Headlines & Deadlines (An Avery Shaw Mystery Book 7)

by Amanda M. Lee

  “I promise.”

  Eliot tossed the remote back on my lap. “I guess you can be the boss tonight.”

  “Tonight? I’m the boss every night. You know darned well if we were into that kinky spanking stuff that I would be the one with the whip.”

  Eliot smirked, the expression lighting up his face. “I see. You think I would let you put a collar on me and then bend over? Don’t comment on it. I heard the other ramifications the second I said it.”

  “I think you like it when I boss you around.”

  “Really?”

  “Really,” I confirmed.

  “Do you want to test that theory?”

  I hit the power button on the remote and switched the television off. “Prepare yourself to bow down before your queen.”

  “Start running now, Trouble. I’m going to have you begging in thirty seconds flat … and I’m not going to need a whip to do it.”

  SUNDAYS are my favorite day of the week.

  I like sleeping in. I like the warm feeling of Eliot’s body next to mine when I wake up. I like knowing we have nothing to do with our day but laze around. Heck, there’s nothing better than Sunday brunch … at noon.

  Do you want to know what the best thing about Sunday afternoons is, though? Eliot always finds a way to make himself scarce for the afternoon – especially in the winter – because he knows that too much together time will topple our relationship. As an only child, I need some solitude. As someone who has to put up with my crap on a regular basis, Eliot needs alone time, too. That’s what Sunday afternoons are about.

  So, after a lazy breakfast, Eliot left me with my new Lego videogame and headed to the gym. He was also going to the gun range. He had promised a home-cooked meal when he returned.

  After two hours of Lego goodness, I climbed into my R2D2 yoga pants and a T-shirt and drove the two blocks to my cousin Lexie’s yoga studio. Eliot’s insistence on working out was making me feel fat. Also, I was also bored, and I knew Lexie would have gossip to share.

  Yoga One That I Want has been in operation for a few months. Six months ago I wouldn’t have believed Lexie was capable of running her own business. After supplying her with reward money – and faith – she was making of a go of it, though. The studio’s clientele grew weekly, and Lexie was happy in her new surroundings. She’d rented an upstairs apartment (which conveniently got her out of my house and Eliot’s hair) and she was happily dating any reprobate that paid her an iota of attention. Hey, she’s a work in progress. She might be getting her business life together but she still has abominable taste in men.

  Lexie hosts morning classes Sundays, but I knew she would be in the studio when I arrived. I’m not keen on working out in front of people – mostly because I’m in abysmal shape and I don’t like people laughing at me.

  While I wasn’t surprised to find Lexie lounging behind the juice counter when I entered, I was surprised to see my best friend Carly sitting across from her.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “I just finished a class,” Lexie said, her long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.

  “Did you go to the class?” I asked Carly, although I already knew the answer. Her face was red and she looked as if she was in agony. Yoga always makes me think I’m going to die. That’s why I do it only once a month. That gives me thirty days to forget how much I hate it before I try it again.

  “What do you think?” Carly asked, shooting me a look.

  The reason we get along so well is because we both idle at bitchy. We can be mean to each other one minute and loyal to a fault the next. No one holds on to ill feelings about the bitchiness.

  “What crawled up your butt and died?” I asked, hopping onto the stool next to her and tapping the counter. “Make me a strawberry smoothie.”

  Lexie wrinkled her ski-slope nose. “Do I look like a waitress?”

  “Who gave you the money for the down payment on this place?”

  “You only bring that up so I can’t argue with you,” Lexie grumbled, scooping fresh strawberries into the blender.

  “She likes to win,” Carly said. “She’s never going to change. You should get used to it.”

  “Why are you in such a mood?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Aren’t you still in blissed-out honeymoon mode? Shouldn’t you be walking on clouds with little hearts dancing around your head?”

