by T. M. Smith
Chapter Nine
Frank
Heart hammering in his chest, Frank surged forward, determined to catch the son of a bitch that was roughly twenty yards ahead of him. Winded, lungs protesting, legs screaming at him, every part of his body was thoroughly pissed off at Frank for giving chase. When Caleb had lit up the red truck that flew through a red light at an intersection that would have been packed during rush hour, neither of them could have known exactly who, or what, was in the truck. Turned out it was a perky brunette behind the wheel, her boyfriend riding shotgun, a nine mil in the glove box, and a milk crate of marijuana in the bed of the truck.
As luck would have it, it was the paranoid behavior of said boyfriend, eyes trained on the rearview mirror that caused the discovery of the weed. Underneath a blue tarp they found six bags, each containing what Frank thought to be a pound of marijuana, if memory served him right. “You got a license for this?” Caleb asked the guy, removing the gun from the glove box and checking that the safety was on.
“We were just on our way to the gun range,” Idiot responded with a growl. A person could have a gun in their vehicle without a license if they were, in fact, on their way to a gun range.
Frank was pretty goddamn sure that Mr. and Mrs. Marijuana were not having date night at a gun range with a crate full of wacky weed in a truck that just might be enough to push the drug charges from a misdemeanor to a felony. Caleb was bagging the gun while Frank cuffed the missus when her beau decided to make a run for it, which was why Frank was currently chasing the fucker down the longest alleyway he’d ever seen in his life. Putting every ounce of strength he had left into his legs, Frank closed most of the distance as they approached the end of the alley.…Just in time for Caleb to block the way. It was a thing of beauty, watching Idiot flip over the hood of the cruiser and land in a heap on the road on the other side of the car.
His partner was out of the car and dragging the dumbass to his feet so he could cuff him before Frank made his way around the vehicle. “You look a bit winded, Frank,” Caleb joked and Frank shot him the bird, bending and bracing his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. With both suspects cuffed and secured in the back seat, they called for a tow to impound the truck and headed back to the station to book Dumb and Dumber and sign over the evidence to a narcotics officer that was already waiting for them.
“Jesus, I’m so done with this day.” Frank moaned, falling into his desk chair.
Caleb fell into his own chair, tossing a bottle of water over to Frank. “Yeah, well, we still have to write up our report before the end of our shift.”
Typing up reports was second nature to both men after more than a decade on the job, but the gun and the drugs required additional, time-consuming paperwork. It didn’t help that Frank’s mind was already on vacation, didn’t matter that he hadn’t yet finished his shift. They were driving to Austin the following day for Taylor’s graduation—Frank, Caleb, and Justine, and he was looking forward to the trip. Two days in Austin with family and friends, then Frank had one more shift before his vacation officially started and he caught a flight to Martha’s Vineyard for three whole weeks. No uniform, no handcuffs and chasing down suspects. And the first seven days would be just Frank, his dad, Taylor, and the Stones. Caleb and Justine wouldn’t fly out until the following week as they had to spend some of their vacation time with their parents.
He looked up, blinking when Caleb snapped his fingers. “Earth to Frank, did you get a response from Narcotics on the weight yet?” It was information that needed to be added to the reports.
Flipping over to his email, Frank clicked on the message folder and, sure enough, there was an email from the duty Sergeant with the numbers. “Six pounds, partner, that makes it a felony.” Frank smiled wide. That made the tedious reports so much easier to complete.
Report done and submitted, Frank was heading out when a man in a three-piece suit approached him. “Officer Frank Moore?”
“Yeah.”
“If I could, I’d like to have a word with you and your partner.” The guy looked like a Fed, with his closely cropped high and tight cut and the frown on his face that might be a permanent feature.
Caleb was headed toward them, eyes darting from The Suit to Frank. “What’s up?”
“I was just about to ask that very question.” Frank’s eyes went from Caleb back to the stranger.
“Shit, sorry. I’m Sergeant Rand Davis from the Cold Case Squad.” The suit, not a Fed, introduced himself.
