A STUDY IN BLACK ✓

XV

Tyler's apartment was small and extremely messy for someone like him. There were stacks of books and papers lining the bottoms of the walls, science experiments and trinkets covering nearly every surface of his furniture. Josh swore he spotted a jar of fingers on top of his fridge.

"Welcome to my domain," Tyler said, spinning in circles with his arms out.

Josh snorted. "This place looks like it was hit by several hurricanes consecutively."

Tyler swiped a ton of toy soldiers off an arm chair and collapsed onto it, pulling a bag of jolly ranchers out of thin air. He unwrapped one and tossed it into his mouth.

"You know what they say- messy room, great mind."

"More like messy room, messy mind," Josh said, wandering from the living room to Tyler's room. It was the cleanest room, with only a full sized bed and a small lamp on the nightstand beside it.

He was tempted to just collapse and sleep, but decided against it. Tyler hadn't slept since they kissed, which was maybe two days ago. If he was being honest, Josh didn't even know what day it was anymore. Time had become a blur.

"Hey, Tyler," Josh called, dropping his duffel bag of clothes next to the nightstand. "Can I tell you something?"

He walked back into the other room to find Tyler curled up and asleep in the chair, cradling the bag of jolly ranchers. Tyler had several bandages on the back of his neck from his excessive scratching, but Josh could tell he was still scratching because blood had begun to show through the Pink Panther bandaid right at his hairline.

Josh grabbed a blanket from a closet and tossed it over Tyler, who shifted and grabbed Josh's wrist. It took Josh a moment to realize that Tyler was still asleep and still mumbling the trigger words.

Softly, Josh pried Tyler's fingers away and went to the other bed, falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow.

He woke up God knew how long later to a large thud. Josh forced him off the comforter and trudged through the apartment to see Tyler on the floor, using the blanket as a pillow.

Josh bent down and pushed his hair back, feeling his forehead. His face was tinting pink and his skin was hot to the touch, unlike the usual ice cold Josh felt.

"You're burning up," Josh mumbled.

Rubbing his eyes, he walked over to his fridge, actively avoided eye contact with the severed pig head in the freezer drawer, and pulled out an ice pack. He somehow found a kitchen towel free of blood or other bodily fluid and wrapped the ice pack.

When he returned, he saw Tyler's hand lazily scratching at the bandaids. Josh grabbed Tyler's hand and held it, using his other hand to press the ice pack to his forehead. Tyler's eyes bolted open and he nearly jumped out of his skin seeing how close Josh's face was to his.

"Hey, hey, it's just me," Josh said.

Tyler relaxed, his head dropping onto Josh's chest.

"How long was I asleep?" He asked.

Josh's shrugged. "I don't know. I fell asleep, too. I'm guessing it's the next day."

Tyler pushed away and stood,  bumbling around his apartment. He picked up and put down a number of books after flipping through a couple pages.

"Your phone's going to ring. It's going to be Diego. Answer it."

Just as he predicted, Josh's phone went off in the other room. He picked it up, and immediately realized why Tyler knew he would call.

Neither of them had noticed the headless female body lying on the living room couch.

"Josh, you and Tyler need to get out of that apartment now," Dallon said.

"Who gave you the tip?" Josh asked.

"Anonymous caller. Look, Tyler's fingerprints were found on the murder weapons and on the rope used to have Alexandria."

"That's because he found them," Josh protested. "That can't be enough to arrest him."

"There's more," Dallon said grimly. "The bite marks on her neck matched his dental records. And the blood found on the scene? It's yours. There was also a gun found with Alexandria that matched the gun that shot both you and Tyler. Someone's setting you two up."

Josh's stomach twisted. They had no alibi for the time they were murdered because they were in a different country, and not even Dallon knew they were there. Tyler kept a clean record.

"What do we do?" Josh asked.

"Run."

Then he hung up.

Josh ran back into the living room to see Tyler staring at the television. A picture of them both was on screen.

"Dallon said we need to leave. They're setting up for the murders of the two-" Josh froze as the woman on the television began to speak.

"Tyler Joseph, male, age twenty four, charged for suspicion in smuggling and sex trafficking. If seen, report immediately. He is extremely clever and thus very dangerous. He is regarded as charming by those who have interacted with him, but turns violent if you do not do what he says. Do not approach him if you see him on the streets. I repeat-

Do no approach."