The Acquittal - 22. Chapter 21

Stephanie sat across from Kyle’s desk, staring at the object in her hand curiously. “Since he proposed, does that mean you have to change your name?”

“No...” Kyle said absently as he was looking over a file. “He’ll be changing his name. It’s a family thing.”

“What, your family is better than his?” she looked up at him, smirking.

He sighed, his eyes looking at her with mock annoyance. “He doesn’t have any family left to his knowledge and his memories of his father aren’t good ones. He’s been a part of my family for fifteen years. It’s only natural that he officially become a Howard. I’m gonna need that back.”

She smiled, handing the ring over to him. She noticed a soft smile lift his face as he returned the ring to his finger. She had noticed it on his finger first thing when she saw him that morning. She also saw a new look in his eyes. A calm in him that she hadn’t seen before since she met him. She was more surprised when he didn’t obfuscate the issue when she asked. He was a completely different person than who she knew two months ago.

“Have you heard from Mike yet,” Kyle asked, looking up from the paper in his hand.

She gave him an odd look. “Why would I hear from him? He’s not my intern.”

“You work here,” he said simply, “you haven’t seen him around?”

“Not yet, no.” She moved to sit on the edge of his desk and smiled again. “So? How does it feel?”

“How does what feel?” He looked down at the paper again but his own smile returned.

“Being off the market. Was it everything you thought it would be?”

He put the paper down and sat back in his chair. Looking up at her, his brown eyes shined. “It’s like… blazed into my mind. The look on his face when he said it. When I think about it, it feels like I’m floating for a minute. It’s still a little surreal right now, to tell you the truth.”

Steph shook her head and snickered. “You are definitely in love. I’m really happy for you, Kyle. It’s about damn time.”

There was a hasty knock on his doorframe right before Mike came walking in with a book bag over his shoulder. “Good morning,” he said smiling.

“There you are,” Kyle smiled at him. “Where have you been?”

“I have something you’ve been dying to see,” he grinned as he sat down and unzipped the bag. “This is why I was late. I stopped by forensics first. DNA evidence reports are all here.” He pulled out two thick files, handing one over to Kyle.

Kyle’s eyes widened as his smile turned into a shit eating grin. “Well, looks like you earned your gold start today!” He reached for the file and opened it.

“God, you’re in a good mood today,” Mike said as he sat his copy down and opened it. “You must have had a good weekend.”

“Look at his left hand,” Steph said helpfully as she got up. “I’m going to traffic court. Want me to stop by later?”

“That would be helpful,” Kyle said as he started reading. “A fresh set of eyes never hurts.”

“Then I’ll see you in a couple hours,” she said as she walked out of his office.

“Holy shit,” Mike said suddenly, causing Kyle to look up at him.

“What?”

“That ring! Where’d you get it?” Mike’s eyes were looking at it appraisingly.

Kyle smiled again with that peaceful look on his face as he looked down at his hand. “Jacob gave it to me Friday night. Sorry I didn’t get back to you when you called. We were… busy.”

“So, that’s like, an engagement ring,” Mike suddenly got a crooked smile on his face, not having thought of the possibility before until just now. He’d only known Kyle for a month but already liked him. Really liked him to be honest, but he kept it professional. Now, he’s suddenly getting married?

“Yup,” Kyle said. “Once I finish this case, I plan on tying the knot.”

“Congratulations then,” he said sincerely, then with a shrug added, “he seemed like a nice enough guy.”

“Thanks,” Kyle replied. “Now, let’s get to work.”

The pair dove into the files, each of them knowing they were one step closer to their goal.

****

Jacob sat comfortably at his desk in his workshop, sketching plans for the new edition to the house. He’d wanted to get started as soon as he got home the night before but Dad insisted he rest and tell him how everything went. It had been a great night between them and he gave into David’s demand that he rest up and start fresh the next day.

Since he heard Kyle say yes, he felt imbued with a singular purpose to make everything work out the way they wanted. They spent most of that Saturday talking about it and planning things out as far as what kind of ceremony they wanted, who to invite and where they wanted to go afterwards. When they weren’t talking and Matt wasn’t awake, they were making love and that just made everything else even better. When they agreed to leave the past behind they both meant it. In some ways it was as if those nine years apart had been erased. There were some parts that they couldn’t ignore but they were determined to not let the past or their personal fears hinder them anymore.

