Time Capsule Part 8 -
Title: "Hard to Make a Stand"
Author: XtopherCB
Series: Time Capsule
Fandoms: Castle
Rating: PG-13 ish
Genre: Romance, Gay Sex, Mystery etc.
Warnings: Slash, AU, unbeta'd
Characters/Pairings: Javier Esposito/Kevin Ryan
Wordcount: 3550 ish
Summary: Esposito pushed past the cop into the room and what he saw made his heart go into his throat... He heard the uni behind him say "Ohhhh crap," before grabbing for his 2-way and calling for backup. "We got a possible 504A in progress at the Plaza, we got a Detective...
Details: Written as a continuation for
ryanandesposito's Valentine's Day Mini Ficathon. - #()LY CR@P how am i still working on this one?
"Bro, you know people can be brutal and sick. It just feels... different now... with our new situation."
This story is a complete work of fiction and all characters are copyrighted to ABC, Beacon Pictures, Andrew Marlowe, etc. This is in no way a real representation of the actors or the characters. It's fun to play with them just the same.
Author's note: This is about Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito but will involve several other characters from the show. I'm not sure exactly where this is going to go (aside from the obvious, a romance between Esposito and Ryan). I may jump around in time somewhat (e.g., flashbacks), and I'll try to stick more or less to the themes of the series and reference a few episodes, but no promises... it's obviously a parallel reality, though even on the show they're very friendly.
##
Hard to Make a Stand -
(We continue to flashback to when Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan's relationship was just beginning; about a year before the start of the first story in this series.)
##
Kevin Ryan awoke to some soft nudgings and the smell of coffee, with a handsome guy in just underwear, sitting on the bed next to him and grinning. 'It doesn't get any better than this,' he thought. 'Javi-fucking-Espo is sitting here almost naked, and he made coffee.'
"Hey bro, sorry to wake you, but the boss-lady called."
"What? I didn't hear my phone. What time is it?"
"It's still early, and I sent Beckett a text back on your phone that you were on your way. She promised us both we could likely head out early but Lanie has results on the Morales case."
Kevin's brows furrowed as he took a sip of coffee, secretly thinking how cute it was that Javier had sent a text message on his phone for him.
"Guess I should get ready." Ryan sat up and set the coffee aside. Then he looked into Esposito's eyes. "I, um..."
"What?" Javier smiled that amazing smile where his whole face lit up, his cheeks creased a little. His eyes glimmered.
Kevin about died. "Shit."
Then Esposito took him in his arms and hugged him tight, a kind of manly hug, rubbing his back hard. But then he said it, again, just like that. "Kev... I don't know how, or why, but I know that I love you. I just wanna keep saying it." And then he kissed Ryan tenderly on his neck.
'Damn damn damn. I do not deserve this guy.' "Javi, you know I feel the same way." He had trouble talking. "I just thought it was a crush, but now..."
"Bro, believe me, I'm as amazed as you." Esposito whispered. "I think back to all those times in the bullpen, in the cruiser, even at crime scenes... I had these feelings deep down, and I really wanted to hug you, to hold you, and now we can do it." Javier crawled into bed with him, nuzzling his neck and just holding him tight.
"Hmm, and I thought you were just messing with me, teasing me. You were the tough guy, the veteran with all the secrets. I was the nerdy pale guy with the bad ties and hot-mess girlfriends. Sometimes I even wondered if you knew I was really gay and you were just playing with me. But I know I was just being paranoid!" He said quickly when Esposito looked almost hurt.
"Kev..." Javier sighed. "Maybe that's why I like you so much, 'cause you're different from me. You're so smart, and you may be a nerd -- and I think that's kind of sexy too - but you're also cute as hell."
"I can't tell you how many times I watched you walk down the hall, strutting along in your sexy jeans showing off your hot ass. You DO know HOW you walk, don't you?" Ryan smirked then. "I died a little every time, thinking 'there goes a god, and my lot in life is I have the delicious punishment of working with him every day and seeing but I can't touch.' I had to play it cool, while inside I was like, oh God I get to work with Esposito! Do you know what that's like?"
"Well, you know now, I DO like to touch you."
"And I almost DIED every time! Can I hold you for a change? It seems like you're always spooning me. I want to - "
But Kevin didn't even get to complete his sentence, when Javier grabbed him and wrestled him over, then flipped over himself. "Hug me bro, I'd love it."
Ryan couldn't suppress a little happy sigh as he snuggled up behind Esposito, and put his arm around the hunky latino. "I can't believe how nice it is to just cuddle like this."
Javier smiled to himself, and put his hand gently over Kevin's. "I know."
