Enough to Kill For

Chapter Six

"I have no idea who this person is and why they're sending me these messages. They just started very recently, about two days ago." Tristan answered, his voice filled with panic.

"And you've never replied to them? At all?" an officer asked from across the table.

"Never. You can check the sent folder on my profile. I never bother to reply to anyone who doesn't have an image. It's... more of a personal standard."

"Alright... Well, Mr. Bell, we're going to have to take your laptop for further investigation. We'll need it to trace the IP address, and we may also contact the dating site you used to see if we can pull some information about this person." The officer spoke, before turning off a recorder that was being used to capture the conversation.

"Would I be able to pull my teaching documents beforehand? It's the only computer I have to do work on." Tristan asked.

"That's fine. We can give you a temporary computer for the time being until we do our research. It may take several days to a week, but we'll make sure to give it back to you in one piece. Give me a second to call in someone from our IT department, and they can help you transfer over any files you need." The officer stated, getting to his feet and making his way out of the small interrogation room.

    The sound of the door closing shut behind the police officer echoed through the room, signaling that Tristan was alone once again. While he could clearly see outside the room into the very active police department, he couldn't hear any noise. For some reason, this reignited the same feelings he felt inside his apartment.

After opening the message and seeing the traumatizing photo, Tristan's instinct was to seek out some form of help and protection. The police officers from earlier couldn't have been very far from his building. He called the officer that left his card immediately. He wasn't sure what he would've done if he had opened that message without any form of contact with the police beforehand. For all he knew, someone could be watching him, enough to know when he left home. The idea struck him hard, an unsettled feeling of someone's eyes gazing upon him from a distance making him shift in his seat from nervousness.

    Little did he know that at this exact moment, blue eyes were gazing in his direction, strongly. They stared in an intent manner, fully engrossed as they watched Tristan's every move with deep captivation.

    "What are you doing, Jake? You look like a hungry animal staring at prey..." A voice stated in slight amusement.

    The sound of his partner's voice made him jump in surprise, looking over in a confused manner. "Brian, I didn't know you were coming in tonight." Jake stated with a bashful laugh, embarrassed that he had been caught looking like a child in a candy store.

    "I have to work the late shift tonight, and you're avoiding my question..." Brian spoke with a smirk. "What were you looking at?"

    "I wish you weren't such a damn good detective..." Jake muttered under his breath. "But, I was looking at the guy I bumped into earlier today."

    "You bumped into several guys today, Jake..." Brian stated with a chuckle, beginning to look through the stacks of paperwork on his desk.

    "No! Well, I mean... yeah... but you know which one I'm talking about. The one that shocked the hell out of me... the one at the bookstore..." Jake spoke quietly, his gaze going over towards the interrogation room once again.

    Brian's hands stopped moving instantly, his gaze not helping but move in the same direction as his partner's. The encounter at the bookstore caused his heart to skip a beat when he caught sight of this stranger. At first, he thought Jake was just flirting, which was a normal exploit with most men and women Jake fancied. But, when the young man gazed up towards him, it took everything within him to not jolt back in disbelief. "Why... is he here?" Brian forced out, trying to keep his composure.

    "No clue. He's been in there with a uniform for a good hour. God, Brian... he looks just like him." Jake stated in fascination, not sure if his eyes were deceiving him or not.

    "Stop." Brian stated firmly, his face stern and annoyed. "Don't... even compare someone to him. You know I... I don't..."

    "I'm sorry. I know. I shouldn't have said anything." Jake spoke quickly, realizing his mistake. "I couldn't help it... It's uncanny..."

    Silence was all Brian could return, not wanting to show any form of interest in this stranger. That's what he hoped for this person to remain: an outsider. An insignificant individual that just so happened to be in a situation related to his job. He ignored Jake, who was leaning against his desk as he watched police officers escort Tristan out of the room towards a bench for him to rest on, not helping but to be fixated on him. Brian kept his eyes on his desk, not wanting to acknowledge Tristan's existence, for his own sanity.

    "Detectives Kelly and Kingston, come into my office." A voice shouts from across the room, catching their attention.

    "Really? A case this late at night? Do people not sleep anymore?" Jake moaned as he pushed himself off Brian's desk, seeing his partner get to his feet and make his way over towards an office.

    "At least it won't be a boring night." Brian protested softly, keeping his eyes from drifting in Tristan's direction, fighting the impulse to interact with him. Once inside, Jake closed the office door behind them, as they stood in the middle of the room. "Captain, what's up?"

    Captain Frank DeMosse, a man in his mid-50s, sat in a chair across from the two detectives, removing a pair of gold reading glasses from his face as he looked up from several papers in front of him. His gray eyes peered out towards them, looking between the two in a pensive manner, his salt and paper hair slightly ruffled before he ran a hand through, leaning back into his seat with a sigh. "Boys... looks like we have a homicide on our hands."

    "Really? Fill us in." Jake stated excitedly, taking a seat in a chair near the desk. Brian remained standing, yet just as curious.

    "Seems like someone might be jealous, or either very protective of a guy. However, this guy has no idea who the killer could be." DeMosse stated, shifting the papers over towards the two, so they could see. "The killer murdered a Robert Branson in an alley, several stab wounds to the chest and stomach, before leaving him for dead. A homeless guy stumbled across the body and reported it. No weapon was left behind, and no sign of DNA has been found just yet."

    "They have any idea what he was stabbed with?" Brian asked, taking the documents into his hands carefully, his bright blue eyes scanning over them.

    "Appears to be an average kitchen knife. So, nothing horribly significant." DeMosse stated.

    "Why do you say someone may be jealous, Captain? You think that's the motive?" Jake asked, confused.

    "I'm pretty sure it is. Apparently, the guy in question met with Robert Branson just an hour before his death. They had a bit of an argument afterwards, and it wasn't a nice sight for onlookers. I can easily see someone, with stalker tendencies, killing Robert over it." DeMosse spoke confidently.

    "The guy we're speaking of is named Tristan Bell?" Brian asked, looking up from the documents in his hands.

    "Right. He's sitting outside on the bench." DeMosse motioned a hand towards the door passively, yet he raised an eyebrow when he saw the look of amazement on Jake's face.

    "You mean... that guy... the really adorable looking one?" Jake asked, his eyes wide and gleaming with hope.

    "Keep your cock in your pants, Kingston." DeMosse spoke through gritted teeth. "I was skeptical on putting you two on this case, because I know how Jake can get. But, Brian... I want you on this case."

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A/N: Things are starting to get interesting. I promise they get more intriguing as the story progresses.

A special thanks to my Patrons oooweemama and Ella!  As a thank you to Patrons, I will be including them at the end of my  chapters to show appreciation for their support.  Like always, if you  want to read a chapter ahead, it will be up on my Patreon tomorrow before  being posted next week.

Until then!

-Blu