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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: A to Z Challenge Chapter 19 – Suspect
Fandom: White Pine Original Fiction
Pairing: Ethan McDowell/Travis Murphy
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,226
Summary: Ethan throws caution to the wind and hits the Rusty Nail for a drink.
Author’s Note: Written for the A to Z Challenge at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
1_million_words. Finally I think I know where I’m headed with this wandering, disjointed excuse for a story. Huzzah! I have a decent idea of where I want to go in the next two chapters so pray I can pull it all together. Also, I noticed that these chapters have gotten skimpy… started out at nearly 2k a pop. Hah.
Continued from here.
Although talking to Travis had calmed his nerves somewhat, Ethan still felt a bit restless after they’d hung up. Murphy had told him that he’d earned a drink and to hit the local bar to unwind a little, but the mere thought of it made him feel awful. Almost like it was a betrayal of his love for the idiot writer and not simply him, having a beer in a bar. Ethan thought that, maybe if he weren’t alone, it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe if Jordan was there with him or anyone, really, maybe it would feel more like a night out and less like he was looking for trouble.
But wasn’t that exactly what he was doing – looking for trouble? No, he was looking for answers. Not that he was about to find them in the one room shack Garret called a bar, but it was as good as any place to start. Maybe a beer and a burger would kick start his brain. If nothing else, he figured he could get a little tipsy and call Travis when he got back to the hotel. He had to admit, Travis would love holding that one over his head for a long time to come.
“No getting drunk,” he admonished himself. “Not until you’re home again.” Sloppy, hysterical, drunken sex beat the hell out of a goofy phone call, although, if he played his cards right, he might wake up with Travis beside him in the morning. Because knowing his husband, he’d drive two hours for a drunken hook up.
Looking at the clock, Ethan decided that if he was going to go have his beer and get home in time for a decent night’s sleep, he’d better move his ass. After a quick change of clothes and a comb through his hair, Ethan was out the door and on his way for a much needed bit of relaxation.
**
It had only taken five minutes for Ethan to remember why he preferred hanging out in White Pine’s tiny diner to a bar of any size. Garret’s Rusty Nail wasn’t as dark as some of the places he’d been in, but it was still as desperate and lonely. As soon as he received his beer from the bartender, Ethan moved down the bar until he found a spot with empty seats on either side. One drink, then he’d head back to the hotel and order room service.
Lifting the bottle to his lips, he looked around the small space. Garret wasn’t a huge town, but it was much bigger than White Pine or even his hometown of Minden Lake, so he figured their lone bar would be larger than this. But then again, this was Utah, and it was very likely that this had been a dry county until recent times.
“Hey,” a voice said from Ethan’s right. “You waiting for someone?”
Ethan swallowed the swig of beer and set the bottle down on the counter. Outside of his ex-husband, Ethan had yet to run across anyone who had been less than courteous here in Garret. However, too many years of working as a detective had taught him not to trust a soul until you knew them. Sometimes, not even then. He gave the guy a discreet once over, finding him to be broad shouldered, but not well built, good looking, but not overly handsome either. “No,” he said despite himself. “I don’t live here, I’m only visiting.”
“Oh,” the man said, interested. “How long are you going to be in town?”
Good damn question, Ethan thought. Not wanting to give himself away, he opted for the closest thing to the truth. “Only another couple weeks, I hope. I’m here for work.”
The guy nodded and didn’t ask any further questions, much to Ethan’s relief. “I’m not from here, either,” he offered. “Born and bred in Salt Lake City,” he clarified. “Moved here a year or so ago.”
Blinking, Ethan gave the mystery man a closer inspection. Was it only a coincidence that this guy had come from Salt Lake at the same time Gary Muncie had? “I hear Salt Lake is nice,” he said, resisting the urge to ask the question burning his tongue. “Never been there myself.”
Shrugging, the guy motioned towards Ethan’s drink. “Can I buy you another?”
He knew he shouldn’t, but he had to know if this was the guy Reid had gotten into an altercation with two years ago. “Sure,” he said and held his peace until his benefactor had ordered them another round. “So, why’d you leave Salt Lake for a place like Garret? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice town, but Salt Lake…”
“It wasn’t bad,” the guy said, smiling as he handed over Ethan’s beer. “But a friend of mine got a really good gig here in town and asked me to come down this way. Took me a bit to make the move, but I’m glad I did.” He looked towards the bartender before looking back at Ethan. “I’ve got a decent job working here in town, but my buddy’s got a side business that I helped him build. His cutting me in on it helps pay the bills, if you know what I mean.”
