When the real world lured us from the little oasis Andy had shown me, the regret was overwhelming. I wanted to stay curled up there with Andy and pretend as if we weren’t being stalked by killers or our lives weren’t in the bastards’ hands. When we made it home I unpacked the boxes and went through each file, tacking them to the boards I’d carried up from the basement. The photos were a macabre play, tacked in order, and they were all too familiar. I’d lived with these pictures for months before I’d left the force.

Rage overtook me knowing Green and others knew I was innocent for days. I didn’t have time to deal with that now. What was more important was finding the killer and his partner, making sure Andy was safe.

“Shit.”

I jerked my gaze to Andy, seeing the paleness of his face and the way his hands shook around the two beers he was holding.

“Sorry, I can move this to my office, but it’s a bit cramped.”

“It’s fine. How can you look at those?”

I brought my attention back to them, took in the faces of each victim and tried to imagine what their last moments were like before their lives were violently snuffed out. The killer probably had no qualms about what he did. Maybe the guy was even proud of his work like someone who excelled at their job. I didn’t know how to answer Andy without it seeming cold, but I learned the art of being detached. Until these murders, never once was I emotionally attached or invested in a case.

Yes, I felt pity and sadness for someone losing their life, especially in violence, but this was so much more than that.

I took the beer Andy handed me. “Homicide wasn’t where I’d thought I’d end up. I worked Vice and Sex Crimes for nearly a decade. I find it easier to work with the dead. The rape victims, no matter what assurances I made that everything would be okay I knew it was an empty promise.”

I lifted the bottle to my mouth and took a long draw. “We were taught not to make promises. That it only gave the survivors false hope.” I let out a deep sigh. “Cops sit there with these people at the worst moments of their lives and we have to instill confidence that we’ll find whoever hurt them or their loved ones. After a while something deadens inside us. We’ve seen too much or… see the devastation on their faces when the perps are found not guilty. I became…lost and hardened.”

“Why did you become a cop?” Andy asked.

He moved toward the couch and sat down, curling up on one end. I followed to perch on the arm and pulled him close. His cheek rested against my ribs and I soothingly combed my fingers through his soft hair.

“Sometimes I wonder why.” I took another swallow of my beer while I tried to get my thoughts in order. “Back in the day, there was this cop, his usual beat was my neighborhood. He was quick to call me over and have a talk about what I was doing. One night, I was running an errand and it was his night to patrol. I didn’t know what was in the package and I didn’t ask. When I was searched, I was in possession of a distributable amount of narcotics. Let’s just say I wasn’t underage anymore, and I was looking at ten years in prison.”

“What happened?” he asked as he stared up at me.

I lowered my head to brush a kiss to his forehead.

“He made me a deal, police academy or a cell. I didn’t see much choice. He confiscated what I was holding and told me to get lost. With my history, I barely got in. Today it would’ve been a no go. All the younger cops are coming in with college degrees and dreams of grandeur. I worked hard to prove myself, I should’ve taken the Sergeant’s exam years ago, but I made Detective and that was fine with me.”

“Do you want to go back? You probably have that option now.”

“I don’t know, baby, after thinking about it. Do I really want to put my life into the hands of people who I can’t trust? Really, if they didn’t need me, how long would they have known I was clean and just kept going on like I was guilty? I wouldn’t mind staying a P.I. with some more funding, maybe start a security type company. Who knows, right now.” I leaned forward to set my bottle on the coffee table, then pinched Andy’s chin between my fingers and tipped his head back. “I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

I quickly kissed him and stroked my curled fingers down the slight stubble on his cheek. When Andy called me for help, getting involved with him hadn’t ever crossed my mind, but I didn’t care. I was drawn to him and it was stronger than any other man I’d met. My need had nothing to do with the case. Yes, the job had brought us together, but it wasn’t why I couldn’t resist him.

He wanted to say something, I could see it in his expressive eyes, but the knock on the door caused both of us to jump. I moved quickly across the room and removed my weapon from the holster hanging on the coat hooks beside the door. I motioned for Andy to go upstairs.

“Ray, really, must I stand outside in this awful neighborhood while you figure out how to shoot me?”

I rolled my eyes as Andy snorted, I opened the door to find Bradford and Richie on the porch. Bradford looked ready to go to a five-star restaurant in his ridiculously priced suit. While Richie was in his usual jeans and t-shirt, wearing a leather jacket to conceal his .45.

“What the hell are y’all doing here?”

“We were informed that you had a most interesting day at your former precinct.”

Bradford didn’t fool me. I’d learned to read the man years ago when he’d taken over the operation from his old man. Bradford was only a few years older than me, but we’d grown up together.

“You just want to be nosy and get details, and also look over case files like the old days.”

I motioned them both inside and closed the door. Richie took off his jacket and headed for the kitchen, making himself at home when he came back with a beer. Gruff or not, he came back with bottles for us all. He took a seat in my recliner and kicked up the foot rest. He had watched Bradford’s back for so many years he knew they weren’t going anywhere soon.

“Andy, how are you this evening?” Bradford poured on the charm and even kissed Andy’s hand.

I almost laughed at the look of near horror on Andy’s face as he backed up as if Bradford was about to have a meltdown.

“Hands off, Bradford.”

“So possessive, didn’t take you for the permanence type. But if anyone would instill that level of alpha posturing, your young man would definitely do it.”

“Are you trying to piss me off?”

Bradford removed his even more expensive cashmere trench coat and hung it up as I put my weapon away. The man was practically bouncing with the excitement of looking through case files. I thought my friend and former boss would’ve made a good detective. He had an eye for detail.

“Go on.”

Bradford didn’t wait any longer and was shifting the files and finding the earliest murder.

Andy stepped up to my side and whispered, “What is going on?”

