Cosplay Killer

by Dahlia Donovan

  Osian leaned over to kiss him over the front of his helmet. “Have fun.”

  The best thing about a convention was being able to put a helmet on—and have people ignore him. He got fist bumps and high fives. Conversation was irrelevant.

  No one was there for Dannel. They loved his Liam Kosta cosplay. They were there for the character.

  What was I thinking?

  The lines for any of the food vendors practically went the length of the building. Dannel gave up. He didn’t need to eat that badly—Gemma and Ethan probably had snack bars and water left.

  He arrived at the first aid station to find Abra and Evie seated behind the table. He poked his best friend in the arm. “You couldn’t text me?”

  “I brought sandwiches and coffee.” Evie tossed a wrapped packet at him. “Forgiven?”

  “Sure.” Dannel hooked a chair with his foot to ease it out from under the table. He sat heavily and yanked his helmet off. “Remind me to vent this better next time.”

  “Steaming up in there?” Abra grabbed a cup of coffee from a drink carrier. “Where’s your lesser half?”

  “He said he was going to be here. Haven’t you seen him?” Dannel felt his chest tightening when Abra shook her head. He stretched his arms out, careful not to spill his drink or dump the sandwich. “Shoot him a text?”

  “Already sent him three.” Abra paused to slap a Band-Aid on a paper cut on Wonder Woman’s finger. “Complete radio silence.”

  His appetite vanished. The food he’d eaten churned in his stomach. Dannel knew Osian well enough to know he’d never ignore multiple texts.

  They’d worked as first responders long enough to know how no response could cause a great deal of concern. Dannel set the sandwich and drink on the table. He grabbed his phone and called Osian.

  It rang.

  And rang.

  Dannel disconnected the call when it went to voicemail. He glanced over to his right and spotted missing equipment. “Where’s the defibrillator?”

  “No idea. Ethan didn’t know when we showed up. He assumed Gemma had it.” Evie had her mobile out as well. “None of them have replied to my messages.”

  Anxiety ate at him like a monster in his gut. Dannel got to his feet. He’d never known Osian to ignore all of them.

  “Where is he?”

  “Inside voice, Dannel,” Evie reminded him.

  “Bugger my inside voice.” Dannel strode away from the table. “I’m going to find him.”

  Weaving through the crowds filling the halls, Dannel doggedly made his way toward the security office. He knew they had rows of CCTV cameras. They’d hopefully be able to help him find Osian or call for him over the tannoy.

  Surely Osian wouldn’t ignore that as well?

  Halfway to security, Dannel spotted cluster gathered outside of one of the rooms. He froze when paramedics pushed by him toward the doorway. The churning in his stomach increased, and he followed after them.

  The room was utter chaos.

  The defibrillator had been tossed across the room and broken into several pieces. Osian was on the floor frantically doing CPR on someone. Dannel squeezed through the crowd of onlookers to find the lifeless form of Gemma.

  What the bloody hell happened?

  “Ortea. Get your man, will you?”

  Dannel nodded at one of the paramedics he vaguely recognised. He knelt down to wrap his arms around Osian. “Come on, Ossie. Let them help her.”

  “I can do this. I can.” Osian fought against him, struggling to get back to their friend. “Won’t lose another one.”

  Dannel clutched him tightly to his chest. “It’s going to be alright.”

  It wasn’t, but Dannel didn’t think either of them wanted to face the truth just yet. He’d seen enough dead bodies over the years as a firefighter. Nothing was going to bring Gemma back to them.

  “Let me go. I can save her.” Osian tried to break away from him.

  Dannel, being taller, broader, and certainly stronger, forced Osian over to a corner of the room. “Easy, Ossie. Don’t.”

  “Not again.”

  He didn’t quite know how to help his boyfriend. Nothing he said would make him feel better, but he tried anyway. “I’m so sorry.”

  5

  Osian

  This is a nightmare. It’s a nightmare. I’ll wake up covered in sweat, again, and everything is going to be just fine.

