However, there was no way that he was going to risk Danny suddenly having questions and wanting answers, and so he'd do as he often did when flying with Danny and pretend to sleep for most of the flight. He also didn't want to find himself trapped in his seat while Danny lectured him on how dangerous his sexual preferences were. Martin had had enough of that with Jack. And like Jack, Danny would want to know why Martin liked that kind of sex. Danny liked to give off the image of a playboy, but Martin was pretty sure that the most kinky sex the guy had ever had had been having sex with a woman in public, and even then, they were probably in a car or something. Martin just couldn't picture Danny pushing a woman up against a wall and going at it in an alley or some other public place.
There was also the fact that Martin himself found it difficult to put his feelings into words. How could he find the right words to explain how right it felt to just hand over total control to another man? Or how the pain felt good and euphoric? Or how aroused it made him to know that he had managed to handle what a top had given out, and that the top was well pleased with him for doing so? Even more difficult was trying to find the words to explain that sometimes he just felt that he deserved to be punished. That he was a failure and had to pay for that failure. That he'd had too many undeserved breaks, and deserved to atone in some way for that. Oh yeah, Jack the psychologist would have had a field day if Martin had opened up in his office about why he had wanted to go off with Chris and then kept coming back.
Martin sighed against the pillow as his thoughts turned to Chris. While he didn't know Chris all that well, he felt that he knew the important things about the man. He was strong and trustworthy. He kept his word. He liked to be in control and could sometimes be downright sadistic. Martin couldn't picture Chris being easily mugged and left for dead in some New York alley. Nor could he picture Chris just walking off and not showing up at that conference. As he'd told Jack, Chris had talked about the conference, and he'd been proud about being asked to speak there. He wouldn't have let the organizers down; more importantly, he wouldn't have let himself down.
Yet while Martin couldn't see one person taking Chris down, he knew that the man would have been vulnerable to a gang attack. It didn't matter that there was no gang territory between the hotel and the conference center, a gang could have been roving the city that morning. Or it could have been a group of initiates out to earn their way into a gang. He shivered as he pictured a bloodied and unconscious Chris huddled in a dark alley. And then he felt his heart melt a little bit as he felt another blanket being draped over his body.
"Looks like I'd better track down a few more blankets for you, partner," Danny said.
Martin raised his head and looked over at him, noticing that Danny had found the magazine. After spending far too long hiding in the bathroom to avoid Danny, he'd thought the least he could do was go and buy something for Danny to read. "Looks that way. They've probably got the air set as if this was a full plane, so it'll get chillier before we reach Denver."
"The flight attendant will be here soon to see if we want anything to drink," Danny said. "Want some coffee or tea?"
Martin really wanted something alcoholic. Lots of something alcoholic, but he didn't think that request would go over well, since they were technically on the clock, and it sure as Hell wasn't a healthy or safe thing to do, not when he knew Danny would want to talk some more. He shook his head. "I'm good for now, thanks."
Danny nodded. He held up the magazine. "Now that you're awake, do you want this?"
"No. I've got a book to read if I can't sleep."
Danny's eyebrows rose. "Really? Anything good?"
"I'm liking it so far," Martin said. "It's a look at the most recent economic policies and how they'll impact the next five years, mostly looking at the tax codes and such." It was hard to keep a straight face while lying to Danny about the book, but damn it was fun! He knew just how Danny would react, and it was always good fun to yank Danny's chain.
Danny's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Martin, my man, we have got to find you a new hobby. It's just not healthy for you to be obsessing over the tax codes."
Martin laughed. "I was just joking with you. It's Nevada Barr's latest book."
That earned Martin a blank look, so he continued, "She writes about a female National Park Ranger who solves mysteries. So, not only is there a murder to solve, but you get to find out about a National Park. This book takes place on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi."
Danny's look was definitely one of disbelief. "You expect me to believe that the Natchez Trace Parkway is a National Park? Try again, Martin. No. Better yet, just stick with the truth. You just can't help being a math geek and there's no shame in admitting that you like to read books about math and taxes and all kinds of other boring things. Me?" Danny held up the magazine. "I'll stick with sports."
Martin huddled back down in his blankets and closed his eyes. He grinned at how Danny could be so narrow-minded at times. Despite Danny's words though, he was pretty sure that it wouldn't be too long before Danny went rummaging around in Martin's bag, checking out the book. It wasn't so much a matter of not believing his lie, but the niggling suspicion that Martin was pulling one over on him that would drive Danny to invade his privacy that way. Always thinking ahead, Martin had made sure that he packed the book in an outer pocket, where Danny would quickly find it, and keep Danny from going any further into the bag. Not that he had packed anything embarrassing, he just didn't want Danny pawing through his underwear and then waiting until they were back in the office to comment on his clothes.