Ryan was overwhelmed by Esposito up against him like this, and started to kiss his neck while caressing Javier's strong pecs.
"Kev, um, if you're gonna do that..."
"I can't help it."
Javier twisted around to face Kevin and their intense gazes met. Esposito put his arms around Ryan and eased him closer.
Kevin let out a little involuntary 'oof' as Javier pulled them together. "So much for spooning." He said, trying to put on his usual sardonic voice.
"Kev." Esposito kept staring into Ryan's sparkling blue eyes.
Kevin felt himself starting to shake and fought it back. "Javi." He managed to smile.
"I'm glad we have each other now. I never thought... well." He ran his fingers through Ryan's wild hair.
"What? You'd be in bed with a guy? And your partner at that?" Kevin winked at him.
##
When they were both dressed and at Esposito's front door, the hunky Latino gently pulled Ryan to him. "So we'll have to behave again today." He looked deep into the Irishman's eyes. "I just wanted to..."
But Kevin grabbed Javier, and passionately kissed him hard, holding him with all his strength, just for a few seconds. Then he let go and stepped back, smiling but also looking kind of embarrassed.
"That works too." Esposito grinned.
Ryan slipped a scrap of paper in Javier's shirt pocket, "Don't read it now, maybe later today when you have a quiet minute. Okay?" His baby blues were soft and sort of pleading.
"Okay. I hope you aren't breaking up with me." he half-joked.
Kevin rolled his eyes. "Yeah right!"
Esposito grinned. "I'm sorry, I guess that was teasing again. My bad."
Ryan looked down, unsure of what to say.
"Bro, come here." Javier gently pulled him in to a hug. "You're so sensitive, and that's what I love about you. You can try to hide it from everyone else but you're letting me see it all. I never mean to hurt you."
"I know, sorry I'm such a wuss."
"Don't apologize. You're sensitive and that's great. Shit I wish we could go back to bed."
##
"Adams, man, you look tired!" Esposito clapped his hand on the tech whiz's shoulder.
The subdued mature man shot Javier a little glare but tried to stay nice. "Good morning to you guys too! Anyway, I went through the video at the casino, in the elevators; and checked the room key-cards."
Meanwhile Kevin was silently telling himself, 'Don't be jealous just 'cuz Javi puts his hand on another guy's shoulder. Adams is straight and a friend anyway.' He couldn't believe that the thought even went through his mind. Then, even as he was thinking this, after Adams turned back to the computer, Ryan felt Esposito's hand on his own back. He slid a glance and a little smile over at Javier in time to catch a wink.
"I spent a few hours watching the hotel footage. So this is David Morales, the kid from that show on TeeNYC?"
"That's him." Kevin said a little too quickly.
"He looks different; older, shorter hair? Not that I watch his stuff! Anyway, it does seem like quite a few people recognized him, as you can see here, and here, for example, people asking for autographs, which he seems happy to give. His blond friend doesn't seem so happy, however."
"Yeah, I can see Kelley's eye-rolling even on this low-quality video." Javier said.
"I'm kinda surprised, since I assumed his fans would be tween girls, but here are 40-something women, even a few guys. Maybe parents? No one under 21 is even allowed in the bar."
"Yeah and he does look different, with the shorter hair and all. His new show is just now being hyped on TeeNYC." Ryan realized his mistake immediately and clamped his mouth shut again.
"You mean this show?" Adams grinned, looking back at them as he hit a button and a YouTube video came up. "I thought the promo was funnier in Swedish. It looks like some kind of strange space cowboy adventure comedy thing. Not sure who watches crap like that. Actually, he's gotten kinda hot for the girls, if you like that sort of innocent nerdy little TeeNYC boy look." Adams said, with a little smirk. "He can definitely do the slapstick. I think it's also possible he may have also had a little work done. His nose looks different."
Esposito cleared his throat. "Adams, regardless of whether TeeNYC boys in skintight space chaps turn you on, let's get back to the surveillance video."
Adams just grinned. "Yes sir! So here's where it gets interesting. There are these two women, they look maybe thirty-something, who at first are hovering around the table, obviously looking at the kid, talking to each other, looking at his boyfriend -- can I call him that?"
Kevin realized that he'd taken a half-step away from Javier just as Adams turned to look at them again.
Esposito cleared his throat... again. "He confided in us that was their relationship, but naturally its completely confidential."
"Of course. I can hear the tween hearts breaking all over the world now. Anyway, the whole time, over two hours, Kelley and David never displayed any kind of PDA, no sign they were more than just buds beyond Kelley putting a hand on David's shoulder once in awhile. Then these two women kind of lurked around, went out of range, came back, then finally asked for autographs, which he gave them. Then things started to go south. They tried to hang around. Look."