Jacob was’t the same loner he used to be from years ago but he still enjoyed the solitude that his workshop gave him. When he was alone, his thoughts were more focused as the rest of the world was shut out on the other side of the door. He was determined to get this right. He wanted to make this new addition to the house a place just for them. He didn’t just want to draw out the rooms on a piece of paper. He wanted to plan how the woodwork would look. Where the furniture would go. Yes, Kyle would have a final say but he wanted to be able to anticipate what he might want.

He’d spent most of the morning working on furniture he wanted to make. Not much, because he had other commissions to complete and there just wasn’t enough time. He only had today to spend on these plans. The rest of the week was going to be dedicated to finishing up other orders he had to complete. He was looking forward to the work to help pass the time between now and their wedding day. As soon as possible, he planned on going back to be with Kyle.

He heard the door open behind him but didn’t stop working. The weight of the footsteps approaching that reached his ears told him it wasn’t Dad. He smiled to himself. He was hoping to see Troy today.

“Hey,” Troy said as he walked up to Jacob. He turned to lean against the desk, smiling down at him. “So, how was the rest of your weekend?”

“Damn near perfect,” he said, putting the pencil down. “You’re not here for dirty details, so I’ll just say it was a great weekend.”

“I’m really happy for you, Jacob,” he said in what Jacob described as his “brotherly” voice. “Kyle’s getting a good man to share his life with. Did you guys settle on a date?”

“Not yet but there’s a bunch of things still up in the air,” Jacob explained. Troy noted that he didn’t seem perturbed or disappointed. There was a notable absence of uncertainty and pensiveness in Jacob’s eyes now. “Eventually, we’ll figure out a date. One thing’s for sure, I want to get the house done before we get married.”

Troy nodded in agreement. “Don’t blame you there. Depending on what you got going on, I’m sure we can get it done. If it comes down to it, I’ll send a team over here to help out. From what you showed me, it shouldn’t take more than two weeks. Maybe a little more depending on the weather.”

Jacob grinned as he opened a drawer and showed him all the papers he’d drawn throughout the day. “Well, it’s not like I don’t have enough ideas here.”

“Wow, bud,” Troy said with a little surprise as he examined everything on the table. “You’ve been busy.”

“I have some good motivation.”

Troy smirked. “One thing I do need to ask about your weekend. How nervous were you really?”

Jacob laughed as he sat back in his chair. Troy hadn’t heard him laugh like that in a long time. It brought a different look to his friend. The inner confidence he’s had that he usually keeps to himself seemed to have come to the surface completely now. “Well, I was fine the whole day when I got in town and went to the courthouse. Oh, man, if there’s ever a chance to go see him in court, you really should go. He’s a totally different person when he’s working. Anyway, after that we went to get Matt and then dinner. And I was fine the whole time. It was when I just… had this sudden urge to do it and I got the ring out of my bag. The second it was in my hand…” He chuckled again, “fuck, I thought I wasn’t gonna make it through it. I swear, if you asked me to repeat what I said to him that night, I couldn’t do it. The second he said yes, nothing else mattered.”

Troy chuckled, “It’s ok. I’ve been there. So, show me what you got.” He turned to look down at the papers on the desk.

“One more thing,” Jacob said, becoming a little more uncertain. Troy looked over at him curiously and waited for him to go on. “Uh, Kyle and I… We decided to have a pretty small ceremony. We want everyone there, you know, but as far as who’d be in the actual wedding party, we decided to keep it small.”

“Ok…” Troy’s lips twitched up in amusement. “And….?”

“Well, we wanted to ditch a few concepts. No bride so no father giving anyone away. But…” He grimaced slightly, “he and I decided to kind of combine the best man role with our… friends and family. We want all of you there with us when we do this.”

“Well, it’s your guys’ wedding,” Troy said trying to assure him. “You two do whatever will make you happy.”

“Kyle wants his dad to stand with him as his best man and walk him down the aisle. Wish there was a name for that,” he rolled his eyes in slight annoyance. “We talked about it for awhile. More like him telling me to ask…” His voice faltered in embarrassment. He felt foolish asking but just wanted to make sure.

Troy face slowly broke out into a wide smile. “Jacob…? Are you trying to ask me something?”

Jacob gathered up his courage, looked up in his eyes as he said, “I don’t have any other family besides Kyle, Dad… and… well… you did say I was like a brother to you, same as Kyle. I was wondering if you’d want to be there. With me.”

