By the time Danny and I get to the crime scene, there's officers and techs crawling the area. It's the building right next to the alley where Kevin was found and Danny gets out his kit and we quickly go up to the 4 floor, where the body was found. Mac's there, getting updated by Hawkes. When he sees us, he waves us over to where the body is.
"Carla Rodgers was out of town the whole time Eric and Kevin were visiting. Came back and found her son dead on the floor." I nod and look at the body. Stab wounds in his torso and there's no doubt the cause of death.
"I count 5 stab wounds. He's been dead over 36 hours, I can give you a better time after the autopsy. " Hawkes says and he nods to the assistant ME, and they start to move Eric's body onto a stretcher. Mac tells Danny to start collecting evidence and look for the knife.
I turn to Mac. "I don't understand how we didn't find him sooner. He's been dead almost as long as Kevin." I can hear the anger creep into my voice and I struggle to maintain control. "Didn't anyone question the people in this building?"
Mac nods shortly. "Neighbors told the uniforms that Ms. Rodgers was out of town, so no one thought to come to this apartment." I sigh inwardly. This is not going well.
"Have you talked to his mom yet?" Mac shakes his head and turns to go out into the hallway, gesturing for me to follow. I glance back once to look at Danny, who's engrossed in his work.
Mac and I are halfway out the apartment door when Danny calls for us. Mac and I look at each other and go back in to find Danny holding a kitchen knife between his thumb and index finger. It's covered in blood, yeah, I'd say that's the murder weapon.
"Has prints on it," Danny says, gazing intently on the handle. "Found it sticking out from under the couch."
"Good, bag it." Mac says. "Is that it?"
Danny shakes his head. "Nope." He moves to the other side of the living room, Mac and I in his wake. Then he points to the floor. Blood. "And look at the drag marks." Sure enough, there's marks from where a body had been drug and they lead up to the window. Danny shines his flashlight on the windowsill and finds blood there, too. I move over and look out the window with him. Down below is the dumpster where Kevin's body was found. At least now we know how he got there.
At first, Ms. Rodger's is pretty unhelpful. I mean, I can't blame her-- she's just found her son's body lying in her living room. But after she's had a bit of time to calm down, she at least tries to answer the questions we ask her.
"Did you know that Kevin and Eric were going to be here?" Mac asks softly, not trying to give Ms. Rodgers the wrong impression.
She nods and swipes a hand across her cheek, brushing away some tears. "Yes, and I was supposed to be here, but I got called out of town on a business meeting. I thought they'd be ok by themselves..." She chokes back a sob. Then her eyes go wide. "Oh no, what am I going to tell Gisele? She and the boys are best friends!"
"I'll tell her, Ms. Rodgers." I offer. "She already knows about Kevin." Ms. Rodgers nods. "Did Eric have any problems you know of? Anyone not like him? Trouble at school, back in Albany?"
Ms. Rodgers shakes her head. "He's not into drugs, if that's what you mean. And I'm sure there's people who don't like him, but he's never said anything to me about it. Teenagers don't exactly talk to their parents."
Mac nods. "What about girlfriends? Anything there?"
Ms. Rodgers looks Mac right in the eye. "No. Eric isn't.. Eric doesn't like..." She sighs. "Eric's gay."
Mac and I look at each other. That was unexpected.
"I... Ms. Rodgers, were Eric and Kevin..." Mac begins but she cuts him off.
"Yes, they were dating, Detective Taylor. That's why Eric brought Kevin here. I'm supportive of Eric's life and how he chooses.. chose to live it. So, I suggested that Eric bring Kevin here. Away from his mother, who didn't know and they were tired of sneaking around all the time. If I had known..." Ms. Rodgers covers her mouth and shuts her eyes. She clears her throat before trying to speak again. "If I had known this would've happened," she says softly, "I would've never suggested it."
It's nearly 2 o'clock by the time Mac let's us go home again. However, he was nice enough to tell us to sleep in a bit, come in later than usual, but no later than 9:30. Which is pretty generous-- for Mac anyway.
Danny opts to come home with me again, which delights
me after the turn of events. I'm feeling a little sluggish and when
we get back into my apartment, Danny turns and kisses me slowly, not
rushing anything. Which is definitely a change of pace compared to
the last two days.
I pull back and rest my forehead against his. His hands settle on my hips before sliding back. He rubs my back gently, and it feels really good.
"Hey," He says and I pull back to look him in the eyes. I see so much concern and worry and a little emotion that I don't dare name in his eyes and it makes me feel tingly all over. "You ok?"
I nod slowly and lean in for another kiss. It's just as slow and sweet as the first one, not at all hurried, and Danny's hands are still rubbing my back soothingly. When it ends, I whisper "Help me forget about today."
Danny nods and entwines his fingers with mine, tucking me back toward my bedroom.