"Oh yeah, one's trying to hit on Kelley while the other's trying to flirt with David. This can't end well."
"Yeah and I wouldn't want to piss off the one after Kelley; she looks like a tough customer." Javier said.
"Looks like Kelley tries to get rid of his right off; David tries to be nice but finally an employee sees she's bothering him and asks them to leave. They go out of range but I picked them up circling around. Not long after that, Kelley apparently says goodnight to David, and here -- " Adams froze the image. "Kelley leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. But off to the side are the two women, who obviously see it."
"Uh-oh." Ryan mumbled.
"Oh, it gets better. Or worse, I guess. We catch up to Kelley getting on the elevator to the penthouse. Of course you need a special keycard to access those floors. Just as the doors are closing, guess who gets on?"
"Our girls."
"Yep. They try to act all giggly, but you can tell they're up to something. Then in the hallway, it's bad. The Plaza actually has cameras in the halls on these floors. Here they're following him off, and you can tell he's looking nervous but is probably too nice to say anything, then he gets to his room...
"...they pretend to go past, then they rush him, and force their way into the suite. Wow." Esposito whistled. "That's a couple of crazy women."
"We need to find these women, but how?" Kevin wondered out loud. "The prints on Kelley's neck were partials with no matches, and we got nothing anywhere else in the suite but David, Kelley and the maid. They clean those rooms thoroughly."
##
Ryan and Javier donned coverups and entered the morgue examining room. M.E. Lanie Parrish looked like she was just about done with Kelley.
"Hey Lanie." Esposito greeted her with a smile. Kevin trailed along after and waved to her.
"Good timing, gentlemen." Parrish nodded to them both.
Ryan froze, his gaze locked on the young man's face. Lanie had pulled his scalp back down so he looked fairly normal, almost peaceful. His shaggy hair had been combed back neatly.
"Sorry. He was a handsome young man. I understand his lover is a bit of a celebrity."
"Yeah, TeeNYC channel guy. David Morales."
Parrish raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Some of my neices watch that. Gay actors on TeeNYC, imagine!" Then as Kevin and Javier exchanged covert glances, Lanie smirked and shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if half of them were. Anyway. Perlmutter picked him up but dumped him on me, something about caseload, so it took a while to get up to speed. As you suspected, I would rule cause of death as exsanguinations, from the longitudinal cuts on the wrists. The cuts had to be ante-mortem for the amount of blood David described at the scene and the photos, and the amount lost from the body. Now about the bruising around the neck, I assume you lifted some prints?"
"Yeah, partials, no hits so far."
"And the knife was in the tub with him, no prints I guess?"
"Nope."
"There's definitely trauma to the trachea, enough to cause unconsciousness. There was no evidence of water in the throat or lungs, so drowning can be ruled out. There's some bruising on the forearms, possibly defensive. And look here, there are some marks on the wrists that could mean he was restrained, though they aren't very severe."
"It was either something soft like a tie or scarf, or he wasn't tied and conscious very long?" Esposito volunteered. "We didn't see any evidence of a struggle in the suite."
"He was a slender guy, weighs 150 soaking wet. Two people could have overpowered him."
"And one of the women who followed him was a pretty big girl." Javier commented.
"Big girl?" Lanie raised her eyebrows and glared at Esposito.
"Umm... we're beginning to think maybe some of David's female fans didn't like a guy being so cozy with their boy." Kevin added to change the direction this conversation was taking, as they started to head out.
"There's something else." Parrish looked at them both. Ryan and Javier turned back around. "There was evidence of sexual trauma. He was sodomized, probably by a foreign object. Definitely not from consensual activity."
The two guys turned and looked at each other. Kevin winced.
"He might have been raped... with an object?" Esposito was incredulous.
"While he was alive. Somebody was really angry at this kid." Lanie said.
Out in the hallway, Ryan muttered "I can't believe they'd do that to him, as if murdering him wasn't enough."
"Bro, you know people can be brutal and sick. It just feels... different now... with our new situation."
"Something just seems out of whack here. It's so calculated, with the strangling and the staged suicide, and now possibly this rape. How did they know they had enough time to pull all this off? Even though in fact, they had over an hour, David could have come up to the room at any time. Even if they had someone in the bar or lobby watching David who could call them the minute he left, it would only take him a few minutes to get to the room."
"Good point. Unless they heard David tell Kelley he was going to come up at a specific time."
