Though the room he'd been led into was obviously set up for conferences and meetings, the rhythmic sound of machines beeping and the smell of a hospital still penetrated the walls. Rory fumbled awkwardly with his hands as they rested in his lap, his frightened gaze continuously darted to the door, his mind distracted from the questions being asked of him.
The detective blew out an exasperated sigh as he placed a recording device in the center of the table. "Would you be more comfortable if we waited for your friend to arrive? I don't typically allow others to be present during these types of statements because we would prefer that you were unable to corroborate one another's stories at once, but seeing your current condition…"
Rory quickly shot his attention back to the detective. "No… no it's ok…" He bit into his lower lip. "But um… maybe could we leave the door cracked… just a bit…"
The detective sighed as he slid his chair back. "Again, usually we prefer that the other involved parties are not privy to any part of one another's testimonies, but… in your case…" He walked over to the door and peered out. He nodded to someone standing outside the door and moved aside as someone made their way inside.
A heavy weight suddenly lifted from Rory's entire body as he recognized Dillon's tall, slinky frame gliding through the doorway. His body perked up, and he nearly smiled in relief.
The corner of Dillon's lips lifted as he saw Rory's obvious relief at seeing him. He stroked Rory's hair as he took a seat beside him. "Sorry it took so long."
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Rory asked innocently.
Dillon's smile faded as his expression darkened. "No… I didn't." He lifted his gaze toward the detective. "How far have you gotten?"
"We haven't gotten anywhere, frankly." The detective answered matter-of-factly as he settled into his chair across from them once again, pressed record on the device, and began flipping through a file. "Since you're both here, I'll do this a bit differently." His eyes moved over the documents in the files. "Let's start with you telling me about earlier that day. I've seen the reports from the hotel. If one of you could run me through that in your own words."
Rory could feel his heart rate increase and a cold sweat break out across his brow as the memories began to come rushing back. He fisted his hands in his lap, digging his nails into his palms as he did, biting back the pain it caused.
Dillon placed a hand over Rory's, afraid he would cause more injury to his already wounded palms. "I'll start, if that's ok. We had planned to lure out the stalker with the help of hotel security and a few detectives that had been working on the case with us…" Dillon blew out an exasperated sigh as he tightened his hold on Rory's clammy hand. "But we had significantly underestimated the stalker's reach and how far he was willing to take things…" His gaze shifted to Rory. "Granted, had we listened to Rory from the start, things could have been different…"
The detective nodded. "I see it noted in several of the reports that Mr. Hartings had given a suspect several times, but due to insufficient evidence and the… reputation of the individual named… it was never looked into." He supplied as he thumbed through the file. His gaze remained on the files as he muttered. "Please continue."
Dillon frowned. His attention moved down to Rory, whose gaze was trained on the table. "Rory was against the plan from the start and ended up having a severe panic attack on stage, so I had to take him to the room. That's when we discovered gifts had already been delivered to the room, and among them, a tracking device. The officer who came to deal with the tracker had no affiliation with the hotel or the detectives who had been working with our team. He had asked to see Rory's phone and activated a location tracker within a messenger app with the stalker… I didn't know he wasn't with our team until Rin and Rory had already left for home, however…" Dillon blew out another long sigh. "I'd tried calling them several times, but neither had answered. That's when Sabastian and I had gotten worried and hauled ass to them as fast as we could. We saw a black car parked on the side of the road, a little way from the main gates of Rin's property. There are no other homes near there, so we knew something was up. That's when we got to the house… and found Rory and Rin…"
The detective's gaze lifted, shifting between Dillon and Rory. "Alright, that's good for now. I'll ask you a bit more after I hear from Mr. Hartings. Mr. Hartings, could you please fill in what happened from the time you left the hotel until emergency services arrived?"
Rory's entire body began to tremble as he forced his gaze from the table to the detective. He bit into his lower lip, trying to force it to stop quaking, but it was no use. He gasped as he felt his chair pull across the floor. His eyes shot to Dillon.
