[closed: davin, dated for 5/16]

[doublethepain]

It's with a promise that he won't let anyone do any 'souping up' of the Jetta that Spencer manages to sneak a kiss to Joel's cheek before laughing his way out of Crossroads. His husband had balked at the idea that his car might need any sort of tuning he hasn't been able to do on his own in the years he's owned it, but Spencer had gently reminded him that Davin is the actual expert when it comes to cars so it's not as if their friend's offer to look it over could possibly hurt. Besides, it wouldn't do to find the car in need of some dire fix the day they're due to take the baby home, so to Oceanside he will go.

The car does, as Joel always says, run impressively smoothly for as old as it is, and Spencer arrives at the auto repair shop without so much as a squeaky window just before noon. He smiles through the windshield when Davin waves him into one of the carports, and he notes that there doesn't seem to be much activity going on for a Saturday afternoon as he steps out of the car with an awkward wave.

"Thank you again," he says, which possibly isn't best greeting he could have mustered up, but the words had been at the tip of his tongue all the same. He still hasn't been able to get past just how many people had shown up for the baby shower and left so many gifts. He knows that neither he nor Joel had expected such an extravagant outpouring of support at a party they'd been resistant to from the beginning but as it turns out, he'll be worrying about carpal tunnel very soon with all the thank you notes he'll be working on in the next few weeks preceding the baby's birth.

"Oh," he adds, rolling his eyes fondly, "my husband says the same and also that he doesn't want me to bring the car home with any fancy modification so if you could refrain from painting flames on the sides, it would be greatly appreciated."

Comments

[jamesthorn]

When Joel's call comes into his cellphone, James is still at work even though he should already be on his way home so that he can get dressed for dinner. There's a mountain of paperwork on his desk, and he hates leaving in the middle of a project. But it is his birthday, and he's supposed to meet Davin at his place in about an hour and a half for a celebratory dinner. Now he isn't one to fuss over his age, but he is looking forward to it. However, two weeks away trapped in fairytale land had left a terrible amount of work in its wake. There mayor was missing, and there were witnesses saying they saw a giant---a literal giant---step on him. And that was in and of itself a headache for all of them. There were teams out searching, but so far no one could account for the man.

Despite being busy, when Davin's name pops up on the screen, he smiles and takes the call. Quickly he realizes that the voice on the other end is not someone he recognizes and is definitely not Davin. There is undeniable panic in the man's voice, and James shuts down all of his work, grabs his bag, and heads out.

He is across town at the garage in less than fifteen minutes, feeling a little antsy. Why was someone else calling from Davin's phone? Who is missing? But by the time he pulls up, there is a dread that's fallen over him. If people are missing, why wouldn't Davin call him himself? Is Davin missing? Calmly, though, he exits the car and marches up to the garage door, taking note of the broken window and glass covering the concrete.

"Hello?" he calls out carefully, kind of glad that he brought his gun, because now he considers taht this could be a trap or something. That possibility is less likely once he enters the garage and sees the scene. There's blood. Stomach dropping as he lowers his gun, he looks around for the man that called him and spots Joel, looking as worried as James suddenly feels. "What's going on?"

[just_another]

For a period of time while he waits for James to arrive, Joel wonders if maybe this is all some kind of terrible dream. Or a punishment for something he's done, some continuation of the horror he'd faced with Mark. He remains hunched against the wall, Davin's phone in his hand, his shoulders curled in and he tries not to look at the blood. There's a wrench on top of his car, there's blood on it, too, and he doesn't know if it belongs to Davin or Spencer, but it really doesn't matter in the end. They're both gone. They're likely both hurt. And they both need to come back.

"James?" he ask, because although they've never met, it's hard not to know the Thortons in this town. Davin hasn't shared a lot of information with Joel about their relationship, but he knows his friend seems happy and the second he thinks that, his chest is seized by a terrible ache that takes a long moment to subside.

"I-I don't know what happened," he says when he can speak again. "Spencer... m-my husband was supposed to be home almost two hours ago. He brought my car here for Davin to work on. He's not home. He's not answering his phone. I called Davin, but..." He holds Davin's phone out for James to see.

"I broke the window. I know I-I shouldn't have, but I heard the phone ringing in here and I..." He shakes his head, then looks at James imploringly. He's a detective, he should be able to fix this. "There's blood. And my car is still here."

[jamesthorn]

Based on the information Joel gives him, James knows that Davin's phone is now evidence, that they are standing in the middle of a crime scene. But there's part of him that doesn't want to believe anything Joel just said, even though he can see the blood on the cement himself. After everything with Nerium, they had just gotten back to normal.

