safely say that we got the right suspect.Our hunch that the first victim, Sessions, had a relationship with Mendez, was wrong. They were in no way involved with one another. Antonio Mendez was Mangum's ex. He ws obsessed with him. We now know, via Mangum's former roommate,that he killed Sessions when he found out that Mangum still kept in contact with him. When Mangum found out that Sessions disappeared he assumed that Mendez had found out. That was when he moved and changed his name to Price. Somehow Mendez found him and killed him. When and where, is still a mystery. And apparently he saw Davis and Mangum together because he followed him too and kidnapped him Monday evening, as you all know. Jeff was questioned in the hospital and he told that the suspect had confessed to both murders. We found his gun besides him after Stiles shot him and it matched the bullets found in both cases. We also found his car at the factory. We also found evidence that it was the same car’s tires that left the tracks at the scene of the crime where Stiles and Mochrie were last week." The Chief said and took a sip from his mug.

"So I think we can safely say that we can close this case now. There are still lots of things to do, lots of evidence to collect, coroner’s reports to review, catalog and file, but the immediate danger is over and Davis is going to be all right in the doctor’s care. Later have a press conference. I'm gonna answer to the media’s questions but I want you Stiles up there too Two pm today, don't forget." He said pointing at Ryan who nodded.

After finishing his speech Chief Carey showed few pictures from the fish factory, the suspect’s body and a picture of the room where he had kept Jeff. Other officers started to talk about the case. Colin leaned into Ryan brushing his shoulder. Ryan moved away. Colin looked at him questioning, but Ryan didn't look back.

Ryan announced that he and Mochrie were leaving to go to the hospital. They headed to the door and Colin followed him in silence to the car.

At the hospital, Jeff was removed to a non-NICU ward. The nurse led them there. Jeff was propped up and watching TV.

"I’m glad you’re here. My mom sat here all night and this morning and she was driving me crazy." Jeff said rolling his eyes.

Colin sat on his bed and fluffed his hair.

"I heard that you’re going to recover." Colin said with a gentle voice.

Jeff smiled at him and nodded. He asked if Ryan would go outside for awhile. He had something to say to Colin. Ryan's face was gloomy and he walked out of the room angrily. Colin looked after him, wondering.

"So what's up with you and the deputy? Looks like you are getting along, did he forgive you?"

"Hold on." Colin said, smirking. "You threw Deputy Stiles out to hear some rumors? Now I'm convinced that you are perfectly fine." Colin laughed.

"You are avoiding my question, Mr. Mochrie." Jeff grinned with a cheesy smile.

Colin leaned toward the young patient and touched his hands. Neither of them noticed the furious face behind the door’s window.

Colin opened up to Jeff and told him that there was an understanding between Ryan and him now, but he refused to say anything else.

Now that Colin knew that Jeff was Ryan's son he felt even more close to him. He wondered if Ryan was ever going to tell Jeff. Jeff broke into his thoughts by asking how long Colin was going to stay this time. Colin didn’t know how to answer that. He could easily stay rest of the week or rest of his life he thought smiling. He winked an eye at Jeff and said:

"We’ll see."

As he was speaking, the nurse came in with a dinner cart. Colin left Jeff to eat and promised to come to visit him again tomorrow. He stepped out into the hall but didn’t see Ryan anywhere. He went outside and saw Ryan already sitting in the car. Colin opened the door and sat in the front seat. Ryan started the car and mutely drove forward. He still wasn’t saying anything when they arrived at his apartment. He parked his car and stepped out. So did Colin.

"Ryan, what is it?"

Ryan stared frustratingly at him and jingled the car keys. He obviously had something to say but he struggled with it. Colin came closer to him and tried to grab his sleeve, but Ryan pulled his arm away.

"Do you have business with Jeff? Do you sleep with him?" Ryan finally asked with fear in his voice.

Colin's eyes widened. He wasn't sure if he heard him correctly.

"Me and Jeff? Where did you come up with that?

"I saw you with him last week, he came from your room and it looked like you had something going on there and..."

All of the sudden that tall, strong willed man was open and fragile in front of him. Colin's heart filled with warmth and love...LOVE! Colin thought. I love this man very deeply, he realized. He couldn't say anything for awhile.

"That’s what I thought." Ryan said and turned to climb the stairs to his apartment. Colin shook himself from his thoughts and ran after him.

"Ryan, you don’t understand, WAIT!" Colin shouted at Ryan’s back, but Ryan didn't stop.

Colin reached him at the door. They both stepped inside and Ryan slammed the door behind them. He kicked off his shoes and removed his jacket.

"Ryan! Can you please listen to me? Look at me! I don't sleep with Jeff. I haven't and I won't. I don't have anybody, and I don't sleep around with men. You are the only one that I want. I want to be with you, Ryan..."

Ryan leaned his head against the living room wall and listened. He still didn't look at Colin.

"Ryan, I love you! I am in love with you!"

Ryan still didn't react. Colin went to Ryan and pushed his body against him and wound his arms around his front. He laid his head against Ryan’s wide, masculine back and held him tenderly. They stayed like that for a long while. Ryan placed his arms on Colin’s. He turned around and faced Colin.

