Bylines & Skylines (An Avery Shaw Mystery Book 9) (9 page)

“Oh, well, that’s a relief,” I said, wrinkling my nose as I mentally pieced together the timeline. “How did she die?”

“I’m not telling you that. I shouldn’t have let the other part slip as it is.”

Crud on toast. “Do you think she was killed by someone she knows?”

“And you’re done,” Jake said, pointing at the door. “I told you if you asked one question about the case you were out. Now … get out.”

I pushed myself to my feet but instead of leaving I took us both by surprise when I leaned over the table and grabbed his hand. “Thank you.”

Jake’s eyes were serious when they locked with mine. “Do you want to know what really sucks? On top of everything else, he’s mellowing you out.”

“Don’t go overboard,” I said. “I’m still as narcissistic as ever.”

“I’m not sure that’s true, but as long as you don’t change too much, I’m happy,” Jake said, grinning. “I’ll talk to Eliot.”

“Thank you.”

“You stay out of trouble and don’t blackmail anyone for information until the news conference,” Jake ordered. “Do you think you can do that?”

Of course not. “Absolutely.”

I
was relieved
after leaving Jake. I didn’t expect him to fire Eliot. It’s not in his nature to be cruel, but his admission about being upset about my relationship with Eliot kind of threw me. We live tangled lives. It couldn’t be avoided without ending a relationship that managed to survive a lot of terrible things, and I knew neither of us was up for that. We had to make it work. Even Eliot seemed resigned to that.

Although he didn’t plan to let anything important slip during the conversation, Jake gave me two interesting tidbits. The first was the fact that the woman died hours before Eliot and I entered the center. That meant she died in the afternoon and there was nothing Eliot could do to save her. That wouldn’t be a big source of comfort for him, but it was something.

The other thing Jake let slip was that he wanted me to behave and promise not to blackmail anyone for information. That meant there was someone here I could blackmail, and there was only one person I knew who fit that bill.

I found my cousin Derrick leaning against a wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he checked out a few women in skimpy costumes. He clearly didn’t realize anyone was watching him, because he didn’t bother hiding the pervy expression on his face. We were close – only a few months apart in age – and we were raised as siblings more than cousins. I wasn’t thrilled when he decided to become a police officer, but I got the feeling he wasn’t happy about me becoming a reporter either. We managed to coexist, though. The fact that I had enough dirt to bury him when I needed information was merely a bonus.

“Well, well, well.”

Derrick made a disgusted face when he realized I was watching him. “I should’ve known you would be here,” he said, shaking his head. “This place screams ‘Avery Shaw.’”

“Yes, well, it does have a certain element of class, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” Derrick deadpanned, glaring as I moved closer. “What are you doing?”

“Can’t I just be excited to spend time with my cousin?” I asked, adopting a friendly tone. “We did spend years playing
Star Wars
and
G.I. Joe
in the back yard, after all. This is a nostalgic trip down memory lane for both of us.”

Derrick studied me for a moment, his dark eyes narrow slits of suspicion. “What do you want? I’m not leaking information before the conference.”

I shrugged as if that was the furthest thing from my mind. “I’m here to talk about the costumes,” I said. “I’m not here to talk about the dead woman … even though I was the one who discovered her and I’m traumatized.”

Derrick snorted. “You’re not traumatized,” he countered. “You’re here to get information … and I’m not giving it to you, so you should probably stop whatever it is you’re doing.”

“That’s a terrible thing to say about your cousin,” I sniffed. “I really was traumatized. One of the greatest nights of my life was marred by a tragic discovery. I was up all night crying.”

“You just took it too far.”

“Yeah, I figured I did,” I said. “I never recognize that line until I’ve already crossed it.”

“That is a special gift of yours.”

“To be fair, I’m not happy about discovering a body on a
Star Wars
set,” I said. “It does feel somehow … wrong.”

“Yeah, well, I think someone wanted to display it like that for a reason,” Derrick said. “We need to find out why. I heard you and Eliot were here and made the call, although Jake seemed irritated when I asked him for more specifics.”

“We were doing it in the hut and didn’t notice anything going on.” I saw no reason to lie to my cousin. He would hear the truth eventually.

“Yeah, that will do it,” Derrick said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Jake has come a long way with Eliot – and I think he honestly likes him – but there’s still a spark of competition there.”

“There’s no competition,” I argued. “Eliot and I are moving in together.”

“I know,” Derrick said. “You tossed me on the sacrificial fire to hide your big secret regarding that two weeks ago. You didn’t think I forgot about that, did you?”

