Missing in Miami

Missing in Miami

Chapter 1

The bailiff said, “all rise, Federal court is now in session, the honorable Franklin Rosen presiding.”

I had been in Judge Rosen’s court room several times before. He was a fair judge, and he was quick to shut down any shenanigans that any sleezy lawyer would try to pull. He stood over 6’ tall and had played quarterback when he attended the University of Florida over thirty years ago. He still looked like he could step on the gridiron and pick up right where he left off. He was in his early fifties and had been a judge for about five years. His dark wavy hair was just starting to turn grey at the temples and his piecing blues eyes were peering over the top of half-rimmed glasses that he had recently started wearing. He took his seat on the bench.

The Judge said, “please be seated. The prosecution may call their next witness.”

It was the second day of the trial, the first day was just all the preliminary procedures and both the prosecutor and the defense attorney giving their opening statements. Today all the real testimony was going to be presented.

Bill Taylor, the District Attorney, stood and said, “thank you your honor, the prosecution would like to call Detective Drake Ridgeway to the stand.”

I have worked with Bill Taylor a lot over the last ten years. He was an assistant DA under Frank Rosen until five years ago, that was when Rosen was appointed to the bench. He is also a no-nonsense man and is very thorough when preparing a case. He is careful to make sure we had all the evidence to proceed to trial and nothing was left to chance.

I took a deep breath and stood and walked to the front of the courtroom, God, I hated this part of my job. I know this asshole was guilty, hell, everyone knew he was guilty. Why can’t we just throw the scum in jail and save us all a lot of time and money. I was sworn in by the bailiff and I took my seat on the witness stand.

DA Taylor said, “Detective Ridgeway, would you please tell us about the events of July 17th of this year that led you to arrest the defendant, William Farmer.”

I cleared my throat and began, “yes sir, the department received a call that there had been an abduction of a teen at the Hillside Shopping Center at 9:40 am. I and several other detectives arrived 15 minutes later to find a group of teens and adults talking to the uniformed officers that were already on the scene. We were told that the Clover Valley softball team was holding a car wash as a fund raiser and at approximately 9:25 an older model Toyota pickup pulled up to be washed. The man driving the truck stepped out of the vehicle as the girls started to wash it. The owner of the truck stood by the driver’s side door as Halley Thomas opened the door and began washing the windows. She was the only girl on that side of the vehicle, the driver pushed her inside the truck and jumped in behind her and took off.”

The DA asked, “Detective, what did the witnesses tell you about the truck and the driver?”

I continued, “they all gave the same description of the driver, male Caucasian, about 6’ tall, wearing blue jeans and a sleeveless white t-shirt, work boots and he had a cross tattoo in the middle of his forehead. The truck was an older white Toyota with a blue right fender, red passenger door and green tail gate. The truck also had personalized license plates.”

Taylor asked, “what did those plates say?”

I answered, “GRTLVR.”

He asked, "what did you take that to mean?”

I laughed, “great lover.” I heard a few members of the jury snicker at my response.

The DA asked, “so Detective Ridgeway, what was your next course of action?”

I said, “I immediately called in the plate number and was given the name and address of the owner.”

He asked, “and who was the vehicle owner?”

I answered, “William Farmer, of 2847 Wilmar Lane.”

Taylor asked, “what did you do next?”

I said, “I and a team of officers rushed to 2847 Wilmar Lane. Just as we turned onto the street, we saw the suspected truck coming from the opposite direction. We surrounded the truck and ordered the driver out.”

The DA asked, “did the driver comply?”

I nodded, “yes, he did. As soon as he was out of the vehicle, we handcuffed him and read him his rights.”

He asked, “where you able to locate the victim?”

I said, “yes, she was in the passenger seat, her hands and mouth were bound with duct tape. We took the suspect to the police station to be processed and took Halley Thomas to the hospital to be examined and to be reunited her with her parents.”

Taylor asked, “was Miss Thomas injured?”

I shook my head, “not seriously, she had some bruising from when the suspect bound her, but we were able to intervene before he could carry out more of his plan.”

