Missing

Cascade, Washington

Frankie had only been there a few months and couldn't believe his luck as the student sat in Glen's office. He was perfect, just how he liked them, pale and compact. It looked like the move from Spokane would be worthwhile after all. Jonathan…the name rolled off his tongue perfectly just as the names of his other "friends" did. He couldn't wait for that weasel Francis to quit talking. He had some questions of his own.

Ten Days Later

Jim Ellison, police detective and Sentinel, was awakened by the ringing of the phone. In that few seconds between sleep and wakefulness, the sound was almost deafening to his ears. Thanks to Blair, the man lying next to him, he had learned how to control his senses and the sound was quickly brought down to an acceptable level. "Yeah," he said sleepily into the receiver. "Hold on just a moment." He was nudging the younger man, who had no problem whatsoever sleeping. He did, however, have a problem waking up.

"Huh?" came a groggy reply from under the covers.

"Blair, phone."

Blair finally reached a hand out from under the covers and took the phone. "Hello." He listened for a minute. "Slow down, Jon. Be at my office by eight, okay? Are you sure you don't need to see me now? Okay. Eight, right."

"Trouble?"

"I hope not. He's a student of mine, sounded upset, but said it was nothing that couldn't wait until morning. I'll take my car and meet you at work later. I hope he's alright." He moved over so that he could rest his head on Jim's chest. Jim wrapped his arm around Blair's shoulders, partly out of habit and partly as comfort, and laid awake until he was sure Blair was asleep before he himself could finally go back to sleep.

At noon the next day, Captain Banks was on the phone with the security chief at Rainier University. When the call was finished, he walked to the door of his office. "Jim," he said loudly. "Get Sandburg and get in here, pronto."

Detective Ellison swung around in his chair as he continued the conversation he was having with the person on the other end of the phone. He held up one finger indicating he'd be right there then wrote something on a sheet of yellow sticky paper before hanging up. Just as he was about to dial his number, Blair walked off the elevator, a serious look on his face. A serious look on Blair's face isn't a good thing.

"Hey, Chief, I was just going to call you. Simon wants us in his office right now." He looked at Blair for a second, knowing something was very wrong. "What's wrong?" His voice was tender and concerned for what was bothering his partner and lover.

Before Blair could answer, Simon's voice boomed out. "You two, get in here."

Jim gave Blair a 'we'll talk about this soon' look and the two men walked into their captain's office. Once the door was closed and all three men were seated, Simon started to speak. "I was just on the phone with the chief of security at Rainier. One of their students is missing and they're afraid something's happened to him."

"Oh, my God," Blair said quietly.

Simon ignored the comment, thinking it to be a general reaction to the situation since Blair was affiliated with the school. He continued speaking. "The student's name is…"

"Jonathan Bradshaw," Blair interrupted.

"Jonathan Bradshaw. Right. How did you know?"

"I was supposed to meet with Jon this morning, but he never showed."

"And that's reason to believe he's missing? He may have just overslept."

"No, no. You don't understand. He called late last night. Jim, you remember the call, around two thirty?" Ellison nodded as Blair continued. "He said he needed to see me this morning. He sounded upset, but wouldn't tell me anything over the phone. He said it could wait." Blair sighed. "He never showed. I called his dorm and no one had seen him since about ten last night." Blair stood and walked toward the door.

"Blair, hold up. What did the campus cops say, Captain?"

"Some hikers found his car down by the North Cascade Bridge early this morning. Since that's part of the Rainier campus, they called the campus police and the campus police called us." Simon picked up another file. "I just got this. Seems that this Bradshaw isn't the only missing student, just one of four total, now.

"Four? And we're just now hearing about them?"

"He's the first from Rainier. The others are from other universities around the state."

Jim took the file from Simon and left the office with Blair.

Frankie stared out of the window. Although it had been raining fairly steadily for the past two days, there was now just a fine mist in the air. He loved the rain. It washed away a multitude of sins, making everything clean and fresh. The red baseball cap caught his attention. Luckily, Glen was ready to leave and he hoped they could get down to the sidewalk before the young man disappeared. He looked like he was waiting for someone. He prayed that they would be late and was pleased to see that young man was still there, hands in his pocket to ward off some of the chill that the rain brought with it. He watched through the glass of the door for a moment, the image somewhat blurred. The fact that this was almost too easy didn't escape his notice. Glen opened his large black umbrella and they walked down the concrete stairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Cascade, Washington

Five Days Later

Jim could tell that Blair was very upset about the situation as he perceived it. A young college student had contacted Blair for help or advice or both and now he was missing and possibly in great danger. He knew Blair was blaming himself for not doing something sooner which was crazy because there was nothing he could have done. He reached over and rested his hand on Blair's thigh. Blair put his hand over Jim's and gave a little squeeze letting his lover know he was okay.

"Here we are," Ellison said, pulling over behind the Rainier security vehicle. There were already two patrol cars at the site. The two men were briefed on the facts so far then went to check out the abandoned car, a late model Mustang. There was no evidence of foul play other than the fact that the car was abandoned in a remote area and the passenger side door was left ajar.

"Officer, you said the door was open when the car was found?"

