Read Online The Intersection of Purgatory and Paradise by A.J. Thomas - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: A.J. Thomas
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Ronan Fire Department was called out there this morning, and…. I know they found a body, a male with brown hair, but…. Oh God, do you swear he’s really there with you?”
A male body at Doug’s house? They hadn’t even been gone for a week. Christopher took a deep breath and forced his voice to stay calm and soothing. “Brittney, listen to me, okay? I’m going to go get Doug and have him call you back. Is there anyone else in the office you can send out to the scene right now? Any evidence you might find is going to become less conclusive by the minute. Can you call someone in Ronan?”
“I….” She sniffled into the phone. “I’m already on my way. Ronan’s coroner is on-site, too. I’m okay. So long as it’s not you or Doug, I’m okay. Tell him to call me back soon? Please? I’m going to have my hands full, but he can leave me a message. Just so I know he’s all right.”
“I’ll have him call right away,” Christopher promised.
Chapter 4
D OUG SAT on the back steps descending from Ray and Elliot’s patio, listening to the endless ring of Brittney’s phone again. After four rings, it went to voice mail, and he hung up and dialed again.
Christopher draped his arms around Doug’s neck. “Still no luck?”
He hung up as her high-pitched voice invited him to leave a message. “She’s still not answering. Fuck, I’ve never actually wanted her to answer the phone before. I feel useless being stuck down here.”
“You try calling Daniels?”
“Yeah. He asked where I was, how long I’d been here, and if I had an objective alibi. Then he hung up on me.”
“An alibi?”
Doug set his phone down beside him and stared at the deep canyon extending north and south behind Elliot’s small yard. The only difference between the yard and the canyon itself was that the yard was technically on the inside of the fence. Thistle, cacti, and dead milkweed covered everything. At the base of the canyon, scrub oak and palm trees grew thick along what Doug guessed was a seasonal stream. The setting sun made the entire canyon glow.
It was odd finding something so natural and rugged in the middle of a city the size of San Diego.
“Caleb Owens is dead, too,” Christopher said simply.
“The kid those little assholes teased about being gay?”
“I think so. I figured I’d see if there was any coverage of your place on the news.” Christopher passed Doug his smartphone.
He recognized the logo of one of the news stations from Kalispell at the top of the mobile webpage. The article below was a short blurb about the suicide of eighteen-year-old Elkin resident Caleb Owens, who’d shot himself in his parents’ home Sunday.
Doug glanced over his shoulder at Christopher. “Sunday? Damn. Two dead bodies in one week. A year of stolen bicycles and pot busts, and the week I leave, there are two suspicious deaths.”
“Whatever’s going on at your place today hasn’t hit the news yet, but it’s just a matter of time.”
Your place , Doug thought miserably. Of all the things that should be demanding his attention after finding out there was a body found on his property, and possibly a fire too, was the way Christopher was so damn careful to disassociate himself from their house.
But no matter how much he wished he knew what was going on back in Elkin, nothing could mute the growing dread that his life, his life with Christopher, was crumbling around him.
Doug ran his fingertips along Christopher’s forearms. His skin was still grainy with sand and dried saltwater. “I’m just kidding myself here, aren’t I?”
“Hmm?”
“You never actually meant for me to come along on this trip. You never meant to come back to Montana. Back to me.”
He felt Christopher shift behind him, felt him take a deep breath and hold it. “I didn’t expect you to come with me, but I’m glad you did.”
“But now….” Doug gestured with the phone. “Someone’s dead.” Doug passed his phone back to him and
A male body at Doug’s house? They hadn’t even been gone for a week. Christopher took a deep breath and forced his voice to stay calm and soothing. “Brittney, listen to me, okay? I’m going to go get Doug and have him call you back. Is there anyone else in the office you can send out to the scene right now? Any evidence you might find is going to become less conclusive by the minute. Can you call someone in Ronan?”
“I….” She sniffled into the phone. “I’m already on my way. Ronan’s coroner is on-site, too. I’m okay. So long as it’s not you or Doug, I’m okay. Tell him to call me back soon? Please? I’m going to have my hands full, but he can leave me a message. Just so I know he’s all right.”
“I’ll have him call right away,” Christopher promised.
Chapter 4
D OUG SAT on the back steps descending from Ray and Elliot’s patio, listening to the endless ring of Brittney’s phone again. After four rings, it went to voice mail, and he hung up and dialed again.
Christopher draped his arms around Doug’s neck. “Still no luck?”
He hung up as her high-pitched voice invited him to leave a message. “She’s still not answering. Fuck, I’ve never actually wanted her to answer the phone before. I feel useless being stuck down here.”
“You try calling Daniels?”
“Yeah. He asked where I was, how long I’d been here, and if I had an objective alibi. Then he hung up on me.”
“An alibi?”
Doug set his phone down beside him and stared at the deep canyon extending north and south behind Elliot’s small yard. The only difference between the yard and the canyon itself was that the yard was technically on the inside of the fence. Thistle, cacti, and dead milkweed covered everything. At the base of the canyon, scrub oak and palm trees grew thick along what Doug guessed was a seasonal stream. The setting sun made the entire canyon glow.
It was odd finding something so natural and rugged in the middle of a city the size of San Diego.
“Caleb Owens is dead, too,” Christopher said simply.
“The kid those little assholes teased about being gay?”
“I think so. I figured I’d see if there was any coverage of your place on the news.” Christopher passed Doug his smartphone.
He recognized the logo of one of the news stations from Kalispell at the top of the mobile webpage. The article below was a short blurb about the suicide of eighteen-year-old Elkin resident Caleb Owens, who’d shot himself in his parents’ home Sunday.
Doug glanced over his shoulder at Christopher. “Sunday? Damn. Two dead bodies in one week. A year of stolen bicycles and pot busts, and the week I leave, there are two suspicious deaths.”
“Whatever’s going on at your place today hasn’t hit the news yet, but it’s just a matter of time.”
Your place , Doug thought miserably. Of all the things that should be demanding his attention after finding out there was a body found on his property, and possibly a fire too, was the way Christopher was so damn careful to disassociate himself from their house.
But no matter how much he wished he knew what was going on back in Elkin, nothing could mute the growing dread that his life, his life with Christopher, was crumbling around him.
Doug ran his fingertips along Christopher’s forearms. His skin was still grainy with sand and dried saltwater. “I’m just kidding myself here, aren’t I?”
“Hmm?”
“You never actually meant for me to come along on this trip. You never meant to come back to Montana. Back to me.”
He felt Christopher shift behind him, felt him take a deep breath and hold it. “I didn’t expect you to come with me, but I’m glad you did.”
“But now….” Doug gestured with the phone. “Someone’s dead.” Doug passed his phone back to him and
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