Ethan was beginning to understand what he meant. Side business usually equated to illegal business, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud. “A little extra cash is a beautiful thing,” he said instead.
“Tax free is even better,” the guy snorted. He put his beer down and gave Ethan an appraising look. “I could get my ass kicked for asking this in public back home but, you wouldn’t happen to be single would you?”
A vision of Travis flashed behind Ethan’s eyes. “Sorry,” he said, not meaning it at all, “but I have a husband back home in – in Phoenix,” he said, inserting the lie at the last minute.
“Phoenix is a long way from here,” the guy pointed out. “And what he doesn’t know won’t hurt you, right? How about we get a table and talk about it some. If you still say no, then more power to you. But if you say yes…” He shrugged.
Guilt washed over Ethan. He’d promised himself one drink and then he’d go home, but he hadn’t expected to run into this guy. Even if he wasn’t the person he was looking for, he was undoubtedly up to something illegal. Travis would understand, right? “Buy me a burger and we can discuss it.”
“You drive a hard bargain,” the guy said, sticking out his hand. “But you’re on. My name’s Gary. Gary Muncie.”
“Mike,” Ethan said, pulling the name of his first partner out of thin air. “Mike Larsen.”
“Nice to meet you, Mike.” Gary turned to the bartender. “Howard,” he hollered. “Two cheeseburgers, fully loaded, please.”
“You going to your usual table,” Howard asked.
“You know it,” he said. “And send another round over for me and my new friend.”
Oh boy, Ethan thought. Tonight was about to get really interesting if he didn’t watch himself. Steeling himself for whatever was about to go down, he made himself follow Gary to ‘his table’ in the back corner of the bar. He prayed that any information he got out of the guy was worth whatever he was about to do.
Continues here.
Fandom: White Pine Original Fiction
Pairing: Ethan McDowell/Travis Murphy
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,226
Summary: Ethan throws caution to the wind and hits the Rusty Nail for a drink.
Author’s Note: Written for the A to Z Challenge at
1_million_words. Finally I think I know where I’m headed with this wandering, disjointed excuse for a story. Huzzah! I have a decent idea of where I want to go in the next two chapters so pray I can pull it all together. Also, I noticed that these chapters have gotten skimpy… started out at nearly 2k a pop. Hah.Continued from here.
Although talking to Travis had calmed his nerves somewhat, Ethan still felt a bit restless after they’d hung up. Murphy had told him that he’d earned a drink and to hit the local bar to unwind a little, but the mere thought of it made him feel awful. Almost like it was a betrayal of his love for the idiot writer and not simply him, having a beer in a bar. Ethan thought that, maybe if he weren’t alone, it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe if Jordan was there with him or anyone, really, maybe it would feel more like a night out and less like he was looking for trouble.
But wasn’t that exactly what he was doing – looking for trouble? No, he was looking for answers. Not that he was about to find them in the one room shack Garret called a bar, but it was as good as any place to start. Maybe a beer and a burger would kick start his brain. If nothing else, he figured he could get a little tipsy and call Travis when he got back to the hotel. He had to admit, Travis would love holding that one over his head for a long time to come.
“No getting drunk,” he admonished himself. “Not until you’re home again.” Sloppy, hysterical, drunken sex beat the hell out of a goofy phone call, although, if he played his cards right, he might wake up with Travis beside him in the morning. Because knowing his husband, he’d drive two hours for a drunken hook up.
Looking at the clock, Ethan decided that if he was going to go have his beer and get home in time for a decent night’s sleep, he’d better move his ass. After a quick change of clothes and a comb through his hair, Ethan was out the door and on his way for a much needed bit of relaxation.
**
It had only taken five minutes for Ethan to remember why he preferred hanging out in White Pine’s tiny diner to a bar of any size. Garret’s Rusty Nail wasn’t as dark as some of the places he’d been in, but it was still as desperate and lonely. As soon as he received his beer from the bartender, Ethan moved down the bar until he found a spot with empty seats on either side. One drink, then he’d head back to the hotel and order room service.
Lifting the bottle to his lips, he looked around the small space. Garret wasn’t a huge town, but it was much bigger than White Pine or even his hometown of Minden Lake, so he figured their lone bar would be larger than this. But then again, this was Utah, and it was very likely that this had been a dry county until recent times.
