by Jenna Byrnes
The dog retreated as quickly as he’d entered. Reilly closed the door behind him.
“Aw, don’t you feel bad kicking him out? He’s been home alone all day and he just wants some company.”
“One night isn’t going to kill him. I’ll walk him in the morning and spend time with him tomorrow night. Since I seem to recall you’re getting Connor after school.” He held one bottle out then climbed in next to Wynn.
“Yeah.” Wynn accepted the beer and twisted the top off. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad you can spend time with him. When does he go back?”
“Sunday by noon.”
“I see.” Reilly took a long pull from his bottle, then wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “Then I guess I’ll meet you over here about one?” He batted his eyelashes. “Oh, and pack a bag. This running home in the morning stuff is for the birds.”
Reilly threw the covers off and held his beer out, allowing a trickle to drizzle onto Wynn’s stomach. Placing the bottle on the nightstand, he then turned back to Wynn and licked at the small puddle.
Wynn settled back into the layers of pillows and grinned. He poured some of his own beer onto his cock and waggled his eyebrows.
Grinning, Reilly licked where the trail led, lapping up the suds as he went. “Mmm.” He laved the shaft from base to tip and back again, then nuzzled Wynn’s balls. “Best beer I’ve ever tasted.”
“There’s more where that came from.”
“Let me have it,” Reilly encouraged, and slurped at the new pool Wynn poured on his own stomach. He dragged his fingers through the beer and reached down to insert one in Wynn’s ass.
Licking and sucking Wynn’s balls, he guzzled when Wynn poured more beer over his genitals and tried to catch every drop.
“Damn, look at that.” Wynn smiled. “You’ve got me hard again.”
“Just so you know”—Reilly glanced up at him with a devilish grin—“that was the plan all along.”
* * * *
Wynn and Mel completed the high school flyer drop-offs on Friday and discussed the presentations Reilly had proposed. One other school was interested in the same thing, and they got it approved by the chief. On Monday they’d start helping Jeff and Beck with spreading the word on the college campuses.
He pulled up in front of St. Sebastian’s a few minutes before the final bell rang, and parked. He checked his phone and found a text from Reilly. It made him smile.
Testing the number before I sext you. Does your son ever see your phone? Reilly
You got the right number and no, his eyes are glued to his own phone. Sext away. And you don’t have to identify yourself. I only shag one person at a time.
Wynn waited a few minutes but no replay came back immediately, so he knew Reilly was busy. He glanced around the parking area as students flooded out of the building. Half of them had their eyes down, checking their phones. He chuckled, not able to say much as there he sat, looking at his own.
The car door opened and a backpack whizzed by him, into the back seat. Connor slid into the front and smiled. “Hey, Dad. I’m starving. Can we get something before we go home?”
“I got a couple of those pizzas you like for dinner.”
“That’s great, but dinner is, like, hours away.”
“Okay.” He remembered on the Fridays he picked up Con that he left work an hour early, so it really wasn’t dinnertime. He could do a snack.
His text notification sounded and Wynn looked at his phone once more before pulling out.
The next time I see you, I’m going to…
Smiling, he tucked the phone back into his pocket. He’d finish reading it later when he was alone and could enjoy it. “One snack coming up.”
They spent Friday evening playing video games and watching TV. He’d texted Reilly late into the night, or ‘sexted’ as the teacher had put it. He’d never done that type of thing but it was fun and culminated in a fairly satisfactory hand job. He made certain to erase the messages after, and Reilly agreed to do the same.
Saturday was all about Con. In the morning they tossed a ball in the back yard. While they horsed around, he thought how much the boy would enjoy Gus. Part of him wondered if that scenario would ever come to pass. The more realistic part knew it was too soon to be thinking such thoughts, even if it was a pleasant daydream.
They ate lunch at his kid’s favorite Asian restaurant, then went for a long bike ride on their ten-speeds. In the evening they grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and watched an action movie on pay-per-view.