"Or... they wanted David to catch them..."
"...And make it look like a murder-suicide, or a suicide pact? Wow."
"But then they lost their nerve?"
##
They were barely back at the precinct when Kevin's cell rang. "Detective Ryan. What? No... no... it's okay... I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up and looked at Javier.
"It's David, he wants me to come see him, alone. He sounded... kind of out of it."
"I don't know if that's a good idea. At least you shouldn't go alone." Esposito frowned, trying to hide his concern, and jealousy.
"He said he really needed to talk to me. Javi, we both know he's not dangerous. He sounded really... desperate, and he trusts me."
"Okay, but keep in touch, bro." Esposito sighed.
Kevin had barely been gone a few minutes when Javier's phone rang. It was the officer on duty at the Plaza. "Detective Esposito we've got a situation here, and the hotel staff are worried about the disturbance, in the suite where that kid is staying -"
"Oh, god. he just called and my partner's on his way there."
"We'll be right here to meet him, but you probably want to get down here too."
##
When Kevin got to the door to David's suite, the uni was standing there ready to go, but Ryan could barely hear him talk over the loud music even down the hall. "Everything okay?" He asked the cop.
"I guess, except he's been playing that same song over and over again, sometimes really loud and sometimes I can hear him singing along. He had a bottle of vodka and cranberry juice and ice delivered a while back, so I'm guessing he's pretty toasty by now." He smirked.
"Oh, shit. I guess no one bothered to update the hotel staff that he's underage."
The cop suddenly looked concerned. "Hey, I had no way-"
But Kevin had already brushed past him and was banging on the door. David!!! It's Detective Ryan! Let me in!!"
Kevin could practically FEEL the song's lyrics booming in his head through the heavy solid door.
Ryan turned to the cop. "You have the keycard? Open it."
The cop fumbled for the plastic rectangle and managed to unlock the door. Kevin eased it open and was almost bowled over by the increased music volume. He sensed the cop behind him as he moved into the room and waved him back. Scanning the room he saw clothes strewn about, a laptop open on the table, half-empty bottle of vodka, glasses, and there was the stereo. Where was David? 'Uh-oh.' The doors to the balcony were open, curtains billowing, and the teen was outside. "David! It's Detective Ryan! I'm going to turn this down!"
David showed no sign that he heard. Kevin got to the stereo and eased down the volume. David spun around then. "Hey! What the hell! Oh, Detective...!"
"David, please come in off the balcony." Ryan edged up to the open sliding doors. He had a really bad feeling about this.
"This was our song... I felt like it said everything, about us, our relationship, getting away from L.A., to where we could be ourselves and not worry about my fans, where we actually hold hands like straight couples do. He was so excited but he was scared coming out would ruin my career." David turned around then and leaned on the railing, looking out over the New York skyline.
"David, please come in."
"Naw come out here and enjoy the view with me. The streetlife is so interesting."
Kevin could hear the teen slurring his words. He hesitantly stepped out on the balcony. 'Hell, David's a lot smaller than me. If I have to, I can overpower him.' He got to within arm's reach of the young man. Even from here, David reeked of alcohol. "Are you okay?"
"What the hell do you think?" David rounded on him angrily. "No I'm not okay!"
David leaned farther back on the balcony and put one foot up on a lower rung of the railing. His hair ruffled in the breeze. "What've I got to live for? My boyfriend's murdered, and this is sure to get out and my career is over. My whole life is over!" He shouted almost accusingly at Ryan.
"David, you don't want to die!" Kevin started to reach out to the kid. His heart was pounding, and a million things were running through his head. Mainly of course was that he was desperate to get this guy off the railing and keep him from killing himself, but in the background were also 'Javi's gonna kill me, if David doesn't take me down... what the hell am I doing? Beckett's gonna kill me for this too."
David was crying now, no longer angry. "Kevin, I don't know what to do. I feel like I've lost everything." David's balance was starting to look precarious, especially considering his drunken condition.
"David please! I'm sorry Kelley is gone, but your life is not over! Please just take my hand, come off the railing."
##
Esposito pushed past the cop into the room and what he saw made his heart go into his throat. The Morales kid was out on the balcony leaning backward over the railing with one foot up on it, and Kevin was just a couple feet away, reaching out towards him. 'Oh god, the kid could grab Kev and if he goes over, he could take him over the balcony with him. God, no please!'
He heard the uni behind him say "Ohhhh crap," before grabbing for his 2-way and calling for backup. "We got a possible 504A in progress at the Plaza, we got a Detective... attempting to talk the subject down..."
To Be Continued...
