Infuriating - Onley James Page 0,5
question was now recording a video, animatedly talking about something Jack couldn’t hear. He found himself sidetracked, watching the boy’s full candy pink lips as he swept his hands from one side to the other as he talked.
Jackson couldn’t tear his gaze away from the boy’s face. “I’m still not following.”
“Look, I’m gonna level with you, but this has got to stay in the vault.”
Jackson forced himself to give Jimmy his sole attention, nodding so he knew he’d heard him.
“He’s the sole witness to the murder of Assistant District Attorney, Bradley Jansen.”
Jackson had heard of the case. It was big news. But there’d been no mention of a witness. “Sounds like that would be worthy of a few extra patrols. How exactly did this boy end up witnessing Jansen’s death? And why haven’t we heard a peep about him? They said Jansen had his throat slit in his office after hours. Was this kid a client?”
“No,” Jimmy said, rubbing a hand over his face. “Jansen was the client…if you get my drift?”
Jackson glanced over at Dayton once more. “You saying the kid’s a pro? Jansen’s gay?”
“The kid’s not a hooker, but he was in the middle of a…performance when the killer ambushed Jansen.”
Jackson really wished Jimmy would get to the point. The man had been a cop for decades. Why was it so hard to just spit out the story? “The killer left a witness behind?”
Jimmy shifted uncomfortably. “Dayton was performing for him on camera. A private show. He’s a camboy.”
Jackson frowned. “A what?”
“A virtual hooker. A cyber prostitute. Whatever you want to call it. The client tells him what to do and he does it.”
“Sex worker,” Jackson corrected, unsure why the mislabeling annoyed him.
Jimmy frowned. “What?”
“We don’t call them prostitutes. They prefer the term sex workers,” Jackson explained.
Jimmy sneered. “Call him whatever you want. The kid is infuriating. He refuses to stop seeing clients. He refuses to stay off social media. He’s auctioning off his virginity to the highest bidder for fuck’s sake. Not that I believe for one second that kid’s a virgin. You should see the toy box he travels with. It’s not right.”
Jackson examined the young man closer this time. He wasn’t alone anymore. Wyatt now peered over the boy’s shoulder, waving and talking to whatever audience might be on the other side of the lens. Wyatt was a YouTuber with a huge following and was the husband of Jackson’s LA branch manager, Linc. Linc, who would have a fucking stroke if Wyatt somehow ended up on a porn channel, or worse, on a murderer’s radar. Not that Wyatt wasn’t perfectly capable of endangering himself. Sometimes, Jackson was sure Wyatt and his crew of misfits were there just to keep him in business.
Jackson sighed. “I can’t ask my guys to forgo a paycheck for an indefinite amount of time. Where are you on this case? Any ideas about who specifically might have had it out for the ADA? I imagine the list is insanely long. I can’t babysit the kid forever.”
“I need your help, Jackie. I’m calling in my favor.”
Jackson clasped his hands on his desk, forcing himself to remain calm. He wasn’t one to anger quickly. “Three months. Tops. If you don’t have this figured out by then, he goes back to being your problem. That’s the best I can do.”
“That’s fair.” Jimmy looked around the office, eyes landing on Linc, who was currently running a meeting in the conference room. “You’re going to need somebody who can handle him. The kid looks sweet and innocent, but he’s a real bitch.”
Jackson shook his head. “I’ll do it.”
Jimmy did a double take. “Wait. You? You don’t even live here. I mean, I guess I could try to clear it for him to leave the state, but…”
Jackson waved a hand, dismissing the man’s words. “I have a house here. I can run things from this coast as easily as I can the other. Besides, my mom will be thrilled I’m still here so she can harass me about not giving her any grandchildren.”
All tension seemed to leave the detective. “Don’t your sisters have, like, three kids each?” Jimmy asked with a laugh.
“Della has three. Mariah has four. Ruby has three. Somehow, that doesn’t take away from the fact that I’ve provided her with none. She keeps pointing out that I’m not getting any younger, ignoring the fact that my lifestyle doesn’t really provide the ideal environment for children or that I’m very much single.”
“What happened to that