Chapter 2

The next morning, I got a text from Watson, my department head, saying that I would need to bring Hades along. Hades was my trained police dog, specialising in sniffing out cadavers but also narcotics. He was a mix breed and definitely had Doberman in him. Some other longish haired breed as well. It wasn't common for the police to have mixed breed dogs in the k-9 unit. They usually preferred specific breeds with traits that made them more useful.

I had spent a considerable amount of time around dogs and training them. One day when I happened to run into a friend who was desperately trying to find a home for a pup that no one wanted and he asked if I could temporarily house it until he finds a "forever home" for it, I didn't see a problem with that and agreed. The bundle of black fur with gangly long legs was quite a sorry sight and it seemed very cautious of me at first. But the first time I lifted the hair out of its eyes, and we had a proper eye to eye, I was surprised. He had heterochrome eyes, one a light blue and the other pitch black. I knew then there was no way I would let this dog go.

I at first thought of naming him Demon, but later decided on Hades. I felt the name suited him, he had a very "hell-houndish" vibe, and as I had correctly judged by the size of his paws as a pup he did grow into a huge dog. I regularly cut his hair to keep it out of his eyes and his intense stare had unnerved many, friends and foes alike. As much as he was scary looking, I knew he was a total marshmallow. He could sound and look like a mean fucker when he needed to though.

On a whim I started training him along with some of the other police dogs and found he was incredibly intelligent and mastered things very quickly. Hades had a very high success rate in finding both human and Avian bodies and we would get called out when they suspected a body was hidden in an area that they were unable to find. By the time I received the text I had already been for my morning run and had breakfast.

I changed into my field gear, which is basically military style boots, camo pants and a plain grey t-shirt. Hades already understood what it meant and danced around me excitedly.

"You are such a good boy!" I cooed, ruffling his fur and getting him even more excited.

"Let's go find some bodies!" People would probably think I'm strange hearing me say that, but since it's just me and Hades, who cares?

Dad was still in his sleeping robe with a cup of coffee in his hand when I set out. He usually only started his work late in the day since he often worked very late.

This day Hades and I sadly tracked down the body of a young man buried in a shallow grave below a bridge. I say "shallow grave", but it was more like a ditch with leaves and some other rubbish thrown over it. There was quite a bit of rubbish under this bridge which made it near impossible to notice the body.

The man had been reported missing by his girlfriend two days ago and the police had been questioning everyone related to him. Eventually it was found that he sometimes went jogging on this trail that was a bit out of sight in places and passed by this bridge. I was just happy that I wasn't the one that had to tell his family that he'd been found.

Lately there had been an increase in young men disappearing and eventually some bodies turned up but not all of them, and the police suspected that it could be the work of a serial killer. All of the men were in the 18 to 28 age range and they had something else in common, they were all half-Avian like me. Since I was turning 27 this year, I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable at the thought that I could have been one of these victims.

Some were straight and others gay. There was no obvious reason to explain why the killer chose these particular men, did he perhaps have a bad breakup or something? None of the victims that were found showed any signs of sexual assault but had clear signs of having been tied up at some point as apparent by rope bruising marks and the cause of death for all of them were the same, death by lethal injection. The substance used was known as Avex, deadly to Avians but harmless to humans.

Needless to say, that half-Avians didn't stand much of a chance either if given a large dose. It was clear that the bodies were placed where they were found after death, but the attempts to hide them were rather lousy.

Either the killer wanted to keep the police on their toes or didn't think to, you know, perhaps bury the bodies properly in a graveyard or somewhere where it wasn't likely to be found?

Once Hades and I were done we went home. Pops was working on his computer. Just because he was on medical leave didn't mean he didn't work; you couldn't take the detective instincts out of him. He was actually very talented in gathering intel and a very good hacker. He was currently hacked into the security camera of someone and recording a couple kissing. Must be another cheating case. Just then the woman got into her car and drove off.

"Got you now," pops said with satisfaction and leaned back in his chair, but then noticed me.

"Oh, you're back. Busy morning?"

"Yeah...found another one under a bridge. That's the eight victim in the past two months now."

I removed Hades's harness, and he shook himself lightly before running off to the kitchen.

Dad looked at me with a worried expression.

"From what you've told me before I worry for your safety, son."

"I'll be fine. I carry a gun and I have Hades with me most of the time. Danny is with me the rest of the time when I must head out. It is just frustrating; the perpetrator is being very thorough in covering his tracks. No forensic evidence. All the same cause of death. I didn't get it, what would the motive be? Is it hate-crime against half Avians?"

"There had always been those who believed that Avians and humans shouldn't mix, Kai."

