“It’s not like it’s that far,” I said.
“No but, if you’re right, you would have been a specific target and not someone just randomly gay bashing.”
I considered the statement. “Which one is worse?”
Detective Mohan just shook his head. “I have no idea.”
I took a swig from the bottle of water on the table next to me and glanced around the room as Detective Mohan talked to another officer a few feet away. Carly was trying to calm her mother and Harriet down because both were near hysterics. Lexie was staying close to the far wall, eyeing the cops that passed her distrustfully. Even though I was fairly sure she wasn’t holding tonight, I don’t think she was going to look at law enforcement with anything but suspicion any time soon.
“Is she in here? Where is she?”
I swung around when I recognized the voice. Jake was here. He must have been notified as soon as it happened for him to get here so quickly. It had only been about forty-five minutes. Jake strode into the room like he owned it, authority swirling around him, despite the fact that he was in simple jeans and a sweatshirt. His eyes scanned the room with a hard purpose, only softening when he saw me sitting at the table alone. He moved towards me swiftly, Derrick close on his heels.
“Are you alright?”
I didn’t answer him right away. The third figure that had walked into the room with Derrick and Jake was something of a surprise to me. Eliot.
“I’m fine,” I said.
Eliot was by my side in seconds, his hands on my arm – gripping my elbow tightly. “Were you hit?”
“No,” I shook my head. “I didn’t even realize what was happening until it was over.”
“Someone took a shot at you and you didn’t notice?” Derrick’s face was pale. If I didn’t know better, I would think he had been worried. “Where’s Lexie?”
I gestured towards the far wall and watched Derrick move towards his little sister. They had a torturous relationship, but Derrick loved Lexie – almost as much as he wanted to throttle her most days.
“Exactly what happened?” Jake asked Detective Mohan. He listened as Mohan recounted what he knew and then turned to me angrily. “I thought you were going to be careful?”
“It was a bachelorette party,” I argued. “We went in a limo. How was I supposed to know that someone would follow me?”
“Because you’re you,” Jake shot back.
Eliot was being largely silent, but I could feel the anger radiating off of him. I squeezed his hand reassuringly and then turned on Jake. “You act like this is my fault?”
“Whose fault is it?” Jake challenged.
“We don’t know that they were aiming at me,” I said.
“We don’t know they weren’t,” Eliot said quietly. “Odds are, you were the target.”
“What odds? It could have been someone randomly gay bashing.” I knew I was grasping at straws, but I didn’t like the look of helplessness that was washing over Eliot’s face. If he’d been intent on babysitting before, this was going to send him over the edge. And I’d been having such a good day before this.
“Do you believe that? Really?” Eliot’s voice was calm, but I could tell he was straddling a precipice here. What he really wanted to do was sling me over his shoulder and lock me in his apartment until this was all over with.
“There were a group of men standing right behind her,” Detective Mohan said. I could tell he was trying to help me.
“How close was the bullet to her?” Jake asked Mohan pointedly.
Mohan looked uncomfortable under Jake’s scrutiny, so I answered for him. “Not close at all.”
Mohan raised his eyebrows at my flagrant lie. Eliot didn’t miss the gesture. “How close was the bullet to her?”
“She felt it breeze by her cheek,” Mohan replied, averting his apologetic green eyes from my accusatory blue.
Eliot’s grip tightened on my arm. “You felt it breeze by your cheek?”
“It was probably just the wind.”
Jake shot me a disappointed look. “You must be tired. That was one of your weaker lies.”
“I’m probably still drunk,” I retorted. “Give a few more minutes to sober up and I’ll come up with something better.”
Derrick was back and he’d brought Lexie with him. “I’m sending Lexie back with Carly and everyone else.”
Jake nodded in agreement. “Make her stay the night at Carly’s house. Don’t send her back to Avery’s place.”
“Why?” I asked curiously.
“Because someone might try again at your house,” Jake said honestly.
Lexie’s face was white and she didn’t put up an argument when Derrick led her back to Carly. After a brief conversation, Carly glanced at me and then left with Lexie. I knew she had questions, but she was smart enough not to ask them now.
Once they were gone, Derrick turned to Jake. “So what do we do with Avery?”
“I think we should put her in a safe house,” Jake said, never turning to me as he spoke.
“That’s not going to happen,” I scoffed.
Eliot glanced down at me. “If we all think that’s the best way to do this, then that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
“If all three of you think that’s the best thing for me then that’s what’s going to happen? I don’t think so.”
Jake ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Do you want to die?”
“I’m not convinced I was the target.” That was a lie, but there was no way I was going to go and sit in some safe house for God knows how long.
“Don’t be a pain,” Derrick ordered. “This is serious.”
“You think I don’t know this is serious?” I practically exploded. Jake and Eliot looked taken aback by my sudden fury. “I know this is serious. I also know I have a job to do and I’m not going to let you three – no matter how noble you think your intentions are – dictate how I live my life!”
“We’re trying to protect you,” Derrick countered. “Have you taken that into consideration?”
“Have you considered that, if someone really wants to hurt me, that they might hurt someone else if they can’t find me?”
