The Rose Man Read online

  Ben unlocked the handcuffs and put them away.

  “I swear, I don’t want more people dead or missing. Maybe Tony and Jim are a thing and went off to Dollywood or something? Sad for me, but I’d rather that than they end up dead.” Paul sounded very genuine.

  “Okay. You’re good to drive?” Ross asked.

  “Coke all night. I drive Uber on the side. I’ll just wait here until the guys inside use the app for a ride. It gets interesting, but they’re safer with me driving than some conservative housewife,” Paul replied.

  “Agreed.” Ben handed over his business card too. “Anything, you call us.”

  Paul pocketed both cards. “I’ll help if I can. You two are cute together. Gotta couple up young these days. I didn’t realize I was into dick until college.”

  “We’re just working together,” Ben said.

  “Oh.” Paul eyed Ben.

  Ross didn’t care for that exchange at all. He cleared his throat. “I’ll go pay our tab and check on Charlie.”

  “I’ll go. You warm up the car. Winter feels like it’s lingering.” Ben headed for the door.

  “You shouldn’t have left,” Paul said.

  Ross glared at Paul. “Plenty of kids went to college, like you.”

  Paul nodded. “Some jobs require it. Some jobs require more than just a four-year degree. But you had a good one and you left him here. I’ve tried, believe me. He’s got blinders on. All business.”

  “Workaholic,” Ross agreed.

  “No one is as good as you. No one is you,” Paul corrected.

  Ross shook his head and fished the keys from his pocket. “He’s way better than I am.”

  “I agree, but he’d never think that. Don’t screw it up this time,” Paul advised.

  “I’m here on work, but thanks.” Ross headed down to the dirt parking area then started the car.

  The competition for Ben was out there. They might be lying low. Ben might think he had to wait for his dad to pass before he got serious with someone. Ross wasn’t sure what the hurdle was, but if Ben wanted a man, he’d have a line of hot guys ready to screw his brains out.

  Whatever happened personally, Ross had one thing he had to go after right now. They had a lead…who was Jason Pierce?

  Chapter Five

  Ross drove Ben towards his house and the tension drove Ben nuts.

  “What was that kiss about?” Ben asked.

  Ross shrugged. “Felt like old times. Good cover for us nosing around if it looks like we’re a couple.”

  Just a cover. Sure. “People know who I am there, and they know what I do for a living.”

  “And half of them remember us from high school. People could start talking about us being a couple again,” Ross said.

  “A little random gossip until you leave, yeah. It’ll blow over.” Ben shrugged.

  “You could crash at the motel with me. Get a break from your dad. A little fun,” Ross suggested.

  The temptation was high, but Ben had no intention of hopping back into things with Ross only to get his heart smashed again. “Thanks, but I need to check on Dad and I prefer to sleep in my own bed. I’d offer you the guest room, but it’s basically been storage since Mom died.”

  “No problem. You know you deserve a break, right? Vacations and a life. Someone can cover with your dad. He didn’t seem that helpless,” Ross replied.

  Ben nodded. “Medical aides cost money and mostly he’s not helpless. He just doesn’t care about taking his pills or eating. If I didn’t regularly search the house, he’d have blown it up with cigarettes or even vaping.”

  “Still trying to smoke?” Ross asked.

  “He did it for forty-some years, two packs a day. Breaking that addiction is tough. For a while he drank, but that…he’s a mean drunk so I had to put a stop to that.”

  Ross pulled up in front of Ben’s house. “Okay, I’ll meet you at the station tomorrow and we can dig into the lead. Search the missing guys’ homes. We’ve got watches on their credit cards and BOLOs out on them.”

  Unbuckling his seatbelt, Ben nodded. “Fine, thanks. I’m usually in around eight. If you want to hook up with a random guy, you know where that bar is.”

  “Wait,” Ross said.

  Ben exited the car and closed the door firmly, just short of a slam. He felt dumb. There was no reason to be mad at Ross. They’d kissed plenty before and there was no real proof that he wanted anything.