"Wake me when we get to Denver," Martin muttered, not really caring if Danny heard him. If the past was any guide, then Danny would be trying to awaken him in about twenty minutes or so. The man just couldn't sit there and be quiet, and with them being a bit isolated from the rest of the passengers, Danny's choices for conversation were either a bored flight attendant or him. Martin was pretty certain that the flight attendants wouldn't start to get bored until about halfway into the flight, so that left him. Maybe if he was lucky, Danny would get so caught up in reading that he'd let Martin get a little bit of sleep before trying to find some not so very subtle way of waking him, like pulling the blankets away, or moving Martin's seat back, or adjusting the air flow so that it was blowing directly into his face. Danny Taylor could be a devious son-of-a-bitch when bored, Martin knew that first-hand, but it was kind of hard to get angry at a guy who was scared of flying and needed the conversation to get his mind off of it.
Now Chris was definitely subtle when it came to waking someone. Then again, having Chris waking him up meant that sex was going to happen, and that was always a good thing. Having Danny waking him up didn't mean that sex was going to happen, unfortunately. But he had come to terms with that. He could fantasize about Danny all he wished, and no one was the wiser.
Martin thought back over the week, remembering the mornings when Chris had awoken him in so many different creative ways. There'd been Wednesday morning when Martin had awoken with a gasp of pain as Chris had placed one of the nipple clamps on him. Martin's nipples had been sore because of Chris using those the night before, so the pain that morning was especially exquisite. Something clicked in Martin's brain then, as he remembered why Chris had the nipple clamps with him. Monday night he'd asked Martin to recommend a sex store, and when Martin had let himself into Chris's room Tuesday evening, he discovered that Chris had gone shopping and had bought several different sex toys, all of which Martin got treated to during the rest of the week. So, Chris had gone somewhere besides the conference center.
Martin sat up and looked toward the aisle, trying to see where the flight attendant was as she made her rounds. He needed to call Jack and since the attendant or pilot hadn't announced that they could now turn on their cell phones, the only phones available were those up in first class.
"Something wrong?" Danny asked.
Martin shook his head. "Who searched Chris's room?"
"Jack. Why?" Danny put the magazine down on his lap and turned his full attention to Martin.
"I just thought of something, and I need to talk to Jack about it. You can see down the aisle better than I can. Can I get past the flight attendant and her cart?"
Danny leaned out into the aisle, noting her position. "Looks like it. You might have to duck into a row to do it, but it is doable."
"Great." Martin got to his feet and began to get out of their row.
"I knew you'd be getting up sooner or later. Make sure you go to the john while you're up, okay? That way you might actually spend more time in your seat once you get back."
Martin paused, and he turned slightly to look at Danny. "I can make sure I get a soda from the flight attendant. Or take you up on that offer of tea."
"Right now I'd just settle for you getting your ass outta my face, Fitzie."
Martin laughed, then resumed moving until he was out in the aisle. "If she gets here before I get back, then I'd like a ginger ale, please."
"Sure thing," Danny replied, shaking his head. As he went back to his magazine reading, Martin headed toward the front of the plane. He soon found himself at the back of the first class section.
Moving the curtain aside, he quickly got the attention of the first class attendant. There were only three people seated in first class, and Martin saw that he'd be able to have a relatively private conversation with Jack. He showed his badge to the flight attendant, letting the man know what he wanted. A few minutes later, Martin was seated and listening to the ringing on the other end of the line.
"Jack Malone."
"Jack, it's Martin. I remembered something that might be a lead. Back on Tuesday, Chris went toy shopping."
"Toy shopping?" Jack asked, and Martin could hear a hint of disbelief. "I didn't think that Larabee had any living children."
"Sex toys," Martin softly corrected.
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Martin could hear Jack clearing his throat. "If by 'toys' you mean some odd looking clamps with alligator teeth, a whip and a short band of leather with a snap, then yes, those were there."
"There should be a receipt for them somewhere. I forgot it before, but Chris went to the store on Tuesday and bought them. And I think he might have been planning on going back there today. He didn't come out and directly say it, but he did hint at wanting to buy a few extra things for tonight."
"I don't suppose you also happen to know the name of this store, do you?" Jack's voice sounded strained, and Martin felt a stab of pity for the man. He was trying so hard to be open-minded about all this.
"I do. It's one I recommended to him." Martin quickly gave Jack the name and the address of the place. "And if I remember correctly, they've got a security camera aimed at the door."