By ten-thirty Con was snoozing on the sofa, curled up under a soft throw, as Wynn half-watched the local news. He’d considered texting Reilly again, but was trying not to be as obsessive as he felt on the inside. He wanted to see him again. He wanted to talk to him, hold him, kiss him, lick every inch of his body, and that was for starters.
He was staring at his phone, debating, when it rang.
Chief Kern. He punched the answer button, knowing this could not be good. Texts were for non-critical issues. Calls meant trouble. “Yeah, Chief.”
“Fahey, we got problems. Three more overdoses were just admitted to St. Luke’s hospital, and the symptoms indicate Flakka.”
“Well, shit. How are the vics?”
“Two are not good, one is going to be okay. I called Riggs to meet you there. We need to get statements from these kids and try to figure out where they got the drugs. It’s time to shut this thing down. I know you have your boy this weekend—”
“It’s okay,” he said quickly. “He can stay by himself for a while.”
“Good. Thanks. Touch base with me later, doesn’t matter what time.”
“Ten-four.” Wynn ended the call.
Connor had sat up and was looking at his own phone. “Dad, something’s happened.”
“What?” Wynn stood, realizing he’d need to change out of his shorts and T-shirt.
Con rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know but my Facebook page is blowing up. Something about Ben’s party. Someone tagged me. They must have thought I was there.”
Shit. Wynn’s heart raced. Surely the three overdoses had not come from a thirteen year old’s party? Coincidence. It was end-of-the-school-year party season, after all. “Look, I just got a call about some drug overdoses and I have to get to the hospital. I hate to leave you here alone. Hopefully I won’t be gone long.”
His son’s nose was buried in his phone again. “I understand. No biggie.”
“Thanks, kid.” Wynn hurried to change into jeans and a button-down shirt. He grabbed his phone, wallet and keys, and headed back into the living room.
Connor was standing in the hallway with a look of fear on his face. “Dad—those drug overdoses? It’s Ben and Sam and Jesse from school. Everyone’s tweeting about it.”
Wynn’s heart sank. “From Ben’s party?”
Con nodded. Tears welled in his eyes.
He gazed at his son, who was wearing a Superman T-shirt and matching pajama pants. It seemed unreal that he was old enough to have friends in this situation. “Okay, get changed and let’s go. Hop to it. We need to roll.”
Nodding, Connor raced to his room and returned wearing jeans and a plain T-shirt a moment later. He grabbed some shoes and followed Wynn to the car. “I can’t believe this, Dad. Ben doesn’t take drugs.”
“I don’t know. Maybe he wanted to try it once? Maybe he didn’t know what he was taking?” Wynn backed the car out and closed the garage door as Con laced his shoes. “Seatbelt,” he reminded.
His son obliged and began checking his phone again. “Or maybe he didn’t know he was taking anything at all. I’ve heard Jesse talking about smoking weed before. What if they slipped Ben something?”
“Anything is possible. Mel’s going to meet us there, and we need to talk to everyone and try to find out. You’ll have to hang back, son.”
“I will.”
“And if Ben’s parents are unhappy to see you there, just back off and stay away from th
em. They’re bound to be very upset and emotional, so try not to take anything they say to heart.”
“Got it.”
At St. Luke’s, Wynn parked in the emergency lot and led Con in the entrance. Mel was already there, speaking with a distraught couple. “Is that his folks?”
“Yeah.” Connor nodded.
They approached them.
“Hey,” Mel acknowledged. “Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, this is my partner Detective Fahey. And his son Connor?” she added with a questioning glance at Wynn. “Hey, Con.”
Wynn nodded. “He knows their son. He’s going to hang out for a while.”
“Hey,” Connor replied, looking down at the floor.
The parents didn’t acknowledge him or Connor. Mrs. Baxter said to Mel, “We don’t know where he got the drugs. Ben has never done anything like this before. He’s a good boy.”
Mr. Baxter added, “We were right upstairs! The kids were in the basement family room, playing video games and eating. There was no alcohol, we made sure of that. We greeted everyone as they came in, and sent them down.”