"Do you mean that? You...love me?" Ryan repeated with a quiet whisper.

Colin nodded once. Ryan slid his hands around Colin and hugged him. They were so close that that they could hear each other's heartbeats, they could feel each other's breath, warm and soft.

"Colin, I have never been in a serious relationship with any man before. I haven't met anybody I want to be with...until now...I have my faults and I'm not always the nicest person but... I really want to try with you" Ryan whispered to Colin's ear.

Colin looked at the mysterious man and wasn't afraid to reach up and kiss his lips. Ryan withdrew when he remembered the press conference. He had still an hour before it started, but if they continued like this, they would never get there on time.

"I’m hungry, what if I take you to lunch now before the press?" Ryan suggested.

~~~~~~~~~

After having lunch in a local restaurant they headed to the police department. Colin called quickly to Officer Proops and gave him a follow-up on Chief Carey’s debriefing. Proops asked him to be back at HQ on Monday and wished him a nice weekend.

The media was quite nice, unexpectedly. Mostly there were representatives from the local newspapers and few from upstate. Colin watched the proceedings from the back of the hall. Ryan looked confident and gave straightforward answers about the case. Chief Carey added any missing details. One time, during the questioning, Ryan looked up at him and a little smile reached the corner of his mouth. Colin smiled back and couldn't wait for the evening to come. He wanted to feel Ryan next to him, slide his palms across Ryan’s smooth skin and lead him in the top of his pleasure.

Colin shook himself from his dreams when Chief Carey ended the meeting and thanked everybody. Colin followed hurriedly behind them as they left, to go back to the department and go over a few things.

THE FINALE

Colin sat on the plane. He was waiting for it to depart. He looked from the small window to the terminal where he had left Ryan.

The weekend had passed quickly. After the press meeting, they both sat down and wrote their reports and emailed a copy to Greg. Then they went at Ryan's and he flicked on the TV. The local TV station showed the news at that hour and there was footage from the press conference. The screen showed Ryan speaking and when they panned the room, the cameras picked up Colin looking dreamy and watching the speaker.

"Hey Col, penny for your thoughts?" Ryan had asked, smirking at his joke and turning to Colin seeing the same dreamy look. Colin looked at him and answered, "I want you, Ryan!" Ryan quirked him a very seductive smile that he now only saved for Colin and enveloped him in his arms and started to kiss him removing his clothes. They lay on the couch and touched each other teasingly bringing them both off with every possible ways until they reached their highest points of pleasure. They lay like that, naked in each other's arms the rest of the evening, just watching TV and talking quietly.

On Saturday Ryan took Colin to see his boat and they went on a little sightseeing tour around the coast. The city looked peaceful from the seaside. Colin felt that he had always been here, not just the two weeks he had been stationed here. This felt like home. Now he had a life here. People who loved him and who he loved. He was filled with joy while feeling the chilled sea wind through his clothes watching as Ryan navigated his way through the buoys.

After that they went to the hospital to see Jeff. Karen and Josie were there too. Jeff was recovering fast and doctor had told him that he would be released to home on Monday. Colin had hugged him but Ryan pulled him away quickly. The others had laughed at them. No one had doubts about their newfound relationship. They had a nice visit and ad they were leaving Jeff said to Ryan not to let Colin go because he was the best thing that Ryan would ever get. Ryan laughed warmly and said that he had no intention of doing that. They both left with smiles on their faces.

Sunday morning Colin woke up with Ryan's arm around him. Colin felt like he was trapped. He moved Ryan's arm away, but Ryan moved it back in his sleep and held Colin even tighter. Different thoughts circled in Colin's head that morning. 'Could he wake up every morning with someone next to him? Could he share his life all the time with someone?’ Colin felt like he was losing his freedom and that frightened him. He got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom. He needed time to think alone. While he was taking a shower Ryan slipped in silently behind him they made love under the pouring water.

It had been settled that they wouldn't talk about the future of their relationship until Sunday. One hour before Colin had to leave, Ryan brought things up. He wanted Colin to move in this town right away, but Colin said that he couldn’t. He had his job and commitments, also his morning's hesitations held him back. He knew he shouldn’t rush his decision. They had a big argument over that and when Ryan drove him to the airport they were still not on the best of terms.

They stood in the terminal waiting for the departure announcements when Ryan turned to ask him how he could leave him even after he said that he loved him. Colin told him that this wasn't a break up, and this wasn’t goodbye just a little break that he could take care of his business and think about things. Colin promised to call Ryan as soon as he got home. And he promised to check his work schedule and let Ryan know when he could come back. Ryan whispered, "I want you to stay" in Colin's ear making him breathless, but he had to leave. They had hugged quickly when the announcement was made urging the passengers to move to the plane.

Colin watched the tall man as the plane headed through the gates. He didn't want to leave him standing there looking sad and lost, but since everything had happened so fast, he really needed time now to sort his thoughts. He looked so lonely. Colin waved a hand but Ryan didn't respond to it. Just stood there looking back at Colin.

That picture was in Colin's mind when the plane rose into the night sky. 

End of Part 1