He takes the phone from Joel, searching through the last few messages and sees the log of missed calls. "Alright. Okay," James says slowly placing the phone on the hood of the car. Really he is freaking out, but he is trained to handle situations like this one and something close to instinct puts him into auto-pilot.

"I don't understand. Is your husband capable of defending himself? Does he have enemies?" James steps around trying to make sense of the scene surrounding them. He considers that Davin's been attacked here before but the guys that did that were in jail. Besides that, it's hard to fathom who could've done this. A week ago, James witnessed Davin kill a dragon with his powers...

He doesn't know who to call to ask about magic. Maybe Riley.

[just_another]

Joel chokes out a laugh at that and waves his hand toward the street outside. It's an angry laugh and he hates that he has to say this, but it's the truth. It's the honest answer to James' question and Joel feels a tight, hot flare of rage as he realizes this really could be the work of someone who's still angry over Dane and Vera. He'd done his best to keep the letters away from Spencer on his birthday -- on the anniversary of their deaths -- and while he's sure there were fewer than there's been other years, there was still enough letters to make him sick.

"I'd say there's still a fair number of people in this town who think he killed his family, so when it comes to enemies you probably have your pick," he says as he fumbles toward a chair so he can sit down. His legs are shaking and weak and he doesn't know what to do, but at least James is asking question. Whether or not they're questions Joel can answer is another thing entirely.

"Spencer's not... he isn't a fighter," Joel says. "He would if he had to, he's strong, he'd defend himself, but if someone was threatening to hurt Davin..." He knows Spencer wouldn't let that happen and he shakes his head as he closes his eyes as he wills himself not to cry. Not now.

[jamesthorn]

"I've seen Davin defend himself. I honestly don't know anyone that could---" James can't finish what he's saying. Every single bad scenario is beginning to flash in front of his eyes. Something really bad happened to Davin and to Spencer. He manages to take a few breathes to calm himself, but he realizes that he isn't going to be able to do this without back-up. Someone who can focus, who doesn't feel like they may fall apart, because the look on Joel's face says it all.

He remembers the scandal with Spencer and his family, how everyone thought the shy librarian were a murderer. But James is a cop. He didn't work the case, but as far as he was concerned, it doesn't matter. "I don't know if this is about your husband," James says honestly. "I don't see how they made it out of here without Davin electrocuting them. But if they came prepared...."

Then James definitely needs some backup.

[just_another]

They came prepared. They knew what to expect out of Davin, they knew how to use him to get Spencer to comply with their wishes. Somehow they knew what Davin could do and they knew that Spencer would never let his friend be hurt if he could help it. It's someone who's been watching them, if nothing else. It makes Joel sick and furious all at once and he braces his hands against his knees and then looks up again and catches sight of something glinting on the floor of the garage.

He shouldn't go in there, he knows he shouldn't, but he gets up anyway and goes to it because he knows before he even gets close what it is.

Spencer's ring is on the floor of the garage. Dropped. Left behind. For him.

"He left his ring," he gasps, grabbing for it and he knows this is a crime scene, but he hasn't touched the car or the wrench or the blood. "This is Spencer's wedding ring, he hasn't taken it off since we got married, he left it for me to find. Something bad happened to them."

[jamesthorn]

"Look, we don't know what happened---" James isn't sure whether he says that for himself or for Joel, but he can't just assume that Davin is hurt or kidnapped or worse. He can't do that. It already feels like the walls of the room are slowly closing in, where his chest hurts a little, like something has come and knocked the wind away. Just when he thought everything was okay again. Just when Davin came back and now he's gone.

He eyes the ring in Joel's hand. "If he was aware enough to leave the ring then that's a good sign," he says pulling out his phone. "I'm gonna call this in. I need. I don't know how much I can do alone." Probably not enough. He dials into the station reporting the crime scene and possibility of a kidnapping and asking for back-up. He doesn't tell the dispatcher that he has a personal connection to the victim, but he'll have to when they arrive.

"We'll find them," he assures Joel after he hangs up and gives him a pat on the arm, knowing that isn't going to help, because he feels like nothing is going to help until he sees Davin safe. "If Davin were in trouble with people, I feel like he would've told me. You really think someone wants to hurt your husband?"

