If it Bleeds, it Leads (An Avery Shaw Mystery)

by Amanda M. Lee

  Then there was Eliot, but I definitely wasn’t going to go there after what just happened.

  I settled for general 911. It would take them longer to get here, but I wasn’t in imminent peril – at least I didn’t think I was. No one was running out the back door with a knife trying to kill me – and that constituted imminent peril to me.

  I climbed back in the car and dialed the number. The extremely calm operator informed me officers were en route. She asked my name – which I balked at giving because I knew it would go across the scanner. Since both Eliot and Jake were out, though, I didn’t see the harm in it so I gave the woman my real name and address.

  It seemed like forever before I saw the lights flashing at the end of my driveway signaling the arrival of Roseville’s finest. I got out of the car and waited for the uniformed officers to make their way down the driveway.

  I knew both of the officers from covering crime stories over the years. I had never had a problem with them before, so I was relieved. It would have been worse if it had been cops I hated.

  “Have you been inside?”

  “No, I called you guys right away and sat in the car. I couldn’t be sure that there was no one inside.”

  “That was smart.” Hey, it happens occasionally.

  The cops told me to wait outside while they made sure no one was inside. Then, they said, I could come in and tell them what – if anything – was missing.

  They were inside a few minutes before one of them came out and motioned for me to follow him. I could tell right away my house had been tossed. Sadly, it didn’t look that different from a normal day, though. I’m a horrible housekeeper.

  “Can you check around without touching a lot of stuff and see if anything big has been taken?”

  I nodded. The first thing I checked was the electronics (all three video game systems and the television were accounted for). I saw my iPod and Kindle were still in their usual spot in the armoire (there’s a charging station in there). And the limited amount of jewelry I owned that was worth stealing was also still there. It looked like nothing had been taken.

  “Are you sure? Where’s your laptop?”

  “In my car. I always carry it around with me.”

  “Do you know why anyone would want to break in?” Not specifically.

  “Not really. I mean, I attract a lot of assholes through work, but they usually refrain from breaking into my house.”

  “What have you been working on over the last week or so?”

  Hmm, how much to tell them?

  “Well, a girl that worked in our building was shot and killed in the parking lot. I’ve been primarily working on that.”

  “Has it led you any place dangerous?”

  “Not really.”

  “That’s not exactly the truth, though, is it?” Crap, I knew that voice. Jake had showed up after all. I could only hope he wasn’t dressed like Han Solo.

  I was relieved to see he was in standard jeans and a polo shirt. I guess he’d changed. Thank the Force for small favors.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Someone from the office called me when your name went across the scanner.”

  Great.

  “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You tend to get yourself in these situations that you need help getting out of.”

  “I don’t need help.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Jake looked around the house dubiously. I realized he had never actually been inside before.

  When he caught a glimpse of my ‘Star Wars’ office, I couldn’t help but notice the corner of his mouth quirk in a small smile.

  “What?”

  “I wouldn’t have expected anything different.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing.”

  Jake watched the officers process the scene looking for fingerprints in silence a few minutes. I was starting to get uncomfortable.

  “Where’s your date?”

  “What?”

  “Your date. The one you dressed up like Han Solo for?”

  I saw Jake smirk again. I was getting the sneaking suspicion that he’d only said that for my benefit.

  “You didn’t go to a costume party, did you?”

  “I did go to a party.”

  “Where’s your date?”

  “I didn’t have a date. It was a county party. They’re not exactly known for being fun. I went by myself. I wasn’t planning on staying late. Why aren’t you at Carly’s?”

  There was no way I was going to answer that truthfully. “It was boring so I left early.”

  Jake furrowed his brows for a second. I could tell he knew there was more to the story than I was telling, but he opted not to press the situation.

  “Who do you think did this?”

  “I don’t know. There are a few people it could have been.”

  “That’s frightening.”

  “What is frightening?”

  “The fact that you have an actual list of people who could break into this house at any given time.”

  I glared at him. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “You are a disaster magnet.” He keeps saying that.

  I knew I should be offended, but I really wasn’t. Truth is just truth sometimes. It’s not good truth or bad truth, just truth.

  At that moment, I heard raised voices by the back door. Someone was trying to get in the house.

  “Are you expecting someone?”

  “No.”

  Jake and I moved towards the back of the house. I was surprised to see Eliot trying to barrel his way in. He seemed relieved when he caught sight of me. Then he caught sight of Jake and frowned.

  “Let him in,” Jake told the officers.

  Eliot made his way into the house warily. He greeted Jake rather stiffly.

  “What are you doing here?” After what happened at Carly’s I hadn’t expected to see Eliot ever again.

  “Oh, this is a surprise. You weren’t expecting him?” Jake was asking a pointed question.

  “Of course I wasn’t expecting him.”

  “Did you hear her name come across the scanner and decided to come save her?” I could see that Jake and Eliot were starting to puff up like fighting cats. I wondered which one would sharpen his claws first.