  Carly married her college sweetheart, Kyle, in the fall. Their marriage was full of ups and downs – the same as their courtship – but they seemed to be settling into the daily grind better these days. Of course, that could be wishful thinking. I like Kyle. I think he’s good for Carly. If I’m a bully on a bad day, though, Carly is a bully every day. I have no idea how we manage to sustain a friendship.

  “I’m not in a bad mood,” Carly said, rubbing the spot between her eyebrows. “I’m just … tired.”

  “Why’d you do yoga then? When I’m tired I lie on the couch and count changing the television channel as a workout.”

  “I’m trying to keep in shape,” Carly said. “Once I hit thirty I’m going to have to work to maintain my looks. It’s not going to simply happen like it does now.”

  I love her self-esteem. “You’re a size two,” I pointed out. “You don’t need to work out. If I was a size two I would force Eliot to serve me doughnuts in bed every morning.”

  Carly snorted. “How is Eliot?”

  “He’s good,” I said. I caught them up on my week, including our excursion to The Black Hole the previous evening. Carly was flabbergasted but Lexie was intrigued.

  “Holy moly,” Carly said. “How are you still alive? If I tried to sucker Kyle into going to a BDSM club he’d kill me.”

  “Eliot was uncomfortable at the club but he said he’s glad I asked him to go,” I explained. “He’s more worked up because he thinks I’m going to push Tad so far that he tries to kill me.”

  “That’s a possibility,” Carly said. “That dude is wrapped so tight he’s bound to snap one day. Do you remember when we were in college and we had that kegger and he showed up at the party with a briefcase?”

  Of course I remembered that night. Carly never let me forget it. “Tad is the type of guy to freak out and yell things,” I said. “He’s not the type who will become violent.”

  “That’s what people said about Jeffrey Dahmer,” Carly countered. “Everyone thought he was some sad little homebody until they found half-eaten body parts in his apartment. I don’t want Tad to eat you.”

  I shot her a look. “Nice.”

  “You know what I mean,” Carly said. “Tad hasn’t been violent yet but he has the propensity to go off the rails when pushed … and you can’t stop yourself from pushing him.”

  “He’s earned every push,” I argued. “He’s lucky I haven’t pushed him off a cliff.”

  “I’m not saying he hasn’t earned what you’re doling out,” Carly said, holding her hands up. “I’m saying he’s going to snap all over you one day. I hope Eliot is there when it happens so he gets his ass kicked.”

  “I can kick his ass.”

  “Be careful,” Carly said, rolling her eyes. “What are you and Eliot doing for Valentine’s Day?”

  I knew she thought she was changing the subject to something more comfortable, but talk of Valentine’s Day was starting to make my skin crawl. “He won’t tell me what we’re doing.”

  “What does that mean?” Lexie asked. “Is he not telling you because he hasn’t planned anything or is he not telling you because he wants to surprise you?”

  “Oh, he’s planning something,” I said. “He mentioned he took on some security work for the sheriff’s department. He said he originally wasn’t going to do it and then realized he could use the extra cash for my gift. I think he has something big planned.”

  “This has to be driving you crazy,” Carly said. “You like being in control of everything. He’s the one in control here. Have you tried smothering him in his sleep to get him to talk?”
<
br />   “I … I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “I need to get him something great. I’ve never bought a Valentine’s Day gift for someone I … really like … before, though.”

  “What does Eliot say?” Lexie asked.

  “He says he doesn’t expect a gift.”

  “I hate it when men say that,” Carly said. “Kyle said the same thing. There’s no way I can’t buy him something for our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. I would look like a total idiot.”

  “I always look like a total idiot,” I said. “I honestly don’t know what to get him. I’m running out of time.”

  “How about a watch?”

  “He doesn’t wear a lot of jewelry,” I said. “He wears that leather cuff sometimes, but that’s it.”

  “How about a leather jacket?” Lexie suggested.

  “I don’t want to date The Fonz.”

  “Just wrap yourself in plastic wrap and tell him you’re his present,” Lexie said.

  “Gag yourself first so it’s a real present,” Carly added.