Whoops. He had a point. I was so terrified to tell my mother that Eliot and I were moving in together that I announced Derrick’s girlfriend was pregnant at a family dinner. That, of course, became the talk of the meal, and I was off the hook. I’d managed to dodge my mother last week by feigning sickness. That wouldn’t work two weeks in a row, though. She was bound to find out eventually … and she wouldn’t be happy when she did.

“I didn’t toss you on the sacrificial fire,” I clarified. “I merely helped you make an announcement that I knew was troubling you. Your heart was hurting and you were making yourself sick with worry. I unburdened you of your uncertainty.”

Derrick made an exaggerated face. “Do you ever listen to yourself?”

“Every chance I get.”

“You’re so full of it you make politicians squirm because they’re uncomfortable with how much you lie,” Derrick challenged. “We both know you opened your big mouth about my secret to keep your own. I’m not a rookie. I know you and the way your mind works.”

“That is an awful thing to say,” I clucked, shaking my head. “Just out of curiosity, though, why didn’t you tell everyone what you know last week? I know you weren’t aware of everything that first night, but after you found out you should’ve told everyone last week.”

“You mean when you were ‘sick?’”

I nodded.

“We both know you weren’t sick,” Derrick said. “You faked it because you thought I would announce your news and freak your mother out. Then you could hide for a week before facing the fallout, which would be nothing compared to the flak I got.”

Crap. He knew me far too well. “That is a filthy lie.”

“Don’t bother denying it,” Derrick said, wagging a finger. “I know that’s exactly what you expected to happen. That’s why I didn’t tell anyone. I’m waiting until you’re there this week. Then I’m going to be Martin Brody and you’re going to be the shark when that news comes out. It’s going to be … awesome.”

It took me a second to realize he was referencing
Jaws
. “You watch too much television.”

“Coming from you that’s absolutely frightening,” Derrick said. “I don’t care what you say, though. I’m telling everyone you’re a sexual deviant and moving in with your boyfriend. That will keep them from bugging me for weeks.”

“Who is a sexual deviant?” Eliot cast a curious look in my direction as he moved to my side. “Why did you tell him about that?”

“First, I can’t deny telling him about our special night, but that’s not what we were talking about,” I said. “Second, you should be happy to earn such a stellar reputation. It’s not everyone who can be a sexual deviant. I’m going to have a shirt made up for you or something.”

“Ha, ha,” Eliot intoned, narrowing his eyes as his gaze bounced between Derrick and me. “If you weren’t talking about that, what were you talking about?”

“I’m actually glad you reminded me of that,” Derrick said. “She told me, and I almost forgot because she distracted me with her evil. Now I have two things to torture her with at the family dinner on Friday.”

“Oh.” Realization dawned on Eliot. “He’s holding our future living arrangements over your head, isn’t he?”

“Yes. We’re multifaceted filthy in the Shaw-Kane household,” I said.

Eliot stilled, surprised. “You’re hyphenating our household now? And you gave me the power position?”

“She’s up to something,” Derrick warned.

“Oh, geez, what is she up to now?” Jake overheard the last part of the conversation and stopped behind Eliot when Derrick made his ominous warning. “Are you trying to blackmail him? I told you twenty minutes ago that wasn’t allowed.”

“Twenty minutes ago?” Suspicion wafted off of Eliot when he focused on me. “Did you speak to Jake after I told you not to talk to him?”

“Thanks a lot,” I snapped, scorching Jake with a harsh look. “And people say I have a big mouth.”

“You have a huge mouth,” Jake said, although he appeared apologetic. “I’m sorry if I ruined things for you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“No, I’m really not,” Jake agreed, grinning. “We had a very short conversation, Eliot. She only wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to fire you. She said everything was her fault and I should blame her.”

Eliot’s mouth dropped open. “She did not. She never takes the blame.”

“She did this time,” Jake said. “Well … kind of. It doesn’t matter. You’re not fired, and I don’t blame you for what happened.”

“She died hours before we even arrived at the center,” I supplied. “She was probably in here the entire time – which is another level of creepy – but you couldn’t have saved her.”

“Who told you that?” Derrick was incensed. “None of that information is supposed to get out until the news conference. Someone is getting written up. I want to know who told you that right now!”

I pointed at Jake, earning a murderous look for my efforts.

“Thanks a lot,” Jake muttered. “Is this you paying me back for telling Eliot about your big, fat mouth?”

I nodded without hesitation.

