Above the Fold & Below the Belt (An Avery Shaw Mystery Book 14)

by Amanda M. Lee

  “I’m good. What can I say?”

  “You can say you’re coming down here,” Doug challenged. “You can say you’re willing to do the right thing.”

  “And die?”

  “I don’t have a choice.”

  “You have a choice. You could turn yourself in.”

  “I don’t want to do that.”

  “Well, then you’ve made your choice.” We were getting down to the nitty-gritty and I had a feeling Doug was about to force the situation. “It’s too late. You realize that, right? I messaged Eliot. He knows everything.” That was a bit of an exaggeration. Eliot knew I was looking for him, but he was unaware of the specifics. “There’s no way out of this. You’re simply compounding matters.”

  “I have to try.” He was resigned. “Come down here or I’ll kill your grandfather.”

  “Don’t come down here!” Grandpa barked. “I’ll disown you if you do.”

  I didn’t care about that. Despite how agitated I was with him, I wanted my grandfather safe above all else. Still, I knew better than to descend the stairs. We’d both be finished if I did.

  “I can’t,” I answered honestly. “If I go down there, you’ll kill us both.”

  “If you don’t, I’ll kill him.”

  Grandpa rolled his eyes. “At least she would still be alive, dummy. How are you a criminal if you’re this dumb?”

  Doug glowered at him. “Shut your mouth.”

  “I can’t go down there, Doug,” I repeated, drawing his attention to me. “If you hurt him, I’ll go into the apartment and lock you out before calling for help. Then you’ll face two murder charges instead of one, and there’s no way you’ll garner jury sympathy for killing my grandfather. You might be able to get away with second-degree charges if you stand trial on your father’s murder alone.”

  “But ... no.” Tears welled in his eyes. “I don’t want to go to prison.”

  “I don’t think you’ll have a choice. This is over, finished. There’s no way out of this for you.”

  “There is if you come down the stairs.”

  “No.” I vehemently shook my head. “I would do anything to save my grandfather. I would die for him. But both of us dying together serves no purpose, and we both know you won’t let him go because he knows everything. He may be annoying, but he’s not stupid. He’ll tell the cops everything he heard. We’re at a stalemate.”

  “But ... .” He worked his jaw, his mind busy as he tried to come up with a compromise he believed was shiny enough to bamboozle me. There was nothing. We both knew it.

  To my utter surprise, Doug took a step away from Grandpa and threw his knife on the ground. The misery etched on his face was jarring, but I was fresh out of sympathy.

  “Call the sheriff,” he said quietly. “You’re right. I’m done.”

  “You could run,” Grandpa suggested, taking me by surprise. “You might make it.”

  “I won’t.” Doug locked gazes with me. “She’s right. This is over. I just ... didn’t see it ending this way.”

  “I’m sure your father didn’t see things ending the way they did either,” I offered, digging for my phone. “I would start working on your defense strategy right now. It’s going to take some wrangling.”

  “Yeah.” He rubbed his hand over his short-cropped hair. “Do you think Lily will visit me in jail?”

  The hope in his voice made my stomach twist. He was unbelievably pathetic, and even though his father was technically the victim, I knew that Doug was a victim, too. He never really had a chance. I should’ve seen that from the start.

  “I bet she will,” I answered. “She’ll want to talk to you, maybe even thank you.”

  “I guess that’s something.”

  “If you say so.”

  30 Thirty

  Jake and Eliot barreled through the door minutes after I texted them. Grandpa and I sat on the stairs, keeping a careful watch, but Doug was defeated. He rested with his back against the wall, hands on his knees, and willingly allowed Jake to take him into custody.

  Once the immediate danger had passed, Eliot pulled me in for a hug, ignored my grandfather when he mockingly held up his arms for an embrace of his own, and watched dispassionately as officers dragged Doug toward the door.

  “In case you’re wondering, I wouldn’t have enjoyed killing you,” Doug offered lamely.

  “That will help me sleep better tonight,” I said.

  “You’re lucky you’re already in custody,” Eliot growled, making a face when I shook my head. “What? I’m allowed to threaten the guy who tried to kill my girlfriend.”

  “He is,” Jake agreed. “That’s one of those unspoken rules that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. It’s totally allowed. It’s just as ingrained as that peeing while standing up thing.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Ha, ha.”

  Jake winked before sobering. “I’ll need you to come in and make a statement.” His gaze was serious when it landed on Grandpa. “Both of you.”

  “You can take Grandpa now,” I suggested. “I have some things to finish and then I’ll be along.”

  Jake stared at me for a long beat. “I guess I know what you’ll be doing.”

  Not all of it ... but he would find out the rest along with everyone else the following morning. “I need a few hours.”

  “Take whatever time is necessary.” Jake flicked his eyes to Eliot. “You’ll make sure she doesn’t blow me off for her statement, right?”

  Eliot nodded. “I will. I’m taking her to a late dinner after, so I’ll make sure she finishes in a timely fashion.”

  “Good enough.”

