You Belong to Me - 21

 

 

By the time Corey got off work Saturday evening, he was more than ready for his date with Brad. The only saving grace to the past few days since the break-in was the fact that he’d heard nothing more from his stalker. Maybe they’ve given up? Came and got the watch and now they’re going to give it to their next victim? I can only hope.

 

As he got dressed, he realized he was humming “This Could Be the Start of Something Big” and smiled.

 

He’d always liked Brad and often wondered why they hadn’t progressed beyond the occasional night together.

 

Probably because I’m not ready to do more than play around when I can, with who I can, with no stings attached. That way, no one has any reason to want the sort of relationship that would mean I’d have to admit to the world—and the family—that I’m gay.

 

He thought about what he’d just told himself and nodded. It was the reason for breaking up with Mike. Like Mike said, being closeted is not the best basis for a real relationship. So now I keep it light. Keep it simple.

 

But with Brad… I could get used to having him in my life. Would it be worth the results, though? Could I handle being disowned by the family I love, the way he was? He grimaced. Obviously not.

 

That didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy his time with Brad tonight. With that thought in mind, he finished dressing, checked the mirror to be certain he looked all right, and then left the apartment, making sure to arm the security box as he did.

* * * *

Brad had only been at the club for a few minutes when his phone vibrated.

 

“Please don’t be Corey backing out,” he muttered before answering.

 

“Brad, it’s Corey. I have a problem.”

 

He frowned, trying to hear what Corey was saying over the noise of the people and the music in the club. “What’s wrong?”

 

“It’s my car. It decided not run for some reason. Look, would you mind coming by to pick me up?”

 

With a sigh of relief, Brad said, “Not at all. I’ll be there in ten minutes or less.”

 

“Thank you, thank you.”

 

Brad was halfway out of the club by the time they said good-bye. Ten minutes later he pulled up in front of Corey’s apartment building. He expected to see him waiting in the lobby, and when he didn’t, he called to let him know he’d arrived. When the call wasn’t answered, he frowned, deciding Corey must have turned his cell off for some reason, and got out of the car. He buzzed Corey when he got inside the entryway.

 

“Come on up,” Corey said, sounding tinny through the small speaker. “I’ve got something to show you.”

 

Brad grinned. Maybe their date would begin and end here. He could live with that.

 

 

You Belong to Me – 20

 

 

The first thing Corey did on Thursday morning was call a security company. When he told them why he needed them, the man said they’d have someone out there before noon. Then he called in to work to tell Mr. Zimmer he’d be late and why. Thankfully the installer came within the hour. The man showed him how to arm and disarm the box once Corey had decided on what code to use. He also taught Corey how to change the code if he wanted to.

 

As soon as the installer left, Corey finished dressing and took off for the shelter.

 

“You oversleep?” Archie asked with a grin when Corey ran into him in the rec room.

 

“Nope. I was getting a security box installed at my place.”

 

Archie frowned. “Why?”

 

“Someone broke in yesterday and stole the watch.”

 

“You’re shitting me. Is that all they took?”

 

Corey nodded. “Strangely enough, yes.” He smiled dryly. “Not that I have a lot of valuables a thief might want.”

 

“There goes your donation to the fundraiser.”

 

“No kidding.”

 

“Maybe the person who gave it to you decided they wanted it back since you weren’t using it.”

 

You have no idea how right you are, I suspect. Corey’s mouth tightened momentarily, and then he smiled. “They could have just asked me for it.”

 

“And ruined the surprise of who they are? Do you have any clue yet?”

 

“Not a one.”

 

“That’s so weird. Oh well, at least that was the beginning and the end of any communication from your secret Santa. Maybe she’s the wife of one of the board members. They were all here for the Christmas party. She was going to sneak it to you because she’s got the hots for you, but you were out of town. So she dropped it off and then decided you weren’t worth losing her meal ticket over, and that was that.”

 

Corey snorted in amusement. “Have you ever considered writing fairy tales? Because that would make a great one.”

 

“You wound me,” Archie protested. “I thought it was the perfect answer to the mystery.”

 

“Not. I’d better get moving, and hope to hell the guys didn’t decide that since I wasn’t around to monitor them, they could skip out without cleaning the dorms.”

 

As he walked away, Corey shook his head morosely. It would be great if Archie were right. But he’s not. Whoever gave me the watch has no intention of stopping with just that. And for damned sure it isn’t the wife of one of the board members.