##
Comments, Con-Crit, etc. always appreciated.
Author: XtopherCB
Series: Time Capsule
Fandoms: Castle
Rating: PG-13 ish
Genre: Romance, Gay Sex, Mystery etc.
Warnings: Slash, AU, unbeta'd
Characters/Pairings: Javier Esposito/Kevin Ryan
Wordcount: 3550 ish
Summary: Esposito pushed past the cop into the room and what he saw made his heart go into his throat... He heard the uni behind him say "Ohhhh crap," before grabbing for his 2-way and calling for backup. "We got a possible 504A in progress at the Plaza, we got a Detective...
Details: Written as a continuation for
ryanandesposito's Valentine's Day Mini Ficathon. - #()LY CR@P how am i still working on this one?
"Bro, you know people can be brutal and sick. It just feels... different now... with our new situation."
This story is a complete work of fiction and all characters are copyrighted to ABC, Beacon Pictures, Andrew Marlowe, etc. This is in no way a real representation of the actors or the characters. It's fun to play with them just the same.
Author's note: This is about Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito but will involve several other characters from the show. I'm not sure exactly where this is going to go (aside from the obvious, a romance between Esposito and Ryan). I may jump around in time somewhat (e.g., flashbacks), and I'll try to stick more or less to the themes of the series and reference a few episodes, but no promises... it's obviously a parallel reality, though even on the show they're very friendly.
##
Hard to Make a Stand -
(We continue to flashback to when Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan's relationship was just beginning; about a year before the start of the first story in this series.)
##
Kevin Ryan awoke to some soft nudgings and the smell of coffee, with a handsome guy in just underwear, sitting on the bed next to him and grinning. 'It doesn't get any better than this,' he thought. 'Javi-fucking-Espo is sitting here almost naked, and he made coffee.'
"Hey bro, sorry to wake you, but the boss-lady called."
"What? I didn't hear my phone. What time is it?"
"It's still early, and I sent Beckett a text back on your phone that you were on your way. She promised us both we could likely head out early but Lanie has results on the Morales case."
Kevin's brows furrowed as he took a sip of coffee, secretly thinking how cute it was that Javier had sent a text message on his phone for him.
"Guess I should get ready." Ryan sat up and set the coffee aside. Then he looked into Esposito's eyes. "I, um..."
"What?" Javier smiled that amazing smile where his whole face lit up, his cheeks creased a little. His eyes glimmered.
Kevin about died. "Shit."
Then Esposito took him in his arms and hugged him tight, a kind of manly hug, rubbing his back hard. But then he said it, again, just like that. "Kev... I don't know how, or why, but I know that I love you. I just wanna keep saying it." And then he kissed Ryan tenderly on his neck.
'Damn damn damn. I do not deserve this guy.' "Javi, you know I feel the same way." He had trouble talking. "I just thought it was a crush, but now..."
"Bro, believe me, I'm as amazed as you." Esposito whispered. "I think back to all those times in the bullpen, in the cruiser, even at crime scenes... I had these feelings deep down, and I really wanted to hug you, to hold you, and now we can do it." Javier crawled into bed with him, nuzzling his neck and just holding him tight.
"Hmm, and I thought you were just messing with me, teasing me. You were the tough guy, the veteran with all the secrets. I was the nerdy pale guy with the bad ties and hot-mess girlfriends. Sometimes I even wondered if you knew I was really gay and you were just playing with me. But I know I was just being paranoid!" He said quickly when Esposito looked almost hurt.
"Kev..." Javier sighed. "Maybe that's why I like you so much, 'cause you're different from me. You're so smart, and you may be a nerd -- and I think that's kind of sexy too - but you're also cute as hell."
"I can't tell you how many times I watched you walk down the hall, strutting along in your sexy jeans showing off your hot ass. You DO know HOW you walk, don't you?" Ryan smirked then. "I died a little every time, thinking 'there goes a god, and my lot in life is I have the delicious punishment of working with him every day and seeing but I can't touch.' I had to play it cool, while inside I was like, oh God I get to work with Esposito! Do you know what that's like?"
"Well, you know now, I DO like to touch you."
"And I almost DIED every time! Can I hold you for a change? It seems like you're always spooning me. I want to - "
But Kevin didn't even get to complete his sentence, when Javier grabbed him and wrestled him over, then flipped over himself. "Hug me bro, I'd love it."
Ryan couldn't suppress a little happy sigh as he snuggled up behind Esposito, and put his arm around the hunky latino. "I can't believe how nice it is to just cuddle like this."
Javier smiled to himself, and put his hand gently over Kevin's. "I know."