"Yes, sir. The kids who found it claim they didn't touch anything. They just looked in."

Jim nodded, seeing the Crime Scene Unit personnel arrive with their equipment. He moved away from the car. Blair stood next to him. "Anything?"

"No." He looked at the surrounding forest, training his vision on an area several hundred feet from where they were standing. Ellison thought back to the call, visions of a boy, or rather a young man, in a phone booth with the door open so the light wouldn't be on. Boyish looking, fair skin and light hair, wearing a red shirt and baseball cap. "Come on, Chief," he said as he started walking. Blair quickly followed. After a few minutes they stopped. It was then that Blair saw the red baseball cap partially obscured by the thick foliage.

When they finished up at the scene, they went by Bradshaw's dorm to question other students. They all confirmed what they had told Blair earlier. No one had seen Jonathan Bradshaw since ten the night before. They talked to his counselor, Glen Francis, who could only say that the young man was a good student and from what he could tell, a "very responsible young man". Blair already knew that, but Mr. Francis didn't have anything further to add.

They went back to the station to report to the captain. Simon was chewing on an unlit cigar, hating that he couldn't smoke while he worked. "I've already notified Bradshaw's father that his son was missing. He hasn't seen his son in several months, but they talked this past weekend, on Sunday. Young Bradshaw called home every Sunday afternoon. The father's driving in from Bellingham tonight. I want the two of you available.

"I hate that part of all this, having to tell parents or spouses bad news about their loved ones."

"I never liked that part either, but right now all we know is that this kid is missing. Let's keep it at that." Jim and Blair nodded in agreement. They sat at the table in Simon's office and went over the file of the other missing students. All were male with a similar build and coloring…blond and compact. They were all also art majors. Young Bradshaw was taking anthropology as an elective.

"How was this kept out of the news?" Blair asked. "Three missing students, you'd think it would have been all over the T.V. news and in papers."

"Well, first of all, no one thought there was a connection. Three students in four years, probably thought of as random incidents. I'm sure they made the local news wherever it happened. We need to get more updated information on these others. I'll fax the other schools for the information on their students.

It was early evening before they got back the preliminary forensic results. There was nothing conclusive at this point. DNA from the cap proved to be Bradshaw's, but Jim knew that would be true. The dorm room had been gone over thoroughly and the car had been towed back to the lab.

Jim, Blair and Simon ate a quick dinner then talked with Mr. Bradshaw when he came in. He didn't seem to be able to offer any new suggestions. Jim glanced at the clock when the two men walked through the door of the loft. It was after midnight, he noticed. Blair walked listlessly into the bathroom and turned the shower on. Jim joined him under the hot spray of water and they took turns washing each other, loving the feel of hands sliding over their skin. Though enjoyable, the movements were subdued, more comforting than sensual. Once they were dried off, they climbed into bed, spooning together and were soon asleep. Neither one slept well. They would both be up early, knowing what could happen if they didn't find Jonathan Bradshaw soon. They also knew it might already be too late.

