Page 55 of No Surrender
“What now?” The officers stayed back, but Gordon looked intrigued.
“Now I take witness statements,” Simon replied with a smirk. “And then the victims can finally rest in peace.”
Simon returned to the warded circle where the candles still flickered, Vic close behind. The whole room smelled like burned powders and candle smoke overlaying the odors of mildew and rot.
He sat in the center of the circle and reached into his bag for two thick cylinders of jade and onyx. Simon held one piece of smooth stone in each hand, which Vic knew helped ground him and restored his energy.
Vic sat just outside the circle, ready with more water and food. Ross ran interference with the officers and forensic team, letting them start the photography process several rooms away from where Simon patiently recounted the stories of each of the murdered young women.
By the end, Vic was emotionally wrung out. Ross guarded the door to keep them from being interrupted. Despite his crossed arms and stern features, silent tears streaked down Simon’s face. Vic knew that Simon’s show of neutrality cost him dearly, a facade he maintained to give the dead their vindication.
“When your team is done, we should get a priest to read Last Rites before anything else is done with the space,” Simon remarked. “The ghosts have moved on. Once Thompson got what he deserved, and they had a chance to tell their stories, there wasn’t anything else holding them here.”
“When the area is cleared, we can arrange that,” Vic said. “Now, I think you’ve had a busy enough day. Ross can supervise here. I’m taking you home.”
“It’s just past lunch,” Simon protested as he snuffed out the candles, poured the ashes into a special container, and gathered up the rest of his workspace, putting it all carefully back in his bag. “Not over yet.”
“It is for you.” Vic pulled Simon to his feet, took the backpack without asking, and got under his partner’s shoulder, half-dragging and half-carrying him toward the exit.
“Call me if you need me,” Vic told Ross, since Hargrove was out of the office, still recovering from his near-miss. “You know where to find me.”
“We’ve got this. Take care of Simon,” Ross replied. “I’ll handle the CSI folks. And by the way, you were right—body cams are all fried. Nothing but static.”
“I need to go to the shop. I told Pete—” Simon protested.
“Dude, you’re in no shape to go anywhere except bed.” Vic had reached the end of his willingness to compromise. “I called Pete while you were in the shower this morning and told him that I thought you were ‘overly optimistic’ about coming into the store after we took care of the mess here. He wasn’t surprised at all and told me to knock you out if I needed to so you’d rest.”
“Traitor.”
“Friend,” Vic countered. “He worries about you. We all do. You were amazing back there,” Vic told him as they limped down the steps. “But even warriors need to recover.”
“Not a warrior.”
Simon’s slurred words worried Vic even more than his lack of coordination. He decided to call Travis Dominick as soon as Simon was safely in bed and asleep to find out how best to help his partner heal.
“You totally are,” Vic assured him. “You don’t need a sword or a cape to be badass. What you did this morning was pretty damn amazing.”
“Thompson got away with murder,” Simon protested as Vic helped him into the car. He fell asleep in the short distance back to the bungalow, proving even groggier when they arrived. Vic had to shake him back to awareness to get him into the house.
“I am not bridal carrying you,” Vic muttered. “C’mon. Let’s get you inside.”
Vic hauled Simon straight to the bedroom and let him collapse onto the mattress. Then he picked up Simon’s ankles and pivoted his body to help him stretch out, and removed his shoes.
“Sleep. I’ll bring water, Advil, and a candy bar for when you wake up.”
“Go back to work. I’m okay,” Simon slurred.
“Yeah, you’re just fine,” Vic replied. “I’ve got a shit ton of paperwork to do, which I can fill out here just as well as at the station. Ross has the castle situation under control, and Gordon might be retired, but he knows his way around a crime scene if Ross needs backup.”
He bent to press a kiss to Simon’s forehead. “Get some rest. I’ll be here if you need anything.”
“Thanks for having my back.”
Vic could barely make out the whispered words. He trailed his fingers down Simon’s face and pushed the hair out of his eyes. “Always.”
8
SIMON