"Don't worry pops, I am always careful about not revealing that I'm half. Luckily for me my features are mostly human."

"What's for dinner?" I ask to change the subject.

"I had no idea you'd be home already, so go get yourself cleaned up while I whip something up."

The warm water falling on my shoulders was very welcome. Slowly my body heated up and felt more alive. Even though I was dressed warmly, when walking out in the wooded areas for hours eventually the cold soaks through everything.

I was toweling dry my hair when I noticed the notification light on my phone was blinking. Checking I found a message from August. It was sent to me about an hour ago and I somehow missed it.

August: "How was your day?"

I had completely forgotten about August. My mind was on the serial killer and trying to figure out what we were missing. I blow-dried my hair and dressed in slacks before finally replying.

Me: "Found another body today, looks like the work of a serial killer. Still not much progress on finding a suspect which is frustrating."

I sent the message, and it wasn't long at all when a reply came.

August: "That is worrying. I know you can't really tell me about the case due to work confidentiality but if there is any way I could help let me know."

Me: "Thanks, appreciate the thought. Going to eat dinner now, my pops insist to keep cooking even though he is supposed to be resting. Says I can't cook to save my life."

August: "So, don't expect you to cook, noted."

Oops, I didn't mean to talk bad about myself to August. I just meant to lighten the mood since talking about corpses wasn't exactly friendly conversation.

Me: "I personally don't think my cooking is that bad, but I guess different strokes for different folks."

I already pressed the "send" button and then thought that my wording may have come off a bit sexual. Too late now.

August: "Then I hope you'll let me try it sometime."

Me: "How about Friday?"

My fingers had typed and sent before my mind caught up to what I was doing.

August: "Your place or mine?"

I felt my face flush, that felt very suggestive or am I making more out of it than it is?

Me: "My place. I'll make pizza and you can meet my dad and Hades."

August: "I'm assuming you are not referring to your dad as Hades, so I'm intrigued to find out who this is. Will 7 o'clock suit you? I have a meeting that will only end at 5:30."

Me: "That's fine."

Holy cow, I just arranged a meet-the-parent date, didn't I? Well, could you really call it a date when your dad and your dog are also included? It's more like a friendly visit. Yeah. I can do this. How difficult could it be to put toppings on a pizza base...scratch that, I'm just going to get the ones with the toppings already on them. I'm sure he wouldn't be able to tell. It would still count because technically I had to put it in the oven, right?

Over cheesy spaghetti I tell pops about Friday's plan and he seems very pleased about it.

"Um...why do I get the feeling you are excited about meeting August?"

"Of course, I am since he might be your future husband."

"That has not yet been decided. He said he'd give me time to decide. Besides, I have a feeling you two already know each other," I said eyeing him suspiciously while pointing my fork at him.

"It's just that I want to see you happy with someone and know that you'll be taken care of."

I noticed that dad didn't deny my statement.

"What, are you wanting to ship me off now? We both know I can take care of myself just fine and besides, I have Hades, don't I? And my fellow officers at the department."

Hades came to my side when he heard his name and I scratched his ears, telling him that he's the best dog in the world.

"That dog is probably the most spoiled one in the world," dad says with a chuckle.

"Sure is."

The next day Watson called our department together to update everyone on the coroner's findings on the body discovered yesterday. The same signs of having been bound, but none of the victims had any rope or even rope fibres left behind. Just the bruising pattern that was consistent with rope bindings.

This victim however, had some skin cells under his nails which was likely from scratching at his assailant. It has been sent to the lab for DNA analysis. This was excellent news since we would finally be looking at the DNA of the perpetrator and be one step closer to catching the bastard.

The rest of the day was uneventful, and I was put on "desk duty" with Danny, my partner. This involved admin and filing.

The rest of the week went by quickly and uneventfully and before I knew it Friday had come. I felt fidgety the whole day, thinking about August coming to my house. Perhaps I should have rather booked a restaurant? I was worried that he would judge my home. We had a big house, but it was an old house that showed wear and tear. I tried doing some maintenance over the weekends but I wasn't much of a DIY guy, so I mostly stuck to mowing the lawn, painting or other general jobs.

I cared about what August thought and the realisation struck me that I must be more interested in him than I wanted to admit. If I truly wanted nothing to do with the man, wouldn't I already have blown him off? Fine, I'm attracted to August.

I popped the pizzas into the oven. I wasn't sure what August would want to drink so I ended up buying a variety of wines, coke and juice to cover all bases since I was too chicken to ask August what he liked to drink. I checked the already set out table for the third time when the doorbell rang.

I opened the door and there he was. Still just as breath-taking as I remember, which was when I saw him last week.