  Eliot waited until it was just the two of us to turn gooey, which is the way I preferred it. “I can’t believe it was Doug.” He buried his face in my hair for a long beat. “I also can’t believe that you managed to find danger during my fifteen-minute break. What are the odds?”

  “It just turned out that way.” I absently patted his back. “I’m okay. He never got close. He wasn’t a very good criminal. He kept demanding I willingly walk to my death, but there was no way that was going to happen.”

  “Yeah. He didn’t know you if he thought that was a possibility.”

  “Yeah.” I took a moment to rest my cheek against his shoulder and then pulled back. “I need to call Fish. I have two huge stories and more people to interview. There’s a ticking clock … and I don’t have much time.”

  He didn’t argue. “I’ll be close if you need me.”

  “That will be fun.”

  “Won’t it, though?”

  WE NEVER MADE IT TO our dinner. I worked until the very last second, and no decent restaurants were open that late. The Sunday newspaper goes to bed hours earlier than the weekly editions, so I barely made it under the wire.

  After that, we tumbled into bed and shut out the world for a full ten hours. By the time we woke the next morning, the local news was on and the anchors were fired up. Every television station was holding up copies of The Monitor as a source as they debated the turn of events.

  “You did it,” Eliot said as he rolled to a sitting position, his hair mussed from sleep. The first thing I’d done when I woke was grab the remote and turn on the television to watch the news. I wasn’t disappointed.

  “I did it,” I agreed, grinning as I enjoyed my moment. “Can you grab the newspaper from the front porch?”

  He slid me a sidelong look. “Is that the game we’re playing today?”

  “I have no idea what game you’re talking about,” I lied smoothly.

  “The ‘Eliot waits on Avery hand and foot all day’ game.”

  “Oh, that game.” I grinned as I kissed his cheek. “Sounds like a fabulous idea. I need the newspaper before I can commit, though.”

  “Fine.” He let out a resigned sigh as he climbed to his feet. “I’ll get your newspaper, Your Highness.”

  “Great.” I turned up the volume on the television and avidly watched the newscasters break down the mountain
of information I’d unleashed the previous evening. Between Crawford’s plan — which was playing out exactly as I’d hoped — to Doug’s culpability in his father’s murder, it was a full slate. By the time Eliot returned to the bedroom I was so engrossed I barely registered that he was talking to someone. “Who ... ?” I broke off when I saw Jake trailing behind him. “Of course.”

  I took a moment to make sure that I was presentable — I really couldn’t remember what state I was in when I fell into bed upon returning home the previous evening — and breathed a sigh of relief when I realized I was covered by an oversized T-shirt and a pair of knit shorts. “Good morning, Sunshine,” I called out as Eliot climbed back into bed.

  Jake slid into the chair in the corner of the room. We’d become a comfortable threesome, but all of us on the bed together was too much. My head surely would implode. “You didn’t come to the station last night to give your statement,” he announced.

  I froze mid-click to check out one of the other newscasts. “Oh, I ... .”

  “It was late,” Eliot explained quickly. “I forgot, too. Don’t blame her. We were at The Monitor until they pressed the final button to send the pages to the printing plant. I have to admit, it was a little exciting. Avery did a dance when she realized she had the entire front page all to herself.”

  Jake snorted. “Yeah, well, it’s not the end of the world. I figured I can take your statement in person this morning. Doug confessed, so it should be an easy process.”

  “That’s fine. Eliot is going to order a big breakfast to be delivered, so we can all eat while you’re questioning me.”

  Eliot cocked an eyebrow. “I am?”

  I nodded without hesitation. “It’s Worship Avery Day. I get what I want.”

  “Ah.” Eliot grinned as Jake scorched him with a dark look. “What? She had a rough day yesterday. And I’m sorry, but I’m guessing you saw the package she put together. It was straight-up phenomenal. She deserves her accolades.”

  “She does,” Jake agreed, his eyes hard to read when they locked with mine. “Why didn’t you tell me what you’d figured out? I could’ve helped you.”

  “You know why.” I didn’t feel guilty for cutting him out of the story. We both knew there was nothing he could’ve done no matter how hard he tried. “There was only one way to play it when I realized what was really going on with Savage. I had to take the wind out of his sails.”

  “Well, you did that. He’s hosting a news conference in front of the courthouse this afternoon to deny your article … although it’s the buzz of the county. All people can talk about is his dastardly plan, even though we took in a murderer, too. He says you didn’t call until almost nine o’clock last night for his rebuttal, by the way. He’s a bit miffed.”

  “That’s true. I wanted to wait as long as I could to make sure he didn’t have time to make a news cycle before the paper went to print.” There was no sense in denying my ulterior motives. “I knew what he was going to say anyway. He screamed that Ally was lying, but you could tell he was panicking over the phone. It was actually kind of funny.”

  “Well ... he’s going to be putting on a show this afternoon.”

  I cast a look to Eliot. He didn’t say anything, but I figured I knew what was going through his head. “I guess that will be someone else’s story. I can’t ask Eliot to give up another weekend day.”

  He jerked his head in my direction. “What?”