DA Taylor said, “thank you Detective Ridgeway, no further questions your honor.”

Judge Rosen, “very well Mr. Taylor, Mr. Slocum, do you have any questions for this witness?”

Dwight Slocum stood and said, “yes, your honor, thank you.”

Dwight Slocum was every sleezy lawyer stereotype rolled into one. He stood about 5’6” and weighed a little over 200 pounds with his belly hanging out of the too tight vest that he was wearing under his suit coat. He had what was left of his hair pulled back into a ponytail, it had gray streaks and what hair was on top, was a mess, trying to cover the fact he was going balder by the day. He wore a pair of glasses with quarter sized lenses that were totally out of proportion to his fat round face. I could tell he was trying to be stylish, but he sure as hell wasn’t pulling it off. As he walked toward me, I saw the soul patch under his bottom lip. I chuckled to myself and thought those things looked stupid, even when they were in style. I knew a bit about Slocum, his only real claim to fame was a case he won about eight years ago. He wasn’t a good lawyer, he just got lucky and won on a silly technicality, I don’t think he has won a case since. He got his start with his father, who was a good defense attorney. Unlike his father, he always wanted to take his cases to trial, even if he knew his client was guilty. His father would avoid a trial unless he knew his client wasn’t guilty, he usually just tried to get the best deal for those he represented. The senior Slocum had kicked his son out his law firm shortly after he won his last case eight years ago, I never heard the real reason, but was sure it was because he tried to pull something shady. I just knew that my gut would always turn whenever I was in the same room as this scum bag, and I would want to go straight home and shower whenever I had to talk to him.

Slocum said, “Mr. Ridgeway, could you please…”

I interrupted, “it’s Detective Ridgeway.”

He glared at me, “fine, Detective Ridgeway, could you please tell me about the day you arrested the defendant?”

I sighed, “would you like me to repeat everything I just said, or can we just have the court reporter read it back?” I heard several stifled chuckles throughout the courtroom.

Slocum snarled, “your honor, would you please instruct the witness to answer my questions?”

Judge Rosen sighed and said, “Mr. Slocum, Detective Ridgeway has already given a full account of the day, either ask him a question about a certain point, or move on to another line of questioning.”

Clearly frustrated, Slocum asked, “detective Ridgeway, how is it that there are hundreds of missing persons cases being worked on by the Miami Police Department that are months and years old, but you were able to arrest Mr. Farmer within an hour?”

I chuckled, “because Mr. Farmer isn’t the brightest bulb in the pack.”

He narrowed his beady little eyes and glared, “what does that mean, detective?”

I rolled my eyes, “Mr. Farmer was driving a very distinct vehicle with personal plates and has an equally distinct tattoo in the middle of his forehead. He is very easy to remember, and all of the witnesses gave the exact same description. Hell, even Barney Fife would have been able to figure this one out.”

Slocum’s face turned red, he gave me another glare, “so you are saying Mr. Farmer is too stupid to have committed this crime.”

I shook my head, “no Mr. Scrotum, I’m saying…”

Slocum’s eyes were ready to burst out of their sockets as he screamed, “it’s Slocum!”

The judge, DA and anyone in the jury that was paying attention, was now trying to stifle their laughter, so was I.

I innocently asked, “oh, what did I say?”

Judge Rosen regained his composure, “detective, please refrain from name calling.”

I said, “sorry your honor, it just slipped out.” I sure as hell wasn’t going to apologize to Slocum but I knew better than to cross the line with the judge.

A fuming Slocum asked the question again.

I said, “no, Mr. Farmer isn’t too stupid to commit the crime, he is just too stupid to get away with it.” Another round of stifled chuckles fille the room.

An even more frustrated Slocum asked me a few more questions and finally waved his hand in the air, “I have no more questions for this witness.”

I knew what he was trying to do, he just wanted to trip me up on the facts that I had given. I had been down this road enough times to know the best way to prevent that was, first, have all my facts straight. Second was to go on the defensive and make the opposing lawyer upset so that they would move on. From the notepad that Slocum had in his hand, I knew he had only asked about half of the questions he wanted to, so my tactic worked. Bill Taylor gave me a wink as I left the stand.