Frankie watched as the pickup drove away. "At least the cops didn't talk to me today. What do I care if they did anyway? They don't know me and there was no reason for them to suspect me of anything. No one else ever had. They haven't found any of my other friends, either. Sometimes cops were just so clueless." He laughed. "Cops…clueless, get it?" No one heard the laugh echoing around the small room.

~~~~~~~~~~~

That morning

Jim and Blair had been told that Bradshaw's roommate, Eli Saunders, worked at the café for a few hours three mornings a week. They each ordered a coffee and sat in a booth by the window, soon joined by the student.

"I only have five minutes. What do you need to know? I want to help."

Saunders was asked if he knew of anything bothering Bradshaw in the past few weeks before he disappeared, or if he had been having problems with anyone in particular. He said that Jon had been a little quieter than usual, but didn't know why.

"Does he have a girlfriend?" Eli looked uncomfortable. "Come on, Eli. What?"

"Jon's…gay."

Jim looked at Blair then back at Eli. "Why wasn't this mentioned before?"

Saunders shrugged. "Nobody asked before now. No one else knows that I'm aware of it; I don't even think his father knows. I found out by accident and I'm not sure he realized that I knew. We never talked about it. Not that it bothered me or anything, you know. I figured if he wanted me to know, he'd tell me himself." He waited for the cops to ask him something else.

"He wasn't seeing anyone, hanging around with anyone new?"

Eli shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of." He glanced at his watch. "I've got to get back to work. I'll be around if you need more info, but I'm not sure how much more I can offer." He thought for a moment. "He's a really talented artist and gentle, you know. I can't imagine anyone being mad enough at him to do him harm." He got up and went back to work.

"We need to check those other reports, see if any of the other missing boys were gay." Jim finished his coffee and pushed the cup away.

"I hope not, Jim. I sure hope not."

The reports from the police departments involved in the other cases of missing college students were lying on Jim's desk. Of the four reports, only one mentioned the boy's sexual orientation as gay. Jim called the detectives working the other cases. As far as they knew the other students were straight.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Pittsburgh, the following Friday

Brian couldn't wait until this workday was over. He and Justin were finally getting away from friends and family and glorious Pittsburgh and heading to the west coast, Washington, to be exact, for a whole week. The choice of Washington was decided for them when Justin was chosen to attend a special arts course at Rainier University. Brian didn't care where they went as long as it was away from where they were now. It was his suggestion that he go with Justin and he could still remember the sunshine smile that greeted the suggestion. Since Justin would be at the college all day for four days, Brian lined up a few interviews with companies in the area he knew were looking for new ad agencies. He might as well earn some money while he was there.

"Brian, Justin on line one."

"Thanks, Cynthia." Brian picked up the phone and made himself comfortable in his executive chair, propping his long legs up on the desk. "Hey, Sunshine, why didn't you call my cell?"

"I did, several times. You have it turned off."

Brian reached into his pocket for the phone. Sure enough, it was off. "Hmmm, I wonder how that happened," he murmured and turned it back on, reminding himself to check his messages.

"Don't worry about it," Justin said, laughing, "but didn't you wonder why no one was calling you? That alone should have made you check to see what was wrong."

"Did you have a reason for calling other than harassing me?" Brian asked, failing to sound as put out as he tried to be.

"Do you have the plane tickets and I can't find my blue shirt, you know, the new one. I've looked all over. You aren't going to be late, are you? Our flight's at nine-thirty. Six is cutting it awfully close, isn't it?"

Justin couldn't see Brian's smile, but he could hear it in his voice. Brian knew the young man was on the verge of a queen-out, if not already there. "The tickets are right here in front of me, Sunshine." He tapped the ticket envelopes on his desktop for emphasis. "As for your shirt, I put it in your suitcase last night along with the black silk shirt. Didn't you look?" Brian didn't wait for an answer. "Look, calm down, I'll be home by six. We'll have plenty of time to get to the airport. Now, hang up so I can finish up my work. Later, Sunshine," Brian laughed, shaking his head. He knew he had a job to do when he got home or else he would be forced to sit for several hours in a closed space, first class to be sure, with an excited blond. Not exactly a bad thing, but better to temper that excitement a little at home.

"Later," Justin sighed into the dial tone.

True to his word, Brian arrived home at exactly six. By seven minutes passed six he and Justin were in the shower. Besides getting cleaned up, Brian had to calm his partner down and that meant a well executed blow-job under the warm running water.

By ten-o-five, they were comfortably ensconced side by side, under a blanket in the dimly lit airplane cabin, hoping no one could hear the soft, contented sighs coming from their row.

Both men were very tired as they checked into their hotel. The three hour time difference had their bodies thinking it was well after midnight. They quickly unpacked and climbed into bed, looking forward to a whole weekend together before Justin had to report to Rainier. They did little more than kiss good-night before Justin was snoring softly, snuggled against Brian's side. Well, Brian thought, it had been a busy day.

The next morning, the boys continued where they left off the previous night. Finally, Justin started to climb out of bed, but Brian pulled him back down, determined to continue the activity of the past two hours. Justin fell onto the bed and was soon covered by Brian's sweaty, yet delicious, body.

"Bri," Justin almost whined. "No more. I want to go out."

"Why? Aren't we here to get away from everyone and everything? Well, what better way than to stay in this hotel room all weekend." Brian nuzzled Justin's neck.

"We're here so that I can take a very prestigious art course that I worked very hard to earn. The country here is beautiful and I'd like to see it up close, not just from the balcony. Besides, I'm hungry."

