Everyone's Man – 36

 

"Can I ask a question, Detective Keyes?"

 

"Of course, and call me Dane."

 

"Okay, Dane." Colin smiled shyly at him for a second before getting back to what he wanted to know. "This kid they killed, was he in the business too?"

 

"At the moment, we're not certain. We're still trying to locate family or friends to find out more about him."

 

"If he's a whore like me, you might be shit out of luck," Colin told him.

 

Keyes winced a bit at Colin's bluntly calling himself a whore. That elicited a tight smile from the young man.

 

"That's what I am, Dane. Why sugarcoat it?"

 

"True, I guess," Keyes replied with a sharp nod. "As for the other victim of those men," Keyes continued, "he could have been in the business, as you put it, or he could just have been someone they picked up off the street. What clothes they left with the body were well-worn."

 

"Then he's not part of a stable," Colin said succinctly.

 

"You are, I gather." Keyes chuckled to himself when Colin looked surprised that he knew what the word meant, but as a cop who worked with street kids more often than not, he was well aware of the lingo.

 

"Was. Now I'm freelance, more or less."

 

Keyes leaned back, looking at Colin with an arched eyebrow. "So you're planning on continuing doing that."

 

"Whoring? Sure. It's what I do best." Colin studied him, a small smile on his face. "You want me to show you how good I am?"

 

"Colin!" Bill barked out.

 

Colin looked at him and grinned. "Well, you turned me down, so I figured hitting on him was my next best option."

 

Keyes stared at Colin, shock written on his face. "You are blunt, I'll say that. And what makes you think I'd be interested, even if you really meant it?"

 

"Oh, I meant it. It's been a while since…since I…fuck." Suddenly, Colin's face was a mask, emotionless. Dead.

 

Keyes hesitated momentarily and then after a quick look at Bill he moved across the space separating him from Colin, wrapping his arm around his shoulders. Bill crossed the room to kneel in front of Colin, resting one hand on his knee. "You're safe," he murmured. "We're here."

 

Keyes felt the rigidity slowly drain from Colin's body at Bill's words and pulled his arm away.

 

"No," Colin whispered huskily, "Look, I…please. I promise to behave."

 

At a nod from Bill, Keyes gently pulled Colin against his chest. He couldn't believe how young and innocent he seemed at the moment. Innocent and tortured by what had happened to him.

 

Colin sighed, burying his face in Keyes' shoulder. Then, as if realizing what he was doing, he shot up, drawing away quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I mean you're a cop."

 

Keyes smiled at him. "I'm also human, believe it or not. I understand."

 

"Do you?" Colin moved even further away. "Do you even have a damned clue what it's like, other than from what bits of information you drag out of…of victims like me?"

 

"Yeah, I have a clue," Keyes growled back. "Not that it's any of your business." Opening his notebook again, he began again. "So let's get back down to cases so we can catch these bastards and get them out of circulation."