Osian sat in their tub with water pouring onto him. Crying.
Dannel quickly stripped out of his clothes. He stepped into the tub, sitting behind Osian and wrapping his arms around him. “You’re going to be okay, Oz.”
“If I talk about her case, it makes her death real.”
Dannel clamped down on the urge to say not talking wouldn’t change things. He’d learned over the years to get better about not blurting out the first thought that came to his mind. “I’m so sorry, Ossie.”
Sitting in silence, Dannel waited until Osian had stopped crying. He reached out to turn off the rapidly cooling water. Grief was a strange beast that he didn’t know how to combat.
“I’m okay, love.” Osian grabbed one of their larger towels to wrap around both of them. “It suddenly hit me that Gemma wouldn’t be manning first aid stations at any other conventions.”
Grief is weird.
It’s okay if I don’t understand how he grieves.
Dannel kept up his internal pep talk while trying to be supportive. “Can I help?”
“You are.”
He didn’t see how he was helping, but arguing with Osian never worked. “We’ve got a couple hours before the show. Why don’t we get dressed and head out? We can grab something to eat first.”
“Dinner and a show?”
“Sure.” Dannel hoped the evening went smoothly. He usually dealt with theatre crowds by keeping his earbuds in until right before the show. “It’ll be fun.”
23
Osian
They’d dressed up for the theatre, one of the only times either of them wore a tie. They both went for dark jeans and different-coloured waistcoats over long-sleeved shirts and ties; the closest to wearing an actual suit either of them ever got.
“Fancy enough?”
“For me or the theatre?” Osian went over to help Dannel with his tie. He adjusted the knot, then tugged him in for a kiss. “Roland suggested getting a taxi instead of walking.”
“Did he?”
Osian left out that Dannel’s brother had actually told them not to go at all. He was suspicious of the free tickets appearing in their mail, given everything. “Working as a copper is bound to make him paranoid.”
The gift of a night at the theatre was a beautiful thing in what had been a dismal few weeks. Osian wanted one good memory. He knew Dannel felt similarly.
They wanted one brilliant moment to brighten the misery. It didn’t seem too much to ask. Besides, the theatre wasn’t known to be that dangerous, and they’d be surrounded by plenty of people.
Not that being in a public venue had helped Gemma.
“Are we really taking a taxi?” Dannel peered out the window at the street below. “It’s not that far to the Arts Theatre. Think the rain will hold out?”
“It’s London.”
“So, no, then?” He grabbed one of the umbrellas by the door. “Just in case. We don’t want to show up at the theatre looking like we’ve been swimming in the Thames.”
“We’d really be going out of our way if we jumped in the Thames then came all the way back to Covent Garden.” Osian caught the umbrella tossed to him. “You’re right, though. We’ll walk. It’ll take longer to wait for the cabbie, never mind dealing with traffic.”
Walking hand in hand, they made their way first to Sartori for a slice of pizza. They only had to jog across the street to get to the theatre from there. Osian wondered if Dannel would be up for grabbing a drink at the social club. He was a supporting member of the Covent Garden Social Club. They attended plays often enough. He often enjoyed the bar in the basement of the Arts Theatre.
Six was everything Osian imagined. They enjoyed the hour and a half of stunningly beautiful musical theatre. The songs were buzzing in his ears as they made their way out with the rest of the crowd.
“Brilliant.” Osian gripped Dannel’s hand, leading him through groups of theatregoers nattering about the experience. “Are you up for a drink? We can grab one at the club, then run for it. Be home before the rain starts pelting down.”
They grabbed a drink. Only one. Dannel had definitely been antsy to leave. Osian decided neither of them needed to finish their mildly bitter beers.
Dannel stumbled on the way up the stairs. “My head’s gone strange.”
With a concerned frown, Osian helped him up the last few steps. Dannel slipped to the floor with his back against the wall. He fished his phone out of his pocket to call for help.