Troy chuckled and leaned down to kiss his forehead. “You would think after fourteen years you’d know the answer before you asked. Of course I’d be honored if you wanted me to stand there with you on your special day.”

“Thanks,” he smiled with relief.

“Don’t mention it,” Troy said. “Now, let’s go over these before I need to get home.”

The two of them spent the next half hour going over the plans for the house, talking things out and making changes. Troy also gave him advice for what kind of furniture they might ultimately want. They fell into a comfortable back and forth and settled on a few things while at the same time knowing it’s mostly tentative until Jacob gets approval from Kyle. At the end, they had settled a lot of questions and figured out a timeline that would get the project done in under a month. Before he left, Troy made a point to embrace him and congratulate him again.

“I’m sure Dad’s already said it, but I’ll say it to,” Troy muttered as he hug Jacob, “I’m so very proud of you. You’ve come a long way and you did it all on your own. We were there cheering for you, but you did the work. The credit is all yours.”

Jacob hugged him tight as he said, “maybe. But I couldn’t have done it without you. You’ve been a great friend when I needed one.”

“We’re family, Jacob. We’re always there for each other.”

****

Kyle stared at the white board in the meeting room they had moved into after they ran out of space in his office. He and Mike were soon joined by Stephanie and then Detective Harris in the meeting room as they slowly broke down all the forensic data and DNA evidence they had available. The next two hours were spent coming up with a reasonable motive and probable cause to obtain future search warrants. “Alright. Let’s go over this one more time,” he sighed. He only had so much more time before he had to get his son and he wanted to reach a conclusion before he left.

“Motive,” Stephanie said. “We know Officer Gordon was having an affair with Theresa Mayfield. Phone calls and text messages prove this.”

“We also have a friend of hers from work that will testify to the fact that she was involved with an old high school friend of hers,” added Mike, “and we know Gordon and the victim went to high school together.”

“We know she was pregnant when she was murdered,” Harris muttered. “We got DNA off the fetus but we don’t have anyone else’s DNA to examine to determine who the father was. Either way, if he was screwing her behind his wife’s back, he had an incentive to keep it quiet. Babies aren’t know for being quiet.”

“Opportunity was pretty simple,” Kyle said as he looked over the board scribbled with notes. “She either let him in or maybe he had a key. Either way, no one broke in, there was no fight or evidence of a physical altercation.”

“No sign of them sleeping either,” Mike brought up. “It seems weird that he would just show up, get in bed and kill her without her knowing what was up.” He took a quick look at some notes. “Also, coroner found no sign of any defensive wounds. New or old.”

“Well, wait a minute,” Stephanie said thoughtfully, “now that I’m thinking about it, it seems odd if they were arguing that she’d just go to bed with him. I mean, it would be different if they were a couple but she had to know he was married. It doesn’t make sense that she’d even want him around if they had fought earlier that day. At least, from what it looks like in their text messages.”

“So, maybe he has a key,” Kyle said.

“Or took a key when she wasn’t watching. Which we won’t know for sure without a search warrant,” Harris said with a frown. “We have enough to at least bring him in for questioning.”

“How do you plan on getting him to come in for questioning,” Kyle asked.

“My partner and I will get it done,” Harris smirked. “We’ll have to consider him a person of interest. I can call his superiors and have him here tomorrow morning. Look, Kyle, I’ve been doing this since you were a kid. I know how to get a guy to talk even when he doesn’t want to. Let me take care of that.”

“Alright. We need something. Some grounds to get a search warrant. I’ll leave that to you. And try to keep the press off his scent when you bring him in.” He smiled slightly. “That’s it for the day. I need to go get Matt and get him home. The rest of you got better things to do than go over this again.”

They all gathered their things and made their way out of the meeting room. Kyle stopped at his office to drop off the files. He hadn’t been in there longer than a few seconds before there was another knock on his door. He looked up and saw Jeff, his boss, standing there watching him with a small smirk on his face. “Getting close?”

“That’s debatable,” he said candidly. “Harris is going to question Gordon. We’ll see what he gets and go from there. Maybe we’ll have enough for a warrant by the end of the week.”

Jeff nodded, satisfied with his explanation. “Good work.” He stepped in and closed the door behind him. Inwardly, Kyle sighed. “I hear congratulations are in order.”

Kyle sighed and muttered, “Steph…”

Jeff chuckled. “Not directly, I suppose. Let’s see it.” he motioned with his hand.