  “No. Actually, we were at the same party and I just wanted to check on her to make sure she was alright.”

  Uh-oh. It looks like Eliot was the first one to draw blood.

  “Oh, you were at a party together?” Jake’s eyebrows seemed like they were an inch higher than they should be. He looked like he had been to a bad Botox party.

  “No. . . “ I started.

  “Maybe we were.” Now Eliot was being provocative. Great.

  “Maybe? Or you were?”

  “We weren’t.” I realized it didn’t really matter what I said at this point. Both men had forgotten I was even in the room. The only thing that might drag their attention away from each other is some nudity – and I hadn’t shaved my legs in a while. No one wants to see that.

  “Actually, I just got lucky. I didn’t realize she would be there.” Eliot had taken a slightly softer stance – only slightly, though. He still seemed to be enjoying a certain amount of superiority over Jake.

  “You just happened to end up at Carly’s party? How did that happen?”

  “How do you know Carly?”

  “Unless you haven’t noticed, I’ve known Avery for years. They’ve been a package deal for a long time.”

  “I thought you guys broke up in high school?”

  “Who told you that? “

  Eliot nodded at me slightly.

  “You told him about us, did you?” Jake looked smug.

  “I asked her what the deal was between you two. I mean, you always seem to show up to save her. I found that odd.”

  Apparently, I wasn’t needed for any part of the conversation anymore.

  “So do you.”

  �
�What are you asking? Are you asking if we’re involved?” Eliot looked puzzled.

  “Maybe I am.”

  “Well, are you involved with her?”

  “Are you?”

  “I asked you first.”

  Welcome to high school.

  Neither man appeared to be giving any ground -- or gaining any for that matter. It was kind of interesting, like it was a psych experiment or something.

  I couldn’t be exactly sure what was happening, but Eliot and Jake seemed to be having some sort of unspoken conversation. Finally, after what seemed like hours, they both visibly relaxed.

  “For the time being, I think we should be focused on keeping her alive rather than what she’s doing in her personal life,” Jake offered.

  Eliot nodded slowly. “That’s a full-time job in itself, isn’t it?”

  Jake laughed throatily. “Yeah, and since we both have full-time jobs I figure we’re going to have to take shifts.”

  Eliot smiled. “We’ll make up a chart.”

  Great, a babysitting Avery chart. The gift I’ve always wanted.

  “So, any ideas who did this?”

  “If I had to guess, not all of this was an intruder.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, she’s not exactly known as the best housekeeper.”

  “Hey!”

  Both Eliot and Jake finally turned and looked at me like they’d just remembered I was still in the room.

  “Are you saying that they did all this?” Jake was daring me to lie.

  “Well, not all of it,” I hedged.

  “I didn’t think so.” Dick.

  Eliot smirked. “You’re saying she’s messy?”

  “I’m saying that she’s a filthy pig most of the time. She needs a maid.”

  I was offended. I really was. I’m a busy person. I don’t always have time to vacuum and mop when I’m pursuing a story. A maid sounded like heaven, though.

  “I think she needs to spend less time playing video games, but a maid isn’t a bad idea.”

  Wait, so now they’re ganging up on me?

  “Can we stop talking about my lack of housekeeping skills and focus on the fact that someone broke into my house?” Whoops, maybe I shouldn’t have done that.

  “Yes, let’s focus on that.” Jake was pointed. “Who should we be considering as suspects besides the crew at the used car lot?”

  “What used car lot?” Eliot looked confused.

  Jake filled in Eliot – at least to the extent he was aware anyway – on what had transpired up until this point. Eliot looked nonplussed.

  “So, wait, these guys at the used car lot weren’t really salesmen?”

  “Not unless they learned their skills in prison,” I offered.

  “How do you know they were in prison?”

  I explained about the gang tattoos.

  “How do you know so much about gang tattoos?” That was a dubious question if I ever heard one.

  “I know things.”

  Jake and Eliot both looked doubtful.

  “What? I do.”

  “My guess is that this is something you’ve learned through work.” Jake said. “Didn’t Marvin do that piece on gang tattoos a few years ago? That’s how you know.”

  That was how I knew, but I was still upset they didn’t seem to think I knew things. I stubbornly crossed my arms over my chest and glared at Jake defiantly.

  “Right, sorry. You know things. We were just about to get to the other people it could be, though.”

  “What other people?”

  “Well, it seems that Avery here has been sticking her nose into the meth production in Detroit.”

  I froze. Oh, crap.

  Jake noticed my discomfort. He went to talk to the other police officers that were just finishing up. I heard him tell them to make sure he got a copy of their report before they left.

  Once they were gone, both Eliot and Jake looked to me expectantly.

  “What?” I asked innocently.

  Jake scowled. “Don’t do that. I hate it when you do that.”

  “Who have you been in touch with in Detroit?” Eliot pushed.

  I couldn’t tell them everything. Even now. I would have to tell them something, though. There was no getting around that. It was just a matter of giving them enough information so they got off my back and not enough that I tipped my hand.

