TK twisted the bottom of his shirt in his good hand as he waited in the hard chair at the police station. The lead detective on his case was busy on a call, so he was stuck there until he was ready. And how strange was it that TK had a case with the police? At least it wasn't against him, but that didn't make it much better. He loved Carlos, but he never wanted to be involved with his world this way. It was a bit like when Carlos was thrown into a fire situation with TK. The worst parts of their jobs shouldn't touch each other.
The rest of his friends and family had gotten their interviews over with the day before. They only had a limited amount of information and came in near the end of everything, so they didn't have much to say. But if this ended up going to court, the police needed everything to be documented and airtight.
TK couldn't really imagine having to go into a courtroom and recount everything that happened to him. It was going to be hard enough in a room with a detective who was on his side. Saying it all in a room full of strangers was going to be unbearable. He'd testified a few times in his life about suspicious fires, but those had nothing to do with him personally. All he wanted to do was put this all behind him, but he was going to have to keep reliving it in front of an audience.
"Mr. Strand, I'm ready for you now," the detective said as he walked over to where TK was waiting. Detective York was probably in his late 30s and seemed friendly enough, but TK was still nervous. He really wished Carlos was with him, but he was off in his own interview, pertaining to the shooting. Carlos assured him that everything would be okay, but that was just another thing to fret about today.
TK followed him wordlessly through the hall as Detective York led him to an interrogation room. It felt cold and unwelcoming and TK couldn't stop the shiver that coursed through his body. He wished he'd worn Carlos' hoodie, but he wanted to present a stronger image, so he went with a simple button up. Now all he wanted was to cuddle up in the comforting warmth of something that smelled like his love.
"Sorry about the room. We don't have a lot of options and I figured you'd appreciate some privacy," Detective York said as he pulled out a seat for TK. He must not have hidden his reaction very well. TK would have to keep that in mind when he was telling his story. He of course wasn't planning on lying, but he didn't want to look weak.
"Thank you. It's fine," TK brushed off, sitting as straight as he could in his chair. He was still achy and sore all over, but he could handle it. Carlos had convinced him to take some Tylenol alongside his breakfast of his mom's amazing egg white omelet. TK was surprised he had no issue keeping it down and when Carlos said it was because it was made with love, he broke down again. That was beginning to get very annoying, but hopefully letting the tears out earlier would help him keep them in check for this interview.
"Would you like me to grab you a glass of water or would you prefer to get started?" Detective York asked kindly, setting a folder on the table between them. Carlos didn't have much interaction with this guy, but he didn't have any bad things to say about him. Hopefully his friendly demeanor wasn't just an act. TK had to keep reminding himself that he was the victim in all this and not in trouble, but it was easy to forget.
"Getting started sounds good, but thank you for the offer," TK replied. He didn't want anything that would prolong this experience.
"Of course. This shouldn't take long, but if at any time you need a break, just let me know."
"Thank you."
"How about we start from the beginning? When was your first encounter with Mr. and Mrs. Russell?"
"Uh, I met Lor- Mrs. Russell on Tuesday afternoon. The day before they- the day before," TK muttered, rubbing his hand across the leg of his pants underneath the table. He'd almost been killed by people whose full names he hadn't even known. He almost died as Brian Russell.
"And what was your interaction like?"
"I was jogging by her house and she was having trouble getting a shovel out of the dirt. I helped her."
"Did anything strange happen?" TK hesitated, feeling embarrassed that he hadn't seen a big enough sign to tell him to steer clear of the house. What did that say about his instincts? How was he ever going to trust his gut again when it didn't alert him to the danger that was lurking?
"She called me Brian. And she was looking at me like she knew me," TK admitted.
"And do you know the Brian she was referring to?"
"Her son. At least, that's what she told me. She said a lot of things, but that came the next day."
"But nothing else happened during that first meeting?"
"No. It only lasted a couple minutes. Carlos- or Officer Reyes sent me a message on my phone, so it gave me an excuse to leave."
"Carlos is fine. No need to be so formal," Detective York said with a smile. "Now, was there any particular reason you were eager to end your conversation with Mrs. Russell?"
"Besides the fact that I wanted to get back home, not really."
"And she didn't threaten you at all or give any indication that something was off?"
"No. She didn't try to get me to stay longer or anything." Maybe if she'd been more aggressive, TK would've known to stay away.
"Okay. Unless there is anything else you'd like to add, let's move on to the day of the incident."
"I got off work early that morning, around 7:00 or so. Carlos was scheduled to be on shift for a few more hours, so I was home by myself. I got a little restless, so I decided to take a walk," TK recounted.
