Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction ❯ Your Heart's Desire ❯ Part 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Your Heart's Desire

Part 4:

Leon drove toward Chinatown with only one thing on his mind, D. He needed to get him to fess up to what he had done; even a sometimes idiot cop like himself could see that he did not really have enough evidence to get D on this unless he confessed. Part of him knew deep down that he did not even care whether it had been D to hurt Jill or not, but he needed closure. He needed some way that he could wash his hands of all of this and break away totally. He wondered if that was even a remote possibility, would he ever reach a place or a point where he did not think about D?

As he pulled up in front of the pet shop he saw a figure in the shadows that was wearing Chinese robes similar to D's. He quickly threw the car into park and jumped out intent on speaking to whoever it was, but by the time he had closed his door, it was gone. He did not let him bother him very much and allowed his focus to drift immediately back to D and his original reason for being here. He threw open the front doors and walked down the staircase with a face set in determination. "Where are you?" he called out. "We need to talk right now, Dammit!" When he received no answer he glanced around and saw that the coffee table was set for two. That bastard always seems to know when I am coming, he thought to himself; ashamed to feel himself smiling at the thought.

"Get your bony Chinese ass out here now!" he shouted. "We need to talk." After a few more minutes of silence he began to wonder if he should entertain going down that dark hallway looking for him. That would probably be more dangerous than entering a gang hideout, at least you could attempt to talk to a person, but those animals of D's could probably make mince meat out of him in no time flat. The minutes passed by at an agonizingly slow pace and he was worried he might actually have to make a decision about going into the back hallway to look for him.

Finally, D appeared in the doorway almost as if he were an apparition just flowing into the room like a wind. "Good Afternoon, Detective, he said softly in his almost come hither voice. "I had a feeling you would be coming for tea today."

"I bet you did," Leon snapped in reply. "Where the hell have you been?" I have been shouting for you for a while."

"I was just in the back tending to the animals. Please have a seat and help yourself to some tea." Leon sat down but as he did he noticed that D seemed different. D would usually pour his tea and sit on the opposite sofa. This time D sat down next to him, way too close to be proper. "Is there something wrong Detective you seem very uneasy."

Hell yes! screamed his mind. There is definitely something wrong here. He came in here to ask about Jill and D was hitting on him. The worst part was that he could feel his body betraying him as his pulse began to flutter and his palms started to sweat. Then he felt D's hand graze the side of his face and it sent little electric shivers through his body. He sprang away knocking over the coffee table and sending the tea set flying. "What the hell do you think you are doing?!" he screamed.

"I was simply trying to give you what I know you want," he commented seductively. Leon knew it was bad enough that he could very easily recognize the seductive lure in D's voice. Without even thinking he ran from the pet shop with as much determination as he had entered it, only now he was not determined to confront D but determined to run from him like a man fleeing a burning building. As he made it to the street his cell phone began to ring. He answered while getting into his car.

"Orcot, here."

"This is the Chief you need to come into the precinct, Jill woke up and she said some pretty disturbing stuff that I think you need to hear."

"Okay, I'm on my way there right now," as he hung up the phone he wondered; if it was so important, why did the chief not just tell him over the phone? He guessed he would just have to wait and see. The strangeness of it all worked its way through his mind; along with his feelings about how D had reacted to him that afternoon. Even if he admitted that he and D had causally flirted with each other in layered remarks and strange glances, D had never done anything as forward as what he had done today. Maybe he really did need to get away from D permanently; prolonged exposure to the Chinese man had to be damaging brain cells.

When he entered the precinct he could feel everyone's eyes on him. The air was thick with tension that he could not describe and when he turned to catch those inquiring eyes on him, everyone quickly looked away. This day was just becoming weirder and weirder. He tried his best to ignore the feeling of being watched and walked right into the Chief's office.

The Chief was on the phone and standing beside his desk was a real object of concern, an internal affairs agent dressed in a prim and proper suit and looking as much as a disciplinarian as a catholic schoolteacher. "I'll finish discussing this with you later, I need to talk to an officer." Then he hung up the phone and addressed him sternly. "Have a seat Orcot. There is a very important matter we need to discuss."

"You told me that Jill woke up," Leon replied. "What did she say? Did she give a statement?