  They were joking, but that was starting to sound like a viable option. “You guys need to help me figure out a gift. We’re not leaving here until I know what I’m buying him for Valentine’s Day.”

  “I thought you came here to work out?” Lexie pointed out.

  “I walked from the car to the studio. That’s enough.”

  Carly snickered. “We’ll help you. Eliot has always struck me as an Old Spice guy. How about that?”

  “I hate you guys.”

  Something told me I was going to leave Lexie’s studio worse off than when I started on the Valentine’s Day front. I was missing something obvious here. I just knew it.

  Eleven

  “Have you seen this?” I shook two news releases in Fish’s face Monday morning.

  He lifted his eyebrows but otherwise remained calm. “I’m the one who put them on your desk,” he said. “Have I mentioned how grating I find your voice Monday mornings?”

  Only about a hundred times or so. “What are we going to do about this?” I asked, ignoring his attitude. “Tad has called his own news conference on the Grisham murder at the exact same time Jake is holding his. That’s deliberate. He’s trying to screw me.”

  “I … how … I don’t even know what to say to that,” Fish said, rubbing the back of his neck. “How is this screwing you?”

  “I can’t be in two places at once,” I said. “Tad is holding his conference at the county building at one. Jake is holding his at the sheriff’s department at one. Tad knows very well that I have to go to the legitimate conference. That allows him to spout whatever nonsense he wants without anyone asking hard questions at his conference.”

  “And you think he’s doing all of this to get at you?”

  “Of course.”

  “Someone should study you for a psych journal,” Fish said. “Did it cross your mind that Tad was holding his conference at the same time as Jake because he wants to go after Jake?”

  “Jake is secondary. This is all about me.” How was he missing this?

  “You’re getting more and more deranged where Ludington is concerned,” Fish said. “That’s why I’m glad you’re going to the sheriff’s news conference.”

  “Who is going to Tad’s? And before you answer, you should know the only acceptable response is Marvin. He’s the only one I trust to ask the right questions.”

  “Marvin won’t be in until two today,” Fish said. “He’s on nights.”

  “Ask him to come in early.”

  “No. He has a big meeting to cover in Eastpointe tonight. They’re fighting over a millage. I need him there.”

  “This is a bigger story,” I argued. “Tad is trying to play me.”

  “Not everything in the world is about you, Avery,” Fish said. “Marvin is staying on his night meeting. You’re going to the sheriff’s department. I have Tad’s meeting covered.”

  I was going to hate this. I just knew it. “If you tell me Duncan is covering Tad’s conference I’m going to recite scenes from Star Wars with Captain and Crunch every day for a week.”

  “Duncan is covering the second conference,” Fish replied, not missing a beat.

  “I know all three movies by heart,” I threatened.

  “I’m just glad you can’t sing.”

  Wait … did he just tell me no?

  WINTERS in Michigan can be brutal. When the world is out to get you, though, they’re intolerable. That’s exactly how I felt as I walked through the front lobby of the sheriff’s department.

  I trudged to the front desk, which is encased in a protective bulletproof bubble, and fixed the two deputies on the other side with my best “Don’t mess with me” look. “I’m here for the news conference.”

  “You’ll have to wait for someone to buzz you through,” one of the deputies said, sneering. “We’ll make sure they’re aware of your arrival in the back.”

  “I can’t believe someone pays you to do this,” I grumbled.

  “I can’t believe someone hasn’t shot you.”

  “Give it time,” Derrick said, poking his head through the locked door that led to the sheriff’s department’s guarded interior.

  “We didn’t call anyone yet,” the deputy said, confused.

  “I saw her car when she pulled up,” Derrick said. “I’ve been expecting her. I can take her back.”

  “But … .” The deputy looked crestfallen that he couldn’t lord his absolute power over me for a few more minutes.

  “Enjoy life in your fish bowl,” I said, moving to Derrick and fixing him with a dark look. “I don’t like him.”