"Do you take a lot of walks?" Detective York asked.
"No. I don't know. Maybe? Is that a problem?" TK asked a little testily. Like Carlos said, it was his right to go out and live his life.
"I'm just trying to determine if it was possible for the Russells to have noticed you before your first face-to-face meeting. I'm not accusing you of anything," Detective York replied, raising his hands slightly to show his surrender.
"I'm sorry," TK mumbled, shaking his head in disappointment at himself. There was no need to take his frustrations out on someone who was only trying to help. It was completely unwarranted.
"It's fine. I've done hundreds of interviews and I've dealt with much more aggression than that. It's understandable," Detective York waved off.
"I've only taken a few walks and jogs around the neighborhood, but usually with Carlos. We just moved into our house and with the weather how it was, we didn't have the opportunity. But those last two were the only times I went by their house on foot."
"That means it's less likely that you were being stalked over a prolonged period of time. More spur of the moment instead of premeditated."
"Does that matter?"
"It could in court. Their attorney could argue that this wasn't thought out and was possibly a momentary lapse in judgment."
"A lapse in judgment? They held me captive for hours! They almost killed me!" TK shouted, hissing as he tried to clench both of his fists and jarred his injured hand. Their actions couldn't be excused so easily. Not after everything they put him through.
"I'm just anticipating a possible defense. There is enough damning evidence against them that they will have to come up with some sort of outlandish reason for leniency."
"Do you think it will work?" TK asked, feeling a bit of panic bubble up in his chest. He wasn't sure he'd be able to stay in the state if they were back on the streets, let alone his house. Would Carlos go with him if he had to leave? Was this going to be one burden too many?
"In my professional opinion, no. Even without the whole story from you, there is a lot they have to answer for. Most likely, there will be some sort of plea deal taken."
"Even if I wasn't the only one they did this to?"
"Excuse me? Would you mind explaining what you mean by that?" Detective York asked, leaning forward a bit. TK hadn't told anyone about this yet. He hadn't wanted to talk about his ordeal a lot with anyone, so most of the conversations steered away from it. Besides questions of how he was feeling, it was left alone. But TK knew that this was even more important than everything that happened to him.
"Lorna told me I wasn't the first Brian she found and did this to. But I think I'm the only one who survived them," TK admitted, letting out a shaky breath as the reality of how close he came to dying hit him again. If he hadn't had Carlos, he wouldn't be here to tell this story.
"This changes things. I'm going to have to coordinate with homicide, missing persons, God knows who else," Detective York sighed, running a hand down his face. "Do you have any details about the other men?"
"Lorna mentioned Montana and Michigan, but Burt made it clear that this happened multiple times. And most likely the other men looked similar to me."
"I think that's a safe assumption," Detective York agreed, flipping open the folder and pulling out a photograph. It was an older looking school picture and if TK hadn't known better, he would've sworn it was him as a kid. It was a young boy with dark hair and green eyes. Even the skin tone matched, as far as he could tell by the quality of the photo.
"Brian?" TK whispered, running his finger lightly along the edge of the picture.
"What did she tell you about him?"
"He got sick and she couldn't save him. And I was him reincarnated, or something along those lines," TK murmured, feeling a little sympathy bubble up for her. It didn't excuse what she'd done at all, but seeing how young and full of life her son was, knowing how it ended, made him feel terrible. If he lost Carlos, he wouldn't be able to handle it either. But his path of destruction would begin and end with himself. "I think a part of her really believed that, but Burt didn't."
"He told you that?"
"He told me a lot of things actually. Burt wasn't planning on me living through everything, just like the others. And he admitted to making sure they didn't either."
"Burt Russell confessed to murdering their other kidnapping victims?"
"Yes, he did. He said he was doing it to protect his wife. That it was easier to get rid of us before she had hope we would recover from the illness she thought we had," TK spat bitterly. If Burt was just going to get rid of the innocent men, why didn't he stop Lorna from taking them in the first place? TK doubted she'd be able to subdue them without his assistance.
"Illness?" Detective York pressed.
"She was trying to recreate the circumstances of her real son's sickness, so she could heal us and assuage her guilt."
"And that was why she forced you to drink the cleaner?" TK couldn't hide his shudder at the memory of that whole event. From the violence of Burt to the manic tenderness of Lorna.
"Yes. She had to make me sick to make me better."
Detective York had him continue with his story, so he explained how Lorna lured him into the house and Burt used the shotgun to hit him over the head. It felt like his headache ratcheted up at the mention of it, but that was probably his mind playing tricks on him.
"Mr. Russell was the one responsible for your physical injuries?"
