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Cory’s voice was in his head.You sure about that, honey? Or do you just not want to admit the truth?
Dan opened his eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m not getting anything.” He held out the rope to Gary. “Give me another. I’ll try not to take so long this time.”
Gary frowned, but when he glanced at his watch, he realized what Dan had meant. Fifteen minutes had elapsed. “Take as long as you need.” He replaced the rope in the box and took out another. Once he’d handed it over, he took a step back.
Dan smiled. “You’re fine where you are. Besides, that scent you wear? It calms me.” Then he closed his eyes again.
Gary forgot about the time, the muffled noises from beyond the door, the murmur of traffic from outside, and focused on Dan, the sound of his breathing, the movement of his hands as he touched the rope, and the tiny changes in his expression.
Dan opened his eyes once more and shivered. Gary checked his watch. Ten minutes had passed. “You felt something.”
He nodded. “A lot of rage in this guy.”
“Do you mean the killer?”
Another nod. “I think so. There are definitely two different energies connected to this. But there’s another emotion—guilt. So much guilt that it almost swamps the anger. And I’m picking up something that can only be from the victim.” His eyes widened. “Surprise. He didn’t see this coming. It’s almost as if….” He closed his eyes once more.
“As if what?”
Dan paled. “He knew him. He knew the killer.” He opened his eyes as Riley came into the room, and Gary stilled at the sight of his clearly agitated state.
Riley expelled a breath. “I think you should see this guy.”
“Did you bring him in?”
Riley nodded. “Sure, an hour ago, but he’s not talking, and he’s asked for his lawyer. We’ve had him in an interview room for the last twenty minutes, and we can’t get a peep out of him.”
“Did he indicate he was willing to help with inquiries?” Gary asked. Riley grimaced, and Gary stared at him. “Okay, what happened? And why am I only hearing about it now?”
“When we got to his address, there was no answer. Then this old guy from across the hall opened his door and said he’d been about to call the police. He’d heard sounds coming from Monroe’s apartment that scared him. Well, thenweheard something, and Lewis didn’t hesitate. He busted the door down, announced we were the police, and charged in there.”
“I take it you found something.”
Another nod. “He was in the living room, and he wasn’t alone. He was dressed up in a harness and boots—that was all—and he was holding some kind of a whip. There was another guy, naked, tied up and gagged, facedown over the coffee table. But there was GHB, a pair of cuffs, rope…. And the tied-up guy was clearly about to be… you know.”
“Did Detective Stevens ascertain whether what was going on was consensual?” Dan inquired.
“I took the gag off of him, and the first thing that popped out of his mouth was he was there voluntarily.” Riley swallowed. “Lewis asked if he wanted to bring charges, but he said no, absolutely not.ThenLewis decided he was too scared to tell the truth. The guy had these marks on his back too, you know, from the whip. Monroe was yelling about his door being busted in, the invasion of his privacy. So Lewis told him to put some clothes on because we were taking him in to answer some questions. He said no at first, but I convinced him what he had to say might help us. He wasn’t happy about it, but he agreed.”
“And once he got here, he clammed up.”
Riley nodded. “Lewis went in there, and as soon as he started asking about whatever it was we’d interrupted, Monroe demanded to be allowed to call his lawyer. I mean, we hadn’t even arrested him at that point.”
There was a knock at the door, and an officer poked his head around it. Riley went over to him, and they spoke quietly. Riley’s groan made Gary’s stomach roil. “Now what?”
The officer left, and Riley faced them, his expression gloomy. “Great. Monroe’s lawyer arrived. He says he represents the Boston leather community, and there’s another guy with him who writes articles on BDSM for theHuffington Post,Out, and a whole load of magazines I’ve never heard of. They want to speak to the Chief of Police, and they demand we release Monroe immediately. The lawyer is in with Monroe now.”
Dan pulled his phone from his pants pocket and typed quickly. “Wow. News sure travels fast in this town.” He held up the screen for them to see. “It’s all over Twitter.”
“What the hell did you search for to find it so fast?” Riley gaped.
“Hashtag leather, hashtag bondage….”
Riley peered closer. “The other guy, the one who wouldn’t press charges…. That’s him. He’s the one tweeting.”
Dan scrolled. “He’s not the only one. There’s one here from a lawyer’s office. Maybe it’s Monroe’s lawyer. A guy called Adam Winton.” He winced. “Oh dear. This doesnotmake you guys look good.”
Riley scraped his fingers over his scalp. “Fuck.”