  No matter how hard Osian tried, the image of finding his friend lifeless on the floor wouldn’t get out of his head. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand, trying to force the tears back.

  Why can’t I ever save anyone?

  The police had arrived not long after the paramedics. They’d cleared away the gawkers but insisted Osian and Dannel stay behind. After Gemma had been taken away, the two had been separated by constables.

  “Mr Garey?”

  “Osian.” He peered up at the detective who’d introduced himself as Haider Khan. “Just Osian.”

  “Mr Garey. Can you walk me through what happened?” Detective Inspector Khan appeared to prefer a measure of professionalism. He sat in one of the fold-out chairs across from Osian. “Take your time. I know this is hard.”

  “Do you?” Osian reeled back in his sarcasm. It wasn’t the detective’s fault his friend had died. “Sorry, sorry. I came back to the first aid table, but Ethan said Gemma had gone off with the defibrillator. I went to find her to see if I could help. She was just… there on the ground. Not moving. It was dark in the room. I flipped on the lights, rushed over, felt for a pulse, called 999, and then began trying to resuscitate her.”

  The detective jotted a few notes into his notebook. Osian tried to read them upside down. Haider Khan had worse handwriting than any doctor he’d ever seen.

  Osian found himself staring at the spot on the floor where Gemma had been. He blinked when the detective called his name. “Pardon?”

  “Did you touch the defibrillator?” Detective Inspector Khan repeated his question.

  “No.” Osian considered the question. “This morning, I did. I helped Gemma get it set up, but not later. It was across the room when I came to check on her.”

  “You remember that?”

  Osian paused in his recollection to stare pointedly at the detective inspector. “I worked as a paramedic for a long time. We’re trained to quickly assess situations. When I found Gemma, I thought I might need to use the defibrillator. It didn’t take more than a second to realise someone had broken it.”

  “Any thoughts on who?”

  He bristled at the detective’s tone. “Not a clue. As I said, she was alone when I got here. She certainly wouldn’t have broken the defibrillator herself. It cost us too much to get.”

  Detective Inspector Khan leaned forward toward him. “Did you kill her?”

  “Have you lost your sodding mind? Did I kill her?” Osian went from shocked and irritated straight into incandescent rage. “She was already—” Clenching his fists, Osian pounded a hand against his chest. The room felt smaller, tightening around him. He couldn’t breathe.

  “Mr Garey? Mr Garey?” Detective Khan reached out hesitantly to touch his arm. “Should I call for paramedics?”

  “I’ll be fine.” Osian shook his head rapidly. He forced himself to count to ten and then backwards to zero, breathing shakily with each second. “Sorry. Gemma was one of my best mates. I’d sooner have jumped into the Thames than hurt her.”

  The detective waited until Osian’s breathing sounded better to continue. “Is there anything else you remember?”

  “No, not really.” He slowly relaxed his hands and settled into his seat again. “I don’t understand what happened. Why would someone hurt Gemma?”

  “You were a paramedic? Familiar with the equipment in the room?”

  “Yes. Familiar enough to save a life.” Osian didn’t want to think about any of it. He wished he could walk out of the room. “Why?”

  “Could you kill with it?”

  “Me
, personally?” Osian reared back, offended by the suggestion. “I may not be a paramedic anymore, but I always considered my job was to save lives.”

  “Humour me?” Detective Inspector Khan prompted.

  “The machines have fail-safes. They’re not supposed to discharge without analysis of a need.” He tilted his head to the side, considering all he’d learned over the years. “Unless the wiring had been messed with, I don’t see how it could’ve killed. It shouldn’t shock without the presence of a particular type of heart rhythm. Gemma’s was fine, I assume. She didn’t have any issues I’m aware of. Ethan might know better.”

  “There’s no manual override?”

  “Not on this model.” Osian had checked it over himself earlier when they’d been setting up for the day at the first aid table. “I don’t know enough about the mechanics of the machine itself to tell you how tampering would affect its ability to function.”

  “Where were you before the incident?”

