7

Jude

Jude was exhausted. After he and Cope got the kids to bed, he'd tried to talk to Cope, but his husband was having none of it. He'd curled up in bed with a book and was sound asleep when Jude came to bed around ten. Not wanting to wake Cope, Jude lay beside him, either catnapping or staring at the ceiling until the rising sun started to lighten the room.

They hadn't seen each other before work. Cope was in the shower when Jude got up and had gotten dressed and gone downstairs while Jude had been changing and dressing Lizbet. When Jude had gotten out of the shower, Cope was gone, already having dropped the kids at Ten's with Nana Kaye. When he got to West Side Magick, Cope was in his reading room with the door closed. Not wanting to disturb him and possibly ignite another argument, Jude ordered a dark roast with a shot of espresso and headed up to their office. Ronan sat at the table, going over witness reports.

"Look what the cat dragged in. You look like you didn't get any sleep at all." Ronan offered a grin. "There's nothing better than makeup sex."

"There was no makeup sex," Jude said, his spirits sinking even lower.

"Correction, there's nothing better than angry sex." Ronan waggled his eyebrows. "Makes me want to start a fight with Ten just to get to the good stuff."

"There was no sex, Ronan. Just me staring at the ceiling all night while trying to grab snatches of sleep." Jude and Cope didn't argue very often, so feeling like they were in a full-blown fight was foreign to him. Anxiety chirped in the background of his mind, making him feel insecure about the state of his marriage and his ability to be a good husband.

Ronan sat up straighter and looked to be studying Jude. "What the hell happened? Did you say something idiotic when you and Cope were in Fitz's kitchen talking? I didn't think anything you said at the dinner table was objectionable."

"Cope's angry that I was skeptical about the voice on the podcast, which I didn't even hear. I mean, shit, there are all kinds of ways something like that could have been faked." Hell, with all of the new and terrifying AI technologies available, it was possible that someone could have cloned the voice from snippets of Domenica speaking in home movies. Anything was possible.

"I think that last sentence is what Cope's upset about. You and I both know ghosts exist. Hell, I saw them myself back when I hit my head on the kitchen floor."

"I remember," Jude said. It hadn't been an easy time for Ronan or the people around him. Thinking back on the argument, Jude remembered something key in his husband's words. "Cope said this was a cold case like the ones we work all the time."

"He's not wrong," Fitz said, walking into the office. "I checked out the police report last night. Domenica's case is technically still open. The medical examiner couldn't tell if her death was a suicide or a murder and listed the manner of death as undetermined. The husband claimed she jumped. He was the only witness to her death and made several mentions of her shaky mental health and her stay at a psychiatric hospital."

"Do you think Cope wants to get involved in this case? Is that why he was so angry?" Ronan asked.

Was that what this was about? Cope wanting to take on the case? "I don't know if he wants to solve the mystery of her death like we would, but I know Cope wants to help her spirit. He'd hate the thought of Domenica suffering for forty years."

"I agree with that, but I'm not sure I trust this podcast guy." Ronan reached for his computer. "I'm going to run a background check on him."

"We have our own case to solve, Ronan," Fitzgibbon said. "We shouldn't be wasting the department's resources on a case that's not even a case."

"Duly noted." Ronan's fingers moved over the keys. "Okay, here we go, Christopher Kit Savage. Born in 1984. Oh, shit. We've got a bingo." Ronan grinned at Jude over the top of his screen. "He's got priors for wire fraud."

"What?" Jude asked. A criminal record was worse than he imagined, but he'd rather know this information now than after Savage hung Cope out to dry on his podcast.

"It seems he was working for one of those hinky check-cashing places and was accused of check washing." Ronan shook his head.

"What the hell is that?" Jude asked. How the hell were they expected to keep up with these criminals if he wasn't even aware of all kinds of crimes being committed?

"It's when you take a check that's been written to someone else, and you remove that name to substitute another, along with changing the amount of that check. So, in theory, if you wrote Fitz a check for ten dollars, I could not only change it to my name but also make it for ten thousand dollars."

"Holy shit, and he was in a perfect position to do it working at the check-cashing place." Jude shook his head. "How much did he get away with?"

"I don't have a grand total, but Savage was caught after he cashed a check issued from Bank of America for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The check's amount triggered an internal review, and one of the accounts saw that the name and amount on the check were fraudulent. Savage pled no contest and was sentenced to a year in prison, which he'd already served waiting for his case to go to court. There was also a fine involved, but it doesn't say here if he has paid it in full."