He immediately had Frank’s undivided attention. “You’re here about the Langford murders, aren’t you?”
Nodding, Davis followed them both across the room, taking a seat in an empty chair beside Caleb’s desk. “I am. At this point, I’ve only just taken on the case and I’m doing preliminary interviews with all the officers involved with the original case back in 2005. My understanding is that you two were the first officers on the scene that night.”
“We were,” Caleb answered. “So, the CCS is reopening the case, then?”
“We are and I’m in charge of the new investigation. I would appreciate any information you two could give me about that night. Sometimes, a fresh pair of eyes can see things that might have been overlooked in the previous investigation. But I have to ask, I know the two of you are quite close to the only survivor, Taylor Langford. Your relationship with him isn’t going to make the two of you a liability to me, is it?”
“No,” Frank and Caleb answered him immediately and with confidence.
“Excellent.” Rand Davis stood. “Now, let’s get started.”
Chapter Ten
Taylor
Summer 2015
Throwing the sheet back and climbing out of bed, Taylor shuffled into the kitchen where he knew a fresh, steaming pot of coffee would be waiting for him. He could probably navigate his way from his bedroom to the pot blindfolded, but he peeked through one eye just to be safe. Leaning against the cabinet, he savored the first cup, taking his time to enjoy it before pouring another and heading into the bathroom to shower. The graduation ceremony was later that day and he was uncharacteristically nervous for some reason. Perhaps because this would be the last time he’d walk across a stage and accept a piece of paper declaring that Taylor Langford had achieved his Master’s degree in Social Work. Or perhaps it was the fact that he was going to see Frank for the first time since spring break when he’d driven home to Dallas for the week.
Leaving his entire support system in Dallas when he’d decided to attend college in Austin had been hard on Taylor for the first year. Going from his foster parents’ home in Highland Park to a small apartment just off campus in Austin was a bit of a cultural shock. Had it not been for Frank and his best friend Bradley driving up with him and spending a week helping Taylor get moved in and settled, he might not have lasted very long. It wasn’t that he couldn’t fend for himself or live on his own. No, it was going from being constantly surrounded by people that made him feel loved and safe to a campus full of strangers that threatened to hold him back that first year.
Something he’d learned about himself during all those torturous years of psychiatrists and therapists was that he was afraid of being alone. But then, having your parents murdered while you slept in a crawl space in the attic of the only home you’d ever known…waking up to find that everything you knew was being taken away from you…being forced to move in with a family that wasn’t yours…well, that could make anyone a bit mental.
A loud bang caught Taylor off guard and pulled him from the memories of those early days with the Stones. It took him a minute to focus and recognize that the banging was actually someone knocking at his apartment door. “Just a sec,” he called out, jogging into the bedroom and pulling on a pair of sweat pants.
He was almost to the door when there was another series of loud bangs followed by a familiar voice. “This is the Dallas Police Department responding to an un-noise complaint!” Caleb Knight, Frank’s partner and best frie
nd was waiting on the other side of his front door. And if Caleb was there, that meant Frank was not far behind.
Taylor jerked the door open and grinned at the man he thought of as an uncle. “An un-noise complaint? What the hell is that?”
Caleb grabbed Taylor’s arm and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. “That’s a violation of college boy party rules is what it is, Taylor. It’s entirely too quiet around here.”
“Which is why I like it,” Taylor was quick to respond.
“Okay, step aside, Knight, and let a girl get some love.” Justine hip bumped her husband out of the way and literally jumped into Taylor’s arms, her legs wrapping around his waist. Her curly, black hair tickled Taylor’s nose when she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tighter than her husband, if possible.
“Good lord, I leave you two alone for five minutes to park the car and find your wife clinging to the kid like a spider monkey,” Frank called out as he climbed the stairs and came up behind Caleb. Goddamn, but the man looked good, Taylor thought. And that smile could light up a small village, bright and welcoming. He was so happy to see Frank that he didn’t even mind being called Kid. There was a brief flash of emotion in Frank’s eyes, something Taylor had seen occasionally over the past few years. It was like he was seeing the want and need he felt mirrored in Frank’s stare, but it was gone in a flash, Frank blinking and looking away for a moment.