“Is everything all right?” One of the theatre ushers rushed over to check on them.
“I’m calling for an ambulance.” Osian wasn’t feeling completely fine himself. He wondered absently if someone had slipped something in their drinks. The woman in front of him knelt beside Dannel; she appeared vaguely familiar. “Have we met before?”
Before Osian got an answer, the room began to spin for him. He sat down before his knees went out. The dispatcher on the other end of the line kept trying to keep his attention.
“Oz?”
Osian heard Chris’s voice filtering through the haze. “What’re you doing here?”
“Easy, mate.” Chris crouched in front of him. “Sorry, I didn’t get here in time.”
“What do you mean?” Osian found his focus drifting away and missed whatever Chris muttered to him. “Dannel.”
Waking up in the hospital, Osian found himself in a bed. Dannel was in another, just feet away. Their mums, Osian’s stepdad, and their siblings were spread out in the room, all dozing in their chairs. He tried to keep his breathing normal to have a moment without their undivided attention.
His mouth was drier than Ian’s wit. He’d never done drugs, but this felt like the aftermath of a bad trip. Those bloody tickets. I wish we’d never seen them.
“Osian.”
He glanced over at his mum’s breathless whisper of his name. It was almost like a murmured prayer. “I’m fine.”
“You are not fine,” she insisted. “You were unconscious for over a day. A day.”
“Mum.” Osian suddenly regretted waking up at all.
She pushed up out of her chair and came over to grip his hand tight. “What did I say about being careful? Not taking risks until the police finished their investigation.”
“Going to the theatre didn’t seem inherently dangerous.” Osian hadn’t honestly seen any harm in the free tickets. “It’s not a routine. We don’t go every week. We’re not at the Social Club daily.”
Nothing about going to the Arts Theatre seemed a risk.
“Perhaps now you’ll listen to young Rolly?”
Osian grinned at the huff from Roland at the use of his hated childhood nickname. “Yeah, Constable Rolly.”
“Oz.” Roland started toward him, only to move over to the other bed when Dannel groaned. “Dan.”
With both of them awake, their family members crowded around them. Olivia had the sense to make some room and call for the nurse. It didn’t take long for the doctor to clear everyone out.
The doctor was pleased with how they’d responded to treatment. Osian had learned a little about poisons in his training. He supposed they should be grateful to be awake at all.
Osian sat up a little straighter when the detectives joined them. “Detective Khan. Detective Powell.”
Detective Inspector Khan waited for the doctor to finish up. “Haider. Please. We’d like you to tell us what you remember.”
“Play was good.” Dannel had been fairly quiet since waking up. He glanced over at Osian, who tried to smile comfortingly. “We didn’t drink even a whole glass of beer.”
“The doctors are running tests. We’re fairly confident you were poisoned.” Detective Powell joined in the conversation. “Either the intent wasn’t to kill you or our suspect isn’t skilled. They also didn’t plan on you leaving your drinks unfinished.”
“Small mercies.” Osian didn’t need a doctor’s report to know they’d been poisoned. He’d wager the killer had used cyanide laced with something
other than the bitter beer. “Any suspects?”
“We believe the person involved is the same who trapped you at the Olympia.” Detective Khan looked at the doctor before continuing. “Do you recall seeing any familiar figures?”
“Aside from Chris?” Osian hadn’t recognised anyone at the club. No one had rung any alarm bells. “He showed up after we’d drunk the wine and begun to feel dizzy.”
“We’ll speak with him.” Detective Powell made a note in her small notepad. “Your family informed us you’d received the tickets from an anonymous source.”
The next hour was spent going over every detail they could remember from receiving the tickets to passing out in the lobby of the theatre. Osian noticed Dannel beginning to flag. The doctor stepped in a few minutes after to force an end to the questioning.
“Ossie?”
Osian twisted around on his side facing Dannel. “Yeah?”