  “Yeah, what?” Jake echoed. “You’re willingly backing off this story? That doesn’t sound like you.”

  “I’m trying to grow here,” I reminded both of them. “Eliot didn’t give me one ounce of grief yesterday. He deserves a quiet day ... of waiting on me.”

  He poked my side and immediately started shaking his head. “That’s not what I want.”

  His simple statement took me by surprise. “It’s not? I thought we were compromising.”

  “We are, but this isn’t the point where you’re supposed to compromise. What you did yesterday — you know, trying to track Jake and me down right away instead of rushing headlong into danger — that was compromising. This isn’t compromising, it’s abandoning what you want, which isn’t fair.

  “I’ll be the one compromising today,” he continued, brushing a hand over my hair. “I’ll go to town with you and get things done around the shop. Then, later in the week, I expect you to take a day off and we’ll compromise the crap out of each other.”

  Jake slapped a hand to his forehead. “Oh, geez! I can’t believe I had to hear that.”

  Eliot snickered at his reaction. “You’re in our bedroom, dude. All decorum has flown out the window.”

  I kept my gaze on Eliot for what felt like a really long time. “So ... that’s it? You’re okay with me working today, too?”

  “Of course I am.”

  I felt a little mushy. “That’s kind of sweet.”

  “Ugh.” Jake made retching sounds from the corner.

  “I think I’m going to learn to like this compromise thing,” I admitted. “It’s working out well for me so far.”

  “That’s why compromise is good,” Eliot said, shifting to the nightstand to grab his phone. “Who wants what for their breakfast delivery?”

  I opened my mouth to answer, but he held up a hand.

  “I already have your order, Trouble.”

  Since I hated being predictable, I decided to keep him on his toes. “Oh, yeah? I want sausage links instead of ham. How do you like that?”

  He chuckled. “You’re a wild woman.”

  “I am,” I agreed. “It’s also going to be a wild day. I can’t wait to make Bart Savage cry.”

  “I think we’re all looking forward to that,” Jake said, sobering. “I have to hand it to you, by the way. You managed to break that story in the one way that didn’t allow Bart to walk away with public sentiment in his back pocket. People think he’s even more of a monster now because Ally came off so sympathetic.”

  I thought about admitting that was the plan, that I’d manufactured the delivery of the interview in such a way that Ally couldn’t possibly lose. He probably already knew the truth, though, so there was no sense owning up to it. “I want tomato juice, too,” I instructed Eliot. “A whole vat of it.”

  “I’ve already ordered that,” Eliot muttered, focusing on his phone. “Jake, what do you want?”

  “A less complicated life,” he automatically responded, causing Eliot and me to burst out laughing.

  “Get used to disappointment there,” Eliot suggested. “With Avery in our lives, there is no such thing as ‘less complicated.’”

  “That’s our cross to bear,” Jake agreed. “I guess it’s good she’s worth a few laughs.”

  “She is,” Eliot agreed. “Now ... how do blueberry pancakes sound? They’re on special.”

  “Bring them on,” Jake said.

  Something occurred to me. “I want ham with my breakfast, too, just in case the sausage throws me off. Maybe my superpower comes from the ham or something. You never know, it could be a thing. I want both to be on the safe side.”

  Eliot’s lips quirked. “I think that can be arranged.”

  “I can hear you laughing at me,” I groused.

  “I wouldn’t do that on the day of your great triumph.”

  I sent him a dubious look. “Really?”

  “I’m saving that for tomorrow.”

  “Fair enough.”

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  About the Author

  I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my novels. I have a particular brand of humor that isn’t for everyone – and I know that.

  If you liked the book, please take a few minutes and leave a review. An independent author does it all on their own, and the reviews are helpful. I understand that my characters aren’t for everyone, though. There’s a lot of snark and sarcasm in my world – and I know some
people don’t like that.

  Special thanks go out to Heidi Bitsoli and Phil VanHulle for correcting the (numerous) errors that creep into a work of fiction.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  For more information:

  author@amandamlee.net

  Books by Amanda M. Lee

  An Avery Shaw Mystery

  Who, What, Where, When, Die

  If it Bleeds, it Leads

  Buried Leads

  Shot Off The Presses

  The Preditorial Page

  Misquoted & Demoted

  Headlines & Deadlines

  Misprints & Mistakes

  Bylines & Skylines

  Off the Record

  Unwritten & Underwater

  Extra! Extra! Dead All About It

  On Deadline & Under Fire

  A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Mystery

  Any Witch Way You Can

  Every Witch Way But Wicked

  Witching You Were Here

  Witching on a Star

  Something to Witch About

  Witch Me Luck

  Life’s a Witch

  Charms & Witchdemeanors

  The Trouble With Witches

  Murder Most Witchy

  A Witch Before Dying

  A Breath of Witchy Air

  Witch, Interrupted

  A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Short

  Careful What You Witch For

  Wicked Brew

  On a Witch and a Prayer

  You Only Witch Once

  The Christmas Witch

  Bewitched

  A Solstice Celebration

  Witchdependence Day

  Happy Witchgiving