Brian hung his head in defeat. He knew better than to argue with Justin's stomach. "Alright," he said, sitting up, "but don't blame me if you fall off a mountain or get eaten by a bear." Justin threw his pillow in Brian's direction, but the older man was able to deflect the object.

"Brian Kinney, you've pushed me off so many mountains that I've learned how to hold on really well and you know I don't like "bears". I prefer my men a little less hairy on the back and, umm, other places." He then walked to the bathroom, wiggling his naked butt as he went, a sure-fire invitation for company. Brian was only too willing to accept the invitation.

By ten-thirty they had finished a hearty breakfast at a local family style restaurant. Well, Justin had a hearty breakfast. Brian had wheat toast and an egg white omelet along with several cups of coffee with sugar. Justin had picked up several brochures from the hotel and had spread them out over the table during breakfast, regaling Brian were to do around there. Brian realized that Justin had planned to make the most of this little getaway and it didn't look like the bedroom was on the list very much. He perked up when he thought about sex in the wild. Surely there wouldn't be that many hikers around and with all these trees…hmm, maybe there was some hope after all.

The boys had a full weekend exploring the surrounding areas. The clerk at the car rental desk recommended the top of the line, i.e. most expensive, SUV. Now Brian understood why as he drove up and down the mountainous terrain. Justin was in heaven and filled one sketch pad with scenery, making sure to take plenty of pictures, too. Sunday was spent aboard a tour boat, winding its way up a river between still snow-covered mountains. Even Brian had to admit the scenery was beautiful and he loved watching the excitement on Justin's face.

By Sunday evening the two men were firmly ensconced on the sofa in their hotel room, feet up on the coffee table. The room service cart had already been pushed out into the hallway with the remains of the steak dinner. The wine bottle, now empty, sat on the table. "This has been a great weekend, hasn't it? It's so beautiful here, so different from Pittsburgh. Even the mountains look different, kind of fresher, newer, don't you think? And that river, it was so clean. That's how I imagined the first Native Americans saw the whole country." Justin was looking thru his sketches. "You had a good time too, didn't you, Brian?"

Brian put his arms around Justin and kissed his head. "It was okay."

Justin looked at Brian's face, seeing his patented smirk. "Just okay," he laughed and slapped Brian's leg, leaving his hand where it landed. "You so lie. You liked it all, too."

Brian felt Justin's hand on his thigh, the gentle pressure going straight to his groin. He downed the last of the rosy liquid from his glass and stood. "Drink up, Sunshine. I have some plans of my own tonight."

The next morning, Brian dropped Justin off at the Arts Building at seven-thirty, sending him off for his first day with a long, deep kiss and their familiar, "Later". As Justin found a seat in the small lecture hall, Brian stopped at a small cafe for a cup of coffee. The damp weather had him chilled and he had some time to kill before his morning appointment. He got his coffee to go, but spotted an abandoned newspaper and decided to sit in the warmth of the room and see what the local news had to offer. He skimmed over the short up-date article about a missing college student, but what caught his attention was the picture of the boy that accompanied the story, young, blond, fair. He could hardly wait until five when he could see Justin again. Maybe he'd show up for lunch or at least call at noon.

It was a little after five when Justin came bouncing down the steps, a big smile on his face. "This is incredible," he gushed as he belted himself into his seat. "I'm so glad I got to come. Everyone is so nice, and they are so talented."

Brian laughed at Justin's enthusiasm. "I'm glad you like it, Sunshine, now, how about a proper hello." He leaned closer to his blond and put his arm around his neck. Their kiss was deep and very promising of what was to come.

"Hotel?"

"Just what I had in mind, Sunshine."

Frankie sat at his desk, pretending to write, but his mind wasn't on anything he would put down on paper. "I can't believe my luck. There's another one. I know he was sent for me and so soon after Jonathan. Justin, the perfect name to match the perfect body." He had seen him get into the SUV for the past three days. He only had two more days before his Justin left. He hoped he hadn't scared the young blond that afternoon, but he knew he didn't have much time to woo him.

By Wednesday, Justin was glad to see Brian waiting for him. He rushed to the SUV, but without the usual bounce in his step and smile on his face. Brian noticed right away and asked what was wrong as soon as Justin was buckled in.

"I'm not sure," was Justin's hesitant reply. "Nothing, really."

To Brian, he didn't sound convincing. "Justin. What?"

"This guy, he was coming on to me, is all At least I think that's what he was doing." Brian waited for more of an explanation and Justin knew he wouldn't get off that easily. "He was just kinda creepy."

The news article he had read on Monday came into Brian's mind. "Justin, I don't want you to finish out the last two days." He held his hand up as Justin tried to protest. "You remember that article I told you about, don't you? Well, I don't want you to be another missing student"

"Brian, I am not quitting and you know it. I'll be okay. It's not like I'm around here alone at night. There are always plenty of other students around. Nothing's going to happen. And besides, I can take care of myself."

Brian combed his fingers through Justin's hair. "Promise me, if this guy…do you know his name?" Justin shook his head. "Is he one of your instructors in this course?"

"No. He was just in the hall. One of the other kids called him 'Mr. Francis'."

"Promise me, if he tries anything you'll tell someone or call me." Justin promised. Brian finally started the vehicle and drove to the hotel. He wanted to make sure Justin was safe.

"Simon, I know teams have been over the woods thoroughly, but they're missing something. They have to be." It had been over a week since Jonathan Bradshaw disappeared and there were no new leads. It was as if the student had vanished off the face of the earth.

Jim and Blair went back to the only clear place that had anything to do with the case. Jim was standing on the exact spot where the red baseball cap had been found.