Kyle grinned and rolled his eyes as he held out his hand. “It’s just a ring.”

Jeff looked it over appraisingly. “No, this is more than just a ring.” He looked at it for a little longer before he looked back into Kyle’s eyes. “So. You gonna tell me the other part?”

“What other part,” he asked, not understanding.

“When you’re leaving.”

Kyle blinked in surprise. “I haven’t said anything about that.”

“No, but I’m not stupid,” he said calmly, crossing his arms. “Do you have a date planned?”

“No,” he said, embarrassed. “I told him I wanted to wait to finish this case first.”

“You realize that could be years? Kyle, you’ve never prosecuted a murder before,” he said simply. “Whoever you charge is going to lawyer up like you wouldn’t believe and have you drowning in paper before you even get to jury selection. Unless your fiance is planning on moving here, you might not get married until your boy is headed to junior high.”

Kyle felt his stomach fall into his feet as he listened. “But… I told him we could get married next year.”

“Kyle,” Jeff said in a slightly gruff but sad tone. “No one is going to fault you if you walk away from this. If you plan on making a life and having a family with this guy, you owe it to yourself to make that your priority.”

“What about the case?” He looked at Jeff odd. Never in his life had he ever heard someone tell him to give up.

Jeff chuckled. “You’re not the only lawyer in the building. I can find someone to pick it up. Look… Go home. Sleep on it. You don’t have to decide right now. But, I’m telling you, there’s no way this is only going to last just a year. Maybe. Maybe if you found concrete, no question, beyond-a-reasonable-doubt-and-then-some evidence that will put this bastard behind bars, then you could get this done before Christmas. But, that’s a long shot at best and you’d have at least one miracle under your belt if the Catholic Church ever decided to make you a saint.” He opened the door, giving Kyle one last look. “Either way, I expect a letter on my desk by the end of the week. I’ll accept it when i’m ready too. How’s that sound?”

“I need to go pick up Matt,” Kyle said, avoiding the question. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He grabbed his coat and headed out the door past Jeff who just stood there watching him go, shaking his head.

****

Jacob finished up his day after dinner. Over the years, he and David had fallen into an unspoken routine together. Jacob would do the dishes while David would go through the house, turning off lights and finishing up anything in his study he needed to get done. Afterwards, they would meet back in the living room and sit while watching a movie, sports or the news depending on who got the remote first. If they bickered about the other’s choice it was mostly just in good-natured fun. David never said it directly but he was always glad to have Jacob around. More so since he returned from Kyle’s last weekend.

David had dreaded the day when Kyle would graduate and leave home to go out on his own. Kyle had been his main focus in life since he had lost the wife he never really loved and the friend who he never could admit that he loved until it was too late. The thought of an empty nest filled him with a certain amount of dread so it was something of a blessing that, when Kyle left for college, Jacob opted to stay behind and work in the area before he got his carpentry certification and start tentatively moving away from working with Sam’s construction company and into his own business. Things had been good those first few years. Kyle would come home to visit him and Jacob and even Brian moved in for a time. David felt needed and went out of his way to give Jacob the kind of love he gave his son and after a short time, he felt that he had accomplished something getting Jacob to be less withdrawn from the rest of the world.

Then, in one night, everything changed.

He’ll never really know what exactly happened that night. He can vaguely recall a drinking match with a twenty-one year old alcoholic Jacob. Had he known Jacob’s predicament he would have never entertained the idea of challenging him to match shot for shot and he felt like a stupid old man for not considering that it was a possibility. The rest he remembers more or less as a faded dream. Too much alcohol always depressed him and he should have known better. His mind would sometimes get caught up in memories of Travis and that innocent yet powerful love they shared. That’s who was in his thoughts throughout that night and in his drunken haze he couldn’t tell fantasy from reality. The next morning seeing Kyle there staring at him like a stranger made him realize just how much damage he had done not only to himself but to his son and Jacob.

Weeks went by after that fateful night where David couldn’t bring himself to look at Jacob. He was never angry at him. He was angry at himself for what he did. He had been the adult. He should have known better. He paid a horrible price for his mistake. It was only when Jacob muttered something to him about leaving that snapped David out of his own self-loathing. He knew that if Jacob left he would never be seen again. And if that happened and the day Kyle finally came home to find Jacob gone forever, he knew his son would never fully forgive him. So he fought tooth and nail to keep Jacob home. At least here, he could keep him somewhat protected from the rest of the world. When Kyle did finally come home earlier this year, he felt his efforts had been rewarded. He loved his son and he loved Jacob. They deserved this after years of being apart.