“You suck,” Jake said, rubbing the tender spot between his eyebrows. “I let the time of death slip while talking to her. If you want to write someone up, it’s going to have to be me.”

Derrick shifted from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable with his mistake. “I … um … don’t think that will be necessary.”

“Ha, ha,” I snickered, taking a step away from him when he lashed out in an attempt to smack me. I slipped under Eliot’s arm to offer myself protection and even though Eliot rolled his eyes he didn’t remove his arm. “Jake is going to be written up in his own department. That’s a news story right there.”

“Don’t push me,” Jake warned. “We had a nice talk earlier. Why are you making things worse?”

“She can’t help herself,” Eliot said. “When things get too calm and nice she feels the need to set off a bomb. I think it’s genetic.”

“Ha, ha,” Derrick said, pointing.

“I don’t know what you’re laughing at,” I said dryly. “If it’s genetic you suffer from it, too.”

“Ha, ha,” Jake said, making a face when Derrick glared at me.

“This is all very mature, but I need to know if we’re okay,” Eliot said, leveling a somber gaze at Jake. “If you want to fire me … .”

“I don’t want to fire you,” Jake said, cutting him off. “I’m just … .”

“Jealous?” Derrick asked the question and I wanted to punch him in the stomach (or maybe a foot lower) for having the gall to do it. Jake, Derrick and I grew up together, so there was a familiarity none of Jake’s other deputies could get away with.

“I’m sure he’s not jealous,” Eliot said, his cheeks flushing. “I … .”

“It’s fine,” Jake said. “I am jealous, although not for the reasons you all think. Avery and I already talked about this, too. Things aren’t going well with Cara and you guys are always having fun and … it just sucks being the only adult in the room.”

I patted his shoulder, sympathy washing over me. “That’s why I decided to never grow up.”

“Yes, that certainly helps,” Jake said, although he couldn’t help but laugh. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not jealous because of this.” He gestured toward Eliot and me. “I’m just … stuck in a rut.”

“You need a fling,” I suggested, earning wide-eyed stares from Eliot and Derrick. I think they were impressed with my gall – or considering having me locked up for a mental health examination. It was honestly a toss-up.

“Excuse me?” Jake’s voice jumped. “I’m the sheriff. I can’t have a fling.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” I said, gesturing toward the packed room. “All of these convention people are here for only a week. They all like to role-play. Tell them you’re the sheriff dude from
The Walking Dead
and they won’t know the difference. Then you’ll have some fun and … you know … take the edge off.”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Derrick said. “These people are all probably freaks in bed. You should take advantage of that while you can. Once you’re stuck with one woman … .”

“Hey!” I was pretty sure I should be offended on behalf of my gender. “It’s not always bad to be stuck with one woman. Tell him I’m right, Eliot.”

“Huh … what?” Eliot jerked his eyes from one of the
Star Trek
nurses to our right. She was bending over in her barely-there skirt and it seemed as if it took Eliot a lot of effort to focus on me. “Whatever she said, I agree with it.”

Jake and Derrick snorted in unison as I took a step from Eliot. And to think I was worried about his feelings.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Eliot said. “I just … couldn’t stop myself from looking.”

“Whatever,” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest. I was done messing around. I was already behind due to all of their goofing around. “What’s the dead woman’s name and how did she die?”

“I can’t answer that for another two hours,” Jake said. “You’ll find out as soon as everyone else does.” I could’ve been mistaken, but he almost looked sympathetic regarding my plight. For some reason, Eliot’s insistence on checking out the
Star Trek
skank irked me beyond reason.

“I’m going to find out who she is before the conference,” I said. “Mark my words.”

“Why does everything with you have to be a competition?” Jake challenged. “Just … have fun for the next two hours. These are your people.”

I cast a dark look back in the direction of the nurse, who just happened to be checking out Eliot. “These are not all my people. That one has herpes. I’m sure of it.”

“Okay,” Eliot said, holding up his hands. “I’m sorry I upset you.”

“I’m not upset.”

“You should probably start wearing a cup, man,” Derrick said, smirking. “She’s completely ticked off and you’re in big trouble when you’re alone.”

“I’ve noticed,” Eliot said dryly.

“And after she was so upset thinking you might have your feelings hurt and get fired,” Jake teased. “That’s what you get for settling down with him, Avery.”

“Thanks a lot,” Eliot muttered.

“I’m done with this conversation,” I announced. “I’m going to find out the victim’s name and smoke all of the other reporters. I’m on it … and this is my special week. Nothing can stop me now.”