"Do you think his listeners know about his criminal past?" Fitzgibbon asked.

"I don't know," Jude admitted. "Maybe I need to do some research on this guy before I go home tonight. Cope obviously feels some kind of connection to Domenica Fibonacci. Maybe I should take him out to do a tour of the house like Fitz and Jace did."

"Talk to your husband," Fitzgibbon said with no sign of sarcasm in his voice. "Trust me when I say this. I almost lost Jace twice because I kept everything bottled up inside until I was about to explode. Find out what Cope's intentions are with this podcast and go from there."

"Cope doesn't have another client for half an hour," Ronan said, looking up from his phone.

"Okay," Jude said, knowing good advice when he heard it. "If I'm not back in thirty minutes, start a rescue operation."

"No way am I walking in on angry sex," Ronan said on a chuckle.

"Ronan, I'm not having makeup sex with my husband in the office. The walls are too thin." Jude grinned.

"Actually, they're not." Ronan waggled his eyebrows and burst out laughing. Fitzgibbon joined him.

"Remind me not to take a seat in Ten's reading room." Jude grimaced.

"No worries, it was the table!" Ronan cackled.

Jude grabbed his phone and shoved it in his back pocket before hurrying downstairs. He'd have a quick word with Cope, settle their argument, and then get back to the Webster case. He had several calls to make to the members of the school board in order to set up interviews.

When Jude reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard an unfamiliar voice talking with Cope. Ronan must have been wrong about Cope not having a reading client. The guy could be a walk-in. Ten talked about those kinds of readings all the time.

"Enjoy your reading with Cope, Mr. Savage," Carson said before walking past Jude on his way back to the store.

"Mr. Savage?" Jude asked, sounding more insulted than shocked. Jude took a second to look him over. The man was average all over. He looked to be about five seven and had dark eyes and mousy brown hair. What really caught Jude's eye was the leather jacket Kit was wearing. It was July, with the temperature expected to be in the high nineties. Why the hell was he dressed in leather?

Cope swung around in Jude's direction. A triumphant look lit up his face. "Jude, this is Kit Savage, host of the Ghost After Dark podcast. He walked into the shop and asked for a reading. Kit, this is my husband, Jude Byrne."

"Ah, the infamous Jude." Kit stuck out a hand.

Jude reached out to shake with him. Kit's cold hand slid against his own. He found himself wanting to yank back and walk away, but Jude wasn't going to do that. "It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Ditto, man. Hope you don't mind that I'm stealing your guy." Kit laughed. He sounded like a braying donkey.

"Why don't we get started?" Cope's eyes were on Jude as he spoke, as if he were looking for some kind of outward reaction from his husband.

If that's what Cope wanted, Jude wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. "Enjoy your reading, Kit. I wonder what kinds of deep, dark secrets Cope will unearth?"

Kit offered a self-deprecating grin. "I'm an open book. Boring but open."

"Have a seat at the table, and I'll be with you in a minute. Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee?"

"A bottle of cold water would be great, Cope." Kit winked at him and headed into the reading room.

"What do you want, Jude? Are you monitoring my clients now?" Cope set his hands on his hips and glared at his husband.

"I came down to see if we could talk for a few minutes. I had no idea you had a walk-in customer or that it was the podcast guy." Jude studied his husband for a second. "I know I'm pretty dense most of the time, but what am I missing about this Kit Savage thing?"

The triumphant look fell from Cope's face. "Dense is right," Cope agreed. "I've stood behind you, supporting everything you've done since we met. Starting your own detective agency, working cases with Ronan and Fitz, joining the Salem Police force. Now that there's something I'm interested in doing, you're standing in front of me, trying to stop me."

"You're interested in getting involved with Kit Savage?"

"That's all you would see." Cope shook his head and blew out an exasperated breath. "I want to do what I always do: help spirits. What if I can help solve how Domenica died? Ronan never had a problem with Ten working on cold cases, so why do you?"

"First of all," Jude said, feeling his anger stir in the pit of his stomach, "Ronan did have a problem working with Tennyson. He hated putting Ten in danger. Christ, over the years, Ten has been kidnapped, shot at, blown up, and stabbed."

The hard look in Cope's eyes softened, but he stayed silent.