"Concentrate, Jim," Blair, the guide, was saying in a soft even voice. He was alert, knowing that Jim could zone out if he concentrated too hard.

The detective, filtering out smells and sounds, trained his vision on the surrounding woods. He could see through the heavy growth hundreds of yards in each direction. A rabbit scurried into a hole under an old log, two mice ran silently over fallen leaves, several birds were eating some bugs off the woodland floor. "There," Jim said, coming back without any problem. He started walking slowly toward the birds.

Frankie read the paper then threw it across the office. "No," he hissed, wondering how they found his Jonathan. If they found the body, how soon before they found him? No one suspected him so maybe he was safe. He knew Glen had thought about leaving, but that would only make him look guilty. And then there was his new boy, the one named Justin, with the blue eyes. He knew he could not, would not leave until Justin was his. He also knew it had to be soon. Tomorrow he would talk with him.

On Thursday the news was all over the school about finding Bradshaw's body. Students were rarely seen alone and everyone spoke in hushed whispers, wondering what was done to him and, more importantly, who had done it.

"Mr. Taylor."

Justin turned at the sound of his name, recognizing the voice that called to him. Sandra, the girl who had been walking with him continued down the hall, saying she'd save him a seat in the dining room, and gave a little wave as she hurried to the door and left.

"Mr. Taylor, I just wanted to tell you how talented I think you are. Yes, very talented. I'd love to talk with you about future seminars with us. Do you have a few minutes to come to my office?

Justin really didn't want to go with this man; he still made him feel creepy. "Thanks, but can we talk tomorrow, I'm meeting some friends for lunch." Even as he said it, he knew it was a lame excuse.

"Tomorrow? Well, I won't be here tomorrow. It'll only take a minute. My office is just around the corner then you can meet your friends."

'What the hell,' Justin thought, wondering just what could happen in the school. "Sure."

The last thing Justin remembered was following Mr. Francis into the office.

Brian pulled up in front of the Arts building a little before five. He had signed two new accounts today and had a romantic evening all planned in celebration. While he waited for Justin, he went over some of the material for one of the new clients. A misty rain had started to fall, and Brian looked at his watch, noting a half hour had passed. A light knock on the passenger side window got his attention. He could barely make out the face of one of the students Justin had befriended. Sandra was her name. He lowered the window.

"Hi, remember me, Sandra?"

"Sure, we met on Tuesday." Her hair was getting wet. "Get in," he said, reaching over to open the door. "Where's Justin? Isn't he with you?"

"No. I was surprised to see you here. I thought maybe you picked him up for lunch and he decided not to come back for the afternoon session."

"What are you talking about?"

"I haven't seen Justin since the beginning of the lunch break. He told me to save him a seat, but he never showed. He was talking to Mr. Francis. I thought maybe you surprised him like you did on Tuesday and took him to lunch. I must say I was a little envious."

A knot was building in Brian's stomach. He didn't like this one bit. "Who is this Mr. Francis?" Sandra explained who he was. "I'm going to go in and talk to him. Do you know where his office is?"

Sandra gave Brian directions before they both got out of the car. Sandra said she had to go back to her room, giving Brian her cell phone number in case he needed to get in touch with her again. Brian entered the building, which seemed to be deserted. He knocked on the office door and heard someone shout for him to come in. Glen Francis was sitting behind his desk reading some reports.

They made the necessary introductions and Brian declined the offered coffee. He got right to the point and asked about Justin.

"Oh, yes. Mr. Taylor. He's a very talented young man. I've been very impressed with his work. But, I haven't seen him since this morning. What makes you think I did?"

The man seemed to be telling the truth. "A friend of Justin's said she saw you talking to him as they were going to lunch. She said he asked her to save a seat for him."

"I'm sorry, but she must have been mistaken. I've been here in my office since midmorning. I've had a headache, you see, migraine. I took my pills and dozed off. I'm afraid I wasn't able to talk to anyone. Sorry I can't be of more help."

"I'm sorry to bother you." Brian stood to leave. "It's just not like him to not let me know if he was detained or had something else to do this afternoon." Brian left, closing the door quietly behind him. He hoped that Justin would be sitting in the SUV when he returned, but that was not the case. He waited another half hour then drove slowly around the campus.

Frankie sat at his desk, feeling the pounding of his heart. He wondered who this man was who questioned him about the blond. This was going to make things a little more complicated. Someone was looking for him already. It was a good thing he had the cover of the rain earlier.

The newspaper was lying folded to the article about the missing student who was found dead. Brian picked it up when he stopped for a red light and scanned the article for the name of the detective who found the body. "Ellison," Brian repeated. "Major Crimes." The driver behind him beeped the car horn and Brian glanced at the light. Seeing that it was green, he drove through. He found the police department and pulled into one of the parking spaces. The receptionist in the lobby made a phone call to Major Crimes and was told Detective Ellison was still there. Brian was directed to the fourth floor and exited the elevator.

"Mr. Kinney?" the tall, well-built man said, holding out his hand. Brian shook it, greeting the detective. "This is Blair Sandburg." The two men shook hands. "Sit down over here and tell me what I can do for you? Gwen said it was about the Bradshaw case?"

"My partner, his name is Justin Taylor, is missing and I think it has something to do with the other student from Rainier."

Jim took in the other man's appearance, obviously well-dressed, and more than a little stressed, despite his outward calm. Jim could hear his heartbeat, considerably more rapid than someone in his physical condition would expect.

"Why do you think that?" He listened as Brian gave a quick yet comprehensive account of the situation.

