A Fresh Set of Eyes by Liz Strange

Author:Liz Strange
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: gay mystery
Publisher: MLR Press LLC
Published: 2012-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Tuesday started with a series of surprises, none of which had anything to do with the case at hand. As usual for a weekday, Jamie had left long before David pulled his weary butt from bed. That particular morning consciousness came with a throbbing head and tight ache that seemed to radiate to all areas of his body. For a moment he couldn’t put the discomfort in context, then the events from the previous evening flooded back. He shuffled into the bathroom, letting the shower run until it was hot enough to coat the mirror with humidity. He hadn’t liked the sight of his reflection anyway. The scab on his lip and the crescent of purple bruising about his left eye only reminded him of that fact he’d sunk to Black’s level the night before. Now he felt like a thug, in addition to his anger.

The scalding water pounded down on him, alerting him to the areas of his torso affected in the fight. His knuckles screamed in pain when touched by the stream of water. He knew by midday they’d be crusted over and tight, making mundane movements difficult. In frustration he swore a blue streak until he couldn’t think of any additional phrases.

In the kitchen David got the coffee pot brewing and grabbed a bowl of cereal to take with him to the table. He allowed himself a few minutes to eat and sip at his coffee while he read the morning paper. Humanity at large had not become less vile or depraved while he slept. A glance at the clock showed it was after nine, and he needed to get his butt in gear. As he gathered up his stuff the telephone rang. He thought about letting it go to voicemail, but the number on the call display surprised him.

“Hello,” David said.

“Oh hi David. Good I caught you,” Susan answered. He could not think of a reason for Jamie’s mother to be calling him.

“Yep. Slow start this morning. So what can I do for you?”

Thirty seconds of silence passed. “Well I was hoping that you and Jamie would be able to come over and have dinner with…Richard and me on Friday?”

David was stunned. It had been nearly four months since Susan had told Richard about Jamie being gay, and the fact that he had a long-time boyfriend. Though Susan and Jamie’s two sisters had come around to the news pretty quickly, Richard had not. There had been a couple of tense phone conversations between father and son since the truth had come to light, but they had not spent a minute in each other’s presence. David knew that Susan had been trying to get Richard to come around, and he appreciated her support, but he knew from personal experience that people had to come to terms with their own feelings on their own time.

“Is Richard aware that this is going to happen?”

“Yes. He’d like to meet you. I’ve invited Samantha and Caroline too, so there’ll be plenty of friendly faces.

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