"Here's what worries me about this situation." Jude took a deep breath, hoping to keep his temper in check. "I know how much you love your job and the reputation you've built here in Salem. If this podcast guy tries or succeeds in exploiting you and your gift, how are you going to recover from that professionally? Or personally? Ten knew the stakes when he agreed to work with Ronan. What the hell kind of husband would I be to let you walk into this situation blind to the dangers?"

"You must really think I'm stupid, Jude."

"No, Cope, that's not what—"

"Save it. I've got work to do. See you tonight." Cope walked away without a look back.

"What the hell just happened?" Jude asked himself.

"I might be able to answer that question," Ten said from the door of his reading room. The psychic had obviously been listening to his conversation with Cope.

Nodding, Jude followed Ten.

"It's weird having you in my reading room," Ten said with a laugh. "You're the last person I ever expected to see sitting at my table."

"True." Jude set his hands on the table in front of them and noticed they were shaking. "I don't understand what's going on with him, Ten."

"Cope wants to explore this case. For some reason, he feels a kinship to Domenica Fibonacci."

"I get that, but he keeps mentioning you in relation to solving cases with Ronan. Does Cope want to do that kind of work too? To be honest, it never crossed my mind that he'd want to be a part of solving cold cases."

"Have you ever asked him what he wanted?" Ten asked, sounding more like a shrink than a psychic.

Jude opened his mouth with a ready answer but then closed it again. He'd never asked Cope what he wanted. Ever. Jude told Cope he wasn't interested in a relationship when they first noticed the attraction between them. He'd told Cope he was adopting Wolf. He told Cope he was joining the Salem Police. "Our relationship has been me doing whatever I wanted and dragging Cope along for the ride without asking how he felt about my decisions or asking him to make them with me." Jude's mouth hung open. He felt like he'd been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer.

Ten nodded. "My relationship with Ronan moved along a similar path, but when we were getting ready to conceive Everly, and he was putting himself in dangerous situations, and Fitzgibbon suspended him from the department, I sort of broke. I realized that I needed a partner and a co-parent. I told Ronan what I needed him to be and let him take it from there. I'm guessing that maybe Cope has reached that point too."

Jude remembered what Ten was talking about. Ronan was working a case with the Salem Witches, and their enemies had quickly become his. Jude didn't think his situation with Cope was as dangerous as what Ronan put Ten through, but he was smart enough to see the similarities. "What do I do, Ten? I know you're going to tell me that I need to look inside my heart and figure it out myself."

"I'm not a Disney princess, Jude. I can't solve your problems with a catchy song." Ten offered a grin. "Bring home dinner. Put the kids to bed and ask Cope one question."

Jude's mind was blank. He was failing the test badly. "What the hell is the right question to ask?"

"What do you want?" Ten said simply. "It's an open-ended question, and I'm sure Cope will roll his eyes and ask if you're serious or paying lip service to get your cock sucked."

Jude snorted. He hated to admit it, but Ten had nailed him. When he and Cope had argued in the past, it was always Jude's plan to say what he needed to say in order to get his dick wet. "That's exactly what he'll do."

"It's your job to convince him that you're ready to listen." Ten studied Jude for a few seconds, as if he could somehow see into his soul. "When Cope does open up and tell you, listen. Understand. Do whatever you can to see where he's coming from. Then, when he's finished talking, ask him how you can help."

Jude sighed. He felt his emotions rising to the service. If this kept up, he'd be bawling on Ten's shoulder. "I've never once asked him that question about anything."

"I know," Ten said softly.

Ten's simple statement was another blow Jude hadn't been expecting. How did Ten know so much about his marriage? Had he read Cope? Was Cope complaining to Ten about him?

"This conversation isn't a condemnation of the kind of husband you've been up to this point. Think of it more as a wake-up call. We all change and grow with time. Let this be a time of growth for you, Jude. I promise you it will be worth it." Ten patted Jude's hands.

Jude stood up and headed to the door. "Thanks, Ten. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this to me."

"I'm always here if you need help. I know you usually go to Ronan, but he's always going to give you the kind of advice he'd follow. The two of you are so much alike. You really are more like brothers than friends."

"You're right," Jude agreed. "I'll do what you said. Thanks." Feeling a bit embarrassed, Jude left the room.

From the time he was young, Jude always thought highly of himself. He'd always assumed he was an excellent friend, but thinking about Ten's words made him realize he was severely lacking. Was it too late to teach an old dog new tricks?

Jude was about to find out.