Dillon gave him a slight nod once he had his chair pulled snuggly against his own. Dillon pulled Rory against his side and whispered into his ear, reassuringly. "I'm right here by your side. Take your time and don't worry. It's all over now. You did nothing wrong." Dillon pressed his lips against Rory's forehead as he held him tight, refusing to release him and not caring that the detective was now staring at them with even more questions reflected in his gaze. He held Rory's head against his chest. "Remember, listen to my breath… my heart… and match your breathing and heartbeats with mine."
Rory nodded as he settled against Dillon. He ignored the detective's suspicious glare as he began to speak. "Rin and I argued on the way home that day… and more after we got home… that's why we didn't answer anyone's calls."
The detective's gaze shifted to Dillon. "Was the arguing about the stalking situation or something more… personal?"
Rory frowned. "Both… mostly personal, though. I guess…"
The detective's gaze stayed trained on Dillon. "Was that why the calls were ignored? Not because you were too distracted to hear the calls, but because you were arguing about the individual calling, perhaps?"
Rory's cheeks heated as understanding dawned. "You're misunderstanding… It was me questioning Rin's love for Dillon… not the other way around…" He tried to pull away, but Dillon held him tighter, and he could feel the heat of Dillon's eyes burning onto the top of his head. He stuttered as he continued. "I… I don't see the relevance of what we were arguing about…"
The detective set the file down and laced his fingers together over it. His gaze moved back and forth between the two. "I'd like to paint a clear picture of how all the parties involved are connected, Mr. Hartings… I think that is very important right now. Wouldn't you say, especially since one of the involved parties is now dead… and also the district DA's only son…" The harsh, rigid lines of the detective's face didn't waver as he continued. "There is more than one high-profile name involved in this case, Mr. Hartings, and I'd like to know exactly what I'm dealing with before the media releases a shitstorm story that makes my job even harder than it already is."
Rory could feel the blood rush from his face at the reminder of who Mike's father was. He nodded as he sank more firmly against Dillon, but to his surprise, it was Dillon who answered.
"What are the connections? Rin and I grew up together. We first met as roommates in an all-boys' boarding house in southern France. I'm sure by now you understand how problematic that was for both of us… It has been more than complicated things over the years. We have lived as a poly couple for most of our adult lives, thus Sabastian… Until recently…" Dillon nodded down to Rory. "Regardless of how much I'd love to have it any other way, this one refuses to have me… and Sabastian… well, I think he's all but done with our little group as well. As for Mr. Stalker, the media will have a field day when they find out that that was Rory's very obsessed, highly abusive ex. Anything else you'd like to know that's off topic?"
The detective gritted his teeth. "No, you've painted a very enlightening picture." He arched a brow as his gaze moved between the two. "Though, it doesn't look like you've been rejected as you've said…"
Dillon tightened his hold on Rory. "Well, I have in all the ways that matter. Now, moving on..." He gave Rory's shoulders a reassuring squeeze as he muttered. "I know it's hard, but come on, you can do it, baby… what happened next?"
"Rejected indeed." The detective scoffed under his breath.
Rory could feel pressure begin to build behind his eyes as he turned his face into Dillon's chest. "We fought long into the evening until he finally left me to take a shower alone… I thought he'd come back into my room when I heard movement outside the bathroom door… but… but when I came out it wasn't Rin." Fear began to cause Rory's words to seize in his throat. He tried to force them past the lump building there. "Mike was there… going through my things… When he saw me, his face, that sick smile… He grabbed me and started dragging me toward the front of the house and out the door…" Rory tangled his hands into the front of Dillon's shirt and dug his fingers into the fabric, ignoring the pull of the stitches in his palms. He held on like his life depended on it. "I fought against him, tried to get away… but he was too strong. My feet kept slipping on the floor. I tried to be quiet. I didn't want Rin to hear and come out… Didn't want Mike to… to…" Tears flooded Rory's eyes and began streaming down his cheeks.