Brian took a picture out of his wallet, giving it a quick but, for wont of a better word, loving glance, and handed it to the detective. It was a picture of him and Justin, taken by Lindsay only a month earlier. She caught Brian and Justin watching Gus playing with his trucks, their arms casually around each other and a smile on both of their faces. Brian had stuck it his wallet while having dinner at Muncher Villa one evening when Justin had some studio time. It had been folded to fit in his wallet and so that Justin's face could easily be seen. The detective handed the picture to Blair and they traded looks of recognition.

"You see it, too, don't you?"

Ellison didn't respond to the question. "You say that Mr. Francis was the last person to see him that you know of?"

"This girl, Sandra, said she saw them talking. He denied it, saying he had a migraine and was sleeping."

"We've talked to him several times already, mostly in the capacity of his job at Rainier. We didn't have any reason to suspect him of anything." He turned to Blair. "Chief, how well do you know Francis?"

"Hardly at all. He's only been at Rainier a few months."

"Find out what you can." He addressed Brian, "When you say Taylor is your partner, what kind of partner? He's a student, right?"

Brian stared directly into the detective's eyes. "He's my life partner. We've been together for four years."

Ellison picked up on the almost defiant attitude and looked at Blair, then held up his hands. "Whoa, there. I have nothing against you being gay," he said, staring back into Brian's eyes, "and neither does my partner, right, Chief?" Blair just smiled.

"Sorry," Brian said quietly. "My gaydar must be on the fritz."

"You're worried; it's understandable. Besides, we try to keep a very low profile here; only our captain knows about our relationship. Now, what can you tell me about Justin?" Brian started talking, somehow making him feel a little less stressed. Jim asked questions every now and then to clarify something. When Brian had told everything he could that he thought would be helpful, Jim spoke. "He sounds like a very strong and sensible young man. That's something in his favor."

Blair interrupted. "Look, Jim." He turned the computer screen so the detective could see the information. "How did he get a job at Rainier?"

"What's going on? Who is this guy?" Brian asked with curiosity and anger. He would sue the school if they'd done anything that would cause harm to his Sunshine. "Tell me," he said louder and with more anger. A few of the detectives in the bullpen looked in his direction, alerted to possible trouble.

"Mr. Kinney…Brian…I'll fill you in on what we found in a few minutes. I need for you to be calm. I'm going to talk to my captain. I'll be right back." He knocked on Simon's door and went in, talked for a few minutes and came back out. "Blair, we're going to Rainier. Simon's getting a warrant to search his office, apartment and his car. Brian, it seems there are some big gaps in the life of Glen Francis. We need to check them out and you need to go back to your hotel. We have your number there and your cell. We'll let you know if we find anything."

"I'm not going back to our room alone. I'm going with you. If something's happened to Justin, I want to be there."

"Brian, this is a police matter. If something happens to you, I don't think Justin would like it very much when we find him, do you? One more thing, we'll need something of Justin's like a toothbrush or hairbrush, and do you know his blood type?"

Brian sighed. "He is still alive, you know. I'd feel it if he weren't." He absently touched his chest. Jim just nodded, knowing full well what he meant. He'd felt it too many times in connection with Blair not to know. "He's B+." Jim nodded and said they would pick up the items requested in the morning. He hoped they wouldn't need them before then.

The hotel room felt cold and lonely. The ice in the champagne bucket had melted. Brian took off his suit and changed into some comfortable jeans and a black t-shirt that Justin loved. He thought about calling Carl Horvath for some information, but remembered about the time difference. He and Debbie were surely in bed, hopefully, God please, sleeping. He wasn't ready for a picture of them doing anything else. He sat on the bed, his back against the headboard and turned on the TV. There was nothing on that interested him, but he wasn't paying attention to it anyway. It was noise and it passed the time.

Jim talked to the administrative head who met them at the Rainier office of Glen Francis. He let them in and watched as they searched the small area. Nothing seemed different since they had last talked with him several days prior. Jim's sense of smell detected an odor that was out of place. He knelt down. "There's blood here," he said, indicating a small spot on the dark wood floor. "Officer, here."

"I don't see anything, sir."

"It's there, trust me. Take a swab and test it."

Francis wasn't at the apartment when they arrived. It was the middle of the night, so that wasn't a good sign. They could only speculate as to where he was at that time of night. One of the patrol officers suggested that he just went out for some ice cream or cigarettes.

"No cigarettes. He didn't smoke. Look around; no ashtrays, no stale cigarette odor." That was something anyone would notice, not just someone with a heightened sense of smell.

The apartment was sparsely furnished and only the necessary articles for everyday use were found. If it weren't for the bath articles and few changes of clothing, it would be hard to imagine that anyone even lived there. There was no sign of his car and an APB was put out for it.

Simon stood by Jim's truck. "There's not much else we can do tonight. Go home, boys and get some sleep. We'll have some preliminary forensic reports by morning. We can pick it up then. I have a team watching the apartment and one at his office in case he comes back to either one."

Blair and Jim entered the loft, locking the door behind them. "I guess we missed supper," Jim said. "Want something before we go to bed?"

"Too tired. I'm going on up." He made a short detour to the bathroom then walked up the stairs.

Jim followed shortly after turning off the downstairs lights. He carried a small plate of apple slices into the bedroom and put it on the nightstand before he stripped down. He smiled as Blair reached for one of the slices and popped it into his mouth. Jim sat on the bed and picked up a slice, bit off a piece and chewed slowly before eating the rest of it.