  “You don’t like anyone,” Derrick said, ushering me down the hallway. I followed him wordlessly, not surprised when he led me into his office instead of the conference room where media announcements were made. “Sit down.”

  I watched as he shut the door and settled at his desk. I considered picking a fight about his bossy nature, but I was too annoyed. I flopped in one of the chairs across from his desk and sighed. “I’m having a bad day.”

  “You’re having a bad life,” Derrick said. “Aren’t you going to ask why I brought you in here?”

  “I already know why you brought me in here,” I replied. “You want to gripe some more about Devon and blame me for that situation. You want to find out what I think about Tad holding his own news conference at the same time Jake is holding his. Oh, and you want to know whether I’ve sussed out anything interesting about Julia Grisham that has somehow evaded you guys. Did I miss anything?”

  “You’re a pain.”

  “I didn’t miss that. I just choose to ignore it,” I said. “How are things on the Devon front?”

  “I have no idea what I’m going to do,” Derrick said, dropping his chin into his hands as he rested his elbows on the desk. “I really do care about her. I’m not sure I’m ready for marriage, though.”

  “Tell her.”

  “What would you do if Eliot proposed to you?” Derrick challenged.

  My heart rolled at the suggestion. Eliot and I were tight. In fact, we were tighter than I ever imagined possible given my personality. We were nowhere near ready for that. Even though Eliot’s Valentine’s Day plan was giving me fits, I wasn’t worried in the least that he might be considering proposing. “Eliot wouldn’t do that,” I said. “We’re not ready. I have plenty of time before I have to worry about that.”

  “I thought I had time, too.”

  “Yes, but you misread the situation,” I said. “Devon is a girl. Most girls have marriage on their minds. When they’ve been dating for as long as you two have, females start daydreaming about white dresses and champagne fountains.”

  “You’re a girl,” Derrick said. “You don’t dream about stuff like that.”

  “I’m not a normal girl,” I said. “I dream of Han Solo and day trips to Endor. I’ve never been the type to dream about white dresses. You can’t base your interaction with Devon on me. I’m mor
e evolved than a normal woman.”

  “You’re something,” Derrick muttered.

  “I’m honestly sorry you’re so upset about this,” I said. “I didn’t expect you to worry about losing Devon. I expected you to think she was crazy and dump her. It seems I might have miscalculated on that front.”

  “I really do hate you sometimes,” Derrick said, leaning back in his chair and sighing wearily. “What about Tad? What do you think he’s up to?”

  “He’s trying to hide from me,” I said. “He purposely scheduled his conference the same time as Jake’s because he knew I wouldn’t be able to go to his … that little ferret.”

  “I think he scheduled his conference to draw attention away from Jake,” Derrick countered. “He doesn’t want Jake to solve this case. Tad thinks that if he can solve it that will lend legitimacy to his group.”

  “TOOL.”

  “TOOL,” Derrick conceded. “He’s hoping the murderer will be caught – and somehow through his efforts – and he’s hoping it all happens before you find whatever he’s hiding.”

  “You’re probably right,” I said. “That’s not going to work, though. Tad is going down whether he figures out who killed Julia Grisham or not. The voters love Jake. Tad couldn’t win a county commission election in his own district. I’m not worried about him.”

  “Don’t you think you should be worried about him?”

  “No. Eliot does, though.”

  Derrick lifted his eyebrows. “Eliot is worried about Ludington losing it and hurting you, isn’t he?”

  “Eliot worries about a lot of things that aren’t going to happen.”

  “You know, when you first started dating him I had my doubts,” Derrick said. “I thought you were doing it to make Jake jealous … and drive your mother insane.”

  “I don’t care about making Jake jealous,” I scoffed. Driving my mother insane was always on my agenda. If I had a day planner, I would pencil it in.

  “I think you did when you started dating Eliot,” Derrick said. “Now … now I think things have shifted. I think you and Eliot are in this for the long haul, and the only thing standing in your way is your mouth.”