Enough to Kill For

Chapter Thirty-Two

The day had progressed as normal, an occasional call for minor incidents or a debriefing on a report were the only major things that would pull Brian away from his desk. Throughout the day, he would text with Nathan, mostly silly conversation around customers at the café or the banter he would have with his coworkers. It wasn't until around 8:45pm did the calm and routine of a workday begin to slowly shift. A text message from Nathan had come, yet Brian was in the middle of a debrief when the text had arrived.

Nathan 8:54pm: Is there anything you want in particular? I may have to go to the store, if so.

About twenty-five minutes had passed, before Brian had returned from his meeting. He went back to his desk, taking a seat with a sigh as he looked over to Jake who was taking a stretch. "I'm ready to go home." He said with a disgruntled tone.

"You just want to have a home cooked meal and sex." Jake teased him with a smirk. "And relax, we have another half an hour and then our shift is done. At least we didn't get anything outrageous tonight."

"That's true... but its typically pretty quiet on Tuesdays anyway." Brian replied, looking at his phone to see he had missed 2 messages from Nathan.

Nathan 9:02pm: I'm heading home now. Let me know if you want something specific, otherwise you're getting a pasta dish.

A small grin came to his face after reading the message, texting back immediately.

Brian 9:22pm: You make it seem like I don't like pasta. I'm perfectly fine with it. I'll just be happy to eat something. Let me know when you get home. I should get back by 10:15 or so.

He placed his phone down to continue his conversation with Jake, mostly small talk as he waited for time to pass. Another 20 minutes had gone by, as the next team was slowly making their way in for the late shift, before a call was made on their respective radios.

"All officers on duty in precinct 12, 10-140 at 135 W Broadway. Urgent. Witness is still on site. Medical has been called and is on their way to the scene. CSI team needed on site immediately."

"Are they serious?" Jake said in shock. "How is the witness still on the scene?"

Brian was listening but was distracted looking at the time. It was now 9:45pm, and as luck would have it, he was going to be late going home. He grabbed his cell phone once again, only to see that Nathan had not responded to his last message. He frowned in surprise, as he was usually consistent in letting him know when he arrived back home. Maybe he's cooking? Brian thought to himself, sending another message, and putting his phone in his pocket before he gathered his things to follow Jake out of the building.

Brian 9:48pm: I'm going to be late, but hopefully not too long. Did you get home ok?

-

It was about a 10-minute drive from the police station as Jake and Brian had made their way to scene, with another police vehicle with two more officers not too far behind. Their sirens were on, making it much easier to cut through the traffic and stoplights along the way.

"I'm just trying to understand how in the world did they get a witness at the scene of a homicide? Was this a domestic dispute?" Jake asked as he drove towards the site of the incident.

"They didn't say that over the radio. This is a bit odd, as most of these buildings are vacant. They're supposed be demolished in the next couple of months or so." Brian answered, looking at the scene in the distance as they drove closer. There were already two other police vehicles there before them, as well as a CSI van. It was already taped off, as a small crowd was starting to form.

"When did this happen?" Jake questioned, stopping the car, and putting it into park about half a block away.

"They said it happened around 9:15, so not too long ago." Brian replied. "Can you go on ahead, I need to check something really quick." He stated, seeing Jake nod and get out of the car first and close the door behind him. Brian reached into his pocket once again to see that Nathan had not yet responded to his message. It was now 10:05pm and a feeling of anxiety had begun to set in. Why hasn't he responded yet? He decided to send another message.

Brian 10:08pm: Baby, are you ok? I haven't heard back from you.

Trying to fight the urge to not immediately retreat, he emerged from the car, beginning to head towards the scene of the crime. But as he was doing so, he decided to make a quick phone call to see if he could reach Nathan, as he was starting to get worried. As the phone began to ring, he also saw Jake quickly heading back in his direction. A frown came to his face at the way his partner was making his way over, like he had seen a ghost.

"Brian-"

As if he was delusional, Brian paused in his walking, hearing a rather distinct ringtone in the distance. At that moment, the entire area had gotten incredibly quiet and that was the only sound he could hear. His eyes widened in disbelief as he slowly removed his phone from his ear, to make sure he wasn't going crazy. He looked Jake straight in the eyes, seeing him give the exact same expression of utter terror and fear. Without much warning, he began to sprint towards the scene of the crime, only to have Jake grab him aggressively.

"Brian, you can't go over there." Jake said with such firmness in his voice, it came as a shock since he never heard him use such a tone.

"Jake, you better let me go right now." Brian threatened, a look of pure rage coming to his face.

"No. Trust me, Brian, you don't... you do not..." Jake stuttered slightly, almost losing his composure entirely has he tried to keep his partner back.

"Jake! Fucking let me go right now!" Brian yelled, wrestling aggressively with his partner until they were both on the ground. Jake tried his best to pin him down, only for Brian to literally elbow him in the gut with such force, it sent him backwards into the concrete with a loud groan of pain.

Once he was free, Brian immediately got to his feet, several other officers chasing after him to try and keep him away, yet as soon as he passed through the small crowd and into the doorway of the abandoned building, he stopped not too long after he entered, watching the scene in complete silence. In a now brightly lit room filled with dust and fractured pieces of furniture filled with detectives, forensic specialists, and medical staff, laying in a pool of blood on the wooden floor was Nathan. His body completely limp and unresponsive, several stab wounds on his chest and bruises along his body. He was pale, his eyes closed, yet his face had been completely untouched.