"Hello, come in," I say and stand to the side so he could pass me.

"Good evening," he said as he stepped in and before I knew it he had kissed me lightly on the cheek and then handed me a bottle of wine. I could smell his cologne and his own masculine scent.

"Oh, er...thank you", I stammered feeling flustered. "Let me take your coat.

I took his coat and hung it on the coat stand by the door to dry. He was dressed in well-fitting jeans and a dark green polo neck shirt.

"I wasn't sure what to bring and thought wine might be a safe choice."

"Yes, that's great," I say with a smile. At least I know what drink to serve him.

Just then dad came in and greeted August.

"I see you brought wine. Kai wasn't sure what you'd like to drink so he bou..."

"Gosh, let me check on the pizza!" I interrupted loudly and disappeared into the kitchen.

I knew it was nowhere near ready yet, but I had to do something before my dad told August that I bought things randomly. I wanted to play it cool...

I took a deep breath and waited for a bit before walking back and finding them seated in the living room. It looked like they were getting along, both men were smiling, and their body language looked relaxed. That was good, right?

Just then Hades came in and cocked his head, looking at August. Usually Hades stayed away from strangers, but when August reached his hand out, he went to him and let him pet him.

"That is high praise from Hades," I said in astonishment. It wasn't long before Hades was almost permanently glued to August's side. The way he acted was like how a pack dog acted to their alpha. He was acknowledging August as his alpha. Then what was I, chopped liver? I couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

Once the pizza was ready, we relocated to the dining room. I wasn't sure if pizza would be enough, so I had also bought a ready-made salad too. I wasn't going to risk messing up a salad. Dad and August were chatting about fishing, a hobby they had in common.

August had incredible table manners and ate the pizza like he was eating Sunday lunch at a five-star restaurant, straight posture and all. I used the knife and fork at first to imitate him, but then decided to heck with it and used my hands. Pops didn't even attempt the knife and fork. He was never one for pretences. As I was licking some cheese off my finger, I noticed August was watching me.

"Um...you don't mind if I use my hands do you? I find it's easier to eat this way."

"Go ahead, there's no rule that says you have to eat pizza with a knife and fork."

The evening went smoothly and to my relief dad didn't say anything too embarrassing about me until dessert was served, which was basically ice cream with chocolate sauce.

"What happened to the brownies you were supposed to make to serve with this?" Dad chimed up.

"What brownies?" I asked, playing dumb. I had tried, but they flopped and there was no way I was going to serve them to August.

"You know the ones you spent two hours this afternoon in the kitchen for," dad said persistently.

"Fine...they...died...a painful horrible death. I deemed them a safety hazard and had to throw them away."

"I noticed a kitchen towel covering a dish which tells me they are not completely inedible."

"I want some," August said, looking at me expectantly with an expression that said he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"If you get a stomach ache or get sick it's not my fault," I grumble as I made my way to the kitchen to fetch some of the partly gooey and partly nuclear disaster squares.

"Bring me some too," dad called after me.

Since I was cornered now, I just put some of the squares on a plate and took it to the table. There was silence as we each took our square of death and added ice cream and chocolate sauce. It was certainly interesting, but not what I'd consider a nice brownie.

Kindly nobody said much about the botched brownies and the rest of the evening went by pleasantly. The wine August brought tasted very nice and had helped me relax a bit too. I wasn't much of a wine drinker but felt alcohol would be just the thing to soothe my nerves. I didn't recognise the wine brand.

Dad eventually excused himself, saying that he still had some work things to look over and August then said that he'd need to get going too since he would have a work meeting early tomorrow morning. I followed him out onto the porch.

"You don't have to come out to my car, I'd rather you stay here where it is safe."

Earlier in the evening the topic of half-Avian men getting kidnapped was discussed and I guess that now turned August into a mother hen along with dad.

"Don't worry, I have Hades to protect me."

I looked and realised Hades didn't follow us outside.

"I can see that," August chuckled.

"Do you mind if I hug you goodbye?" he asked.

"Um...sure."

My heartrate picked up as he pulled me into his embrace. I could feel what I already knew; that he was muscular. I felt good in his arms, surrounded by his scent.

"Thank you for tonight and for making the brownies," he said softly before letting me go.

"You...are welcome," I said feeling bashful, "next time you have to make something."

I think we were both surprised by what I said. August recovered first and smiled.

"Sure, but it will have to be sometime the week after next. I have to travel to a neighbouring district for business negotiations and will be there the whole of next week.

"Oh..okay... let me know when you're back then."

"I will. Goodnight Kai."

"Goodnight August."

I watched until his car had disappeared into the night.