“Why was Chris even there? Did you tell him about the tickets?” Dannel grabbed the cup of water the nurse had left for them on the tray between their beds. “How did he know we were in trouble?”
“I have no idea.” Osian couldn’t stop a trickle of suspicion filtering into him. “We’ll ask him.”
And I’ll ask him a number of other questions as well.
“I had an idea.”
“Oh?” Osian was struggling to keep his eyes open. Their bodies obviously needed rest to fully recover. “What idea?”
“How many thousands of people were taking photos and vids the day of the convention?”
“Loads.”
“Why don’t we reach out to the cosplay forums? Someone has to have gotten footage during the time they believe Gemma was attacked. It might prove for certain whether Noah or Ethan or someone else entirely was there.” Dannel set the cup back on the tray and lay down. “Is it normal to feel so worn out?”
“Definitely.” Osian settled down on his side, trying to keep his eyes open. “We should rest.”
He awoke later in the day, based on the change in light on the wall from the lone window at the end of the room. Roland had taken up a sentry spot in a chair next to Dannel. It was oddly quiet, aside from the odd beeping from the machines monitoring their vital signs.
“Rolly?” Osian kept his voice low to avoid waking Dannel. He sat up slowly, pleased to find he didn’t feel quite so abysmal. “Where’s my phone?”
Roland shifted his chair around to sit next to Osian’s bed. “Think it’s in the bag over there. They shoved all your personal belongings in there.”
“Grab my phone?”
“What’s the rush?” Roland gave a put-upon sigh, then stood up for a second time.
“Just want to satisfy my curiosity.” Osian sent a quick text to Chris, asking him to come by the hospital. “Solve a mystery.”
“Maybe you should both avoid mysteries for a while?” Roland crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at him. “How many close calls do you need to realise the danger you’re both in? I’m not losing my brother because you want to play Father Brown.”
“Kinky.”
“Osian,” Roland huffed, irritated at him.
“Nothing dangerous about sending a text message.”
“There was nothing dangerous about going to the theatre.” Roland had a point, but Osian refused to admit it. “Be more careful.”
“This was us being careful.” Osian hated to admit Roland was right. He’d had a bad feeling about the tickets. “Have the detectives said anything to you?”
“I’m a constable, Oz. I’m not even on their radar.” Roland shook his head. “You should be resting. The doctors mentioned releasing both of you later this evening.”
“Some good news, at least.”
The doctors did end up allowing them to go home later that afternoon. Osian had intended to have time to themselves. Their families had a different idea.
“I’d almost rather still be in the hospital.” Osian hadn’t expected so many to squash into their flat. He hadn’t believed so many people would fit. “Is this even safe? I’m fairly confident they’re exceeding the fire safety limits.”
Dannel tilted his body until his head was resting against Osian’s shoulder. They were on the couch, watching the chaos around them. “I dare you to tell them.”
“Can I get away with hiding in the bedroom?” Osian knew Dannel was more than ready for time to himself. Neither of them had processed the events of the last few days. “Do they even know we’re here?”
It was Chief Wilson who cleared their flat of well-wishers. He’d stopped by with Evie after her shift. One glance around the overcrowded room had him kindly but forcibly getting everyone to head to their own homes.
“I’m going to have a chat with Abra.” Osian caught his friend before she could leave with the others. “Abs?”
“Hmm?” She pressed against the wall to allow his parents to go by.
“Have you heard from Chris?”
“Not a word. Bastard ghosted me on our date.” Abra glared at him for the reminder. “Tell him not to bother calling if you see him before I do.”
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, they were alone in their flat. Osian dropped onto the couch beside Dannel with a sigh. They leaned into each other.
“Has Chris responded to your text?” Dannel threaded his fingers with Osian’s. “Surprised he didn’t show up with everyone else.”