  Quietly letting himself into the house, Ben checked to make sure there were no cigarettes still burning. He locked the door behind him and turned off the TV. Checking the kitchen, Ben felt alone and had no one else to blame. Opening up the can of worms with Ross wasn’t smart, but he never felt lonely with Ross around.

  It was late, but Ben had dishes to put in the dishwasher and a load of laundry to put in the dryer. Dad had a habit of starting the washer and forgetting. Mrs. Blossom would be coming tomorrow to clean the place properly. She was a young divorcee with a little girl to support and only a GED, so she waited tables at the diner and cleaned on the side. Tomorrow she’d find all the plates and glasses Dad had snuck into his room. Luckily, she was charming and the old guy liked the attention.

  The dryer hummed and the sink was clear, so Ben headed to his bedroom. He stripped off his clothes and tossed them into the hamper. Down to his boxers, he climbed into bed and flipped on the TV. The white noise helped as he opened his laptop and searched for Jason Pierce. Tomorrow he’d put it through the proper computers, but for now, it was something.

  The coughing from his dad’s room could be heard from across the hall and down in the master bedroom. All his childhood, Ben had never heard his parents fight, have sex or anything else…but he’d always heard his dad coughing. He always wondered if they’d actually been happy.

  Ben headed for the kitchen, got his dad a cold bottle of water and found his inhaler on the counter. Once Ben reached the old guy’s room, he used his elbow to tap on the door.

  “Room service,” Ben said.

  “Girls and money only,” his dad groused from the other side.

  “Come on, water and your inhaler,” Ben argued.

  The old man unlocked the door and opened it. “Thanks. I’m fine.”

  “I know. Mrs. Blossom is coming tomorrow, so no strutting around until noon in boxers or less. Pants,” Ben reminded him.

  “She needs a show with her man gone.” He chuckled.

  “No, Dad. She does a good job. We want her to keep showing up. Make a list with her for the grocery store. If you guys have time, go. If not, I’ll grab it this weekend. Got it?” Ben asked.

  “I’m not senile. Social security and pension hit the bank, so I can pay for the groceries,” he said.

  “Dad, it’s fine. I’ll leave cash,” Ben said.

  “Don’t fight me on this. I worked hard for all that and earned it. I’m damn well going to use it before the government shuts it all down or I kick it,” he warned.

  “Fine, I’ll leave a list of what I want and enough to cover it. Night.” Ben walked away before his dad picked more of a fight.

  His dad had been a long-haul trucker, gone for weeks at time, and had barely ever called. Mom had always been there and Dad had sent the money home, had insurance and all the essentials—but he was never there.

  Heading to bed, Ben grabbed himself a bottle of water then texted Ross.

  Did you get to the motel okay?

  He felt dumb. They were both law enforcement. They were armed and could take care of themselves. But this rose man was targeting gay men.

  Fine. Miss me already?

  Ben sighed at Ross’ text and went to his bedroom, locking the door behind him. They could text back and forth or talk. As much as Ben wanted to talk, he had no idea what he’d say.

  He didn’t resent Ross for leaving—he admired the choice. But they weren’t the same. High school romances were sweet but rarely lasted forever. This was a blast from the past that had him wanting more. Ross wanted it too and
it’d be easy to fall into bed and enjoy.

  Flopping on the bed, frustrated and defeated, he pulled up the county website. The faces of the missing men were right there, staring back at him. He had to keep his priorities straight or more men would end up dead. Ross was a great FBI agent, but for Ben, he was the biggest distraction.

  * * * *

  Ross arrived at the station with a box of donuts from the grocery store. Of course, Ben was already in the conference room.

  “Long John,” Ross offered.

  “Thanks. Morning.” Ben picked out a donut. “You trying to butter up the locals?”

  “Just you,” Ross said.

  “I got nothing on Jason Pierce in the county. You?” Ben asked.

  “I sent the name back to the field office to have them run it, but it’s not the most unique name. We’ll probably get some hits. We could go into the city and check them out or have someone there do that grunt work.” Ross shrugged.