"Lorna slapped me a few times. And tried to claw my mouth open. But mostly she just directed Burt on what to do." TK may not have been a parent, but he would never treat his child like that. Especially not a magically reincarnated version of them. But if Lorna was mentally unwell enough to believe that was possible, it made sense that she wouldn't make the best choices.
"Tell me what happened in those last moments before Officer Reyes showed up," Detective York directed.
"Lorna was going to give me cough syrup, but she got sidetracked by a phone call. Burt stayed back and that's when he told me about getting rid of the other men and force fed me the whole bottle," TK muttered, running his tongue along the roof of his mouth as if he could still feel the stickiness of it. "He called me TK, which Lorna never did."
"So he was never acting under the assumption that you were Brian?" Detective York asked for clarification.
"No, not for any of us. He was pretending for his wife," TK said bitterly. It was one thing to be controlled by delusions and another to perform evil acts with a sound mind. "And she was surprised when I told her."
"You told Mrs. Russell that Mr. Russell had killed the men she'd taken?" Detective York asked, sounding a bit surprised himself.
"I did," TK confirmed unashamedly. He'd felt a little guilty before about playing on Lorna's emotions, but he didn't anymore. Neither of them deserved his consideration after what they'd put him through.
"Pretty ballsy, trying to pit them against each other. Did it work?"
"To a point. They were arguing when Carlos got there. They didn't have a chance to talk again before- before…"
"Before Officer Reyes shot Mr. Russell," Detective York finished for him.
"Burt was coming at me with a knife when it happened. And he'd already stabbed me with it. Carlos was only doing what he had to do, but if someone has to get in trouble for it, it should be me. He was protecting me," TK said quickly. Out of everything that happened, the only thing TK was sure he would never be able to get past was Carlos being hurt in the end. He'd never forgive himself.
"I obviously can't speak with any authority on the matter, but I wouldn't worry about that too much. I think the evidence will show it was a good shooting. And Officer Reyes has a clean record, so that will help in his favor," Detective York assured him. TK tried to take comfort in his statement, but he wouldn't fully relax until he knew for sure. "Is there anything you'd like to add about what happened after Officer Reyes showed up?"
"I don't remember much besides all of my friends being there and taking care of me. It was like I could finally breathe again," TK sighed, thinking back to the moment he'd seen Carlos. It was such an overwhelming feeling of safety that it still took his breath away if he dwelled on it for too long.
"Well then, I think I've kept you here for long enough."
"That's it?" TK asked in surprise. Besides a few bumps, that had gone relatively smoothly.
"We might have you come back in for a few more questions, but for now, yes," Detective York confirmed.
"Do you know when court will be?" TK asked nervously.
"Unfortunately, no. But Mrs. Russell has been remanded to the county jail and Mr. Russell is still in the hospital, but he'll be joining her once he is discharged. You don't have to worry about them anymore," Detective York insisted kindly.
"Thank you," TK murmured. He felt kind of embarrassed to be anxious about an older couple, but they'd proven to be very dangerous. If he never had to see them again, it would be too soon.
Detective York led him back out to where he'd been sitting before, explaining what the next steps would be. TK didn't hear any of it though. Not when he saw who was waiting for him in one of those hard seats.
Carlos stood up as soon as they made eye contact, giving him a nod and soft smile. TK desperately hoped that meant things had gone well.
"Officer Reyes," Detective York greeted politely, shaking his hand.
"Detective York," Carlos replied with a nod. "Everything go well?"
"Despite Mr. Strand giving me a ton more work to do, I'd say it did. I know you just gave your statement, but I might have some clarifying questions for you soon."
"Anything you need," Carlos agreed.
"Excellent. Well, I'll let you both get out of here," Detective York said, pulling out his phone as he walked away from them. He was probably getting started on figuring out what to do about the new information TK had given him about the Russells. He really hoped that would be enough to send them away for good.
"Ready to go home?" Carlos asked, holding out his hand for TK to take.
"Very," TK sighed, resting his head on Carlos' shoulder as they walked out of the station. It was a bit closer than they usually got at Carlos' work, but he didn't think either of them minded at the moment. "How did your interview go?"
"I'm back on the job next week," Carlos said with a grin. TK felt an immense weight drop from his shoulders and he was almost lightheaded with relief.
"That's good. That's good," TK choked out, wiping under his eyes in embarrassment as the tears came once again. At least he'd held off until they were almost to the car. Carlos kissed him on the forehead and guided him into the passenger's seat. He grabbed his hoodie from the back and handed it to TK, knowing exactly what he needed. Even on the hottest day of a Texas summer, that's what he would reach for. Carlos was his home and they were going to be okay.