Page 54 of In His Sights

“Dan’s working with Riley. He’s taking Dan to Marius Eisler’s place and then Cory’s.” At least those scenes were relatively fresh. He and Lewis were about to interview Anthony Silver, who’d hooked up with Marius and Cory via Scruff. Silver was in construction, presently working out near Duxbury.

“You know what I think?”

Gary chuckled. “No, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

“I think Riley has a little crush on Porter.” Gary stared at him, and Lewis’s brow furrowed. “What? It happens, right? And Riley could be bi for all we know.”

“And you’re okay with that?” Lewis’s 180-degree turn made Gary’s head spin. “Because up till now, you haven’t been the most LGBTQ+ friendly cop I’ve ever worked with.”

Lewis fell silent, and Gary pondered his suggestion. He didn’t think Riley was crushing on Dan—he was simply a decent human being. Riley had admitted his grandmother had similar gifts. Maybe he felt comfortable around Dan.

So what’s my excuse?Gary couldn’t explain why Dan was frequently in his thoughts. What shocked him was the form those thoughts took. He’d been down this road before, a long time ago.

It was a phase back then. It wasn’t real.

Except it felt all too real now.

Lewis sighed. “Something you said yesterday made me think.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. When you asked if I was gonna be part of the solution, not the problem. I guess I haven’t really been a team player up to now, have I? Well, that’s gonna change. I’m having what Travers would call an ‘attitude adjustment period.’ This case revolves around gay guys, so I need to alter the way I think. And I don’t really have anything against them.”

“Let me guess. Some of your best friends are gay.” Gary couldn’t keep the sarcasm from seeping into his voice.

Lewis snorted. “Okay, I wouldn’t gothatfar. But Travers was right about one thing. The state takes a dim view of LGBTQ discrimination. I don’t want anything on my record.”

“So you’re playing it safe and losing the attitude? You’ll get no complaints from me.”

“Besides, I’ve got a good feeling about this guy.”

“Silver?”

“Yup. He’s been interviewed a few times, suspected of violence and stalking, but no charges were ever brought against him. Maybe we’re about to get lucky.” Lewis reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of gum. He offered it to Gary, who declined, then popped a piece into his mouth. “This case gets weirder and weirder.”

Gary knew he was referring to Robin Fields. Examination of his phone and records revealed none of the apps used by the previous victims. The toxicology report would take a day or two, but so far, Del’s initial findings were that death appeared to be the result of cardiac arrest. He’d found evidence of heart disease. “What were your thoughts?”

Lewis shrugged. “Maybe the killer tied Robin to the bed, he struggled, and it was all too much for his heart.”

“And maybe the GHB helped him on his way,” Gary suggested. “We know it has a short half-life, but it’ll show up in the urine sample.”

“You still think the boyfriend did it?”

“Yeah. At least, that’s what my gut is telling me.” They’d gotten a search warrant for Quinn Dalmont’s phone records. They’d also contacted Robin’s lawyer to get access to his will. And Riley was going to check Quinn really was visiting family the whole weekend, especially Monday evening.

Lewis pointed. “That must be it.”

Ahead of them were road signs diverting traffic, and beyond, large flatbed trucks were loaded with wide-bore black pipe or similarly sized metal coupling rings. A forklift hoisted a section of pipe like it weighed nothing, carried it through the air on chains, and lowered it into a deep ditch, where guys stood in high vis jackets, waving it into position. All around was the chug of heavy equipment engines, the clang of metal on metal, and the smell of burning plastic, dirt, and cigarette smoke.

A man in a reflective jacket and white hard hat approached them as they got out of the car. “You the cops? I was told to expect you.”

They fished out their badges and held them up for inspection. “We need to talk to Anthony Silver,” Lewis announced.

The guy pointed to the ditch, where a construction helmet was visible above the mound of dirt. “Ant’s down there. I’ll get him.”

They waited as the guy went over to the edge of the ditch and hollered down into it. A moment later, Silver clambered out.

“He’s a big son of a bitch,” Lewis muttered as Silver strode toward them.

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