  “I want to go over Tony’s and Jim’s apartments today. See if the initial searches missed anything. Kevin’s car was basically stripped. No clues,” Ben said.

  “Searches are good. Are you satisfied with the interviews of the families and friends?”

  “I did them, so yes. If we find any boyfriends, that might help,” Ben admitted.

  Ross got himself some coffee and wandered back to the conference room.

  “No one else reported roses on their cars?” Ross asked.

  “No, but we’re not publicizing that. With Valentine’s Day coming up, we don’t want everyone to panic. We also don’t want the kidnapper to stop leaving a clue,” Ben replied.

  “Okay. So Tony’s or Jim’s place first?” Ross asked.

  Ben finished off his donut and took a swig of coffee. “Jim—the super in his apartment is always around. Tony lived above the bowling alley and his mom runs it now without him. She’ll let us in, but better to do that in the afternoon. They aren’t open this early.”

  “Okay—no new reports of anyone missing or dead?” Ross asked.

  “They’d have called me overnight. I’ll hit the washroom, then I’m ready when you are,” Ben said.

  Ross drove, following Ben’s directions to the right apartment building not far away. The super let them in and they put on gloves so as not to interfere with any evidence.

  Finally alone, Ross tried to focus on the job. He took in the one-room studio apartment. It was fairly neat, with a big TV and various gaming consoles hooked up, and headphones.

  “Gamer,” Ross said.

  Ben nodded. “Not a troublemaker. Who would want to hurt him? Take him?”

  “I could get our online experts to check who he games with,” Ross suggested.

  “That would help rule them out. I’m guessing they aren’t local enough to be suspects,” Ben said.

  “You think this is personal and local.”

  “I do. Roses don’t last long on a windshield. This guy would need to know their schedule, or the rose would be withered and dead before they found it. I guess that’s one sort of message.” Ben sighed, rifling through the small side table where it seemed the resident’s bills and junk mail landed.

  “Do you know where he got the roses?” Ross asked.

  “No. The grocery store has a small floral section. There’s a florist next to the funeral home. Plus plenty of places that sell flowers in the city.” Ben checked the nightstand and found some porn, condoms and lube.

  “You okay?” Ross asked.

  Ben shrugged. “Sure. Why?”

  “You stopped texting last night,” Ross said.

  “I needed to sleep. We should focus on the case, not take trips down Memory Lane,” Ben said.

  That stung, but Ross understood. “We’re not teenagers, I know. We’ve both got careers and had some boyfriends. We’ve changed a bit, maybe—but the truth is, it feels like nothing really is different.”

  “You’re saying I’m stuck,” Ben shot back.

  “No, I’m saying we’re older, more mature, but the core of who we are is the same. People don’t radically change. That’s how we know to look for markers like kids who hurt animals or set fires. Even with help, those guys generally end up killers or at least felons. We’re not so different that it’s crazy,” Ross said.

  “You’re moving back?” Ben asked.

  “No, I’d have an hour or more commute each way. The city has some perks and more options.” Ross shrugged.

  “You’re better here,” Ben said.

  “Hell no, I didn’t say that. There’s nothing wrong with here, but why not see a bit of the world?” Ross asked.

  Ben sighed. “It’s fine for you, but my dad was gone most of my childhood. He did it to earn a living, but I didn’t have a dad most of the time. Once he retired, I got a chance.”

  “Got a chance or got guilted since your mom isn’t alive to care for him?” Ross pressed.

  “Don’t,” Ben said.

  “Ben, your dad was around enough to hate me. Hate that you were gay. Now he has no control, so he doesn’t say that mean stuff as much anymore, but don’t mistake that for approval,” Ross said.

  Their eyes met and Ross felt the chill.

  “I’m not, but I’m not abandoning him either.” Ben crossed his arms over his chest.

  Ross nodded. “You’re a good guy. Those are hard to find, gay or straight.”

  “We should move on to Tony’s place. Then grab lunch and we can figure out what we want or where we are personally,” Ben said.

  “Deal.” Ross leaned in and kissed Ben before he could argue more.

