Page 80 of Dropping Like Flies
Despite the door being open, a quiet knock came from it, Calisto standing politely outside when I turned to see who it was. “Can I come in?” he asked
“At least someone still knocks,” Cade pointed out as he waved him inside.
I frowned. “You invited Calisto to this meeting?”
“I did,” Cade said, his voice neutral.
“Why?”
“I just did.”
More secrets. I was beginning to wish I’d been a little less oblivious for the last few years. While Bellamy introduced himself to Calisto, I mulled things over. Calisto’s presence presumably explained Asher’s absence, the weirdness of the two of them never having met still scratching at my brain. I should have asked Cade how Asher went MIA every time Calisto set foot up here, and more importantly, why?
John had taken up a position against the wall, one leg hitched up and his arms crossed. His body language said he was bored, but the blue eyes surveying the room and paying close attention to what everyone was doing said the opposite. It was John who tired of the small talk first, raising his voice to be heard over it to bring it to a crashing end in his usual blunt way. “As fun as this is, what is it we’re waiting for exactly?”
“Me,” Ben said as he walked into the room, Cade having provided him with temporary ID so he could bypass all the security systems. Despite it only having been a few hours since I’d last seen him, the bruising and the bandage packed quite a punch, making me want to rush over there and wrap him up in cotton wool so he’d never get hurt again. I fought the urge to go to him for a few seconds before deciding what the hell. What did it matter what anyone else thought?
I enfolded him in my arms and squeezed him tight. “I missed you.”
He laughed, but didn’t break free from my embrace. “You saw me this morning. We had breakfast together, remember?”
“That was hours ago.” With Ben smiling at me, there was no question of not kissing him. And I may have gotten slightly carried away, the kiss continuing for longer than I’d intended. Upon breaking apart, I realized the room had fallen silent, all eyes on us. I cleared my throat as I tugged Ben forward. “What? Anyone would think you’ve never seen anyone kissing before?” My defensive words didn’t stop the rush of heat to my cheeks.
“We’ve seen people kissing before,” John said sardonically. “We just didn’t know you could show such tenderness. It’s…” His brow furrowed while he searched for the right word. “Well, it’s sweet, actually, and I never expected to say that about you.”
John’s judgement apparently got Bellamy’s seal of approval if his smile was anything to go by. He joined his boyfriend, John obediently lifting his arm so Bellamy could tuck himself into the space and plaster himself to John’s side. They looked happy, and I had to admit that it looked good on John, his smirk immediately giving way to something softer.
Cade gestured to Ben. “This is Detective Chief Inspector Ben Weaver, who, as you probably just worked out, is also Griffin’s boyfriend. They’re recently reunited after a long separation.”
Calisto’s eyes went wide, and he turned to look at Ben like he was the second coming of Christ. “I’ve heard of you. You caught Satanic Romeo.”
Ben tugged me closer. “We caught Satanic Romeo.”
The next couple of minutes comprised more introductions, Ben not having met anyone in the room except Cade. It was Bellamy who eventually voiced what everyone else was thinking. “Why are we here, Cade?”
Cade led us over to the comfier seats in his office, John and Bellamy choosing to keep their position by the wall. Which was just as well because if they had wanted to sit, there wouldn’t have been enough seats. I couldn’t help thinking that if Asher had been here, there would have been exactly the same number of chairs as people, even if he’d needed to click his fingers and produce them out of thin air.
Cade started talking only after everyone had settled comfortably—Calisto to my right and Ben to my left. “We’re all here because we have a common problem. One that doesn’t seem like it’s going to go away.”
Calisto frowned. “What problem?”
Cade focused on John and Bellamy. “I’d like you to tell your story if that’s okay with you. Griffin knows bits, but not all of it, and I don’t think Calisto and Ben know any of it.”
Bellamy looked unsure for a moment. “How censored do you want it to be?”
Cade gave a wry smile, something about the question seeming to amuse him. “Completely uncensored.”
I had to admit that the tale Bellamy and John told between the two of them was a fascinating one, particularly when they got to the part where John had brought Bellamy back to life and he’d stayed back, all thanks to a mysterious mask, which according to Cade’s follow-up investigation now seemed to have disappeared into the ether along with its strange keeper. Despite the story holding my interest, it wasn’t until the name of O’Reilly came up that I got the reason for Cade bringing us all together. “Fuck!” I said, everyone except Ben and Cade, who knew exactly why I’d said it, turning my way.
Then it was our turn to bring everyone up to speed, Ben and I detailing the nightmare we’d just lived through until it all came full circle and O’Reilly once again reared her—well, I doubted she was ugly if Flynn was her son, but it was as good a word as any—head.
“So, as you can see,” Cade said. “We have something of a situation.”
“You said she was in Germany,” John said accusingly. “And that you’d inform us if she set foot back on English soil.”
“I did,” Cade agreed. “And she was. Until 5 o’clock this morning, when she got on a plane and flew back. So I’m telling you now. I presume news of her son’s arrest for multiple murders has reached her.”
“Do we think she knew what Flynn was up to?” Ben asked, his eyes narrowed in a switch back to detective mode.
