Ridge
We found the three college students nervously waiting for us in the interview room. After a few minutes of trying to keep them from talking over each other, I decided it would be best to split them up. With Blake, Ollie and I each taking a statement from each of them. Surprisingly, all three statements matched almost word for word. At least we didn’t have different accounts of the same event to sort through.
I checked the time, it was getting late, and Devin was due to arrive at our house within the hour. I knew Lucas was waiting to start dinner until I called. I made the call that I was still working and wasn’t sure how long I would be now that we have another case. Lucas said that he would entertain Devin while they waited for me to come home.
I ended my call and quickly reviewed my notes. Wyatt’s abduction was very similar to DJ and Noah’s; my instincts told me that they may be related. My gut turned as I had a flashback of the Slocum sex ring case, God, I hope we didn’t have a copycat.
Devin
I had finished another round of interviews with more of the victims of the Slocum sex ring. I went back to my hotel room to take a quick shower before I went to Ridge’s house for dinner. I was really looking forward to meeting Lucas as well as seeing Ridge out of the police station setting.
As I was getting dressed, my phone began to ring, it was a number that I didn’t recognize.
I answered, “Hello, this is Devin Taylor.”
The voice said, “Hi Devin, this is Lucas Mills. I’m Drake Ridgeway’s husband and Drake just called to say he is running late and is not sure what time he will be home.”
I said, “Oh, I understand. Do we need to reschedule?”
Lucas replied, "That is up to you. I have dinner ready; I just need to put it in the oven to cook for an hour. If you want to come over, we could have a drink and wait for Drake to come home.”
I smiled when I heard Lucas call him Drake, I was sure he told me he preferred Ridge. I said, “I would love a drink, plus it would give me a chance to talk to you. If you don’t mind, I would like a little more background information on Ridge. I always like to have as many details as I can before I start to write a book.”
He said, “You can come over anytime. Did Drake give you the address?”
I answered, “Yes, he did. I already programed into my GPS, and I should be there in about 20 minutes.”
Lucas said, “I’m looking forward to meeting you.”
As my GPS said, I was parking my car in the driveway 22 minutes later. I was greeted at the door by a very attractive man and beautiful, very affectionate lab. Lucas and I exchanged handshakes and introduced ourselves. I was also introduced to Lucy. The house was in a nice neighborhood; it was a modest house surrounded by a well-kept yard. It was furnished with simple modern furniture, not unlike the things that Mike and I had in our own home. I guess it was what I was expecting, I mean it’s not like Ridge was an old slob detective that you see in some old movies and TV shows.
Lucas offered me a chair, “What can I get you to drink?”
I smiled, “I would love a beer if you have one.”
Lucas nodded, “Of course,”
He handed me the beer as he turned to mix himself a rum and Coke and joined me at the kitchen table.
I asked, “How long have you and Ridge been together?"
He smiled, “a little over twelve years, we’ve been married for 10.”
I asked about how they met and all the other usual personal questions. I noticed that each question brought at least a little smile to Lucas’s face. Each memory that he relived seemed to be a good one. My suspicions about Drake Ridgeway were being confirmed, but when Lucas told me about how Ridge was the one that wanted to adapt Lucy, I knew I was right. Ridge was a passionate cop, but he was also a big softy under that tough exterior.
I said, “I notice you call him Drake. I thought he made it clear when we first met to call him Ridge.”
Lucas chuckled, “Yeah, I have to catch myself when I talk to people that Drake works with. Me and my mom are the only two people he allows to use his first name. I guess some kid called him a duck when he was young and he has hated his name ever since.”
I laughed, “Good to know, I will be very careful to use Ridge whenever I talk to him.”
Lucas asked me about how Mike and I met. He was surprised that we met back in high school, but I explained how Conrad had caused us to part ways and not get back together for 20 years. We exchanged our other high school love stories when I told him about Matt. A tear came to his eye as he told me about Jace dying before graduation. I couldn’t help but shed a tear as well. I know Mike and I lost 20 years, but he did come back to me. Lucas never got that chance with Jace. Lucas did admit that if he hadn’t gone through that, he never would have met Ridge. At least something good did come from losing Jace.