You Belong to Me – 19

 

“It sounds like you’ve got a stalker. Have you reported it?” Officer Turner asked.

 

Corey shook his head. “I got rid of the notes, so I have no proof. Besides which, what can the police do? All this person’s done is harass me from a distance.”

 

“At least if you filed a report, it would be on record in case she ups the ante.”

 

Corey didn’t refute the officer’s presumption it was a female. Even though Corey doubted that was the case, he couldn’t say for certain.

 

“Have you had any visitors recently who might have taken the watch?” Officer Turner asked.

 

“Not since I last looked at it, which was a couple of days ago.”

 

“Does anyone else have keys to the apartment?”

 

“No. Well, I suppose the manager does, but I don’t think she’d come snooping and take it.”

 

“Probably not.” Officer Turner closed his notebook. “All right, we have the particulars. We can get a forensics team in here to look for fingerprints, but unless whoever took the watch is terminally stupid, I doubt they’d have any luck.”

 

“And I’d have fingerprint powder all over everything,” Corey said wryly. “That’s okay. I think I’ll pass.”

 

“If this person calls again, make a note of the phone number, even though it does come from a payphone,” Officer Moore told him.

 

“Actually, I suspect all of them are on my phone, since I haven’t cleared out my call index in a while.”

 

“Give us the list, please. It probably won’t do much good unless all the phones are in the same area. In that case it might give us a general idea where the stalker lives, works, or hangs out.”

 

Corey went through the index, writing down the numbers, and handed the paper to Officer Moore. “Is there anything else you need?” he asked afterwards.

 

“Nope, so we’ll be on our way. One suggestion,” Officer Moore said after glancing at the door, “get a security system. Even a simple one will let you know if someone tries to break in again. Whoever took the watch might know how to pick a lock, but it’s a long step from that to disarming a security box.”

 

“Believe me, I intend to…now. Thank you for your help.”

 

Officer Moore nodded. “Not certain we did much, other than take down your report of the robbery and the stalker’s phone calls.”

 

“You made me feel a bit safer, which counts in my book.”

 

“Then you’re welcome.”

 

 

You Belong to Me – 18

 

 

The tall, dark-haired, model-perfect officer introduced himself as John Turner, which Corey had already figured out from the name tag on his shirt. The other one, who was rather average-looking in comparison to Turner, said he was Officer Moore.

 

Taking out a notebook, Officer Turner asked, “What did the thief take, Mr. Byrne? A complete list, if you’ve made one.”

 

“Only one thing,” Corey replied. “A watch. A very expensive one,” he added.

 

Officer Turner nodded. “Describe it, please.”

 

“It had a plain black face with gold hands and a gold-and-silver band. I know it was expensive because I checked it out a couple of times, wishing I could afford it.”

 

“So it was a gift?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Are you certain you haven’t just mislaid it?” Officer Moore asked.

 

Corey sighed. “Quite certain. I’ve never worn it. It was still in the box it came in, in the back of my dresser drawer.”

 

“May I ask why you never wore it?”

 

“It… umm… was given to me anonymously, so to speak.” When Office Moore asked, Corey explained how it had shown up at the shelter.

 

“And you have no idea who gave it to you?”

 

“Didn’t I just say that?” Corey asked a bit scathingly. Then he apologized. “Whoever it was, they, well…. Okay, this probably sounds weird, but they sent me a Christmas card of sorts a couple of days later with a message saying ‘I’m hurt. You haven’t been wearing my gift.’ Then a day or so after that, there was a message slipped under the door that said pretty much the same thing.”

 

Officer Moore frowned. “Have there been any other communications from this person?”

 

Hesitantly Corey nodded. “I got a phone call. The person whispered something about my belonging to them.” He wasn’t about to tell them the bit about being called a slut. “And then there was another one along the same lines. I tried calling the first one back. It came from a payphone, as did the second according to the caller ID. Well, actually the fifth one. I got three I didn’t answer because they were from payphones too.”

'Jealousy' is live!