“Oh, so now you’re doing this for the greater good?” Derrick shot back incredulously. “You’re unbelievable. You’ve been like this since you were a kid. You’re going to get your way, no matter what you have to do to get it. This is just like the time that you told grandpa that you saw news reports about a rabid yeti because you didn’t want to go camping.”
“You can’t prove that there’s not a yeti out there,” I muttered. “And I was five. Pick a more recent example.”
“Okay, how about the time that you were late for school because you were smoking pot with that town loser Johnny Frank and you told the principal that someone mugged you on your way to school and stole your book bag?”
“That could have happened, too.”
“And yet you didn’t want to file a police report because you believed in giving people second chances?”
I hated that Derrick knew all of my embarrassing secrets. I really hated that he announced them to everyone whenever the whim hit.
“Yes, fine, you got me,” I rambled angrily. “I tell lies when I don’t want to do something.”
“It’s a crime to tell a lie to a cop,” Derrick said cagily.
“Well then, lock me up officer,” I replied snidely, holding my wrists out in front of me. “Slap on the cuffs.”
Derrick looked like he was about to do just that.
“Just remember, I know a few things about you, too,” I seethed. “And not just about how you used to wear dresses in college.”
“That was a fraternity prank!”
“Then why did you do it in high school, too?”
“I didn’t do it in high school!” Derrick was enraged now. “You just told people that because you thought it was funny.”
“You did, too, do it in high school. I have pictures. You we
re wearing that purple dress I had to make for home ec.”
“That doesn’t count,” Derrick replied. “You had two hours to make that dress and my mom made me model it. It’s not my fault that you made it so small that no one else could fit into it. I sat in that thing for two hours while you purposely poked me with needles every chance you got.”
I smirked. That was a funny memory. “I’ll put that picture up on the internet,” I threatened him.
Jake decided to step in. “You don’t have any pictures of me in a dress,” he reminded me. “You can’t threaten me.”
“I know your secrets, too,” I warned him. “I was there the night you got arrested for peeing on the big fish downtown.”
“That story is public,” Jake said. “What else have you got?”
Crap. He was right. “I know that you used to practice kissing on a stuffed frog,” I said triumphantly.
Jake’s cheeks reddened, while Eliot regarded him curiously. “You kissed a frog?”
“I was twelve,” Jake answered. “She told me that everyone practiced kissing on stuffed animals – and I believed her.”
Eliot shook his head, smiling despite the surreal nature of the situation. “You were really a mean kid, weren’t you?”
“Mean? He was just an easy mark.”
Jake blew out a sigh. “Fine. I’m not going to make you go to a safe house, but you’re going to have to agree to some rules.”
Uh-oh. “What rules?”
“You’re not to go anywhere alone.” I opened my mouth to protest but Jake shut me down. “No exceptions. I’ll throw you in jail. I will. Whether the charges stick or not.”
“Then I’ll write a story about wrongful imprisonment,” I shot back.
“I don’t care,” Jake said. “Go ahead. At least you’ll be alive.”
I turned to Eliot for support, but one look at him told me he agreed with Jake. “Fine,” I grumbled.
Jake turned to Eliot. “You’ll take her to your place for tonight?”
Eliot nodded. “I’ll take her to and from work, too.”
“What about while I’m actually at work,” I asked sarcastically. “Who is going to chauffer me around town then?”
“I’ll talk to Marvin,” Derrick interjected. “He’s not much, but he drives like a madman. No one will be able to get a clean shot at her if he’s behind the wheel.”
“I’m not driving around with Marvin,” I protested. “He’s more dangerous than a sniper.”
“Then you’ll stay at the office,” Jake said forcefully. “I’ll call Fish and clear that with him – and he’ll agree with me. You know he will.”
“Which one of you is going to go to the bathroom with me?”
It was meant as a rhetorical question, but all three men shuddered when I uttered it. Well, at least I won that point.
All of a sudden, there was a flurry at the back of the room. Jake looked up. “What’s going on?”
“They’ve picked up a suspect,” Mohan informed him. “A man was sighted several blocks west of here. He had a rifle with a scope with him at the time of his arrest. It was in his vehicle. Uniformed officers searched the vehicle when he ran a red light.”
“Who is it?” I asked curiously.
“I don’t know that yet, ma’am,” Mohan answered curtly.
Jake glanced at Eliot. “Take her to your place. I’ll call you when I know more.”
Eliot nodded. “Good luck.”
Jake cast a dark look at me. “You’ll need the luck. She’s going to be a pain in the ass until we’re sure this is over. Watch her. She’ll try to trick you.”
“She’ll have to think of a new bag of tricks to do that,” Eliot replied. “I’m on to her usual ones.”
Derrick shook his head. “If she tries something, call her mother,” he said. “That will be enough to keep her in line.”
Eliot’s face brightened at the suggestion.
“I hate all three of you.”
Thirty-Four
Eliot was quiet for the bulk of the ride home. I caught him giving me a series of serious looks during the drive, but whatever was on the tip of his tongue stayed there. I couldn’t decide if he was fighting the urge to yell at me or tell me he was glad I was okay. Both scenarios irritated me, though, so I didn’t encourage him either way.