“Not a word. Abra hasn’t heard from him either. He basically ghosted her on their date the night of the play.” Osian rubbed his thumb against Dannel’s hand. “Detective Khan sent me a message earlier. They’ve been inundated by videos and photos after your post on the cosplay forum.”
“Anything useful?”
“They received so many videos, he said it would take days to get through everything.” Osian seemed inordinately pleased. “Maybe they’ll finally make progress in figuring out who did this.”
“Maybe.”
Grabbing the remote, Dannel turned on the telly. They’d definitely worried enough for one day. The mindless drivel would hopefully allow both of them to rest and, more importantly, relax.
Osian reached a hand out to grab a nearby blanket to drape across both of them. “I genuinely prefer my theatre without a side of death.”
“Hamilton would agree.”
“Don’t think he actually died in a theatre.” Osian snickered at him. “That was a different ancient American.”
24
Dannel
“I’m innocent.”
Dannel and Osian exchanged a glance before turning back to Ethan, who’d practically slammed into their flat. “Are you?”
“Detectives called me this morning. I can’t believe you got me off.” Ethan glared when Osian chuckled. “You know what I meant.”
“Not really.” Dannel glanced between his laughing boyfriend and their angry friend. “What did the police say?”
“They found video from one of the fans at Comic Con. It shows me away from Gemma at the time of her death.” Ethan grabbed Osian into a hug. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Dannel moved around to put the sofa between him and the overexcited Ethan. “Have they found anything on Noah?”
“No idea.” Ethan shrugged.
Several hours later, they got the answer when Detective Khan rang to ask them to come down to the station. He sent a car to pick them up. Dannel wanted to say it was unnecessary, but they had been poisoned at the theatre.
Poisoned.
They’d had two days of recovery. Dannel continued to struggle with processing the attack. He didn’t understand why.
Why would someone want to hurt them?
Why would they want to hurt anyone?
“You could’ve stayed at home.” Osian broke the silence in the police vehicle. “I’m sure the detectives didn’t need both of us.”
“I’m fine,” Dannel insisted, probably too loudly. He wished for the millionth time it was easier to figure out the volume of his own words. “Inside v
oice?”
“Definitely.” Osian reached his hand out to grab Dannel’s. “Neither of us are fine. We will be. It’s okay for us to not be okay, though.”
“I don’t understand why.” He huffed in pure frustration. “Why is someone doing this?”
“We may never have an answer, love. Their reasoning might not be logical to anyone other than themselves.” Osian had a point. A good one. Dannel just didn’t find it helpful. “Ready for the police?”
“Is anyone?” Dannel followed Osian out of the vehicle, making sure to thank the constable who’d picked them up. They went quickly into the station to avoid the drizzly rain. “I’m becoming as familiar with this place as I am with the fire station.”
They were met by one of the detectives who led them through the building into a small conference room. Dannel noticed a video playing on the large monitor on the wall. They’d obviously been going through the footage from the convention.
“We hoped you might sit through a few videos. I’ve put together a timeline from when we know Gemma was called until when we believe the murder occurred.” Detective Inspector Khan sat in front of a laptop. “I’m interested in seeing if anyone in the crowd catches your attention.”
It was the most boring movie in history. They watched the videos slowed down dramatically, because normal speed had made the faces a blur for Dannel. He had to force himself to focus.
“Wait.” Osian leaned forward so far, he almost tipped out of his chair. “Was that Noah? Wanker claimed he wasn’t anywhere near Gemma.”
The video clearly showed Gemma and Noah. They were just visible on the bottom left corner of the screen, almost hidden behind a group of Avengers. The two appeared to be having an argument from their animated gesturing.
“It, unfortunately, doesn’t prove he was in the room,” Detective Inspector Powell pointed out. “Take note of what he’s wearing. I’ll see if I can track his progress through our collection of footage.”
“She looks so familiar.” Osian had continued watching the video as it progressed and Noah and Gemma appeared to go in separate directions. He paused the image and moved up closer to the screen. “I know her.”
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