He had found it amusing and touching at the same time when Jacob came to him and asked him about marrying Kyle. “Are you asking for my blessing,” David had asked with a perplexed grin.

“Well,” Jacob fumbled and sputtered for a moment which only made David’s heart warm remembering the Jacob he first met. “I guess so, maybe. Sort of. I mean, if you have a problem with it or if you think I’m kind of rushing things--”

“Jacob,” David said with a sigh, cutting him off, “I think rushing things would have been right out of high school. You two are adults and you both seem to want this. I’m all for it, but I have one request.”

“What’s that?”

David waved him forward and lead him upstairs to his bedroom. He went to his dresser and pulled out a small box from one of the top drawers. He turned to Jacob and opened the box as he explained, “when Helen and I divorced, she gave me her rings back. I couldn’t bring myself to part with them so I just kept them. About the time you boys were getting serious and it seemed like you were headed in this direction, I took it all to a jeweler and had them make a new ring out of it all. Maybe I was getting a little ahead of myself because I just thought it would be a gift from me to Kyle and to you when you two decided to make it official. I kept it just in case and I’m kinda glad I did.” He looked Jacob in the eyes as he said with a serious voice and a pleased smile, “my only request is that if you propose to him, you do it with this ring. You don’t have to tell him where you got it but if he asks, go ahead and tell him.”

That had been a couple weeks ago. Now, he felt all of his hard labors had worked out. He watched Jacob now, the man he’s become after going through so much, carefully putting away the dishes the same way he always has. The raw feelings he got in that moment made him look away to hide the wetness in his eyes. The love and pride he felt for Jacob was just as strong as what he felt for Kyle. Travis would have loved him too.

They sat quietly, David on one couch and Jacob on another, as they listened to the news. Eventually it became background noise for them as Jacob started texting Kyle and David had his attention split between the television and his book. After half an hour of silence between them, David’s curiosity finally got the better of him. “So, what’s he have to say,” he suddenly asked while his eyes were still on his book.

Jacob looked up from his phone and frowned slightly in disappointment. “Nothing yet. He hasn’t responded back.”

“A watched pot never boils, son,” he said with a slight smirk. “You know he’ll reply once he has time. He might be driving home from work now. Just be patient.”

Jacob sighed like a teenager. “I know…” he heard David snicker as he smiled, still looking at his phone.

“So, you’re feeling okay,” David asked in a more serious tone. “Ready for this big change?”

Jacob looked up from his phone and stared thoughtfully for a moment. “I think it would have happened by now if we hadn’t screwed things up. We made an agreement to just leave the past in the past and not dwell on it anymore. We both accept our mistakes and I think part of this is just correcting the mistake.” He paused and sighed. “A part of me wants to just do it now and get it over with. I know there’s still things to do before we get there. But, yeah, I’m ready.”

David looked over at him with a small smile on his face. “You know, I keep looking for that little kid who barely said two words first time I met him. Long black hair covering his eyes and face… remember him?”

Jacob’s cheeks reddened slightly as he mumbled, “yeah. I still got the long hair... I wish I knew then what I know now.”

“I think you did alright, all things considered,” David said in that fatherly tone of his. That voice used to give Jacob a warm sense of security when he was a teenager and felt like he had no place to go.

There was a long silence between them before Jacob spoke up in an unusually saddened tone, “do you think it’s weird that I never think about my father?”

David’s brow furrowed slightly. It was very rare that Jacob ever mentioned Joe Eaton. So rare he couldn’t remember the last time he came up. “I think, considering what you went through with him, I can understand if you didn’t. I guess the real question is, why is he coming up now?”

Jacob stared at the floor with troubled eyes. “I dunno. I just wish…”

A dark silence fell over the room until David closed his book and set it on the couch. Standing up, he moved to sit down next to Jacob, putting a hand on his shoulder in support. “What do you wish,” he asked softly.

Jacob’s body tensed up for a moment before he relaxed again and said, “I wish I knew what I did to make him hate me as much as he did.”