When we finally pulled up in front of his pawnshop, I moved to climb out of his truck but he stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Wait until I unlock the door and come to get you.”
I rolled my eyes dramatically. “You really think someone is going to take a shot at me in downtown Mount Clemens?”
“No,” Eliot said. “I didn’t think anyone would take a shot at you in front of a gay bar in Ferndale either, though.”
I was too tired to argue, so I waited in the truck until he pulled me out of the passenger seat and herded me towards the door that led upstairs to his apartment. I couldn’t help but notice that he was plastered to my backside in an effort to use his body as a human shield. The gesture should have been construed as sweet, but it was the last straw for me. I had the good sense to wait until we were safely in his apartment, though, before I unloaded.
“I am not a child.”
Eliot raised his eyes to my face briefly. “I didn’t say you were.”
“And yet you’re treating me like a child.”
“I’m not treating you like a child. I’m treating you like a woman that’s been shot at twice in the last week,” Eliot replied tiredly.
“Twice? I was shot at once.”
“Not if you include that teenage boy that died in Roseville because he was driving a car that looked exactly like yours,” Eliot challenged me. “I definitely count that, whether you do or not.”
His verbal assault was enough to make me take a step back. I felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach. I felt responsible for that kid’s death. I had forced the guilt down out of necessity, but exhaustion, anger and emotional discontent had paved a road straight through to the center of my heart.
The feeling roiling through my blood was anger. I expressed it by promptly bursting into tears. Eliot looked stunned. He took a step towards me but I pulled away angrily, swiping at the tears as they coursed down my cheeks.
“Don’t cry,” Eliot said quietly. “I can’t take it. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m tired. It’s not your fault that kid died.”
“It is my fault,” I countered. “If he was shot because he was driving a car like mine then it is my fault.”
“It was probably just a coincidence,” Eliot offered lamely.
I shook my head. “You don’t believe that.”
“You want to know what I believe? I believe we’re both so tired we don’t know what we’re saying. Now get in bed. We’ll get some sleep and finish the fight in the morning.”
“You promise?”
“That we’ll fight in the morning? I can pretty much guarantee it,” Eliot said tiredly.
“Good, because I hate to lose but I’m too tired to focus.”
“I think we both are.”
I FIGURED that Eliot and I would only get a few hours of sleep before Jake or Derrick called us with an update. It was almost ten in the morning when my phone rang, though. I was still wrapped up in Eliot’s arms when my phone dragged me kicking and screaming into consciousness.
“Hello,” I mumbled.
“Are you asleep? It’s ten in the morning. Only drug abusers sleep this late.”
“Good morning to you, too, mom,” I grumbled.
“Are you on drugs?”
“Not today,” I replied tiredly. “I’m not ruling it out for the rest of the week, though.”
“Do you think that’s funny?”
“Maybe,” I said. “I’m not fully awake yet, so my senses are still a little dull. I’ll tell you in an hour.”
“Well, it’s not going to be funny in an hour either.” God, she sounded like she was in a mood.
“What do you want, mom?”
> “Can’t a mother just call to say hi?”
“Not generally.”
“Well, I just called to say hi.”
“Hi,” I sighed. I could feel Eliot shifting next to me. He hadn’t opened his eyes, but I could tell he was listening.
“So, you’re grandfather is getting out of jail today,” my mom started.
I knew it!
“And we’re planning on having a big family dinner tonight to welcome him home,” my mom said. “I thought you would want to come.”
“We’ll see,” I said noncommittally.
“We’ll see?”
“I have a lot going on today, mom.”
“That man is your grandfather,” my mother started. “He isn’t going to be around forever.”
“I think he’ll still be around until family dinner next week,” I replied dryly.
“Are you telling me you’re not coming to family dinner?”
“No,” I said wearily. “I’m telling you I’ll try to make it to family dinner, but I don’t know what’s going on today so I can’t promise anything.”
“Avery Shaw, I don’t ask a lot of you,” my mother started one of her patented tirades. I pulled the phone away from my ear and turned to Eliot.
“My grandfather is out of jail.”
Eliot looked at the phone curiously. He could still hear my mom rambling as I held the phone against the comforter. ”And you’re supposed to go to family dinner tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“So? We’ll go. What’s the big deal?”
“Well, if they’ve got the freeway shooter in custody it’s going to be a long day,” I said pragmatically. “I’m not letting the big break in the story go so someone else can write it.”
“You mean get the glory,” Eliot replied sagely.
“No, it’s my story. It’s not about glory.”
“Well, tell her we’ll be at dinner and if things get out of control then you can cancel and blame me,” Eliot said pragmatically.
“Oh, I’m definitely going to blame you.” I picked the phone back up and pressed it to my ear. My mom was still going strong.
“You know what’s right and you know what’s wrong,” my mom continued. “You do what you know is right in your heart.”
Shot Off The Presses: An Avery Shaw Mystery Book 4 Page 22