Ryan was overwhelmed by Esposito up against him like this, and started to kiss his neck while caressing Javier's strong pecs.
"Kev, um, if you're gonna do that..."
"I can't help it."
Javier twisted around to face Kevin and their intense gazes met. Esposito put his arms around Ryan and eased him closer.
Kevin let out a little involuntary 'oof' as Javier pulled them together. "So much for spooning." He said, trying to put on his usual sardonic voice.
"Kev." Esposito kept staring into Ryan's sparkling blue eyes.
Kevin felt himself starting to shake and fought it back. "Javi." He managed to smile.
"I'm glad we have each other now. I never thought... well." He ran his fingers through Ryan's wild hair.
"What? You'd be in bed with a guy? And your partner at that?" Kevin winked at him.
##
When they were both dressed and at Esposito's front door, the hunky Latino gently pulled Ryan to him. "So we'll have to behave again today." He looked deep into the Irishman's eyes. "I just wanted to..."
But Kevin grabbed Javier, and passionately kissed him hard, holding him with all his strength, just for a few seconds. Then he let go and stepped back, smiling but also looking kind of embarrassed.
"That works too." Esposito grinned.
Ryan slipped a scrap of paper in Javier's shirt pocket, "Don't read it now, maybe later today when you have a quiet minute. Okay?" His baby blues were soft and sort of pleading.
"Okay. I hope you aren't breaking up with me." he half-joked.
Kevin rolled his eyes. "Yeah right!"
Esposito grinned. "I'm sorry, I guess that was teasing again. My bad."
Ryan looked down, unsure of what to say.
"Bro, come here." Javier gently pulled him in to a hug. "You're so sensitive, and that's what I love about you. You can try to hide it from everyone else but you're letting me see it all. I never mean to hurt you."
"I know, sorry I'm such a wuss."
"Don't apologize. You're sensitive and that's great. Shit I wish we could go back to bed."
##
"Adams, man, you look tired!" Esposito clapped his hand on the tech whiz's shoulder.
The subdued mature man shot Javier a little glare but tried to stay nice. "Good morning to you guys too! Anyway, I went through the video at the casino, in the elevators; and checked the room key-cards."
Meanwhile Kevin was silently telling himself, 'Don't be jealous just 'cuz Javi puts his hand on another guy's shoulder. Adams is straight and a friend anyway.' He couldn't believe that the thought even went through his mind. Then, even as he was thinking this, after Adams turned back to the computer, Ryan felt Esposito's hand on his own back. He slid a glance and a little smile over at Javier in time to catch a wink.
"I spent a few hours watching the hotel footage. So this is David Morales, the kid from that show on TeeNYC?"
"That's him." Kevin said a little too quickly.
"He looks different; older, shorter hair? Not that I watch his stuff! Anyway, it does seem like quite a few people recognized him, as you can see here, and here, for example, people asking for autographs, which he seems happy to give. His blond friend doesn't seem so happy, however."
"Yeah, I can see Kelley's eye-rolling even on this low-quality video." Javier said.
"I'm kinda surprised, since I assumed his fans would be tween girls, but here are 40-something women, even a few guys. Maybe parents? No one under 21 is even allowed in the bar."
"Yeah and he does look different, with the shorter hair and all. His new show is just now being hyped on TeeNYC." Ryan realized his mistake immediately and clamped his mouth shut again.
"You mean this show?" Adams grinned, looking back at them as he hit a button and a YouTube video came up. "I thought the promo was funnier in Swedish. It looks like some kind of strange space cowboy adventure comedy thing. Not sure who watches crap like that. Actually, he's gotten kinda hot for the girls, if you like that sort of innocent nerdy little TeeNYC boy look." Adams said, with a little smirk. "He can definitely do the slapstick. I think it's also possible he may have also had a little work done. His nose looks different."
Esposito cleared his throat. "Adams, regardless of whether TeeNYC boys in skintight space chaps turn you on, let's get back to the surveillance video."
Adams just grinned. "Yes sir! So here's where it gets interesting. There are these two women, they look maybe thirty-something, who at first are hovering around the table, obviously looking at the kid, talking to each other, looking at his boyfriend -- can I call him that?"
Kevin realized that he'd taken a half-step away from Javier just as Adams turned to look at them again.
Esposito cleared his throat... again. "He confided in us that was their relationship, but naturally its completely confidential."
"Of course. I can hear the tween hearts breaking all over the world now. Anyway, the whole time, over two hours, Kelley and David never displayed any kind of PDA, no sign they were more than just buds beyond Kelley putting a hand on David's shoulder once in awhile. Then these two women kind of lurked around, went out of range, came back, then finally asked for autographs, which he gave them. Then things started to go south. They tried to hang around. Look."