  “With my boyfriend. We’d gone to one of the show panels. I decided to check in at the first aid table while he went to find food. I told you this already.” He scrubbed his fingers across his eyes. He wanted to nap for a million years until the pain in his chest went away. “Am I a suspect?”

  “Not at the moment. We’re pulling the CCTV footage. Timing will be everything.” Detective Inspector Khan stood up and handed over a card. “Call me if you think of anything. We’ll be in touch. Don’t leave the city, will you?”

  Blinking in confusion at the card in his hand, Osian walked woodenly toward the door. He was struggling to process. Dannel waited for him outside, leaning against the wall across from the room.

  Dannel rushed forward, wrapped an arm around him, and walked purposefully down the hall. “I’m calling Roland.”

  “What’s he going to do?”

  Dannel kept a firm hold on him. “Calling Roland.”

  “Why? He’s not a detective. He can’t do anything.”

  “Yes, but calling Roland means getting to Wayne more quickly.” Dannel practically dragged him through the convention crowds toward the line of taxis. He shoved Osian into the back of one and muttered the address to the driver. “You’re getting a solicitor.”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t need a solicitor.” Osian wasn’t overly concerned about the detective inspector’s questions. They’d been standard, in his opinion. He had been the one found in a room with a body. “It’s going to work. They have CCTV footage. They’ll be able to see when I went into the room.”

  “I’m calling Roland.” Dannel crossed his arms and stared stubbornly out the window. “How many cases have we seen of an innocent person getting convicted? No. Wayne will help.”

  “Dannel.”

  “Ossie.”

  He knew that tone of voice intimately. Dannel could dig his feet in and refuse to be moved when he wanted. There was no point of arguing with him when his mind was made up.

  “Why don’t you text your brother? He’s not on shift tonight. Invite him and Wayne over. I’m sure they’d love to have an excuse to get together.” Osian had watched with amusement as Roland and his closest friend from university danced around each other. He’d dated men and women over the years, but Wayne was his storybook true love. Their timing had never been right. At least, that’s how it appeared from the outside. “We’ll grab a takeaway.”

  “It’s the bottomless pit of a stomach that masquerades as my brother.”

  “We’ll get a lot of takeaways.”

  Dannel shifted until they were leaning against one another. He grabbed Osian’s hand tightly. “You’ll have a solicitor.”

  “Not arguing.” Osian rested his head against Dannel’s broad shoulder. “Didn’t even ask about Ethan. He must be gutted.”

  “I didn’t see him.”

  Osian sat up and glanced over at him. “What do you mean?”

  “He vanished before I went to find you.” Dannel shifted beside him. “Didn’t see him anywhere, not even when the detectives were rounding everyone up to ask questions.”

  “Weird.”

  Incredibly weird. Why would he vanish? He knew I was going to find Gemma.

  6

  Dannel

  The drive to Covent Garden from the convention seemed to take forever. Dannel wanted to scream directions at the driver. London traffic, though, wasn’t for the faint of heart.

  Their cabbie wasn’t trying to be difficult for the fun of it. They’d simply picked a bad time of day to rush home. He settled into the seat with a hand resting on Osian’s knee, trying to offer some small measure of comfort.

  Grief was strange, a mercurial monster that Dannel didn’t know how to approach.

  After what seemed like a century, the cabbie pulled up outside of their building. They paid him, ran up the stairs to their flat, changed out of their costumes, showered together, and collapsed on the couch in sheer emotional and physical exhaustion. And Dannel still didn’t know what to say to Osian.

  Their friend had died. Osian had once again been faced with a situation where even his best herculean efforts hadn’t saved a life. No words would make him feel better.

  “What did Roland say?” Osian broke the silence in their apartment first.

  “Don’t talk to the detectives without a solicitor again.” Dannel paraphrased his brother’s advice toward the end of their lengthy text conversation. “Or ever.”

  “They aren’t going to railroad me.” He was more confident than Dannel felt.