It took both men to extricate Justine so they could all get into the apartment. “You guys are early. I’m not even close to being ready.”
Frank stood and walked over to him, reaching up and gripping his shoulder with a firm grasp. They stood there, eyes locked on each other without speaking for a few seconds. One corner of Frank’s mouth lifted to form a lopsided grin. He turned Taylor around and gently pushed him toward his bedroom. “You go get ready and I’ll see what you’ve got in the kitchen as far as drinks and snacks while we wait.”
“And Taylor?” He stopped and turned back when Frank spoke. “We’re all very proud of you.” He nodded once before stepping into his bedroom and closing the door behind him.
Taylor fought the urge to go back out into the living room and ask Caleb and Justine to leave him and Frank alone so he could tell Frank the truth, tell him how he felt about him. But that was a conversation best saved for later. This weekend was about his graduation and not his infatuation. Besides, the Stones had put a lot of effort into making this weekend amazing for everyone Taylor loved. I’ve waited this long; what’s a couple of days more?
His apartment was already mostly packed, and the moving company was due to arrive the following day to load and carry his belongings back home to Dallas. His foster parents had rented a suite at a local hotel that weekend for Taylor, Frank, the Knights, and Frank’s father, Hubert. On Sunday morning, they were all either driving or flying back to Dallas and then on Wednesday, they were headed to Frank’s family home in Martha’s Vineyard for three weeks. That was where Taylor would make his move, make the man he longed for his. Much like the lighthouse on the beach across from the cottage at Martha’s Vineyard, Frank had been a beacon of hope for Taylor the past ten years.
The beach held so many happy memories for Taylor, so many firsts: Charlie taught him how to drive a car on the long, winding road they had to drive down to get to the Moore home. He’d learned how to sail under Hubert’s watchful eyes on his Catalina 380. Valerie and Justine more made him, rather than taught him, how to bake a cake for his fourteenth birthday, his first birthday at the Vineyard. His very first kiss was with Billy Scranton in the boat house.
Once Taylor was old enough to really grasp the concept of gay versus straight, he felt sorry for all the people that were shunned by their families, ridiculed by their peers. He’d come flying out of his nonexistent closet at fourteen one night over dinner when Valerie had innocently asked if there were any girls at school he might be interested in.
“Ewww, no! I don’t like girls. I like boys, like Frank,” Taylor stated very matter-of-factly.
As he grew older and began dating, sowing his wild oats, so to speak, there was never anyone he liked enough to get serious with. Shannon was a contender for a while there, but ultimately, he wasn’t the man that had captured Taylor’s heart.
Chapter Eleven
Frank
Summer 2015
Graduation went off without a hitch, the four of them arriving early enough to get parking nearby and seats in the auditorium for everyone just a few rows from the stage. This would be Taylor’s fourth time to walk across a stage, but that didn’t make the ceremony any less meaningful as far as Frank and the Stones were concerned. Junior high was a bit messy, fourteen-year-old Taylor still raw from his parents’ deaths. High school graduation was a much smoother and joyous event for them all, Taylor mugging for the camera alongside Brad and Kian. Two years earlier, he received his Bachelors in Social Work and today he’d be getting his Master’s.
A well-spoken young lady named Melissa was valedictorian. She spoke of the challenges they’d all faced while in school, reminding her peers that there would definitely be more trials in life as they all grew and moved forward. “If you think it, believe it, and have confidence in yourself, you can achieve anything you put your mind and heart to. In closing, I’ll just say remember that our fingerprints never fade from the lives we touch.”
The Dean of the college gave Melissa her rolled-up, ribbon-wrapped paper first and then the two of them handed out the remaining papers in alphabetical order. Slowly but surely, each person stepped forward to receive congratulations from their valedictorian before accepting their own pretty paperwork from the Dean along with a handshake and a quick smile for the school photographer and family that lined up in front of the stage, determined to get the perfect picture.