"Oh yeah, one's trying to hit on Kelley while the other's trying to flirt with David. This can't end well."
"Yeah and I wouldn't want to piss off the one after Kelley; she looks like a tough customer." Javier said.
"Looks like Kelley tries to get rid of his right off; David tries to be nice but finally an employee sees she's bothering him and asks them to leave. They go out of range but I picked them up circling around. Not long after that, Kelley apparently says goodnight to David, and here -- " Adams froze the image. "Kelley leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. But off to the side are the two women, who obviously see it."
"Uh-oh." Ryan mumbled.
"Oh, it gets better. Or worse, I guess. We catch up to Kelley getting on the elevator to the penthouse. Of course you need a special keycard to access those floors. Just as the doors are closing, guess who gets on?"
"Our girls."
"Yep. They try to act all giggly, but you can tell they're up to something. Then in the hallway, it's bad. The Plaza actually has cameras in the halls on these floors. Here they're following him off, and you can tell he's looking nervous but is probably too nice to say anything, then he gets to his room...
"...they pretend to go past, then they rush him, and force their way into the suite. Wow." Esposito whistled. "That's a couple of crazy women."
"We need to find these women, but how?" Kevin wondered out loud. "The prints on Kelley's neck were partials with no matches, and we got nothing anywhere else in the suite but David, Kelley and the maid. They clean those rooms thoroughly."
##
Ryan and Javier donned coverups and entered the morgue examining room. M.E. Lanie Parrish looked like she was just about done with Kelley.
"Hey Lanie." Esposito greeted her with a smile. Kevin trailed along after and waved to her.
"Good timing, gentlemen." Parrish nodded to them both.
Ryan froze, his gaze locked on the young man's face. Lanie had pulled his scalp back down so he looked fairly normal, almost peaceful. His shaggy hair had been combed back neatly.
"Sorry. He was a handsome young man. I understand his lover is a bit of a celebrity."
"Yeah, TeeNYC channel guy. David Morales."
Parrish raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Some of my neices watch that. Gay actors on TeeNYC, imagine!" Then as Kevin and Javier exchanged covert glances, Lanie smirked and shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if half of them were. Anyway. Perlmutter picked him up but dumped him on me, something about caseload, so it took a while to get up to speed. As you suspected, I would rule cause of death as exsanguinations, from the longitudinal cuts on the wrists. The cuts had to be ante-mortem for the amount of blood David described at the scene and the photos, and the amount lost from the body. Now about the bruising around the neck, I assume you lifted some prints?"
"Yeah, partials, no hits so far."
"And the knife was in the tub with him, no prints I guess?"
"Nope."
"There's definitely trauma to the trachea, enough to cause unconsciousness. There was no evidence of water in the throat or lungs, so drowning can be ruled out. There's some bruising on the forearms, possibly defensive. And look here, there are some marks on the wrists that could mean he was restrained, though they aren't very severe."
"It was either something soft like a tie or scarf, or he wasn't tied and conscious very long?" Esposito volunteered. "We didn't see any evidence of a struggle in the suite."
"He was a slender guy, weighs 150 soaking wet. Two people could have overpowered him."
"And one of the women who followed him was a pretty big girl." Javier commented.
"Big girl?" Lanie raised her eyebrows and glared at Esposito.
"Umm... we're beginning to think maybe some of David's female fans didn't like a guy being so cozy with their boy." Kevin added to change the direction this conversation was taking, as they started to head out.
"There's something else." Parrish looked at them both. Ryan and Javier turned back around. "There was evidence of sexual trauma. He was sodomized, probably by a foreign object. Definitely not from consensual activity."
The two guys turned and looked at each other. Kevin winced.
"He might have been raped... with an object?" Esposito was incredulous.
"While he was alive. Somebody was really angry at this kid." Lanie said.
Out in the hallway, Ryan muttered "I can't believe they'd do that to him, as if murdering him wasn't enough."
"Bro, you know people can be brutal and sick. It just feels... different now... with our new situation."
"Something just seems out of whack here. It's so calculated, with the strangling and the staged suicide, and now possibly this rape. How did they know they had enough time to pull all this off? Even though in fact, they had over an hour, David could have come up to the room at any time. Even if they had someone in the bar or lobby watching David who could call them the minute he left, it would only take him a few minutes to get to the room."
"Good point. Unless they heard David tell Kelley he was going to come up at a specific time."
"Or... they wanted David to catch them..."
