GENRE: Gay Mystery Spicy Romance (MMM)
LENGTH: 67,552 words
RATING:

Sky Gunderson is reluctant to work on the documentary about famed artist Damien Zuniga because it means going back to Seacliff. When he was outed by his best friend, the people of Seacliff were cruel and unaccepting. He left Seacliff right after graduation and hasn't been back in nearly twenty years. Will the people of Seacliff treat him differently now that he is an award-winning filmmaker? Will he be able to forgive his best friend?

As Sky researches the life of Damien Zuniga, he comes across the unsolved case of an armored truck accident where the drivers and twenty million dollars are missing. Damien, the sheriff, and other people are all keeping secrets about the crime.

In his attempt to solve the case, Sky confronts the demons of his past, rekindles old friendships, and finds the love of his life. The only problem is some people are willing to kill to keep their secrets hidden. Will Sky uncover all the secrets to solve the case before he's killed and becomes the latest secret in Seacliff?

EXCERPT:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

“I’ve done some research on you, and talked to a few people and it seems there’s more to the story about why you chose Seacliff than it’s quiet and pretty,” Sky said.

“What have you heard? What are people saying is the reason I moved here?”

“I heard you were living with your boyfriend, Javier Cruz, in San Francisco. The two of you had worked together on a few different projects and exhibits and you were moderately successful. Then after ten years together, you and Javier broke up. According to some people, you were devastated and wanted to get a fresh start in Los Angeles. While you were driving to LA, you discovered some skid marks and a broken guardrail . You saw that an armored truck had slid off the road, gone over the side of the cliff, and crashed on the rocky beach below. You reported what you found, and then the police and FBI asked you to stay in town for a few days to answer their questions. Is that what happened?” Sky asked.

Damien sighed deeply and nodded his head thoughtfully. “That’s pretty much what happened. I was asked to stay in town while they investigated. They didn’t really spend that much time talking to me, so I had a lot of free time. I wandered around the town and I liked how different it was from what I had been used to. I had been planning to move to LA, but as I wandered the town and had time to just sit and reflect, I realized LA wouldn’t be a fresh start, it would be me returning to my past. Seacliff offered something new and different.”

“It’s common to see skid marks on the highway, what made you curious about those particular skid marks?” Sky asked.

“I’m not really sure. It was raining, the road was wet and slippery, and there were a couple of times I felt my car slipping. I guess it reminded me of the accident I had when I was in high school. I admit it freaked me out a little, so I just needed to stop and calm down. I pulled off to the side of the road and that’s when I saw the guard rail completely broken. I got out of my car to look at it and stretch my legs, and that’s when I saw the Brinks Truck down below. It didn’t look like the truck had been down there long, so I called the police to report it. Deputy Casanato came out to investigate, but when he saw the truck was at the bottom of the cliffs, he radioed the sheriff and told him where the truck was. I guess there’s a road that goes along the beach at the base of the cliffs, and the sheriff drove on that to get to the truck. He then reported the truck was empty and nobody was inside,” Damien explained.

“Did you ever go down to the truck?” Sky asked.

“No. I didn’t know how to get to the road by the beach, and I certainly wasn’t going to crawl down the cliff to see. Why would I?” Damien asked.

“Did Deputy Casanato go down there?”

“No. He stayed with me until the sheriff reported the truck was empty. The sheriff then radioed for another deputy, Allen Conrad, to meet him there. The sheriff asked Nick to accompany me into town and wait for him at the sheriff’s office.”

“How long were you at the sheriff’s office before they came in to question you?” Sky asked.

“It was probably three or four hours,” Damien replied.

“You reported an accident and they made you sit there and wait for three or four hours? Didn’t that make you mad?”

“It did seem like a long time, but Deputy Casanato was really nice and we talked about a lot of things. He bought me lunch, let me watch tv in the break room, and treated me like I was a guest. I wasn’t in a hurry to get to LA and I was tired of driving in the rain. Besides, I thought Deputy Casanato, or Nick as he later asked me to call him, was kind of hot. I guess part of me was hoping that they’d be so appreciative of my help that I might get to hook up with Nick. I have a weakness for men in uniform,” Damien said.

“Did you hook up with Nick?” Sky asked.

“Not the first night. They got me a room at the hotel, but Nick was so busy with paperwork he didn’t have time to see me that night. When he came to see me the next day, he told me they had contacted the FBI and the FBI asked that I remain in town. He apologized that I was having to stay longer and asked if there was anything he could do to make me more comfortable. I told him some Italian sausage would be good. When he said there wasn’t an Italian restaurant anywhere nearby, I told him I wasn’t talking about food. We had fun several times over the next few days. Damn, he had a nice cock,” Damien said, smiling as he remembered their affair.

“So was Nick part of the reason you decided to stay?” Sky asked.