Taylor’s row stood and Frank watched him move with grace and ease toward the stage. Gone was the scared and uncertain boy Frank had first seen huddled and terrified in the tiny space he was hidden in all those years ago. With each passing year, surrounded by the safety and love of the Stones, Taylor flourished, becoming more confident and certain. The once gangly, awkward teenager had grown into a strong, self-assured man. Frank closed his eyes and thought back to just a few hours earlier when he’d walked up the stairs to Taylor’s apartment to find Justine and Caleb hugging the crap out of Taylor.
In the few seconds before he spoke up, Frank took a moment to take Taylor in from head to toe. He could swear that Taylor had grown taller and was carrying more muscle than the last time he’d seen him. At six three with thick, dark hair, hazel eyes, and a toned physique, Taylor was stunning. Wearing nothing but a pair of sweats that sat low on his hips, Frank couldn’t help but admire the man standing just a few feet away from him. His attraction to Taylor both terrified and mesmerized him. When Taylor’s gaze landed on him, Frank was certain he saw a similar look of appreciation in the young man’s eyes.
“Taylor George Langford.” Frank stood and clapped, whooping and hollering loudly as did the rest of their friends and family. He watched as Taylor waved, smiled, and then gave them all a thumbs-up before he exited the other side of the stage and made his way back to his row of seats. Just before he sat back down, Taylor turned and grinned at Frank and then—Holy fuck—he winked at him. Stunned, Frank stared at the back of Taylor’s head until Caleb grabbed him by the arm and jerked Frank down into his seat.
“You okay there, Frank?” his partner asked. Frank nodded, shaking his head, trying in vain to convince himself he was seeing things.
~
There was a small reception at the Bass performance hall at the college after the graduation ceremony for the graduates and their families. They all got to meet Melissa and her girlfriend Pattie before heading back to the suite the Stones had booked for the weekend. Valerie invited Melissa and Pattie to join them for brunch the following day at the Blue Dahlia Bistro, a small but quaint European-style bistro in the heart of the college district that was Taylor’s absolute f
avorite place to eat in Austin.
Arriving back at the hotel, everyone had just enough time to freshen up and change if they wanted to before their six o’clock reservation at Stephen F’s, a restaurant and bar on the second floor of the Intercontinental hotel where they were staying. Taylor, Valerie, and Charles were already seated out on the patio when Frank, Caleb, and Justine joined them. Hubert was tired and opted out of dinner and drinks, deciding to take a nap instead. Frank’s dad was in his sixties and diabetic, so he became winded easily.
Drinks in hand and appetizers ordered, Charles was the first to lift a glass to his foster son. “To Taylor, a bright and gifted young man that is going to go far in life; we love you, Son.” His voice wobbled on the last few words, and the women teared up a bit.
Taylor lifted his glass and nodded once. “Love you too, Dad.”
The memory of a night on the beach in Martha’s Vineyard popped into Frank’s mind, and he smiled wistfully. Justine leaned into Frank, bumping him with her elbow. When he looked over at her, she squinted her eyes, silently asking him if he was okay. He nodded before giving his full attention to their small party again. Justine kept her toast short and sweet, while Caleb went with crass and dirty, receiving a smack to the back of the head from his wife. Valerie was a bit more long-winded.
“My sweet boy, it seems like just yesterday we opened our hearts and home to you, and I have never regretted that decision, not even for a moment. I hope you know how proud we are of you, Taylor, how much Charles and I love you. I know it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but we’ve always been there for each other.” Valerie paused to take a few deep breaths, her emotions obviously getting the better of her. “And now you have your degrees and you’re going to help boys and girls that are sad, scared, or alone, much like you were ten years ago. You’ve truly come full circle and…” Bringing her hand up to her chest, Valerie fought back the tears. “…we couldn’t be more proud.”