The Chief looked away and began to massage his temples. Then the internal affairs agent slowly walked towards him. "She gave a statement Detective Orcot, but I don't think you are going to like hearing what she had to say. She told us about being attacked and even remembered who attacked her."

"Really?" Leon exclaimed. "That's `great. Who was it? I bet money it had something to do with Count D or the pet shop." It was then that he saw looks of surprise cross their faces.

Then the IAB agent said, "She revealed her attacker as you."

"What!!" he exclaimed, "You have got to be kidding me I was Jill's partner and friend I would have absolutely no reason to hurt her. This has got to be some kind of setup."

The chief sighed and said softly, "I don't really think that you would have hurt her, it's just that we need to investigate everything and while we do, I am pulling you off all your cases and you are on desk duty."

"You are putting me on desk duty because someone who went through a trauma says I attacked her. With all the morphine they have routinely pumping into her system how credible a witness can she be?"

"I'm sorry, Leon but this is the way it has to be, or you could take an extended vacation, your Choice." Leon looked down at his sneakers and debated within himself. If he stayed he would spend 8 hours every day chained to a desk and being heavily guarded, that option left little to no chance of finding out what the hell was really going on here. It seemed there was only one real choice; take the offered suspension and investigate the situation.

"Fine, put me on suspension. I could use a vacation." The IAB agent looked at him carefully and then looked at the Chief.

"See you in a few weeks," he replied. As Leon turned to leave he saw a look on Chief's face like he knew exactly what Leon was planning to do; but approved. He guessed the Chief could see him as being a bit obsessed over the pet shop cases, but now enough to attack Jill. He was pretty sure that was as much of an endorsement as he was going to get. Now, where the hell was he supposed to begin in figuring this out?

As he drove towards his apartment, knowing that he did not have a lot of time to figure out what had happened and limited options to do it with, he needed to talk to Jill. The problem was that if she had fingered him as her attacker it would be virtually impossible. The only option left was to attempt a conversation with D. As he considered driving towards Chinatown his mind replayed the scene this morning, the way D had practically seduced him on the sofa, and how he had run like he was being chased by a tiger in reaction.

He shivered as if the muggy California weather was actually cold and realized that he had subconsciously began to drive towards the pet shop. It was at this exact moment that Detecive flipped out. Maybe the chief was right and he really was crazy.

Within moments horns were blaring as he executed a very dangerous and very illegal U-turn and headed back towards his apartment. There was no way he could talk to D yet, he could barely keep from blushing. He needed to get control of himself and his body fast.

As Leon walked into his apartment His body was overcome with the now familiar feeling of sleepiness. He guessed he could understand it, after the day he had any reasonably sane person would be tired. Maybe if he just went and laid down for a while he would feel better. He laid on the bed and as fatigue overtook him his mind barely registered the presence of his cat at the foot of the bed.

Leon did not really remember falling asleep but realized that he must be dreaming as the scenery around him looked like nothing the real world could offer. He was standing amidst an endless desert with green sands and a sky a strange hue of purple. He sensed someone's presence behind him and turned. There was D standing in the desert breeze remaining immaculate as the colorful sand swirled around him. Leon focused his gaze on D's face and saw his eyes bright with cheerfulness, and his smile reminiscent of his usual smirk. Then as he watched D began to laugh, and not just a slight chuckle, but a deep belly laugh.

"What is so funny?" he shouted to D. D did not stop or even acknowledge him, just kept laughing. The sound of it just seemed to get louder and louder until it was all Leon could hear.

"Do you really not know what is so funny?" D asked him contemptuously. His graceful hand smoothed back his hair as the winds picked up speed. The colored sands swirled around him so thick he could barely see D's outline in the distance.

"No," he shouted back. "I don't know what is so funny. Then he pushed against the wind and moved quickly towards D. "Tell me what you are laughing at?"

Then the sands seemed to part and D was there, their faces only inches apart. "You are a complete and utter failure," D commented. Though there was no malice or anger in D's tone the comment wounded him. The most hurtful part being the lack of emotion as he said it, as if Leon were dirt underneath his impeccable fingernails.

"I am not a failure," He replied.

"You really do not see yourself as a failure," D said in bewilderment. "I would have thought you would have acknowledged this fact a long time ago." Then he began to laugh again and the wind picked up speed and whip around them. "You allowed your only friend to be attacked, you are the laughingstock of the entire precinct, after nearly three years of trying you still have not been able to arrest me. If you do not see this as failure; I am not sure what would qualify."