Blair watched him, knowing this case was bothering him. He rubbed his hand down his partner's back and waited for him to lie down. Once he did, Blair snuggled up next to him, lightly kissing his chest. "What's up, big guy? Talk to me."

"I don't want to find another dead kid."

"Brian said he was still alive. You know as well as I do that feeling is hard to beat. I really think Brian would know if he weren't and you know it, too." He moved a little to get more comfortable. "You said it yourself; Justin is strong. His soul is strong. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that in that relationship, Justin is actually the alpha male, no matter what Brian's appearance says."

"I think you're right." He bent down and kissed Blair's forehead. "I wish I wasn't so tired." Blair didn't hear him. A little snore escaped his lips. Jim held his arms around his lover and soon joined him in sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Justin moaned as he tried to move. His head was killing him and he couldn't open his eyes. Well, he probably could, but the pain was more than he wanted to bear.

"So, you're back with me, my beautiful boy." Frankie caressed the pale arm, from hand to shoulder then moved up to cup the soft, perfect skin of his cheek. "Open your eyes. I want to see them."

Justin shook his head, immediately wishing he hadn't. He tried to reach up to rub his face and realized his hands and feet were bound by ropes. Another moan escaped his lips. His mouth was dry and he had trouble forming words. He managed to get out a whispered, "Why?"

"Why do I want to see your eyes?" Frankie couldn't believe his precious boy was even asking such a question. "Because they're beautiful."

Justin shook his head and spoke again, with difficulty. "Why me?"

Frankie held a bottle of water to Justin's lips. "Here, drink this."

Justin took a tentative sip, deciding it tasted like regular water and took a larger drink. "Mr. Francis, why are you doing this? Where am I?"

"Mr. Francis isn't here." The voice was angry. "He doesn't know how to have fun. His cow of a mother stifled him. I have to show him."

"Who are you?" Justin managed to open his eyes. It was Mr. Francis sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm Frankie."

Justin wrinkled his brow as the movie "Sybil" came to mind. It was a snap assessment of the situation, he knew, but this man was desperately ill, no matter what was wrong with him. "You killed that other student, didn't you?" He saw the man smile and knew he was in real trouble. 'Brian, I want to see you one more time. I don't want to leave you. It's not my fault…'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Early the next morning Jim and Blair were in Simon's office, going over the latest reports.

"Why didn't anyone find Bradshaw's body sooner? I mean the Crime Scene Unit and police scoured the area quite thoroughly. Surely, they would have found him sooner."

"Cap, the medical examiner says he's only been dead for about forty-eight hours, despite the condition of the body. He was held somewhere, alive, for whatever reason, then killed and dumped where we found him." Blair paused for a minute. "In a way, that's good. Bradshaw was kept alive for several days, which means we may have a few days to find Taylor alive. Or…"

"Or what, Sandburg?"

"Or, by now Francis, or whatever personality took Taylor, knows we're on to him. That may alter his schedule and he'll want to get rid of Taylor sooner and move on. We may have less than twenty-four hours in which to find Justin Taylor alive."

The room was silent. Finally Jim spoke up. "I guess we need to find Taylor soon. Blair and I are going by Kinney's hotel. We'll pick up the articles we requested yesterday and see if Kinney has heard anything."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian pushed himself off the bed. He had spent a mostly sleepless night and looked it. He was still wearing the jeans and t-shirt he put on last night and his eyes already showed dark circles. "Detectives, come on in."

"I won't ask how you're doing. I can see for myself. We came to pick up Justin's toothbrush like I mentioned yesterday."

"Right." He went into the bathroom and picked the toothbrush off the counter and took it back to Ellison who held a plastic bag open. "Don't worry about returning it. I'll just buy him a new one when he gets back."

Blair, always better with the people skills, gently touched Brian's arm and led him to the sofa by the window. "Sit down, Brian. I know this is hard for you, but you have to take care of yourself. Have you eaten since yesterday?" He noticed the still sealed bottle of champagne sitting in the warm water. "Were you going to celebrate something?" he said, pointing to the bucket.

"Yeah. I closed two deals this week."

"What kind of deals?"

"I have my own advertising firm in Pittsburgh. I figured that since Justin was going to be in classes all day, I'd drum up some west coast business." He was silent for a moment, and then asked, "Anything new?"

Blair decided Kinney needed to know the truth. "Bradshaw was kept alive for several days after he disappeared, so that's good for Justin."

"But…"

"But, Francis knows by now that we're on to him so that could alter his usual plans."

"He's alive. I still feel him."

"Then you need to take care of yourself. Shower then get something to eat. You have Jim's card. Call us if you need anything." The detectives left and Brian did as was suggested. They were right; he needed to be the strong one now.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jim," Meagan said, into the phone. "The blood on the office floor is Justin Taylor's."

"Thanks, Meagan." He hung up. "The blood was Taylor's, but there was such a small amount, it may just be from where he bumped his head from a fall. The luminol didn't pick up any large amounts, just that small spot."

"So what now?" Blair asked.

"If what you said was true and Francis kept Jon Bradshaw alive for several days, he had to have had a place secluded enough to do it. Find out if he has a place around here besides his apartment, like a cabin or even a boat on the lake.

"Jim, look. A Grover Francis owns a piece of land about five miles from where we found Bradshaw's body. He could be a relative. I've printed out the information."

"Let's tell Simon where we're going."

Jim knocked on Simon's door but didn't wait for an answer before opening it. "Cap, we think we may know where Francis is. Blair and I are going out there. Want to come?"

