"I founded this ranch ten years ago. After working in the fire service for two decades and seeing my fair share of horror and gore, I knew how much peace a place like this gave me. So I wanted to share it with others."
Making his way through the large living room, Will handed an icepack to Steve before sitting down on the well-used leather couch.
"It started out great. I had kids and teenagers from all over the state come by and spend a few days here. Sometimes it was the simple things that made them smile, you know? Like brushing a horse or feeding the chickens."
"How many acres have you got here?", Mike inquired casually before taking a sip of tea.
"Just under sixty. This is an old dairy farm. I felt it was the perfect place for this ranch. The owner wanted to sell it badly, so I got a good deal…and a few cows too."
"If you don't mind me asking…", Steve started and switched the icepack around from one side of his neck to the other. In the dim light of the living room, Mike was beginning to see the outline of dark bruises forming along his throat, "What happened? Are you still trying to get the property ready? The trailer next door looks a bit…chaotic."
"No, I wish the explanation was that easy."
Drinking a nervous sip of tea himself, Will leaned deeper into the couch, shaking his head in obvious disappointment.
"This all started about nine months ago. I was doing pretty good putting on some PTSD camps and even had some members of the San Francisco Fire Department stop by. The paperwork for my non-profit was in the mail and about to be approved. Well…one day I got a call from a man who said that he was experiencing severe emotional duress. He wondered if it was ok for him to stop by."
Both detectives looked at each other knowingly but remained quiet.
"I figured why not, maybe word had spread about the ranch and what we do up here. So, I invited him to stay with us for a weekend. About two days in he confided to me that he was gay. Not that I have anything against it…"
Mike nodded reassuringly to keep the man talking.
"Well, he came and went and next thing I know, I get calls from lots of other gay men. I think he must have told his friends about our farm. Well, I told them that we really are more focused on children and teenagers at this point and that seemed to help. But whatever was said had spread to the village down the road. I started to receive death threats. I'd wake up in the morning and somebody put sand in my gas tank or slit my tires. Last week somebody trashed the guest trailer. Each time I went to get groceries, I had people refuse service to me. I am not saying that everybody in the village is like that, but whoever is pulling the strings is powerful enough to get all the business owners to comply."
"Did you ever try to get the police involved, Mister Cannon?", Steve asked, only to receive an indifferent shrug in return.
"And just which cops would that be? The closest ones are in Carmet, and they thought I was exaggerating."
"Are you sure you were targeted because you had a gay man up here for two days?", Mike tried to clarify, a deep frown on his face.
"I figured that having the word faggot scratched into the side of my truck might be a subtle clue, yes.", Will answered curtly.
Silence spread between the three men for a few long seconds before Mike showed him Glenn Malcolm's picture.
"Is this the man who came up here to stay?"
Shaking his head, Will cleared his throat uncomfortably before speaking again.
"No. Not initially anyways. I saw that you had Glenn's picture earlier when we were…well, never mind. Glenn came up here two or three weeks ago. He had called me earlier and I gave him a fair warning of what was happening, but he insisted that he wanted to come up regardless. And he did. Showed up on my doorstep one day."
"How long did Glenn stay with you?", Steve inquired, feeling his partner's intense gaze on him.
"Just for the week. He was horribly shaken up. So we just kind of took him under our wing and a few days later, he was gone. I figured he'd returned home, but you two are homicide cops, so I am afraid that's not what happened."
"No, unfortunately it isn't.", Mike said and put the picture back in his coat pocket, " Glenn's body was found floating in the San Francisco Bay a few days ago. We have reason to believe that his death was no accident."
A wave if pain washed over the other man for a second, before he clenched his jaws.
"How…how did he die, if you don't mind me asking?"
Mike wanted to answer, but Steve was faster.
"We're not releasing the information quite yet, pending the outcome of our investigation.", receiving a surprised look from the Lieutenant, Steve switched the ice pack again before continuing."Now, Mister Cannon, I heard you say we. Who all lives here with you?"
The man ran a nervous hand through his short hair and looked at his feet.
"It's just me and the two boys. I've never been married. Let's just say a career in the fire service is not conducive to a family life. I am sure you guys experienced similar problems."
"Those two boys out there are your children?", Mike asked surprised and took another sip of tea.
"Yes and no. Not legally. I met Miguel through the camp. His father was a two time world champion martial artist. He taught him a lot. Unfortunately he passed away from an aneurysm when Miguel was only twelve and Louis was still a toddler. They became wardens of the state after that and I don't need to tell you how well that went. One day they came here with a group of other kids to spend some time with the animals. They must have liked it a lot because two months later they stood at my door. They'd run away from the orphanage and begged me to take them in."
"Don't these kids have any other family? What happened to their mother?", Steve pried and received an annoyed glare from Will.
"Their mother is a drug addict. By now she's probably dead. She never wanted anything to do with those kids. Both of their paternal grandparents have passed on and I have no clue about their mother's side. All I know is that these two boys were suffering horribly in the orphanage. This ranch gave them peace and…and somebody who actually cared about them. They were happy for once."
"And yet it would appear that Miguel has a few anger issues to work through. Those threats he made were backed up by actions. Dangerous ones at that.", Mike noted, trying to keep his tone casual.
"Listen Detectives, he is not a bad kid. He's the hardest worker I ever had and he's only seventeen. What's been going on here has disturbed him deeply, so when we saw you two come in, and your partner drawing his gun, well…he wanted to eliminate any threat. Please don't take it personal, he was only afraid for my safety."
"Eliminate a threat is a good choice of words…" Steve muttered cynically, before rubbing a hand over his neck.
"I am just glad that we were able to convince you before it was too late, Mister Cannon.", Mike added, unable to disguise the bitter undertone in his voice and gestured to the front of the house, "Now, if you don't mind, is it ok if we take a look around? See if we can find any clues as to what happened to Glenn?"
Will nodded eagerly before pointing at the door.
"Be my guest. Believe me; I am sure that he wasn't hurt up here. But for what it's worth, look around the property. I will be here paying bills if you need anything...Even look through the house for all I care, I have nothing to hide. Matter of fact, I would love to be of some help when it comes to solving Glenn's murder. He didn't deserve this. If you want to come back tomorrow to do more digging, fine. Backdoor is always unlocked. Just know that me and the boys will be in Carmet shopping for most of the day. Don't enter any of the animal pens please, some of them aren't as friendly as they seem."
The two Detectives stood up and were ready to leave, when Will called them back again.
"One more thing…I hope to God it won't happen, but in case of unwelcome guests, there are two hunting rifles in the tack room of the barn. They are loaded. Help yourselves if it means staying safe. Don't think for one second that these lunatics in the village will stop for a city cop."