he lived there. It was as if changing things would have crossed some line or made it personal. It's probably why he didn't know it was my place when he got the call that night to come over. I'm guessing he never looked up my address because he would have seen it as an invasion of privacy or something." He shook his head and blew out a deep breath. "I don't know how to get through to him. But I want to…more than anything."
"You guys are like two turtles. You both move slow as hell and you have these hard shells." Cole quieted then snorted a chuckle.
"What's so funny?"
Cole bit his lip. "Turtles fucking. They make funny noises. Google that shit."
Jessie ducked his head again and held back a smile.
They chatted about hospital food, the auto shop, the nurses—small talk to pass the time. The nurses filed in in small clusters when they heard Cole was visiting, seemed no one could resist his larger than life laugh or smile. They finally left when the overhead speaker announced a code, beckoning their attention. Jessie leaned back in the pillow as their conversation segued to a discussion of Cole's huge family.
"Your dad was here."
Jessie sat up, his mood sobering. "What?" he whispered.
Cole rested his chin on his crossed arms and spoke softly. "Your dad. He was here that first night. I'm pretty sure he was your dad. He had your eyes, but he was bigger, broader. Looked like a mean son of a bitch."
Jessie looked down, pulling, folding, and flattening the top of the sheet. "It couldn't have been him." After everything that had happened between them, he didn't have a clue what he would say if his father visited. He tried to dismiss the thought, but he wouldn't deny a tiny glimmer of hope flickered at the idea of his father wanting to know what had happened or how he was doing. Anything.
Cole continued to talk, jumping into another discussion about Ty's latest restoration project. But all Jessie could think about was why his father had come by and if there was even the slightest chance he could have cared about his son at all.
* * * *
Aidan planted his hands on his hips to avoid picking something up and throwing it across the room. "What do you mean you don't have any leads?"
The captain rubbed his balding head. "I told you, they've checked everything. There's no video surveillance in a mile radius they can reference. The building didn't have security cameras. The neighbors didn't see anything or anyone, they only heard the yelling. We've matched the DNA from the blood and fingerprints to the same person. But without some checkpoint to compare that information with a face and record in our database we've got nothing."
"So he just gets away with it? That's bullshit."
"They're sending another detective over to talk to Vega again. Maybe he's a little clearer now and there's something that was missed from the initial interview when he first woke."
Aidan vehemently shook his head. "No. I'll talk to him about it and relay relevant info." He remembered how distant Jessie had become after the initial recounting of the attack, and there was no way in hell he was going to subject Jessie to that again.
"Calloway, it doesn't work that way. It's not your case. You're not supposed to be anywhere near it."
Aidan stepped forward, each angry, frustrated breath heaving his chest. "And they've gotten nowhere." He'd normally be the one to get the answers, find the suspect, and catch the criminal, not be the guy sitting at the sidelines waiting for an update. "Get me on the case. Make it official."
"I can't do that."
"Sure you can. It's been over a month and a half, and it's going to drop on the list of priorities. I'll work it on off time, I don't care. But grant me access, so I don't have to drive anyone crazy and I have the resources on this without raising any red flags or stepping on anyone's toes."
The captain squared his shoulders. "One condition."
Aidan straightened and crossed his arms.
" You're not on the
"You guys are like two turtles. You both move slow as hell and you have these hard shells." Cole quieted then snorted a chuckle.
"What's so funny?"
Cole bit his lip. "Turtles fucking. They make funny noises. Google that shit."
Jessie ducked his head again and held back a smile.
They chatted about hospital food, the auto shop, the nurses—small talk to pass the time. The nurses filed in in small clusters when they heard Cole was visiting, seemed no one could resist his larger than life laugh or smile. They finally left when the overhead speaker announced a code, beckoning their attention. Jessie leaned back in the pillow as their conversation segued to a discussion of Cole's huge family.
"Your dad was here."
Jessie sat up, his mood sobering. "What?" he whispered.
Cole rested his chin on his crossed arms and spoke softly. "Your dad. He was here that first night. I'm pretty sure he was your dad. He had your eyes, but he was bigger, broader. Looked like a mean son of a bitch."
Jessie looked down, pulling, folding, and flattening the top of the sheet. "It couldn't have been him." After everything that had happened between them, he didn't have a clue what he would say if his father visited. He tried to dismiss the thought, but he wouldn't deny a tiny glimmer of hope flickered at the idea of his father wanting to know what had happened or how he was doing. Anything.
Cole continued to talk, jumping into another discussion about Ty's latest restoration project. But all Jessie could think about was why his father had come by and if there was even the slightest chance he could have cared about his son at all.
* * * *
Aidan planted his hands on his hips to avoid picking something up and throwing it across the room. "What do you mean you don't have any leads?"
The captain rubbed his balding head. "I told you, they've checked everything. There's no video surveillance in a mile radius they can reference. The building didn't have security cameras. The neighbors didn't see anything or anyone, they only heard the yelling. We've matched the DNA from the blood and fingerprints to the same person. But without some checkpoint to compare that information with a face and record in our database we've got nothing."
"So he just gets away with it? That's bullshit."
"They're sending another detective over to talk to Vega again. Maybe he's a little clearer now and there's something that was missed from the initial interview when he first woke."
Aidan vehemently shook his head. "No. I'll talk to him about it and relay relevant info." He remembered how distant Jessie had become after the initial recounting of the attack, and there was no way in hell he was going to subject Jessie to that again.
"Calloway, it doesn't work that way. It's not your case. You're not supposed to be anywhere near it."
Aidan stepped forward, each angry, frustrated breath heaving his chest. "And they've gotten nowhere." He'd normally be the one to get the answers, find the suspect, and catch the criminal, not be the guy sitting at the sidelines waiting for an update. "Get me on the case. Make it official."
"I can't do that."
"Sure you can. It's been over a month and a half, and it's going to drop on the list of priorities. I'll work it on off time, I don't care. But grant me access, so I don't have to drive anyone crazy and I have the resources on this without raising any red flags or stepping on anyone's toes."
The captain squared his shoulders. "One condition."
Aidan straightened and crossed his arms.
" You're not on the
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