The rest of the day was testimony from the girls’ softball team and the parents that were at the shopping center that day. They all gave the same account of events and description of the perpetrator. Slocum tried to trip them up, just as he tried with me, but after the third girl, the judge shut him down and adjourned the trial until tomorrow morning.

Bill Taylor caught me in the hall, he laughed, “hey Ridge, I can’t believe you called Slocum a ball sack on the stand.”

I grinned, “I should be apologizing to ball sacks everywhere, they are far more pleasant than that piece of garbage.”

We talked a few more minutes until Slocum walked up to us. He gave me a look of distain, “you think you are pretty funny, don’t you, Ridge?”

I narrowed my eyes, “it’s Detective Ridgeway, only my friends can call me Ridge.”

He was just about to say something as I turned my back to him and walked away. I said goodbye to Bill and headed out of the courthouse to my car. I drove straight home, I decided I didn’t need to go back to my office. I was just doing paperwork this week, the captain wanted me to be available for court in case I was recalled to the witness stand. Besides, court always mentally drained me, I just needed to go home, have a drink and take a shower to decompress.

I parked my police issued Explorer behind my 10-year-old Jeep in my driveway. I smiled when I saw the 5-year-old Nissan that was parked next to my Jeep. I was greeted by Lucy, my three-year-old black lab as I walked in the front door. I pulled my weapon and holster from my belt and placed them with my badge in the gun safe next to my coat closet. Lucy jumped up on me for kisses and we wrestled on the floor for a minute, she always cheered me up as soon as I walked in the door. I walked into the kitchen and pulled a couple of dog treats from the cabinet and tossed them into the air as Lucy leaped to snatch them before they could hit the ground. We walked to the back door, and I let her out into my fenced backyard, this had been our routine ever since I rescued her from the shelter. I turned back to the kitchen and saw the rum and Coke sitting on the counter, I knew it was freshly made as the condensation was only just beginning to form on the glass. I took a deep drink and heard the timer on the oven turn on, I pulled the door open for a peek. Ah, lasagna, my favorite, I opened the fridge door and saw the two bowls of fresh lettuce topped with veggies. There were two pieces of cheesy garlic bread sitting on the top of the stove, ready to be put in the oven, I really didn’t deserve this. I glanced at the timer on the stove, I had an hour before dinner was ready. I took another big swig of my rum and Coke, walked to my bedroom, pulled my tie off and stripped out of my suit. Another smile crossed my face when I heard the shower running. I pushed my underwear down and stepped out of them when they hit the floor. I walked to my bathroom and pulled the shower curtain open.

Lucas grinned, “hey sexy, care to join me?”

Lucas and Lucy are the only two things on this earth that I truly loved, the only things that I ever cared about. They are my only family and they loved me too, I’m still not sure why.

Oh, I have a biological family, somewhere I guess, I’m not sure where. I was told that my drug-addicted father left as soon as I was born. My alcoholic mother was in and out of my life as my grandmother raised me. I should say, she let me live in her house, I have been taking care of myself for as long as I can remember. Grandmother died when I was 10 and after a short stay with an aunt that I only just met at grandmother’s funeral, I was sent to a series of foster homes, none of them lasting more than a year. I went to my final foster family when I was 15, I was old enough to understand that they were only taking foster kids for the monthly check they received. It was me, a 10- and 12-year-old brother and sister and another nine-year-old boy. All four of us shared a room, with bunk beds, in the basement of the house. Our basic needs were met, but it was clear that we weren’t part of the family. We each had two sets of clothes, while their “real” children had full wardrobes. For breakfast we were usually fed oatmeal, they ate bacon and eggs, we got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for our lunch, they got ham and roast beef. We were fed dinner in the basement while they ate in their dining room. I was responsible for getting the younger kids ready for school each day and getting them back home after school. I guess we were given shelter and fed so technically they were taking care of us, but I was resentful. The final straw came that next summer when they decided to take a family vacation, I heard them planning and making arrangements, their plans of course, did not include us. They gave me fifty dollars and told me, “There is plenty of food in the cupboard, this is in case of emergency, so don’t blow it.” I had had enough, I waited for an hour after they left, I used the fifty to take the kids to McDonalds and we ate a real meal. I got us all on a bus and went down to the CPS office, found our case worker and told her she needed to find a new foster home for the three younger kids and what our foster parents had done. I went to a group home and as soon as I was old enough, I joined the Army. To this day, I hope those three kids received better care and are doing well today.