Dillon held him tighter and stroked soothing circles along his back. "Shh… It's ok. Take your time, I have you."
"But I accidentally knocked over a vase by the door, and it shattered… Rin heard it and came running." Rory clung tighter, trying everything he could to be closer to feel the warmth and comfort Dillon's body provided. "Mike pulled out a gun and shot as soon as Rin rounded the corner. Luckily, I was able to bump him enough that it only grazed Rin's shoulder… but still…" More tears flooded his eyes, and the hysteria began to build in Rory's voice. "At first Mike was pissed… but it didn't take him long to realize that Rin was a biological female…" Rory's words broke. "He started taunting us both. He pushed me away to go after Rin, and I hit my head so hard against the corner of a table that it left me disoriented for a long while. He fought with Rin… and… and eventually overpowered him… and… I… can't…" Rory shook his head as he pressed closer to Dillon still.
Tears burned Dillon's eyes as he pushed his seat out and pulled Rory onto his lap. "Shh… You don't have to talk about that part. We already know what happened… what happened next, Rory. What did you do?"
Rory wrapped his arms around Dillon's neck and clung tightly. "Once I was able to move again… I… I got the largest piece of broken glass from the floor… and I stabbed him in the neck with it… over and over again until he stopped moving… until he was no longer doing that to Rin…"
"Shh… It's ok. You did what you had to. You did well, Rory. Calm down. It's ok." Dillon repeated over and over as he clung to Rory's trembling body, unable to control the cascade of his own tears.
The detective flipped quietly through the file for several minutes, giving them time to calm down a bit. "Could you explain what you saw upon finding Mr. Hartings, Mr. Pepin?"
Dillon nodded, his face buried against the bend of Rory's neck. "Rory was sitting in a pool of blood beside two bodies, one piled on top of another. The large shard of glass was still in his hand, and he was still gripping it so tightly that it was still cutting into his hands, causing bleeding. Upon a closer look at the bodies, I realized the one on the bottom was Rin and quickly rolled the other off. It didn't take long to realize what had happened. I checked for vitals right away."
"When was EMS notified?" The detective asked stoically.
"I had Sabastian call from his phone the second I had gotten to the front door and saw all the blood and unresponsive bodies," Dillon answered.
"Did you check for vitals on anyone other than Rin Perish?" The detective asked.
Dillon shook his head against Rory's neck. "I don't remember… I don't think so… It was obvious that even though Rory was in some kind of catatonic state, he was alive… just as it was obvious that as many stabs as the other guy had received to his neck, back, and head… There was no way he could have still been alive…"
The detective nodded. "I see… very well." He closed the file and turned off the recorder. "That will be it then. I'll stop by Rin Parish's room. As long as all the stories match up, I don't see that there should be any problem closing this case within a reasonable time and without too many complications. The goal of the bureau is to do so before it garners too much media attention."
Dillon gave him another nod and watched quietly as the man gathered his things and left the room, closing the door as he went. "You did well today, Rory. I know it was hard for you… But you did great. I'm proud of you." Dillon murmured against Rory's neck.
"Thank you," Rory whispered. "I… I couldn't have without you…"
Dillon stroked his back. "It's been such a hard day for you. What do you want to do now?" He frowned as his mind went back to the conversation he had with Rin earlier. If we go back into his room, will he have a proper conversation with Rory this time? After hearing all Rory had to say just now… I may yank his sorry ass up out of that bed myself if he doesn't…
Rory sniffled back his tears as he leaned back on Dillon's lap. "Can… can we go back to Rin's room for a little bit first… then… then go home?"
Dillon's heart skipped a beat at hearing Rory refer to his apartment as home. Before he even knew what he was doing, his hand was already cupping the side of Rory's face, and he was leaning in, wanting nothing more than to press his lips against Rory's moist, swollen lips. He rested his forehead against Rory's instead. "Whatever you want…"