David looked at him sadly. On impulse, he ran his fingers through Jacob’s hair, pushing a few stray strands back into place not unlike the way he used to do to his son when he was a child. “I honestly can’t tell you,” he replied. “I think your dad had demons he had to deal with same as you did. You conquered yours. I don’t think Joe was so lucky. There is one thing I know for sure. If God himself had come to me years ago and asked me what I would have liked to have for a second son, I couldn’t have come up with anything that came close to you. It hurt watching you and Kyle fight because I couldn’t bring myself to choose one son over the other. I prayed the two of you would work things out and you did. I couldn’t be prouder of both of you and I love you both.”

Jacob slowly turned to look at him, the light starting to return in his eyes as his lips rose in a shy smile. “Thanks, Dad.”

David smiled and patted his leg just as Jacob’s phone alerted him to a new message. Chuckling to himself, seeing Jacob’s demeanor change when he saw what was on his phone, he got up and went back to his book, giving Jacob his space to talk to Kyle. After a few minutes of texting back and forth, Jacob stood up and headed upstairs leaving David to his book and a satisfied smile on his face.

As soon as he was in their bedroom, Jacob shut the door and called up Kyle. Just as he laid down on the bed, he heard that comfortable voice. “So, did you have a good day today,” Kyle asked in a playful tone.

“I did, actually,” he grinned as he talked into the phone. “Dad, Troy and I settled on the design for the addition to the house. Now that that’s out of the way I can focus on getting my commissions done the rest of the week.”

“Good job,” Kyle’s smile reflected in his voice. “I made a few steps closer to my case today. We got new evidence so we’re bringing our suspect in for questioning tomorrow.”

Jacob’s grin became a soft smile, “I’m happy for you.”

“Be happy for us,” he replied.

“So, when do you plan on taking him to court?”

“Oh, geez. That’ll be awhile,” he explained, “We’re hoping to get enough on him during the interview tomorrow to get a warrant to search his house. We still haven’t found the murder weapon yet. If we find that, then I’ll charge him. Then see how it goes from there.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“It usually is.” There was a slight pause before Kyle added, “Steph told everyone in the office about the ring.”

“Uh, oh,” he laughed. “Everyone’s jealous now?”

“A little,” he chuckled. “My boss came to see me to before I left.”

“What did he have to say,” Jacob asked, feeling very pleased with himself.

There was a silence on the phone for a moment before Kyle replied, “he advised me to put in my resignation now.”

Jacob sat up, frowning slightly. “Why did he say that?”

Kyle sighed, sounding less chipper than he had earlier. “He said that this case could go on for years. If the guy is being charged with murder, he will get a great attorney and keep dragging things out for as long as possible.”

Jacob had been fine with the idea of Kyle being busy with this into the next year. He was wanting to get the house done before Kyle moved back anyway and that wasn’t going to be until Spring at the earliest. Now, faced with years of having to wait, again, seemed like a much bigger mountain to climb. “What do you want to do,” Jacob asked.

“I want to marry you. I want to be with you right now,” he said in a heartfelt voice. “But I need to do this.”

“Why do you want to finish this instead of coming home?” He kept his voice measured, not wanting to sway Kyle one way or another. Or potentially start an argument.

“Well, I wanted to get this done because I felt strongly about it.” Kyle’s voice sounded less sure than what Jacob remembered the last time they talked about it.

Jacob quietly thought about how to approach this. “I’m going to ask you something and I need you to know that I’m not saying it because I have any doubts. I just want to hear you say it and I want you to hear you say it. Do you really want to get married?”

“Yes,” he said with a little defensiveness in his voice.

“Ok then,” Jacob said with a smirk, “then let’s set a date.”

“Right now?!”

“Yeah, right now,” he replied. “Let’s set a date and that will give us both time to prepare. Unless you want to wait two or three or maybe even four years. If you get the job done in that time, great. If not… well… you probably know better than I do what’ll happen.”

“There will be another ADA assigned to the case who’ll have to take weeks or more to catch up to speed,” Kyle said in a sullen voice.

“Kyle, if I had my way, we’d be doing it next week,” Jacob said candidly. “I figure this is a good compromise. Give it enough time for both of us to do our own thing. Then, we get married and start seriously working towards the family we both said we want.”

“And you don’t wanna have the kids without us being married,” Kyle said. “Yeah. You’re right. I would like to do this but I can walk away from it when it’s time. Jeff said it would take a miracle. Maybe I can pull one out of a hat. Ok. So, let’s set a date.”

Jacob smiled to himself. “No. I’m just gonna let you pick a date and that’s what we’ll go with.”

