Foxe Hunt (10 page)

“Smells wonderful.” Keith took the seat he’d taken last time and after placing the cloth napkin in his lap, took a forkful of fish.

Skyler waited. He had cooked for Sidney plenty of times, and even made Thai for Philip and Jamie, but this was the first time
72 Haley Walsh

he really wanted to please someone.

Keith chewed with a barely concealed smile. He glanced up at Skyler and grinned. “It’s great.”

Skyler drank his wine, relieved. “So what’s new in the world of biology?” he asked, tucking into his dinner.

Keith pushed the zucchini around with his fork and finally speared a chunk. “Well, nothing so startling that we need to alert the Nobel committee, but the kids are developing proposals for the upcoming county science fair.”

“Lots of baking soda volcanoes and dissected frogs?”

“I’m encouraging some more thoughtful projects. Some of the kids are really getting into it. Heather Munson—I think she’s in your class—had a very interesting green energy proposal.”

“That’s my Heather. She’s a pretty smart one. She might just solve the world’s fossil fuel problems and still look Goth doing it.”

Keith smiled. “I wouldn’t be surprised.” He took a sip of wine and set the glass down at the top of his plate. “Sort of makes me look forward to having my own kids someday.”

Skyler choked on a bit on fish and coughed into his napkin.

“You all right?” asked Keith, reaching over and pounding on his back.

Skyler held up a hand. “I’m fine,” he sputtered. “So. You…w-want your own kids?”

“Yeah. Someday. How about you?”

His fork trailed languid circles in the fruit relish. “I really like kids. Wouldn’t be teaching if I didn’t, but…my own? I don’t know.”

Keith set his fork down. “Why not?”

“I don’t know. Raising kids. Alone. My mom raised me by herself and it was such a struggle. I barely saw her because she was working so much.”

“What happened to your dad?”

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73

“They divorced when I was twelve.”

“Does he live nearby?”

“Haven’t a clue. Last time I talked to him was in 2001.”

Keith said nothing, but when Skyler looked up his face wore a soft expression. “Your mom must be quite a special person.”

“She is. I really respect her for the sacrifices she made.”

“Skyler, I don’t suppose it occurred to you that you wouldn’t have to raise a child alone. You might…” Keith kept his eyes down and toyed with the napkin in his lap. “You might find a partner someday. Maybe even get married if it ever becomes legal here.”

Skyler froze and stared at Keith. “Marriage?”

Keith poured Skyler and then himself more wine, his mouth firming into a straight line. “It has been known to happen.”

“I’ve seen how marriage works. No thanks.”

“Just because your family—”

“What about
your
family,” he said quickly. “Folks still married?”

Keith corked the bottle and set it down. “Yes, as a matter of fact. Forty years. My older brother has been married for twenty and my younger sister has been with her husband for fifteen. No divorces.”

Skyler took a hasty gulp of wine. “I guess some people still do stay married.” He dipped his fork into the last of his vegetables while Keith quietly ate, watching Skyler with a hooded expression.

Finally, Keith took a deep breath, smiled, and with his glass in his hand, asked, “So how’s English Lit going?”

Relieved the conversation had shifted, Skyler relaxed. He hadn’t realized how tense his shoulders had become. “It’s a good blend of history and lit. The dialogue has been great in all the classes. Right now the freshmen are doing
To Kill a Mockingbird
, the sophomores are getting into
The Great Gatsby
, the juniors are starting
Ragtime
, and the seniors have completely lost the plot.”

“It’s a little early for senioritis, isn’t it?”

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“We’re a progressive school.”

Keith chuckled, a pleasant rumble that Skyler felt deep in his chest. He appreciated that Keith had dropped the subject of kids and marriage when Skyler was obviously uncomfortable with it.

He hadn’t realized himself how much the subject bothered him.

Freud would have a field day
. Fortunately, there was plenty to distract him. Keith himself was a pretty good distraction. Skyler watched the man talk, followed the curve of his lips and the white flash of teeth. And every now and then, Skyler shivered pleasantly from the reverberation of Keith’s renewed laughter.

They continued to talk and finished everything, including the bottle of wine, in short order.

Keith wiped his mouth with his napkin and set it aside. The conversation had abruptly come to a halt. Those blue eyes rose and nailed Skyler to the spot. “It’s a school night,” said Keith, rising.