After I had finished my second beer and Lucas did the same with his drink, he got a text from Ridge.
Lucas smiled, “Drake will be home soon, I can put the lasagna in the oven.”
It was a little later than I usually eat, but I was enjoying my time with Lucas so much that I didn’t mind a late dinner. Ridge arrived about 45 minutes later; I watched him and Lucy go through what I later learned was their nightly ritual. He did love that dog and when Lucas handed him a rum and Coke with a kiss, it was clear he loved him even more.
I didn’t ask Ridge about the new case he was working on, I knew he couldn’t give me much information anyway. Besides, that wasn’t why I was here in the first place. I told him about the guys that I had talked to already and what information I had gathered. He confirmed everything that they had told me and gave me his version of the same events. We only paused our conversation to enjoy the wonderful meal that Lucas had prepared. As the clock inched close to 9:00, I decided I should wrap things up for the night. I still wanted to call Mike when I got back to my hotel room.
Ridge said, “Sorry I was so late, and we didn’t get to cover more. I promise I will make a little time for you at the office this week.”
I smiled, “I understand, and I appreciate any time you can give me. I told you when I called that I would not interfere with your current cases. Thank you so much for the great meal tonight.”
I gave Lucas a big smile as I was putting my notebook back in my bag. I wished them a good night and gave Lucy one last pat as I headed out the door to return my room.
When I got back to the hotel I was walking through the lobby to the elevators, the young man behind the front desk said, “Mr. Taylor?”
I turned to the desk, “Yes.”
He smiled, “I have a package for you. It was delivered right after you left earlier.”
My mind raced, I hadn’t ordered anything and had no idea who would be sending me anything?
I took the package and thanked the desk clerk as I headed to the elevators again. The package was from Amazon, again, I hadn’t ordered anything, and I was wondering what it was as I walked into my room. Before I could start to open it, my phone rang. It was Mike and he wanted to Facetime.
I grinned as I answered the call, “Hey sexy.”
Mike was grinning too, and he was shirtless. That wasn’t unusual, he often didn’t put on a shirt when he showered after work.
Mike asked, “How was your day?”
I said, “it was good, I just got back to my room from my dinner with Ridge and Lucas. I have a lot of notes and got a bunch of background info on Ridge.”
Mike smiled, “That’s good.” He had a mischievous grin on his face.
It made me suspicious, I asked, “What are you up to?”
He shrugged, “Oh nothing. Did you get a package today?”
I raised an eyebrow, “Yes, did you send me something?”
His grin got bigger, “Maybe. Have you opened it yet?”
I shook my head, “No, I was just about to when you called.”
Mike held out his phone far enough to reveal that he was completely naked and was stroking his hard cock. He said, “Go ahead and open it.”
I felt my own dick start to twitch as I retrieved the box and started to open it. It was a Fleshlight kind of thing and small bottle of lube.
I chuckled, “What do you want me to do with this?”
He shrugged, “I want to suck your dick, and since we are miles apart, I thought you could use that while I watch.”
Before he even started his sentence, I was shedding my clothes and opening the box that contained the new toy. I was already hard as a rock as I climbed onto the bed and found something to prop my phone up against to give Mike the best view.
He continued to stroke his cock as I was doing the same and getting situated. He panted, “I really miss you.”
I sighed, “I miss you too.”
I squirt some lube on the toy and head of my member as Mike said, “That’s it baby, that’s my lips sliding on your cock, I love the taste of your precum.”
I groaned, “I love the feel of your lips on my cock.”
He panted, “God, you are so hot and taste so good.”
I gushed more precum as Mike talked dirty. We had never done this before, and I had never seen this side of Mike, it was really turning me on.
I had to try my best to keep up, I said, “You feel so good with your mouth on my cock, yeah, suck it.”
We continued to talk dirty, and we were both really getting into the whole scene. It of course was not the same as being in the same room, but it was surprisingly hot. I was moving the toy faster and Mike was doing the same with his hand.