[just_another]

Joel can hear that James is speaking to him and he knows he should be paying attention, but he's just staring down at the ring in his palm. The light glints off the edges softly and if he closes his eyes and concentrates he can imagine that it's still warm from being on Spencer's finger, but he knows that's just his imagination. It's been lying on the cold concrete of the garage for long enough that it can't possibly have retained any of his husband's warmth.

It is a sign, though, he's sure of that. He was meant to find it and he clutches the ring desperately in his palm when James pats his arm, then finally looks up at him. The question registers, though just barely, and he pauses, giving himself some time to think about it. There are people in this town who don't like Spencer, he knows that, but he isn't sure if any of them would be willing to hurt him.

"Eli Jasper," he says. "He's been physically aggressive toward Spencer before. He pushed him at Coop's... Shea Cooper's birthday party. When I tried to get him to leave Spencer alone he followed me outside and attacked me. We were both arrested." It's a small town and James is a detective. If he doesn't know that already, he's sure to find it out with ease. "I haven't seen him since then, but I know he hates Spencer. And there's a man named Mark Fuller who hates me. He's tried to hurt Spencer before. I don't think he had anything to do with this, though, he's... it's about revenge. He wouldn't have tried to hurt Davin."

[jamesthorn]

There's part of James that can't help the mild anger he feels about the fact that Davin's in trouble because of someone else. That whatever happened to him is because of Joel and Spencer. But he knows rationally that's only because Davin is so important to him. Davin being in any type of danger is the worst thing he can think of, no matter whose fault it is. He knows Davin would want him to help his friends, and he has no choice. He needs Joel's information if he's going to find his boyfriend and bring him home in one piece. That's all James cares about right now.

"Okay," he says, patting Joel on the shoulder again. "Okay. We'll find them. I just need you to think if there's anything else that's happened lately that was strange. Any weird phone calls? Visitors?"

[just_another]

"Some letters on his birthday," Joel says and there's a flare of anger when he speaks. The thought that anyone in this town has taken it upon themselves to write threatening letters to Spencer on his birthday makes him sick, but the thought that they might have taken it further than that makes him furious. "People who still think he killed his parents. I got rid of them, though, I didn't want him seeing them. He said he gets them every year, I didn't think anyone would do something like this."

That was stupid of him, he sees it now.

"No calls or visitors, but I have a ward on the house." It means people must be invited in by either him or Spencer, but it also keeps out people who wish to do harm on the house or its inhabitants out on the street. No one can come to the house if they want to cause trouble.

[jamesthorn]

A ward?

James eyes advert to the ground as he processes what Joel said. In a town filled with witches and the fact that he's dating one, magic shouldn't come as a surprise, but it does cause him to pause for a moment, to learn that Joel is a witch too. He already could've guessed that whoever managed to take Davin down had powers of their own. He just hates feeling like he can't protect the people that mean the most to him. He hates feeling like he doesn't have any control.

He lets it go though as he turns back to Joel. "So you wouldn't be able to find those letters again?" he asks hopefully. "It may help us find a lead. The cops will come in here. See if they find any fingerprints. Blood." He looks down at the red stain in the middle of the room with a blank stare. He doesn't know whose blood that is and that scares him. "But we'll need more. I'll go up to Davin's. Just see if maybe there was something he didn't tell me."

[just_another]

"I... I can look," Joel says, but he's sure they're all gone. The thought about going home and having to look for the letters makes his stomach clench tight and for a second he thinks he might be sick. But then he nods and looks down at his shaking hands. "I'll look."

There isn't much else he can do. He's tried locator spells, he's called the police, he's made a report, he's looked everywhere Spencer might be. His next step is doing whatever James tells him and when he gets home he'll call his mother and see if she has any suggestions. She's a more powerful witch than he is, maybe she'll be able to help him figure something out.

"Can you call me?" he asks. "If you find anything? I just... I don't know..." He stops and shakes his head again. "I don't know what to do."

[jamesthorn]

The misery in Joel's voice hits a hard place inside of him, a place that is raw and hurting as it sinks in that once again Davin has been taken from him. That he's in danger and possibly hurt, and James has no clue how or where to begin to find him. It hurts as he watches the misery on Joel's face because he understands.

He lays a hand on Joel's shoulder, reassuring him in a tone that sounds more like when he's consoling a victim's family. "We're gonna do everything we can. I promise," he says. "We will find them. I'll call you as soon as I can. I need to wait here for the team to show up. They will have questions."

"I'll tell 'em I took your statement if you...if you think you need to leave." He understands this is hard. "I'm not sure who'll be working the case, but I'll give you a heads up before they call you down to the station."