Kyle chuckled slightly. “Me? Just me? You’ll be fine with whatever date I pick, no questions asked, no nothing?”

“Yup. So, what’s it gonna be?”

“Hm. Alright then,” he paused for a moment and then said, “July 13th, next year.”

Jacob grinned, feeling relieved. “Sounds like a good day to me. Means once in awhile we’ll have an anniversary on Friday the 13th.”

“Oh, fuck,” Kyle said, “I hadn’t thought of that. Let’s do it the next Saturday.”

“Nope,” Jacob laughed, “too late. You said the 13th and that’s when it’ll be.”

Kyle chuckled. “Fine. Weirdo.”

Jacob laughed and laid back on the bed, relaxed again. “I love you too.”

****

Kyle had been sitting on a stool for over an hour, watching through the two way mirror as Detective Harris and his partner asked question after question to Adam Gordon. The questions had started innocuous enough. Gordon came in wearing his state trooper uniform which was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it wouldn’t draw too much attention when he came in. Kyle saw a few reporters lurking around the police station who knew his face, waiting to hear anything new on the murder investigation. It was also a curse because if Gordon left knowing he was a suspect his body language may give him away to those same reporters, they will turn into sharks smelling blood in the water and the frenzy will begin.

Harris had been questioning Gordon about his affair with Theresa. At first he completely denied it. When he was shown copies of the the text messages between them for over a year, he grudgingly admitted to the truth of it. When Harris’s partner mentioned that Theresa was pregnant, Kyle could see Gordon’s entire body go stiff and his face changed. His answers devolved into single word sentences. The resistance he began to display only seemed to urge Harris on. He started asking him more detailed questions. Questions about where he was the night of the murder, when he last spoke to Theresa, if his wife knew of his affair and so on.

Finally, Harris had him worked up enough to ask him the question he and Kyle both really wanted to know. “When you knew she was pregnant, how did you react?”

“I was worried,” Gordon said as his voice rose just a little. “She had told me she was on birth control. It wasn’t something that was planned.”

“You talk to her about getting an abortion,” Harris asked, almost making it a statement instead of a question.

“She wanted to keep it,” Gordon said staring blankly at the wall. Kyle continued to scribble down notes. They were getting closer to the truth.

“And when she wanted to keep it, that put your marriage in jeopardy,” Harris said matter of factly.

“No. No, I was…” The office looked down at the table before continuing, “I was overwhelmed. That’s all.”

“Overwhelmed enough that you decided to stab her in the throat?”

“No!” His voice rose higher in indignation. “I was sick that night and out cold. I didn’t even know she was dead until the next night!”

“Do you know anyone else who would’ve wanted her dead,” Harris asked him in a gruff voice.

“No, I don’t,” Gordon growled. “Are you charging me with something? If not, then I’m leaving.”

“Sit tight, officer.” Harris rose from his seat along with his partner and exited the room. Kyle looked to the door to his side, waiting for Harris to appear, which he did a moment later. “Well?” He looked at Kyle, expectantly.

“If he’s going to work, then we’ll let him go for now,” Kyle said calmly. “Meanwhile, we will get that search warrant for his house for the murder weapon. He’s given us enough I think to get one, don’t you think?” He got off the stool and headed to the door. “Gimme a minute or two to get out of the building first. I don’t want the press to start possibly linking me and him together and start hounding him with questions especially after he’s riled up.”

Harris nodded and walked back into the interrogation room as Kyle headed down the stairwell, bypassing the elevators where reporters might be checking. The few he saw earlier had already started questioning him about possible suspects. He didn’t want to add to things in the press just yet as they were proceeding apace. If they could get the warrant by the end of the day and they were lucky enough to find the murder weapon in his home and have it confirmed by forensics, this could be over in a few months. He just had to make sure the warrant would hold up so anything found couldn’t be called into question later.

By the days end, he and Detective Harris, along with his partner, went to the judge and obtained the warrant. Kyle gave him specific instructions on contacting him later before they parted ways. Kyle went to get his son and go home for the day and Harris to go serve the search warrant.

While driving home, with Matt in the backseat, Kyle found himself contemplating his future. What kind of job would he get after getting married? How they would handle having a new baby together, whenever that happened. How Matt would react to having a little brother or sister. What other little surprises life would throw at them. Usually it made him nervous but thinking it all through now got him a little excited. Maybe he’ll start his own practice instead of working for the state. As he parked the car, he took a quick look around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. During the beginning phases of his last big case, he hadn’t expected a reporter waiting for him the moment he got out of his car and start asking question after question. He wasn’t thrilled for a possible repeat of that part of the job.