Before I could get too far, Mike stopped me. He said, “Now I want you to fuck me.”
I chuckled, “Okay, how would you like me to do that?”
He said, “Take the cap off of the other end.”
He was right, the end I had been using had a set of lips on it. When I took the cap off the other end, there was a perfect pink pucker looking back at me. I lubed up again and just before I pushed my cock inside again, I looked at my screen. There was Mike grinning again and sucking on a dildo that looked surprisingly like my own cock.
He said, “I really had to look hard to find one of these that matched your sexy cock. Push your cock in at the same time I take your stand-in cock.”
I don’t know what was turning me on more, watching Mike fuck himself with that dildo, the tight Fleshlight taking my cock inside, or the fact that Mike set all of this up.
We both began to use our respective toys in earnest now; our eyes locked on each other. From the sounds we were both making, I knew we were both close. Some more dirty talk, God, Mike was good at that, we both announced we were past the point of no return.
Mike gasped, “Fill my hole, I’m cuming.”
As soon as he finished those words, I exploded. I looked at the screen and Mike’s seed was flying across his chest and the last squirt landed on his lips. He grinned as he stuck his tongue out to lick as much as he could. Not to be outdone, I brought the Fleshlight to my mouth and licked some of the cum that had leaked out of the opening.
We both started to chuckle as we lay there trying to catch our breath.
I shook my head, “When did you think all of this up?”
He shrugged, “As I was driving home from dropping you off at the airport. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to last a whole week without you. This was the best I could come up with.”
I smiled, “Well, you’re right, it wasn’t as good as being together, but it was a close second.”
We both cleaned up a bit and stayed on the phone talking for another hour. We were both looking forward to Friday when Mike was going to get into town.
Ridge
Wyatt’s friends statements matched what the patrol officers that were first called to the scene had in their reports. The officers had also talked to any other witnesses at the scene, all giving similar statements. I was now even more sure that Wyatt’s case was related to DJ and Noah’s.
As we were going over the statements, Blake noticed something in one of the witnesses’ statements.
He said, “Look, this guy said he saw a portion of the license plate. The first number is a 5.”
I nodded, “Yeah, that matches what I saw. I was reviewing the footage from the club and that’s what I thought I saw too. I have already sent it to the tech guys to see if they can enhance it.”
Florida plate numbers are three numbers followed by three letters with a space in between. Ollie was already typing on his computer.
He sighed, “Thousands of plates start with the number 5. We’re going to need at least one other letter or number to even narrow it down to a few hundred.”
I asked, “Did any of the other witnesses give any portion of the plate number?”
The patrol officers both shook their heads after they checked their notes. I guess having one number is at least a start. We called the witness that gave the partial plate number and set up a time to talk to him in the morning. We had to double check to see if he remembered anything else.
Just as we getting ready to let Wyatt’s friends go home, a young man burst into the station, very panicked.
He asked, “Where is Wyatt?”
I pulled him into the interview room and asked, “Who are you?”
He said, “I’m Jon Thomas, Wyatt’s boyfriend.”
One of Wyatt’s friends said, “I called him Detective Ridgeway, I thought he should know.”
I asked, “So Wyatt is gay?”
Jon sighed, “Yes. Does that mean you aren’t going to keep looking for him?”
I shook my head, “Of course not Jon. If I had known Wyatt had a boyfriend, I would have called you myself. It does change how we investigate the case though. I promise you; it makes no difference to me that you, Wyatt or anyone else is gay or straight.”
Jon relaxed a bit, then asked, “So what do we do now?”
We asked Jon all the standard questions. He had a late class, otherwise he would have gone with the group to Walmart. He and all the others were clearly upset, and I was certain none of them had anything to do with Wyatt’s abduction. We finished going over the rest of the statements and got the contact information for Jon and Wyatt’s friends for any other follow-up questions and sent them home. We also decided to call it a night, and I sent Blake and Ollie home too. I called Lucas to let him know that I was on my way home. He told me Devin was still at our house.