Jealousy

https://www.jms-books.com/edward-kendrick-c-224_229/jealousy-p-4131.html  

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09N37YRYW

 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jealousy-edward-kendrick/1140723120?ean=9781646569403

 

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/jealousy-68

 

GENRE: Gay Mystery Romance
LENGTH: 32,031 words
RATING:

It all began when Brock hired Pat McKenzie to become the newest employee of Moran Investigations. Neither of them expected it would be more than that until someone slipped a note under Pat's apartment door warning him to stay away from Brock. In an attempt to draw the man out, they decide to pretend they are in the beginnings of a relationship that is more than merely boss/employee. This accomplishes two things. One, the man steps up his harassment, and two, what was pretend might become the real thing the more time they spend together outside of work.

If they're going to stop the man, they have to find out who he is, and that may be more difficult than they anticipated. Can their budding relationship survive when the harassment escalates as the man attempts to force Pat out of Brock's life, even if he has to destroy him in the process?

EXCERPT:

The remainder of the week went about as Pat figured it would. He spent his mornings doing background checks and then worked alone, or with Tom or Daniel on their cases. He and Brock got in the habit of eating lunch together at one or another of the nearby restaurants, taking Tom with them on one occasion.

He spent Saturday doing chores and then going for a long walk, ending at a local bar for supper. Sunday, he decided to add to his collection of books. He went to the book mall he'd seen the previous Saturday night, leaving a couple of hours later with a bag of books and one of the co-owner's cheerful "Come back when you need a dozen more," ringing in his ears.

Monday morning was bright, sunny, and warm, presaging the advent of summer even though it was still a month away. Pat got dressed and was heading to the kitchen to make breakfast when he saw an envelope sticking out from under the front door of the apartment. A note from the building manager? he wondered as he picked it up. He couldn't think of anyone else who leave him a message.

* * * *

An hour later, Pat stalked into Brock's office, tossing the note and the envelope it came in on his boss's desk. "Is there something you forgot to mention during my interview, after I let you know I'm gay? Something like the fact you're gay, too?"

Brock frowned as he read it aloud, noting that it was created by pasting letters together from various sources. "Keep away from Brock Moran or else. Short and not so sweet. When did you get this?"

"It was under my door this morning and you didn't answer my question."

"Not that I keep it a secret, but telling you I'm gay wasn't relevant at that point, at least as far as I was concerned."

Pat blew out a frustrated breath but agreed he was probably right. Taking a seat across from Brock, he tapped the note. "What I can't figure is, why would someone think my knowing you was a threat to him on a personal level, if that's what he's implying? Other than working for you, we haven't done anything together except going out to lunch and that was strictly business. We weren't holding hands or making goo-goo eyes at each other."

Brock snorted out a laugh. "True. Of course whoever wrote this might not mean what we're thinking, although I do admit telling you to keep away from me comes across like he's jealous of you."

"Not to put too fine point on it, but are any of the other guys here interested in you?"

"Not that I know of. Hell, as far as I know they're all straight, but then I've never asked and it hasn't come up in any conversations with them. As I said, the fact that I'm gay isn't a secret but I don't flaunt it, either."

"Any exes who might be pissed if they saw us at lunch?"

"Nope."

"Short and sweet."

"I've dated a few men." Brock smiled wryly. "That's it, though, and the relationships ended amiably on both sides. Or I should say, if any of them didn't like the idea of our breaking up, they didn't make an issue of it. What about you?"

"Damn, I've only lived here a few weeks. I haven't had a chance to get to know anyone that way. Okay, I'll take that back. I went to a couple of gay bars last weekend but I left alone. That's beside the point, though. Whoever left this," Pat tapped the note again, "wants me to leave you alone, by name."

"Good point. I'll give this to Len, to see if he can find any prints. Honestly, I doubt he will. Whoever put this together, meaning the cut-and-paste letters, undoubtedly knows we're private investigators and would have made certain not to touch it with bare fingers."

"It's still worth a try. All it takes is one slip, or one bit of hair as far as that goes. The envelope wasn't sealed, but even if it had been, he'd probably have done it with water, not licking it."

"I agree. Len will need your prints, and mine, for comparison."

"Of course."

They took the envelope and note down to Len, and Brock explained where it had come from and how.

Len read it then looked at them. "Is there any basis for what it says?"

"Not in the least," Brock told him.

"Well, someone obviously disagrees." He took Pat's fingerprints, reminded Brock he had his on file, and promised he'd let him know if he found anything that might potentially identify who sent the note to Pat.

"Guess that's it, for now," Pat said when they returned to Brock's office. "I could say it was a one-off, but somehow I doubt it. He, and I suspect it is a he, must have followed me home from here at some point, since it was left at my place."