Mel pulled a folded Flakka flyer from her pocket. “This particular drug would have been easy to sneak in. It doesn’t require any special handling, it doesn’t have to be smoked or injected. It can be added to food or drink, or inhaled.” She handed the paper to them.
Wynn said, “Plus it’s cheap. Three to five dollars a hit. We just found out about it this week, and have been trying to get to word out to schools. I actually spoke to Principal Andrews at St. Sebastian’s, but he has to have everything approved by the board before he can do anything, even send home a flyer.”
Mrs. Baxter finally looked at him. “Where would the kids have gotten something like this?”
He shrugged. “Every school has at least one kid who’s connected to a drug dealer. We need to speak with the boys once they’re able and see if they can ID their contact.”
“I don’t believe it’s Ben,” Mr. Baxter said.
“I don’t either,” Wynn said softly. “But unfortunately, he probably didn’t realize what he was getting into with this stuff. One of the others might have convinced him to try it.”
They seemed a bit calmer once he’d agreed Ben probably wasn’t the culprit. But their child was still in danger, and Wynn couldn’t imagine what they must be going through.
The other parents arrived and were briefed by a doctor as to their sons’ conditions. No one was out of the woods yet, everything possible was being done to lower their body temperatures and keep them comfortable.
A few other students arrived and Con went to sit with them. Wynn was surprised to see Principal Andrews show up at eleven-thirty. The administrator spoke with each of the families and joined the rapidly growing crowd in the waiting room.
He got another surprise when Reilly entered close to midnight. The teacher spoke to the principal, then went to touch base with each of the families. After he’d spoken with the Baxters, Reilly glanced around and caught Wynn’s eye.
“Excuse me just a minute,” Wynn told his partner, and met up with Reilly. “Hey.”
“Hi. I wanted to see you again, but this sucks.”
Wynn smiled. “I know what you mean. Last night was fun, but nothing beats the real thing.”
Reilly looked around the full room. “And now this. Holy crap. I can’t help but wonder if it all could have been avoided if we’d gotten those flyers out a week sooner.”
“Welcome to my world.”
The handsome hunk caught his gaze and said quietly, “Yeah, well I’d like to be part of your world. But this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. How’s Connor?”
Wynn searched for his son amidst a group of students and nodded. “He’s holding up okay. I hadn’t planned to bring him, but social media let him know what was going on almost faster than my chief did.”
“Do you think you should call his mom?”
Scrubbing a hand over his face, Wynn shook his head. “Nah, I don’t think so. Hopefully we’ll have some news soon, and most of these people can go home. We won’t be able to interview the kids until at least tomorrow, I’m sure.”
“Which means my Sunday plans are shot to hell.” He smiled but appeared genuinely disappointed.
Wynn was too, and he smiled. “Sorry. Hazards of the job, I guess. I might be able to make some time later in the day. It all depends what kind of leads we get. If we have anything at all, we’ll need to go after them. Time is truly of the essence in these kinds of cases.”
“I get that. I’m just pouting like a little kid who doesn’t get to play with his new favorite toy.”
Wynn chuckled. “Believe me, the feeling is mutual.”
The doctor appeared and spoke with Sam Robinson’s parents.
Mel stepped up behind them to listen, and as the doctor led the folks in to the back, she found Wynn. “Sam is coming around. They think he’s going to be fine.”
“Any news on Ben or Jesse?”
“Not yet.” She glanced at Reilly.
Wynn spoke up. “Oh, Mel, this is Reilly O’Keefe. He teaches at St. Sebastian’s. Reilly, meet Melanie Riggs, my partner.”
They shook hands and Mel smiled pleasantly. “Nice to meet you. It’s sweet of you to come out.”
Don’t waste the effort, Mel. Wynn recognized the interest he spotted in her eyes. Hell, he had the same interest. But hers would be unrequited.
“These kids mean a lot to me,” Reilly said. “I’d just spoken with Detective Fahey about this on Thursday. I feel awful that we didn’t get the flyers out before the weekend.”