I arrived home to the sweet smell of Lucas’s lasagna cooking. Of course, Lucy gave me my love as I put my gun and badge in my safe. Lucas also gave me some love as he handed me a freshly made rum and Coke. I joined Devin at the table as Lucas finished preparing our dinner.
I said, “I’m sorry I was late, we had a slight development in our case.”
Devin said, “No apology needed Ridge, I told you I wouldn’t interfere with your current case. I just appreciate you inviting me to your home. Lucas has been a very gracious host.”
I smiled at Lucas as he gave me a sexy grin. I said, “I would expect nothing less from him, he is the perfect husband.”
I think Lucas blushed, God, he was so cute when I embarrassed him. Devin even noticed and grinned.
Once Lucas put dinner on the table, Devin told me about the interviews he had conducted over the last two days. I confirmed what he already knew and walked him through the raid on the country house and the apartment building. With the questions he was asking, it was clear that he was doing a thorough job and was truly interested in getting all the facts. My opinion of Devin was only improving with every conversation we had. I kept expecting him to ask about my current case at any time, but he never did. Most writers I have ever dealt with are always trying to squeeze out any extra information they can.
After I had answered most of his questions, the conversation did drift to more personal topics. It was clear that he and Lucas had had a good talk, and he knew a lot about how and when we met. It was interesting to learn a little bit more about his life too. I could see he truly cared for his husband, Mike, just as much as Lucas and I care about each other. It’s too bad they lost 20 years because of that guy Conrad, but it seems as if they are making up for lost time now.
Devin had put his notebook away when we started talking about our personal lives and he assured me that portion of the conversation was off the record. He did say that those kinds of questions did give him a lot of insight and help him write about the people in his books. I may have to buy one of his books and read it now.
Devin looked at his watch, “Wow, it’s getting late. I’ve taken enough of your time.”
I said, “No, not at all. I just hope I have been able to help you with your research.”
He smiled, “Yes, you have. Besides, I want to get back to my room to call Mike.”
Lucas said, “It’s too bad he didn’t come with you to Miami.”
Devin chuckled, “He’s afraid to leave his shop for more than a day. He has some great employees that would be just fine without him, but he’s sure the place would burn down without him. He’s coming to town on Friday afternoon; we’re staying until Sunday. We want to spend Saturday at the beach. Mike saw the ocean for the first time on our honeymoon and other than the time he helped move from Houston, I don’t think he has been out of Oklahoma. I hope he has a good flight; this is the first time he ever flown alone too.”
I said, “If I have my case wrapped up by the time he gets here, I would love to meet him. Maybe we can go out to dinner or even go to the beach with you.”
Devin smiled, “That would be great. Even if you don’t have your case solved, I will at least bring him down to the station to meet you and we can stop by the house so he can meet Lucas. If we do get to go to dinner, it will be my treat, it’s the least I can do after the wonderful meal Lucas made tonight.”
Lucas said, “It was my pleasure, and you better bring Mike by, I would never forgive you if I don’t get to meet him.”
Devin said goodbye to Lucy as he walked out the door. Lucy liked him too, that proved to me he is a nice guy. Lucy is a very good judge of character.
After Devin left, Lucas said, “He is a great guy, I can’t believe you didn’t want to talk to him.”
I shrugged, “Yeah, I made that assumption from a phone call, I stand proven wrong.”
I gave Lucas a kiss as we finished cleaning up the kitchen and falling onto the couch in each other’s arms.
Lucas asked, “So, how is your case coming?”
I sighed, “Another guy disappeared today, we think it’s related to the other disappearance.”
Lucas and I would talk about my cases, but only in general terms. I never gave him names or details until the case was solved, by then it was usually in the news.
He said, “I’m sorry. I’m sure you’ll figure it out, you always do.”
He gave me that cute smile that always makes me melt. I gave him another kiss as we cuddled on the couch. Of Course, Lucy had to join us, she never likes being left out. Once we both started to doze off, we decided to go to bed. I wanted to get to the station early in the morning, I had lots to follow up on.
To be Continued…
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