“Bradford wanted to be a cop, but his old man thought it was below him.”

“So, he’s a criminal with badge envy.”

Bradford scoffed, “I’m a businessman, Andy. As with any business sometimes my dealings aren’t always, shall we say, legal.”

Bradford didn’t look up from the file as he thumbed through the pages. My friend had an acumen for puzzles. Bradford had even helped on a few cases putting clues together. The higher ups would’ve lost their mind if they knew one of my best assets was one of the most respected, yet, wanted men in New West.

“Come on, Andy, let’s get to work.”

I took Andy’s hand and we took the couch while Bradford removed his jacket and tie to sit cross legged on the floor. Hours passed, and the two huge boards were quickly filling with details. The scrawls on the whiteboard a mix of my, Andy, and Bradford’s handwriting.

“I’m sure you went over your enemies, but what about your admirers, Ray?”

“Admirers?” I asked Bradford.

The thought that I had admirers was a surprise to me.

“Yes, someone who showed you more attention than others. An individual who possibly vied for your affections,” Bradford explained.

I couldn’t help laughing. I mean I wasn’t an ogre, but I sure as hell wasn’t a catch either, before or after my life as a cop. Wealth and looks weren’t exactly bestowed upon me as a gift from birth. I was rough and my manner abrasive.

“I haven’t exactly gone without…”

Andy huffed beside me and I patted his knee.

“But I don’t remember anyone who particularly went out of their way to get me in bed.”

“What about Daniels?” Richie asked.

I’d almost forgotten the man was there until he spoke.

“Daniels was an egocentric ass, but he definitely didn’t give off the lusting after me vibe. If anything, he played up his skirt chasing at every opportunity. I lost track of the number of blowjobs he got while on the clock.”

I didn’t know what Richie’s hard on for my former partner was, but I clearly remembered he hated the man on the spot. As much as I thought about it, I couldn’t see Daniels as a killer. Yeah, he was hotheaded and quick to excessive force, he wasn’t allergic to pocketing a bribe, but murder I couldn’t wrap my head around.

Bradford spoke without looking up from the file. “Some men find that their carnal needs for the same sex an emasculating feature and macho bullshit makes them less of a target.”

“Can you talk like a normal person?” Andy’s question earned him laughter from me and Richie.

“Now, you’re going to hurt my feelings, Andy.”

Andy snorted and went right back to reading through the case file. I’d kept Francis’ case away from him. It was one thing to look at one for someone he didn’t know, another to see the aftermath of what happened to his friend and roommate.

“Well, you have two men working as partners. One who is obviously skilled enough to blend into the hunting ground of a place like Epiphany and unassuming enough to lure obviously street-smart men from the club. The files show that there was evidence of consensual sex, so I’m assuming the killer didn’t—”

Andy cut off Bradford with a raised hand. “What if the partner, the younger guy, talked to these men and said he had a partner, an older boyfriend or husband. They liked to have threesomes. Francis was known to have the occasional hookup with couples. Could the partner be waiting outside in a car, partner brings the victim outside and they leave together. Sex happens between the three and when all is said and done, they kill together.”

I thought about it for a minute. “Plausible theory, two people cleaning up would minimize the time it took to remove evidence, but you only saw the one killer.”

“Ray, Andy might have a point about something. The last three killings were more frenzied than the first three, maybe the partner is a new addition. Partner is taking advantage and getting a few perks for his part, and jealousy is getting the better of the killer.” Richie kicked the footrest of the chair down. Richie stood and walked around the boards. He tapped the first three pictures.

“See, what people fuck up with the perfect crime is they add people to the mix. Either they start sending those attention seeking notes, or they slip up by keeping a trophy. Our guy successfully pulled off three murders. No evidence or witnesses.” He moved to the second board. “These three were fuck-ups all over the place. Andy as a witness. Threatening calls to Andy. Images of him from the CCTV cameras, pretty useless, but they showed a general description. And we have a second witness in Jules.”

“What are you getting at, man?” I asked.

“These first three murders, I don’t believe they had anything to do with you. These final three were a calling out. A declaration of war. Yes, they are the same type, slim, attractive, some might even say pretty, but who do these men remind you of, Ray? It’s been staring us in the face for hours.”

I scanned each one slowly and tried to see where he was going with his theory. “Hold up.” I was off the couch with Andy calling my name. I jogged down into the basement and searched for the case file. It was from my Sex Crime days and I opened it as soon as I found it. The face staring back at me almost took my knees out. I ran upstairs.

“Mikey Carter, twenty-three-year-old escort. Worked for one of Finn’s guys. Bradford, what’s was his name?”

“Gino something, he disappeared about twelve years ago. Finn found out Gino was running a prostitution operation under the guise of an escort service. You know Finn doesn’t run a stable. His older sister died when her pimp let a client beat the fuck out of her for an extra hundred. Gino kept feeding Finn a line of bullshit that it was all legit.”

“Mikey worked for Gino, but I let Mikey go a few times with a couple hundred. Told him to get off the streets. Sweet kid, he just didn’t have many options.” I removed the photo and used a pin to place it next to the others. “I got a call, I was just signing off duty. It was Mikey. I met him. That kid was fucked up, but nothing I did would get him to name names. After he stayed in the hospital a few days, I drove him to the bus station and never saw him again.”

“Whatever this is, Ray, this has been going on a lot longer than six crimes.”

My stomach clenched. If this was true, we had a lot more than six victims, and if this went as far back as Mikey’s case, then Finn was implicated. I wasn’t ready for that complication or how many more bodies were out there. Cops didn’t give a fuck about a kid working a corner. How many fucking victims were sitting in cold case files?

“I need to make a phone call.” I hoped Green had opened his fucking mouth and spread the news I was back. If not, I knew the guy in charge of the Cold Case Squad.