"I wouldn't miss it. Tell me what you found on the way out." He put his jacket on and joined his men in the elevator. As they drove out of town, Jim filled his boss in on what they had found.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Frankie, can't you untie these ropes or at least loosen them a little? They're starting to hurt."

Frankie didn't want that perfect skin to be marred, but this one had a lot more spunk than the others and he didn't trust him. "Why are the most beautiful ones the most trouble?" he murmured almost to himself.

"I won't be any trouble, I promise."

"Aren't you afraid of me? The others were afraid."

"Why should I be afraid? Are you going to hurt me? I mean, I know you killed…Jon, didn't you? I'll stay here with you if you want. I won't run away."

"Jon was bad. I just wanted to have some fun and he didn't. He was just like Glen, too serious and weak. I got rid of Glen and I got rid of Jon, just like I got rid of the others. But you're not like that, are you?"

"The others? Tell me about them." Justin wanted to keep the man talking, but his mind wasn't really paying attention. His mind was in a hotel room with Brian.

"The others…." Frankie had a strange smile on his face. No one ever asked about the others. They were too busy cowering and crying. "The others, let's see. The first, of course, was Greg. We grew up together, best friends, me and Glen and Greg, only Glen wouldn't let me play with Greg very much. Once in a while he'd let me out; I had to give him a headache to do it and while he slept, I could play."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian was restless and paced the hotel room, feeling like he needed to be doing something, but he wasn't sure exactly what. He left the room for a few minutes and when he came back he went into the bathroom and opened the bag he had with him. He took out a new blue toothbrush and put it next to his own on the counter. Justin would need it when he got home.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Jim and Simon had their weapons drawn as they moved quietly through the undergrowth. Blair, as usual, was told to remain in the truck, and as usual he didn't obey, but he did stay far enough back not to get in their way. A patrol car had pulled up as they were getting out of the truck and Captain Banks told the officers to stay there, that he didn't want too many people sneaking up on the cabin. What he really wanted to make sure of was that there weren't any more witnesses than necessary if Jim had to make use of his heightened senses.

Jim closed his eyes and concentrated on the sounds coming from the small cabin. There were two distinct voices, both coming from the extreme south end of the structure. He hoped one of those voices belonged to Justin Taylor. He moved up to a window and quickly peaked in. Glen Francis was sitting on the side of a small bed and he could see the reclining body of another person. Francis was talking.

Simon took up a position on one side of the only door and Jim on the other. On the count of three, they burst in, surprising the two men. Francis stood as Simon grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him, locking the cuffs on.

"What are you doing? You're treating me like a criminal," Francis said, with a bewildered look on his face. "I haven't done anything wrong."

Blair came into the room while the two detectives were dealing with Francis. He undid the knots that bound Justin's hands and feet. "Justin, I presume. I'm Blair. A very worried man named Brian sent us to get you." Justin managed one of his sunshine smiles. "Are you hurt? Do you think you can walk?"

"I'm not hurt, just sore. I've been tied up here for quite a while." He stood and almost fell before steadying himself.

"Okay, let me help." Blair held on to Justin and they followed Jim and Simon, with their captive, out of the cabin.

The patrol officers took Francis back to their car. Simon followed. "I'll ride back with them."

"We'll be there shortly. We have a little errand to run."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian was startled by a knock at the door. He rushed over and opened it, only to be greeted by an armful of Justin. They held on to each other tightly. Justin started to cry; glad he didn't have to be brave any more. After a few minutes, Brian was aware of the two cops standing at the door.

"Thank you," he said, holding out one hand, keeping the other around his partner.

"Our pleasure. He has a nasty bump on his head, but he wouldn't let us take him to the hospital. He insisted we bring him here first."

"I'm fine, really," Justin said. "It's only a small bump, no headache, no blurred vision and no dizziness." He looked at Brian. "I just need to be here with you."

"We'll leave the two of you alone for now. We will need to have you come down to the department to finish some paperwork and such."

The two men promised to be there and said goodbye. Justin put his arms around Brian's neck and captured his lips in a passionate kiss. Brian pulled Justin's shirt off, noticing the bruises on his wrists. "Jus…," he started to say, but Justin put a finger over his lips.

"I'm okay." Brian kissed his forehead. Justin stepped back, undoing the zipper on his pants. "I do, however, need a shower. Care to join me?"

Brian pulled his own t-shirt over his head, dropping it on the carpet. "Try and keep me out."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Blair and Jim were at the station for several hours before they had a chance to get away. They had picked up some Thai food on the way home since neither one felt like cooking.

"Brian and Justin, they're a nice couple, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are. And I think you're right about Justin being the alpha."

"When we see them tomorrow, do you want to see if they'd like to have dinner with us before they head back to Pittsburgh?"

"A very good idea, but I'm not sure they're going to want to share their time with anyone else for a while."

"Didn't someone once say, 'you can't live on sex alone'?"

"Something like that." They laughed, and then kissed. "Let's take this to bed, Chief. It may be possible to live on sex alone."

~~~~~~~~~~~

The hotel room was dark except for a small sliver of light coming from the corner of the window. Brian was spooned around Justin, holding him tightly, savoring the feel of his smooth skin. He closed his eyes; unable to imagine what it would be like if he lost Justin for good. He hoped he'd never have to know. He nuzzled his nose in the freshly shampooed hair and let his thumb caress the pale skin on his arm.

"I'm fine, Brian. You can go to sleep," Justin whispered.

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