He held his son’s hand as they walked up to the front door, carrying his briefcase in his other hand. He glanced down at the boy, remarking, “I think you’ve grown in the last month or so.”

Matt looked up at his dad in confusion. “Really,” he asked with a smile.

Kyle nodded. “Definitely. By the time you turn four, we’ll probably need to look into getting you some new clothes to fit into.” His eyes glanced down and noticed the hem of Matt’s pants were well above his shoes enough that he could see the boy’s socks. They hadn’t looked like that three months ago. He sighed knowing his budget was about to get even tighter.

They stepped inside and Matt immediately broke free of his father’s grasp to run upstairs. This was nothing usual for them. Matt wanted time to play in his room while his dad got dinner ready. When they were alone, just the two of them, it used to feel like home to Kyle. Now, he realized how empty this little townhouse was. As a baby and then as a small toddler, it had just been the two of them and Matthew had become the center of Kyle’s world. Nothing mattered more than providing a home for him and watching him grow over the last three years. Now, things were changing for them both.

“Matthew,” Kyle said to him as he was seated at the table with his food in front of him, “would you like to go to grandpa’s for your birthday in a couple weeks?”

Matt’s eyes lit up in excitement, “oh, yeah!”

Kyle smirked, “I thought so. You know we may be moving there. Not before you turn four but definitely before you turn five.”

Matt stared at his dad with a perplexed frown. “Why not now?”

Kyle sighed. “Daddy has work to do still. But, I hope it will go fast.”

“Me too,” Matt said emphatically. “I like it there better.”

Kyle tilted his head slightly and grinned. “What do you like about it?”

Matt seemed to weigh the question heavily before replying. “Everything. I love grandpa and Jacob. I like Blake and Carter. I like the trees. I like the rooms. I like it better. You smile more there too.”

Kyle sat back slightly in his chair, surprised at that last declaration. “I smile more?”

“Yeah,” Matt said simply.

Kyle decided to leave that alone and just mark it up to Matt’s odd way of seeing things. “Would you like it if Jacob was your other dad someday?”

That question seemed to puzzle the young boy. “I can have two daddies?”

Kyle chuckled. “Remember when you saw me kissing Jacob?” The boy nodded, paying rapt attention. “That was because I love Jacob a whole lot. And I want to live with him forever. So, he and I are going to get married. That means we’ll stay together forever. And that would make him like a second daddy to you. Would you like that?”

Kyle watched his son slowly take all that in. He hoped he had used enough pauses and simple words for him to grasp what he was trying to explain to him. “I like it when Jacob hugs me,” the boy finally said. “He’s real strong.”

“You want him to be your other daddy?”

Matt seemed to think on it more before he finally nodded. “Yeah.”

“Ok then.” Kyle chuckled and went back to eating. The rest of dinner was pretty quiet and after they cleaned up the kitchen they went upstairs to play games and then get a bath before it was bedtime.

It wasn’t very long after Kyle was back downstairs, doing some work before bed that his phone rang. He looked at the number and his hopes rose when he saw “Det. Harris” on the screen. He answered the call saying, “please tell me you have good news.”

“We found it,” The detective said simply. “Along with some blood stains found on some clothes he had in the back of his garage. We’re taking him to holding now until he can get a bail hearing in the morning.”

“That’s.. That’s awesome, Tom. Great work.” Kyle couldn’t believe his luck. This could be over in a couple months if everything works out. “Make sure you try and grease the skids on that evidence. We’re gonna need that to secure a conviction.”

“What, you want me to slip them a roll of cash or something?” Harris was making a joke which meant he was in a good mood. Everything at the Gordon’s house must have gone down better than expected.

“How about you just ask nicely. Oh, and avoid the press at all costs for the next couple days.” Kyle loathed having to deal with the press but with how rare murders took place in this area, and that it’s a cop being charged, was going to send the media all over the place. “Get some rest and get ready to start asking more questions. Also, I want his cellphone records. Texts, call logs and locations all for the last year or so if possible.”

“Shouldn’t be hard to get now. I’ll get on it first thing in the morning.” With that said, their call ended. Kyle was tempted to call Jacob and tell him the news but decided to wait until tomorrow. Right now he just wanted to get his work done and go to bed.