After my enlistment in the Army, I heard the Miami police department was looking for recruits. I went through their training program and found myself as a patrol officer a year later. Todd Green was a detective that kind of mentored me for the next five years. He was promoted to Captain and soon had me transferred to his squad as a new detective. That was 10 years ago now, it was on my first case that I met Lucas Mills. Lucas was working in the police department’s lab, running DNA samples, and analyzing evidence. I took some items for testing to the lab and when our eyes first met, there was an immediate attraction, we both knew it. He is about 5’10” with dirty blonde hair and the most beautiful blues eyes, he is the cutest, nerdy, lab geek that I have ever seen. Within a month we were dating, and I knew he was the man for me. We knew there were rules against co-workers dating, so before our relationship was discovered, Lucas got a job at a nearby hospital in their lab, a year later we moved into the house that we still share.

I smiled at Lucas as I scanned his glistening naked body standing there in the shower smiling back at me. The loose-fitting scrubs and lab coat that he wore everyday hid an amazing body. I watched the water run down his well-defined chest with two pert quarter-sized nipples. The water continued down the wash-board abs and then to the perfectly proportioned uncut cock and slightly furry plum sized nuts and on to the muscular runners’ legs. God, I didn’t deserve this.

I stepped into the shower and said, “I would love to join you.”

My suddenly hard cock led the way as I pulled Lucas to my chest until our lips met. Our hard dicks rubbed against each other as I cupped his smooth firm ass cheeks in my hands. Our tongues continued their wrestling match as his smooth chest caressed the thick fur on mine. Lucas broke our kiss and grinned at me as he sank to his knees and took my cock into his mouth. Our eyes remained locked on each other as he began to work my dick over, just like he knew I liked it. Over the almost ten years we have been together, he knew just what buttons to push. Just before I was getting close, he stood back up for another kiss. It was now my turn to push his buttons, I kissed my way down his torso and locked my mouth on his cock. I massaged his plump nuts with one hand and started to work a finger on the other hand into that sweet tight hole he kept between those luscious ass cheeks.

Lucas sighed, “oh shit, that finger isn’t going to cut, let’s move this to the bedroom so you can fuck me properly.”

I grinned as I stood and gave him a kiss, “anything you want.”

We dried off and fell onto the bed kissing, Lucas was on his back, and I was on top of him. He spread his legs and pulled them up, I smiled at him, he was ready for my cock. I kissed my way down his body and gave his dick a quick lick then went down to his pucker. The freshly washed hole was as sweet as honey on my tongue. I worked that hole until it was covered in my saliva and Lucas was writhing in ecstasy. I replaced my tongue with my aching cock and kissed him as I sank into his love tunnel. We continued to kiss as I pumped in and out, driving us both to the brink of pure bliss.

Lucas panted, “I’m getting close.” I nodded, “me too.” A few more strokes and I sent my seed flying into Lucas, he did the same. It was as if my cum was being shot straight through Lucas and back out of his cock and onto his chest and stomach. We continued to kiss as our hearts returned to a normal beat.

I rolled to his side, and we wrapped our arms around each other. I whispered, “I love you.”

Lucas kissed my cheek, “I love you too.”

After we held each other in silence for a few minutes, I said, “we should clean up, the lasagna will be done soon.”

We rinsed off in the shower and each pulled on a pair of underwear just as the timer started to beep on the oven. We went to the kitchen, Lucas pulled the lasagna from the oven and put the garlic bread in. I let Lucy back in and made us each another rum and Coke. We set the table and sat down to eat once the garlic bread was done.

Lucas asked, “so how was court today?”

To be continued…