"...And make it look like a murder-suicide, or a suicide pact? Wow."
"But then they lost their nerve?"
##
They were barely back at the precinct when Kevin's cell rang. "Detective Ryan. What? No... no... it's okay... I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up and looked at Javier.
"It's David, he wants me to come see him, alone. He sounded... kind of out of it."
"I don't know if that's a good idea. At least you shouldn't go alone." Esposito frowned, trying to hide his concern, and jealousy.
"He said he really needed to talk to me. Javi, we both know he's not dangerous. He sounded really... desperate, and he trusts me."
"Okay, but keep in touch, bro." Esposito sighed.
Kevin had barely been gone a few minutes when Javier's phone rang. It was the officer on duty at the Plaza. "Detective Esposito we've got a situation here, and the hotel staff are worried about the disturbance, in the suite where that kid is staying -"
"Oh, god. he just called and my partner's on his way there."
"We'll be right here to meet him, but you probably want to get down here too."
##
When Kevin got to the door to David's suite, the uni was standing there ready to go, but Ryan could barely hear him talk over the loud music even down the hall. "Everything okay?" He asked the cop.
"I guess, except he's been playing that same song over and over again, sometimes really loud and sometimes I can hear him singing along. He had a bottle of vodka and cranberry juice and ice delivered a while back, so I'm guessing he's pretty toasty by now." He smirked.
"Oh, shit. I guess no one bothered to update the hotel staff that he's underage."
The cop suddenly looked concerned. "Hey, I had no way-"
But Kevin had already brushed past him and was banging on the door. David!!! It's Detective Ryan! Let me in!!"
Kevin could practically FEEL the song's lyrics booming in his head through the heavy solid door.
Ryan turned to the cop. "You have the keycard? Open it."
The cop fumbled for the plastic rectangle and managed to unlock the door. Kevin eased it open and was almost bowled over by the increased music volume. He sensed the cop behind him as he moved into the room and waved him back. Scanning the room he saw clothes strewn about, a laptop open on the table, half-empty bottle of vodka, glasses, and there was the stereo. Where was David? 'Uh-oh.' The doors to the balcony were open, curtains billowing, and the teen was outside. "David! It's Detective Ryan! I'm going to turn this down!"
David showed no sign that he heard. Kevin got to the stereo and eased down the volume. David spun around then. "Hey! What the hell! Oh, Detective...!"
"David, please come in off the balcony." Ryan edged up to the open sliding doors. He had a really bad feeling about this.
"This was our song... I felt like it said everything, about us, our relationship, getting away from L.A., to where we could be ourselves and not worry about my fans, where we actually hold hands like straight couples do. He was so excited but he was scared coming out would ruin my career." David turned around then and leaned on the railing, looking out over the New York skyline.
"David, please come in."
"Naw come out here and enjoy the view with me. The streetlife is so interesting."
Kevin could hear the teen slurring his words. He hesitantly stepped out on the balcony. 'Hell, David's a lot smaller than me. If I have to, I can overpower him.' He got to within arm's reach of the young man. Even from here, David reeked of alcohol. "Are you okay?"
"What the hell do you think?" David rounded on him angrily. "No I'm not okay!"
David leaned farther back on the balcony and put one foot up on a lower rung of the railing. His hair ruffled in the breeze. "What've I got to live for? My boyfriend's murdered, and this is sure to get out and my career is over. My whole life is over!" He shouted almost accusingly at Ryan.
"David, you don't want to die!" Kevin started to reach out to the kid. His heart was pounding, and a million things were running through his head. Mainly of course was that he was desperate to get this guy off the railing and keep him from killing himself, but in the background were also 'Javi's gonna kill me, if David doesn't take me down... what the hell am I doing? Beckett's gonna kill me for this too."
David was crying now, no longer angry. "Kevin, I don't know what to do. I feel like I've lost everything." David's balance was starting to look precarious, especially considering his drunken condition.
"David please! I'm sorry Kelley is gone, but your life is not over! Please just take my hand, come off the railing."
##
Esposito pushed past the cop into the room and what he saw made his heart go into his throat. The Morales kid was out on the balcony leaning backward over the railing with one foot up on it, and Kevin was just a couple feet away, reaching out towards him. 'Oh god, the kid could grab Kev and if he goes over, he could take him over the balcony with him. God, no please!'
He heard the uni behind him say "Ohhhh crap," before grabbing for his 2-way and calling for backup. "We got a possible 504A in progress at the Plaza, we got a Detective... attempting to talk the subject down..."
To Be Continued...
##
Comments, Con-Crit, etc. always appreciated.