"Got it. I'll grab Sam and we'll head over there now. They might still be open."
Martin chuckled. "Oh, they're still open. They don't close until 3 am on Friday and Saturday nights. Any luck on his cell phone records yet?"
"Viv's still going over them. If you can't get to sleep once you reach your hotel, call and we can send you something over the internet to keep you busy." Jack sounded amused, but Martin knew the man was serious. The more eyes the better when it came to going over records.
"Sure thing. Oh, and Jack? Danny knows about Chris. I told him."
Again, there was a moment of silence. "You know you didn't have to do that, don't you?"
"I couldn't keep it from him, Jack. Not with us going out to Denver to dig into Chris's life. Maybe it won't make a difference with the investigation, but if it does, and Danny found out later and I hadn't told him…" Martin knew that Danny would be hurt if that had happened, hurt because he hadn't trusted him enough with the truth. And then that hurt would turn to anger, and Martin knew that he didn't want to have to deal with a pissed off Danny for the next couple of months.
"How'd he take it?"
"He just said 'okay' and that was that. I'm sure that I'll be in for an earful later. Like you, Danny can't resist giving a good lecture. But for now everything's okay." Martin couldn't help but smile. Being protective was one trait that Jack and Danny had in common, even if neither man would admit it.
"Good. You deserve all the lectures you get. Now, get off that phone while I'm still in the mood to okay this on your expenses."
"Right. Thanks, Jack."
Martin ended the call, thanked the flight attendant and headed for the lavatory, taking Danny's advice to heart. For once, he actually had to go. Martin knew that Danny thought that he suddenly became incontinent when flying, but the truth was that he just liked getting up and walking, and the lavatories were the only places to walk to and from. And if he was being extra truthful, then he would admit that he kinda got a kick out of moving past Danny as he got in and out of his seat. Who could blame him if he fantasized about Danny reaching out and groping his ass sometime? Hadn't happened yet and never would, but it was nice dream.
After washing up, Martin headed back down to his seat, noting that the flight attendant was now at the back of the plane. He paused by Danny's seat and grinned as he saw Danny trying to hold onto two cans of soda and two plastic cups full of ice.
"Took you long enough," Danny muttered. It looked as if Danny was trying to get to his feet, so before he could move, Martin started to slip into their row.
"I can take two of those," Martin said as he grabbed the cups of ice from Danny, then turned and scooted past Danny's legs.
"You did take a piss, didn't you?" Danny asked as he lowered the tray from the back of the seat in front of him and placed the cans on it. "Because I'm not too anxious to have you slithering past again any time soon."
"Yes, Daddy, I tinkled," Martin replied. He set the cups down on the same tray and refastened his seat belt. "Thanks for the soda."
"No problem. Everything okay with Jack?" Danny reached over and lowered the tray for Martin to use and then moved a cup and a can over to it.
"Yep. Viv's going over the cell phone records now. And Jack said that if we can't sleep once we reach the hotel, we can call in and they'll get us hooked up so we can go over something. There's still Chris's home phone records and his financial records to go over."
"I'm sure we'll be dead to the world once we find out hotel and get settled in," Danny said with a chuckle. "Does Jack really think we'll be wide awake at that time of the morning?"
"Well, technically it won't be that late. Denver's two hours behind us, remember?"
"I hate time zone changes," Danny groused as he opened his own ginger ale. "Speaking of hotels, did Jack make us a reservation anywhere or are we on our own to find a place?"
"He didn't mention it to me, so I'm guessing we're on our own. I'm sure we can find something by the airport." Martin poured his soda, then frowned as he looked from his tray to Danny's tray then back again. "No peanuts or pretzels?" he asked.
"Jeez, enough with the pouting!" Danny reached into the seat pocket in front of him and pulled out two packs of pretzels. He handed one to Martin and opened the second one.
"Pretzel thief," Martin accused as he tore open his own bag. "I cannot believe that you would stoop so low as to steal my pretzels. Pretzels, for crying out loud! I could understand it if they were handing out peanuts. But to steal a man's pretzels…the only thing standing between me and starvation…" Martin shook his head.
"I'll buy you something to eat once we land," Danny said. "I can't have Jack or anyone else accusing me of letting you starve to death on a five hour flight."
"That's generous of you, Danny. I appreciate the concern." Martin munched happily on his pretzels, glad to be hungry after all of the tension he'd been feeling since discovering that Chris was missing. He was still worried about Chris, but now he had hope that Chris might have stopped at Lairs Delights on the way to the conference, and had not been planning to stop there afterward. They needed a break on the case, and Martin couldn't shake the feeling in his gut that this was going to be it.
Part Five