“Yeah.” Skyler rose, too.

“It’s getting late.”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe I should…”

Skyler moved around the table and stood before him. He really was the handsomest thing. His cologne was Skyler’s downfall.

He loved a man who smelled good. Reaching up, Skyler touched Keith’s scratchy jaw with his fingertips and leaned closer.

Keith bent forward and before Skyler knew it, he was met with warm lips and a wet, curious tongue. Their bodies melted together. Skyler’s long fingers closed around those hard biceps, but only managed to circumnavigate them halfway around.

Keith’s large hands skimmed down Skyler’s back, dropping lower, until they reached his bottom and squeezed a handful of each cheek.

They made their way to the sofa, and even before they reached it, Skyler’s shirt was up and off. He worked on Keith’s buttons, mouth never tearing away from the man. Trousers and underwear Foxe hunt
75

were soon discarded and, naked, Skyler straddled his hairy thighs, writhing in his lap. Keith’s fist wrapped around both their cocks, squeezing them together, as he slowly stroked. He smeared his palm over the heads of both reddened crowns, blending their pre-cum and using it as lube. The stroking became intense and Skyler arched back, letting the feeling overwhelm him.

The phone rang.
Let it ring
, Skyler thought dreamily, pleasure coiling deep in his gut and traveling lower. When the machine switched on, he heard Sidney’s urgent voice.

“
Skyler. Skyler! Pick up the goddamned phone! It’s Sidney. Skyler. Ah
fuck. Okay. I hate to be the one tell you this and on your machine, and all,
but… Look, Skyler, we had no choice. The evidence… The thing of it is, we
had to arrest your friend Jeff…for the murder of Evan Fargo
.”

Skyler hopped off of Keith’s lap and fell on the floor, nearly hitting his head on the coffee table. The news was enough to wilt his erection, and he began grabbing his clothes from the floor.

“Keith, I’m so sorry, but I have to go.”

“Skyler,” said Keith, looking dazed. “What’s going on?”

“Evan and Jeff are partners and they were just kicked out of the Army for Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” he said, pulling up his trousers and zipping the fly. Keith was slowly gathering his own clothes, though his cock was still mouthwateringly stiff. Skyler looked away and grabbed his shirt where it had been discarded.

“Evan was wounded and lost a leg. He was really depressed and it looked like he killed himself.”

Keith gasped and froze.

“Yeah, but then it came out that he was murdered.”

“
That’s
the friend you were waiting around for? That’s not the guy I met the other night, is it?”

“No, you met Philip. He’s a friend. Well…” He pulled his shirt over his head and tugged it down in place. “Jeff is an old friend, too. So is Evan. The d-deceased. This is really awful. Sid’s made a terrible mistake and I’ve got to sort this out.”

“Of course. Sidney’s your friend…the detective.”

“Yeah. This sucks so much.” He sat on the sofa, pulling on his shoes.

Keith dressed quickly and offered to go with Skyler to the police station, but Skyler declined, thinking how sweet it was of him to even say. They kissed lingeringly at the door with promises of getting together again soon. With a wave, Keith was gone and Skyler was left to grab his wallet and trot down the stairs.

He probably broke a few speed laws getting to the police station but he was thankful to make it there quickly. Tired women
78 Haley Walsh

with drawn faces sat on the uncomfortable seats in the lobby.

Children were sleeping on their laps or tugging at their skirts.

The harsh fluorescent lighting cast no shadows over the line of people snaking toward the front counter. Skyler got in line and followed the roped barrier until he reached the policewoman sitting behind a wide sheet of bulletproof glass. She was a little older than Sidney and had her brown hair pulled back in a severe ponytail. “Can I help you?” she repeated, her voice muffled by the glass.

“A friend of mine was arrested and I don’t know if I can bail him out or what I’m supposed to do.”

“Name?”

“Mine or—”

“The one arrested.”

“Oh. Jeff Dwyer.”

She typed it into her computer and shook her head. “I don’t have that name. Could be he wasn’t processed yet.”

“My friend is the detective on the case. Sidney Feldman.”

She typed something else in and then looked up. “Detective Feldman appears to be in interrogation right now. If you want to talk to her you’ll have to wait.”