As Leon considered what to say in response his vision was blocked by the sands and minutes later when it settled, D was gone. He began to look for D, but instead of finding him he came across and image in the sky of a glowing pair of golden eyes. "You know what you must do," called out a booming voice. "You must kill D!"

Leon sprang up in bed covered in sweat. He had no idea why he had a dream like that, or what all of it was supposed to mean. Then from the foot of the bed he heard, "Meow." And looked to see his cat Shadow staring at him with a pair of glowing golden eyes. At this point he freaked out for the second time in 24 hours. He grabbed the car keys and the cat and headed out the door. It was very apparent now that he needed to go to Chinatown.

During the drive to the pet shop he noticed the cat was acting strange. When he first bought the cat, he had peacefully sat in the passenger seat during the drive home. Now, he was furiously trying to find a way to escape the car as they drew closer to Chinatown. He reached out and grabbed the cat and put him down on the passenger seat hard. "Stay put," he shouted. You are going back to Count D." Then he put both of his hands back on the steering wheel and accellerared. He was not sure what to do, just that he needed to do something.

He hurriedly parked the car in front of the pet shop and reached for Shadow. Once again, the cat tried to escape from him, it took a few minutes to catch the cat by cornering him in the floorboard of the passenger side. "I'm returning you to D and getting rid of all my problems."

He held the cat firmly in one hand and banged on the door as hard as he could. With the strange, eerie, silence that hung over the street the banging seemed to echo loudly. "Why the hell aren't you answering?" he asked. When he could not hold it in anymore, he began to shout. "D!!!! Open up the damn door!"

Finally, the door swung open causing Leon to nearly bang his fist into D's forehead. "What on earth do you think you are doing Detective?" Leon looked at D amazed to see him in a long robe and slippers. It was the only time he had ever seen him not dressed in those impeccable Chinese dresses or chenogasms as he called them.

"Are you going to answer me, or just stand and stare Detective?" he asked frustrated.

"I need to talk to you," he replied finally.

"I gathered as much by the persistent banging on my door at 4 a.m. Now come in before my neighbors call the police on you." Then he stood back allowing Leon to enter, still holding his struggling cat.

"Why did you bring the cat?" D asked as they took their usual seats on opposite sofas.

"I need you to take back the cat. I don't know what is going on with the damned thing, but ever since I got it I have been falling asleep without warning and having strange dreams. Take it back, I just want it gone."

D sighed. "Do you really expect me to believe any of this?" Leon looked shocked so he explained. "I sold you a normal feline domesticus, or housecat as you would call it. There were no terms, no contract, but you want me to believe that it is causing you to have bad dreams? I think you need to leave and get some help or maybe some sleeo. I never would have thought that you would attempt to invent a reason to arrest me." Then he stood and waved his hand to indicate Leon should leave.

"Look!" Leon exclaimed. "You really don't understand. I don't want to arrest you. I am not making up stories, and I most certainly do not need anymore sleep. Just take the cat and I promise nothing more will come of it."

D walked over to where Leon was sitting and sat down next to him. It reminded him of D's attempt to seduce him that morning. He could feel his heart rate increase and knew that his pulse was probably fluttering in his neck. D reached out his hands for the cat and Leon passed it to him. Their hands touched briefly and Leon was surprised to feel little shivers go up his spine as they touched and even afterwards. "You promise you are not making up stories?" D asked.

"Do I look creative enough to come up with a story like that?" he asked in response. D let down his guard and laughed. The sound seemed almost musical to his ears. He looked away as D held the cat. What the hell was he doing? D was about 90 likely to have something to do with Jill's attack and he was sitting here all happy and noting how musical D's laugh was. Maybe he really did need sleep, sleep without bad dreams. "I'll take back the cat Detective, as long as this is not some ploy." As he stood to carry the cat away, it bit his finger and ran into the back of the pet shop. "I suppose neither of us will have to worry about the cat," D commented as he inspected the bite in his finger. Leon took D's hand and looked at the bite himself. He felt a strange feeling come over him and quickly let go of his hand. Then he left the pet shop without saying a word and leaving D wondering what the hell was going on.

Leon realized halfway through the drive back to his apartment that he had once again missed a chance to ask D about Jill and her attack. He would have to talk to D some other time, just not right now.

To Be Continued. . .