Aaron mumbled
groggily as the phone rang. He buried his face deeper into the pillow. It was
late. After living underground for so many years, he had developed an accurate
time sense.
Blade answered the
phone. “Hello. Aaron’s phone.”
---
“No, he’s sleeping
right now. Is it important?”
---
“Of course.” Aaron
grunted as Blade shook his shoulder. “Sorry, you have to wake up. Your sister’s
on the phone.”
Aaron groaned and
reached for the phone. “Do you have any idea what time it is, Ariel?”
“Yes. Can you come
over, please?” He barely understood her through the tears.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s Matthew. He,
he, he’s dead.”
Aaron dropped the
phone at that. He couldn’t believe that his brother-in-law was dead. It had
been five years since the last time he’d seen him. Matthew had made it quite
clear that Aaron was no longer welcome. Aaron didn’t object too much. It was
much easier to avoid them than explain that he’d slept with his sister’s
husband.
“Okay, let me get
dressed and I’ll be right over.” Aaron reassured her after retrieving his
phone.
He broke the world’s
record for dressing as well as a few speed limits on his way over there. He
surmised that Matt had met with foul play rather than suffering a natural
death. As far as Aaron knew, Matt was in a good health for a man of forty-five.
As he pulled into the
street, he saw police cars surrounding his sister’s house. That confirmed his
suspicions regarding Matt’s death.
“Excuse me, officer,
can I go in? I’m Ariel’s brother.”
The officer consulted
with his superiors before letting Aaron into the house.
“Ariel, what
happened?”
“If you don’t mind,
we’ll ask the questions.” A man in a suit interjected.
“Of course,
detective. I was just worried about my sister. I’m Aaron Aaeng.”
“Do you live here,
Mr. Aaeng?”
“No.”
“Where were you
earlier tonight?”
“I’ve been home all
night.”
“Can anyone confirm
that?”
Aaron hesitated. Answering
the question would out him to his sister, something he was still reluctant to
do. “Can we continue this some place private?”
“Are you avoiding the
question?”
“No, but I don’t want
to talk in front of Ariel.” He gestured to his sobbing sister.
“What can’t you say
in front of me?”
“Ariel, please…”
The detective led
Aaron to the other side of the room. “What are you hiding from her?”
“She doesn’t know
about my private life. She wouldn’t approve, so I’ve kept it secret. I was with
my lovers and our children.”
“Lovers? Plural?”
“Yes. I have three
male lovers.”
“I see. They’ll alibi
you?”
“Yes. I spent the
night in bed with one of them. What happened to Matt?”
“He was shot. We
can’t determine if it was suicide or homicide. Is there any reason you can
think of that might cause him to kill himself?”
Aaron was silent for
a while. His answer would hurt Ariel, but the police would find out soon enough.
“Yes. He was a herm. The town where he grew up had firm beliefs regarding herms
and same sex relationships. I know he felt guilty for desiring men.”
“Do you know if he
had a boyfriend?”
Aaron shook his head.
“I haven’t spoken to him in five years. Not since his daughter married my
step-daughter.”
“What happened then?”
“I, we, my lovers and
I had sex with him.”
“All of you at once?”
“Yes.”
“Was that the first
time you’d been intimate with him?”
“No, there was
another time, nine years ago.”
“Your sister never
knew?”
“No. She’s my sister.
She’s the head of the PPP, having a brother who was sleeping with men would
damage her reputation.”
“That’s an odd
position to take.”
“I know, but…”
“Did Matthew have any
enemies?”
“Personal? I don’t
know of any, but he was involved with the PPP. If any of them found out about
his preferences, it could have caused problems.”
“Thank you, Mr.
Aaeng. We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions.”
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