All the boys were to be found sitting on Jake and Dylan's bed...quietly. Nobody really talking and all of them lost in thought, and it would not be hard to figure out what their thoughts were.
WILL I BE NEXT?
An obvious question and one Ann knew they were each asking themselves. She was almost beyond panic thinking that either Jake or his love Dylan or one of Dylan's brothers could be the next victim of whoever was behind this spate of homophobic hate actions. She didn't know who was and that of course made her both mad and uneasy. She had talked to Greg and he didn't know either and obviously at this point nobody else did...except of course the perpetrator(s) and she couldn't help but wonder if he (the perp) even knew the why behind his actions. Really. Down deep why. She had learned over the years as a prosecutor that often the answer to that question was oddly...no. Often they were just mindless acts of hate which angered her even more. If you could articulate why you hurt another person, that might make it a bit more understandable. Not right, but at least you could see the motivation, but homophobia is often different and when you press a homophobic madman they so often can't tell you what they are so fearful of as to draw them to acts of violence. Fear perhaps that they too...? But then again, often that is not what motivates and what does can remain murky far beyond the violence.
Ann wondered if that was the case here, and of course there was no answer to that...YET, but there would be. Of that she had no doubt. She was convinced that Greg would not stop until he had found who had done this and bring them to justice...and then so would she. Greg would be relentless and she knew she would be as well, as both always were. But this was personal now.
She was somewhat lost in thought and almost jumped out of her skin as the phone rang which she quickly answered hoping it was Greg and it was.
"Hey hotstuff," and she laughed and told him he was the hot one.
"Got a name for yah. Ronnie Walters. He was 22 and at the moment single from what we can tell. Lived in a room for rent in Plainwell and worked as a stocker and clerk at the Wal-Mart Supercenter there. That is what we know so far. Not much I know but a start."
"Thanks, friend."
"You are most welcome. Gots to run. Talk later," and with that he was gone...and she sat with the phone dangling in her hand just as Jake and Dylan came into the room.
She put down the phone and welcomed them.
"Ronnie Walters, guys. That was his name."
Dylan looked blank but Jake blanched.
"Oh my God."
"You knew him honey?"
"Yeh. he worked at WalMart. Other than that no."
But that was enough.
The room grew quiet. Jake looked at Dylan who put his arms around him trying to provide some comfort. He felt Jake shudder and understood the feeling. He kissed him gently on the forehead and Jake shuddered again.
Ann knew what Jake was thinking. So did everyone else. It was a most discomfiting feeling and the fear and the tremors in the room were so profound it was striking. The only thing that Ann or anyone else knew for certain at this point was that it was NOT the guys who attacked Larry McGraw. They were in jail. This seemed to be a copycat act but was it?
The phone rang again. It was Greg.
"Ann?"
"Yes?"
I need you down here right now please. Important."
"On my way."
She told Jake and Dylan that something had come up at the office and she would be back later, and with that she sped out to the car and headed to the police department. She hoped this was gonna be good news, but she had an uneasy feeling.
She arrived at the department and after parking a bit carelessly and not caring, she tore into the building almost on a run. The desk sergeant nodded to her and pointed to the back and back she went.
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