Page 60 of What I've Tasted of Desire

“No, I sat outside for a while before coming in, and everything was clear.”

“Why were you sitting outside?” he asked.

“I wanted to make sure he was okay.”

“Why wouldn’t he be okay?” The man’s eyebrow was raised. I wanted to rip it off his stupid face.

“Is that a real fucking question?” I sneered, gesturing towards the mangled mutt.

The officer shook his head. “How long were you outside?”

I shrugged. “Maybe ten minutes.”

“And then you went inside?”

“Yes.”

“And you spent the night here with Mr. Winters?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t see or hear anything?”

“No, it was all clear when I went inside.”

“What did you and Mr. Winters do last night?”

“Um, we hung out in the living room for a while and then eventually went up to bed?”

“But you didn’t hear anything outside?”

How many times is this pig gonna ask me the same fucking question?

“No, I didn’t hear anything exceptAlex.”

“What noise was Alex making?”

He fucking walked right into it!

“The same noises Alex always makes when wehang out,”I drawled, turning to look at Mike as I finished the sentence. “A combination of moans and small gasps, usually followed up by quick, high-pitched squealing. If it’s going well, anyway.”

Mike ground his teeth, and the officer frowned and closed his notebook. “We’ll just wait for the detective to get here,” he announced.

“Ace of a plan,” I snarked.

We all turned at once and looked down the driveway when we heard a sharp scream. A woman in a housedress was standing at the edge of the driveway, her eyes riveted on the gruesome scene. One of the officers photographing the truck hurried over and turned her around. She began to sob as an older gentleman came running from the next house over.

Oh, no. It was their dog.Genuine sadness penetrated the irritation and stress clouding my brain.

The man grabbed the lady and hurried her inside before coming back out to talk to the police. I hoped Alex had not heard her scream upstairs.

Fuck!

Another work truck pulled up to the edge of the drive. Rob jumped out of the car and hurried up the driveway towards us.

“Oh my god! Where’s Alex? Is he okay?”

With all the chaos and questions swirling around, Rob brought a sense of calm with him, making me relieved he was there. He broughtconcerned grandpaenergy and was always such a calming presence for Alex. I really appreciated him for that. Alex needed good, caring men in his life.

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