She nodded. “Who knows if it would have helped? Tonight will bring a lot of attention to the subject, I can tell you that for sure.”
The doctor reappeared to speak to the Baxters.
“Excuse me.” Mel went closer to hear his prognosis.
Reilly glanced at Wynn. “She’s nice.”
Wynn chuckled. “She’s very nice. She thinks you’re nice, too.”
His friend blinked. “How can you tell?”
“I’ve been partners with her for a long time. She’s definitely interested. Should I tell her you’re not available?”
“Please do. You can tell her I’m gay if you want.”
“Might not want to do that. She’ll put two and two together and…” He didn’t think he needed to finish the sentence.
Reilly gazed at him. “And what? Figure out that we’re together?”
“Together?” The word sounded like so much more than the one night they’d shared, with merely the promise of more to come. “I don’t know, man. That might be a little premature.”
“Seriously?” Reilly suddenly looked pissed. “I thought we both felt the same way.”
Wynn’s emotions were already on edge. He snapped back, “And I thought we’d agreed on no psycho fatal attraction bullshit. It was one night, Reilly. One great night, to be sure. But we need a hell of a lot more time to figure out if we’re ‘together’.”
Reilly opened his mouth to speak when a cry from across the room silenced everyone else.
Wynn glanced over and saw Mrs. Baxter sobbing. Her husband held her up. They both looked like they might topple over with the slightest breeze.
His heart filled with dread.
Mel reappeared, her face white as a sheet. “Ben Baxter just died.”
Chapter Four
Wynn’s first thought was of his son. He looked to where Connor sat and saw the boy’s face crumple. Pushing his way through the throngs of people, he reached him and Con flew into his arms.
“No, Dad! He can’t be dead!” Connor sobbed into his shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, son. Damn, I’m sorry.” He held and rocked him as people all around them cried and absorbed the shock.
“I should have been there. Maybe I could have talked him out of taking whatever he did.”
Wynn closed his eyes. Thank God you weren’t. It could have been him and Syd speaking with the doctor right now if his son had been at the
party. He knew full well the power of peer pressure. “You can’t blame yourself, buddy. We never know how these things might have played out. Second guessing our actions just makes us feel worse.”
“I really…cared about him…” Con mumbled. “We… Oh, God!” He broke down again.
Wynn sighed. He’d have to talk with his son later about what he’d been going to say. Had the boys gone further with their experimentation than either of their mothers suspected? Syd would go nuts. But now wasn’t the time to worry about it.
I’ve got to call her. He gripped Con’s shoulders and pushed him back gently. “We need to call your mom.”
“No! I don’t want to see her right now. She wouldn’t let me go to the party.”
He wanted to shake his kid but instead held him firmly. “No, Con, that was both of us. We agreed it was for the best you didn’t go. Don’t blame Mom for any of this. If you need to blame someone, blame me.”
Connor sniffed. “I don’t blame you for anything, Dad. Mom does enough of that for both of us.”
He smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Smartass. I’m going to call her now, and see if she can come and get you. I need to stay and work the case, but you should get the hell out of here.”
His son nodded. “You’re going to work Ben’s case?”
Wynn had dialed and the phone was to his ear. “You betcha. We’re going to find out who sold the drugs to these boys and prosecute them for homicide.”
“Wynn?” Syd answered groggily. “What’s wrong?”
“Con’s okay, but there was trouble at his friend Ben’s party tonight.”
“I thought we agreed he wouldn’t go to that party,” she snapped.
“He didn’t. Con was home snoozing on the sofa when we got the call. Three boys at the party OD’d on a new, cheap designer drug. One of them was Ben. He just died, Syd.”
“Ben died?” her annoying shriek returned.
He really couldn’t blame her this time. “Yeah. One other boy is still in critical condition, a Jesse Morgan. The doctor said Sam Robinson is going to be okay.”
“I know Sam,” she said breathily. “I’ve never heard him mention Jesse. Oh God, Wynn. Is Con okay?”