Interrogation? Was she in there interrogating Jeff right now?

“Can I leave a message for her? Let her know I’m here?”

She pulled over a yellow pad, held her pen, and looked up expectantly.

“Um…tell her Skyler Foxe is here in the lobby.”

He spelled his name for her and she wrote it down, then tore off the top sheet.

He didn’t see what she did with it but he thought it best to get out of the way. “Thank you,” he said and shuffled out of line, found an empty chair, and slid into it. He stared at the big institutional clock on the wall, not unlike the clocks they had at school. It read nine-fifteen.

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The minutes crawled by. Skyler found himself stealing surreptitious glances at the others. Some of the children were running around loose, while some were hugged by anxious women. An old man with gray stubble who smelled like cigarettes sat beside Skyler, thumbing the corner of a black leather-bound Bible. A young man, a little younger than Skyler, sat opposite him, and was staring openly. He was Caucasian with a shaved head and wearing a dirty T-shirt and wide-legged jeans, with a silver-studded black belt threaded through the belt loops. He looked like the type to carry a switchblade or gun. He kept staring at Skyler and Skyler kept glancing nervously at him. Was he coming to bail out one of his gang member friends or was he here to be arrested?

Skyler couldn’t stand it anymore and jumped out of his seat.

It was too cold to stand outside so he lingered at the door, stepping aside when a cop or civilian entered or exited. It seemed that few people were leaving. Instead, they were waiting, all waiting for something.

An hour and a half went by before his cell rang. He looked at the number with relief. “Sidney?”

“Are you still at the station?”

“Yeah, I’ve been hanging out in the lobby for over an hour.

What’s going on?”

“Jeff is going to be here a while.”

“What? Sidney, you’ve made a mistake. Jeff would never do this.”

“Skyler, I’m not going to argue with you. Your friend says he needs some medication at home. Will you go get it for him?”

“Yes, of course. What—”

“I wouldn’t ordinarily do this but since he has no family to do it for him and you guys are friends, I’m bending the rules. It’s for high blood pressure. Here’s the name of the stuff.” Sidney rattled off the name on the bottle. “Bring that and only that. I’m sending someone out to you with the key. Don’t dawdle. Just do
80 Haley Walsh

this, okay, Skyler.”

“Yeah, all right. Sidney, can I bail him out tonight?”

“Not until tomorrow. Bring back the meds and I’ll call you later tonight. Very late.”

Before he could ask anything else, the call clicked off.

“Jeez.” He stuffed the phone in his pocket and looked up just in time as a skinny young cop stepped through the heavy metal door. “Skyler Foxe?” he called to the room. People looked up but no one moved.

Skyler ticked a glance at the skinhead and waved at the policeman. “Hi, um, yes, I’m Skyler Foxe.” The policeman looked at Skyler and took him over to the counter. He took out a paper and put it down on the counter along with a pen from his breast pocket. “Could you sign here?”

As soon as Skyler did, the cop handed over a small manila envelope. Skyler felt the shape of a metal key inside. “Thanks.”

The officer said nothing but as Skyler was walking out, the skinhead smiled at him and mouthed “Skyler.”

§ § §

“I’m never going there again,” he told himself in the car, but then realized he’d be returning there just as soon as he completed his mission to secure Jeff ’s meds.

“Jesus Christ. How can she work in such a depressing place?”

At least Sidney wasn’t the officer sitting at the counter. No wonder she worked hard to get a detective badge. She was the youngest on the force to get one, too. Not only because she was smart, but she well knew it was due to the fact that they had no female detectives and there was pressure to promote. Sidney was pragmatic and took it all in stride. She knew she would prove herself and Skyler knew it, too.

He pulled the car over next to the curb in front of Jeff ’s house and looked out the passenger window. The house was dark except for a weak porch light that only illuminated the front stoop. The long concrete walkway that cut the lawn in two was Foxe hunt
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a dark gray under a night sky and the shadows cast by the giant umbrella shapes of date palm trees.

Skyler got out of the car and headed up the walk, key in hand.

He cringed going up the steps, thinking about the last time he had been here, when Evan was wheeled away in a body bag. Jeff, with all those scratches up and down his arms. Sidney said the killer had forced the gun in Evan’s mouth and he had fought.