  Ben tensed for a second, then pressed into the kiss like they were back in the bar. Only the annoying ringtone of Ben’s phone broke them apart.

  “Damn.” Ben fished the phone from his pocket. “Hello.”

  Ross didn’t back up much, hoping the interruption was minor. Then he saw it on Ben’s face—back to work.

  “We’ll be at the station in a few,” Ben said.

  “Another body?” Ross asked.

  “Another missing person. Let’s go,” Ben said.

  Chapter Six

  Ben checked his desk for any messages or updated reports before going into the conference room. More victims and no good leads weren’t making him look good.

  Grabbing more coffee, he joined everyone else. Ross had his laptop open and was catching up on work messages himself.

  Sheriff Larry walked in. “We have another reported missing person. I’m starting to feel like there’s a mass gay vacation planned, and we just don’t know about it.”

  “I definitely didn’t get an invite. The murder might not be connected, but too much of the profile lines up. I think it might be more that Kevin was drunk and fought back…refused to cooperate even if the perpetrator had a weapon. That matches with what we know of Kevin,” Ross replied.

  Ben nodded. “But no signs of forced entry or struggles in work or at home. Their cars are where they left them.”

  “This guy is stalking the cars and knows their schedules like the pledge of allegiance. He jacked them, but took the man, not the car. This guy has a van, or big dark SUV to load a body or more than one in. Probably a windowless panel van like we warn women not to park next to,” Larry said.

  Ben sighed. “Men think they’re safe. This guy must be part of the gay community around here or there would be more of a struggle by the car. More caution shown when a stranger approaches.”

  “This victim is Deke Walters, twenty-four. Worked the register at the grocery store. That’s a possible connection to the other victim who works there. The same assistant manager reported both missing,” Larry said.

  “Is he a suspect?” Ross asked.

  “Not likely. Married with two kids. He looks out for the younger guys at the store who don’t have a lot of family around. Deke’s grandma is in a nursing home, his dad is in jail and his mom left when Deke was in middle school.

  “The kid got in some fights as a minor. He got a job in high
school and managed to graduate—kept the job. He lives in his grandma’s doublewide that’s paid for,” Larry replied.

  “Check with the nursing home?” Ben asked.

  Larry nodded. “He missed his Sunday visit with her. Very unusual. Then no call, no show to work for two days. Rose stem was found near the trailer near his car. I just don’t get it. We’re not finding more bodies.”

  “Good. Maybe he’s not killing them all.” Ross shrugged.

  Ben leaned back in his chair. “Maybe it’s a she? A woman who was rejected by all these guys?”

  “Deke is over six feet tall and has a side hustle doing workout videos on YouTube. The guy is in excellent shape. Some of the victims are weaker, but some are pretty tough,” Larry pointed out.

  “She might have a weapon to get them in the car to talk. But she’d probably kill and dump them quickly. Bodies smell and that many bodies would really smell. Unless she’s leaving them at the dump,” Ben replied.

  “We could have a team search there,” Larry agreed.

  “Let’s hope this assistant manager has a clue,” Ross said.

  Larry nodded. “He’s in interrogation room one.”

  Ben and Ross shared a look as Larry left.

  “We’ll find Deke. I’m going to put in for trace on credit cards and see if we can ping his phone,” Ross said.

  “That hasn’t worked for any of the others,” Ben argued.

  Ross frowned. “Still worth doing. Police procedure works. It takes patience and covering the same ground over and over.”

  “I know, I’m just—I took lead on this and I’m failing,” Ben replied.

  “Failing? We’re not done yet. Valentine’s Day is coming but we’re not out of clues or options yet.” Ross stood. “Let’s go talk to this guy.”

  Ben followed and they sat in interrogation one. The man wore his work vest with its name tag. Nick Brown fidgeted a bit, but who didn’t in a police station?

  “Mr. Brown, you reported an employee missing?” Ben began.

  “Yes, Deke Walters. He’s never late, rarely sick and always calls even if his granny has an emergency or something. After Jim went missing, we all kept an eye on Deke,” Nick replied.