“Hey,” a voice said from Ethan’s right. “You waiting for someone?”
Ethan swallowed the swig of beer and set the bottle down on the counter. Outside of his ex-husband, Ethan had yet to run across anyone who had been less than courteous here in Garret. However, too many years of working as a detective had taught him not to trust a soul until you knew them. Sometimes, not even then. He gave the guy a discreet once over, finding him to be broad shouldered, but not well built, good looking, but not overly handsome either. “No,” he said despite himself. “I don’t live here, I’m only visiting.”
“Oh,” the man said, interested. “How long are you going to be in town?”
Good damn question, Ethan thought. Not wanting to give himself away, he opted for the closest thing to the truth. “Only another couple weeks, I hope. I’m here for work.”
The guy nodded and didn’t ask any further questions, much to Ethan’s relief. “I’m not from here, either,” he offered. “Born and bred in Salt Lake City,” he clarified. “Moved here a year or so ago.”
Blinking, Ethan gave the mystery man a closer inspection. Was it only a coincidence that this guy had come from Salt Lake at the same time Gary Muncie had? “I hear Salt Lake is nice,” he said, resisting the urge to ask the question burning his tongue. “Never been there myself.”
Shrugging, the guy motioned towards Ethan’s drink. “Can I buy you another?”
He knew he shouldn’t, but he had to know if this was the guy Reid had gotten into an altercation with two years ago. “Sure,” he said and held his peace until his benefactor had ordered them another round. “So, why’d you leave Salt Lake for a place like Garret? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice town, but Salt Lake…”
“It wasn’t bad,” the guy said, smiling as he handed over Ethan’s beer. “But a friend of mine got a really good gig here in town and asked me to come down this way. Took me a bit to make the move, but I’m glad I did.” He looked towards the bartender before looking back at Ethan. “I’ve got a decent job working here in town, but my buddy’s got a side business that I helped him build. His cutting me in on it helps pay the bills, if you know what I mean.”
Ethan was beginning to understand what he meant. Side business usually equated to illegal business, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud. “A little extra cash is a beautiful thing,” he said instead.
“Tax free is even better,” the guy snorted. He put his beer down and gave Ethan an appraising look. “I could get my ass kicked for asking this in public back home but, you wouldn’t happen to be single would you?”
A vision of Travis flashed behind Ethan’s eyes. “Sorry,” he said, not meaning it at all, “but I have a husband back home in – in Phoenix,” he said, inserting the lie at the last minute.
“Phoenix is a long way from here,” the guy pointed out. “And what he doesn’t know won’t hurt you, right? How about we get a table and talk about it some. If you still say no, then more power to you. But if you say yes…” He shrugged.
Guilt washed over Ethan. He’d promised himself one drink and then he’d go home, but he hadn’t expected to run into this guy. Even if he wasn’t the person he was looking for, he was undoubtedly up to something illegal. Travis would understand, right? “Buy me a burger and we can discuss it.”
“You drive a hard bargain,” the guy said, sticking out his hand. “But you’re on. My name’s Gary. Gary Muncie.”
“Mike,” Ethan said, pulling the name of his first partner out of thin air. “Mike Larsen.”
“Nice to meet you, Mike.” Gary turned to the bartender. “Howard,” he hollered. “Two cheeseburgers, fully loaded, please.”
“You going to your usual table,” Howard asked.
“You know it,” he said. “And send another round over for me and my new friend.”
Oh boy, Ethan thought. Tonight was about to get really interesting if he didn’t watch himself. Steeling himself for whatever was about to go down, he made himself follow Gary to ‘his table’ in the back corner of the bar. He prayed that any information he got out of the guy was worth whatever he was about to do.
Continues here.
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no subject
Date: 2017-01-27 02:54 pm (UTC)By the way, what I said about his ex still applies.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-27 06:25 pm (UTC)And yeah... that comment of yours is always applicable to one Mr. Oliver Reid Farrow. ;)
no subject
Date: 2017-01-27 08:39 pm (UTC)I see a forcibly impossed vacation in Ethan's near future.
So is T for Trapped?
no subject
Date: 2017-01-27 08:43 pm (UTC)If I can catch a break here, you might know by tomorrow!
no subject
Date: 2017-01-27 10:03 pm (UTC)Something to look forward to.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-27 10:08 pm (UTC)My boss just bugged out to a meeting so cross your fingers!