  “I actually only went down there to find Kevin Walker.”

  “What led you to Kevin Walker?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Avery,” Jake threatened.

  “Fine. I went to talk to Darby’s family.”

  “They told you about Kevin Walker?” Jake was asking a leading question here. I could tell by his body language. He was trying to catch me in a lie. What did he know?

  “No.”

  “Then who led you to Kevin Walker?”

  “A woman in the trailer park. She motioned me over and told me to check him out.” That was mostly true.

  “What’s her name?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Jake and Eliot both regarded me incredulously. “You don’t know?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t ask her name.”

  “It doesn’t make a lot of sense for a reporter to get information without a name.” Eliot was the one taking up what was supposed to look like a relaxed position but was actually quite aggressive. I think he was used to beating information out of people. I didn’t think he’d beat me – but he might shake me pretty hard.

  “They’re called anonymous sources.”

  “You’re getting her off track,” Jake said to Eliot. “That’s what she wants. That’s how she confuses you.”

  Jake turned back towards me. “What, exactly, did this woman tell you?”

  I hate that Jake knows me so well sometimes.

  “She told me that Darby broke up with Kevin a few months ago and that he didn’t take it well.” That was mostly true again. It’s not a lie if you omit information. What? It’s not.

  “So how did you track down the right Kevin Walker?” Eliot was asking the question now.

  “What do you mean?”

  “See,” Jake said knowingly. “That’s a good question. Kevin Walker is a common name. How did you get the right one?”

  “See what?”

  “Avery,” Jake growled.

  “What were we talking about again?” My tricks weren’t working this time, especially with both of them sitting there giving me their “stern” looks.

  “She told me.”

  “She told you what?”

  “She told me that he was the son of a used car salesman in Sterling Heights and that he lived in Detroit.”

  “So you went to his place in Detroit?” Eliot asked.

  “I did.”

  “What happened?”

  “He shut the door in my face.”

  “And that was the only contact you had with him?”

  “Yes.” That is actually true. I felt like I knew Kevin Walker, but I had actually spent very little time with him.

  Jake’s eyes narrowed. “How did you end up at the warehouse that morning?”

  Crap.

  “What warehouse?”

  Jake told Eliot about Kevin Walker’s warehouse and the drug bust. Eliot looked surprised.

  “How did you end up at the warehouse? We’re missing a step here.”

  They both turned to me expectantly. Double crap.

  “I told you, I was down at Eastern Market and just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.” I averted making eye contact with either of them.

  “You’re lying.”

  “That’s an awful thing to say.” True, but awful.

  “This has something to do with Lexie, doesn’t it?” Jake asked the question more gently than I expected.

  “Who’s Lexie?”

  Eliot really was out of the loop here.

  “Her cousin,” Jake answered.

  “Why would he
r cousin have anything to do with this?”

  “Lexie gets involved in situations like this all the time. She’s not exactly known for keeping company with upstanding citizens of the law.” Actually, Lexie is known for keeping company with the dregs of society, if I’m being honest, but I didn’t like Jake talking smack about her.

  “Why would Avery be involved with this?”

  “Avery has a penchant for jumping in to save Lexie whenever she can. It’s compulsive. She can’t help herself.”

  “Kind of like us with her,” Eliot said with a chuckle.

  Jake grimaced. The comparison wasn’t lost on him.

  “Lexie is a lost cause, though.”

  “No she’s not! She just has tragic taste in men.” I could relate at the moment.

  “She does have tragic taste in men,” Jake acknowledged. “She also doesn’t feel the need to grow up because Avery and Derrick swoop in to save her constantly.”

  “Derrick? Your deputy Derrick?”

  “Yeah, he’s her brother.”

  The pieces were slowly shifting into place for Eliot. It was about time. I was starting to worry that he was a little slow.

  “So this Lexie is involved in manufacturing drugs?”

  “No!”

  Jake shot me a look. “Lexie isn’t stupid enough to actually get her hands dirty in something like that. The guy she is dating was involved, though. He’s been arrested.”

  “So she benefits financially but can’t really be tied to the crime?”

  “Exactly.”

  “I think that Avery was down in Detroit to get Lexie and that’s how she ended up at the warehouse.” Jake was just showing off now.

  I wasn’t going to confirm that. No way. No how.

  “So where is Lexie now?” Eliot seemed confused again.

  “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I have no knowledge of her current whereabouts.”

  Jake sighed. “I don’t think she’s going to tell us anything more; at least not tonight. She’s got to think about how much she can tell us without implicating Lexie in any misdeeds. She’s not ready to do that yet.”

  “You’re probably right,” Eliot conceded.

  Jake looked around my house dubiously. “I don’t suppose I can talk you into sleeping somewhere else tonight.”

  I stuck out my chin stubbornly.

  “I didn’t think so. You can’t stay here alone, though. And I can’t stay here because I have to be out in Oakland County first thing in the morning.”