  “It’s not about them. A solicitor has your interests at heart. The detectives have a case to solve.” Dannel loved his brother and uncle, both of whom worked or had worked in the police force. He didn’t have blinders on when it came to all of the various cases they’d studied for the podcast, some involving innocent people who’d been convicted erroneously. “We’re not taking any chances. I believe they’ll do their best to find the killer. I’m not risking you on the off-chance they make a mistake.”

  They lapsed into silence again. Dannel was starkly reminded of the weeks immediately after Osian had quit work. He was sad about Gemma, but he couldn’t do anything for her now.

  She was gone.

  Osian, on the other hand, was alive and suffering. Dannel wanted nothing more than to alleviate his pain. He didn’t feel equipped for the task at hand.

  Should I call Abra? She knows both of them. Maybe she’ll know what to say.

  “Ossie?”

  Getting no response, Dannel decided to handle ordering food on his own. Most of the time, Osian made those calls when required. Dannel tended to get tongue-tied trying to talk on the phone.

  Thank the internet gods for online ordering.

  When Roland and Wayne showed up, they’d run into the delivery person and brought the food up with them. Dannel gestured with his head toward Osian, who hadn’t moved from the couch. He figured maybe they could help with more than just the legal aspect.

  “Thanks for the invite, mate.” Wayne carried one of the bags with dinner over to the kitchen. “I’m happy to help any way I can.”

  “Ossie?” Dannel called over to Osian, who hadn’t bothered to great their guests. “You joining us?”

  “Not hungry.” Osian shifted off the couch and disappeared down the hall.

  Shifting from one foot to the other, Dannel didn’t know how to approach his boyfriend. Should they leave him alone? Or force him to come out to sit with them?

  “Go talk to him.” Roland nudged his brother into action. “We’ll get the food set up. Make sure you’re patient with him.”

  “I am,” Dannel insisted. “I haven’t pressed him once for anything.”

  Roland held his hands up. “I know, big brother, I know. Not an accusation, man.”

  Dannel watched his brother through narrowed eyes for a few seconds. “Fine. Sounded like an accusation.”

  Leaving the two in the kitchen, Dannel went to retrieve Osian. He found him flopped on top of the bed with the Unchar
ted soundtrack playing. His arm covered his face.

  Dannel sat on the edge of the bed closest to Osian. He hesitated before reaching out to grasp his boyfriend’s hand. “I want to help, but I don’t know how.”

  With a watery chuckle, Osian slowly sat up. He kept a firm grip on Dannel’s hand. They sat in silence for a minute, broken only by sniffles.

  “Roland can come back later.” Dannel had no doubt his brother would complain, but he’d go anyway. “He’ll whinge, which is nothing new.”

  “Be nice to your baby brother. We might need someone on the inside if I get arrested.” Osian managed a less watery laugh. “They came all this way. The food will get cold.”

  “We have a microwave.”

  “Not the point.” Osian rested his head against him. “Also, inside voice.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Dannel tried hard to moderate the volume of his voice; it never seemed to work. He had two modes—quiet and loud. “So? Dinner?”

  “And beer. We’ll raise one for Gemma.”

  Dinner and beer sounded amazing. For Dannel, the entire process was overwhelmingly uncomfortable. He’d overextended his ability to deal with people, even his loved ones, for the day.

  Trying to listen to the conversation floating around, Dannel couldn’t filter out the sounds of eating and drinking. The cacophony of noise drowned out any words. He rubbed his forehead with a quiet groan.

  “I—” He cut himself off, not knowing how to express himself. Words seemed to vanish no matter how hard he tried to hold on to them to form sentences. “Ossie.”

  “Why don’t you get some quiet time? I’ll deal with these two muppets.” Osian proved once again how well he knew Dannel. “Love you.”

  Muttering a response, Dannel was the one to flee down the hall this time. He grabbed his noise-cancelling headphones, turning on one of his favourite gaming playlists and relaxing in the darkness of their bedroom. The day had been too long, too overwhelming for his sensory issues; he wanted musical silence until the buzzing in his mind went away.