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

by Amanda M. Lee

  “What’s going on?” I asked him after he’d hung up the phone.

  “It’s Tina. Her son got hit by a car.”

  Now, I don’t want to quibble here, but Tina had used that excuse like three times now. The kid never actually looked like a car had struck him. He also never looked like he’d showered – but that was a whole other topic of discussion.

  Marvin saw my dubious look. “Why would she make this up?”

  “Why did she make it up the other times?”

  “That’s not fair; we’re not sure that she made it up.”

  “Yes, you’re right, the kid got hit by two different cars on two different occasions and didn’t have a scratch on him. He’s surely some sort of magical creature.”

  Marvin decided to ignore my sarcasm. I didn’t blame him.

  Since I was still feeling guilty about always making fun of him – that coupled with not understanding the haunting star thing – I decided to go along with him. It had to be more interesting than whatever was going on here the rest of the day anyway.

  Since I was near the end of my shift, I decided to follow Marvin so we wouldn’t be stuck in the same car. I had a feeling he was going to want to stay and make Tina feel better – and I wanted no part of that.

  It took us about 20 minutes to maneuver through Macomb County’s streets, finally ending up in a rundown section of south Warren. It didn’t surprise me that she lived here. It wasn’t exactly a dilapidated trailer park – but it wasn’t much better either. It was one of those places where the couch on the front lawn had a decent chance of being cleaner than the couch inside of the house.

  I parked behind Marvin, getting out of the car swiftly. I didn’t want to miss whatever terrific lie Tina would come up with this time. They were often out-of-this-world and phenomenal – all at the same time.

  I saw Marvin start rushing up the front walk – like he was some sort of knight rushing to fight for her honor. Honestly? It made me want to gag a little bit. The guy is a walking doormat for whatever woman shows him any interest whatsoever. He also runs out to get me a Slurpee whenever I demand it – so it’s not entirely a bad thing.

  I was about two steps behind him when I got a funny feeling and stopped in my tracks. I swear, my skin was crawling. I could almost feel someone watching me.

  “Marvin . . . “ I called out weakly. I had a bad feeling. He should not go in the house. No matter what happens, he shouldn’t go in the house.

  I still didn’t understand why these feelings were strangling me. I hadn’t caught sight of anyone suspicious. Of course, I hadn’t caught sight of Tina either.

  “Marvin, stop!” I commanded.

  Either he didn’t hear me or he refused to believe me. I picked up my pace, grabbed his arm and swung him around. He seemed confused.

  “Do. Not. Go. In. That. House.” I spoke clearly, succinctly, and yet he didn’t’ seem to hear me still.

  I refused to let go of his arm, and instead started pulling him away from the house. He was putting up a fight, but somehow my determination was overpowering the 40 pounds he had on me.

  “What are you doing?” He tried to dislodge my hand from his arm.

  Suddenly, it was like everything slowed down. I could see things clearly – and yet they weren’t making sense. There was a roar of sound and my feet felt like they were encased in concrete. Then, almost instantaneously, an explosion rocked the block and Tina’s house was covered in fire.

  I inadvertently fell to the ground, pulling Marvin backwards with me. That’s the last thing I remember before I lost consciousness.

  Nineteen

  Am I dead?

  Nope, I think if I was dead my head wouldn’t feel as if I’d went on a three-day bender in New Orleans.

  I tried to get my bearings – but surprisingly, when you feel like you’re laying on a bed of concrete and the world is spinning around you it’s not that easy. So much for everything not revolving around me.

  When my vision finally cleared, I saw Jake leaning over me talking. He looked concerned. That was nice of him. I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying, though. Maybe that was for the best. I’m sure he was lamenting my stupidity – even as I lay prone on the concrete.

  Another head had joined him and was leaning over me. Wait, actually, both heads were closer now. I could see the second one was Eliot. What the hell? Am I floating up? Am I having an out-of-body experience? If I die because of Tina I’m going to be pissed.

  Whoops, nope, I realized now that I had just been raised up on a gurney by a group of paramedics that were buzzing around me. I noticed another group to my left working on Marvin. His face was ashen and he hadn’t regained consciousness. I noticed that he was bleeding from a head wound. In a panic, I tried to climb off the gurney towards him.

  Eliot grabbed me before I could topple to the ground again. I met his worried gaze – and yet it didn’t seem to register that he was trying to help me.

  “Is he alright?” I was fairly certain I had spoken that out loud, but I couldn’t hear my own voice. I decided to try again.

  “IS HE ALRIGHT?”

  Everything came roaring back at that moment. All the sound, all the noise, even more pain than I had ever thought possible to register. I started to swoon. It really is true; when you faint everything dulls at the edges before going completely black.

  ****

  “What did the doctor say?”

  “She’s got a mild concussion. They were actually surprised with how far she got thrown that she didn’t have any broken bones.”

  “She looks a little beaten up.”

  “She’s going to be sore for the next week or so.”

  “Maybe that will keep her out of trouble?”

  “Yeah, I wish that were true.”

  “I can hear you, you know?” My tongue felt like it was swaddled in cotton and I hadn’t opened my eyes yet, but I knew the two voices talking. Eliot and Jake. Really, who else would it be?

  “It’s about time you woke up.”

  I finally opened my eyes to the glaring white of a hospital room. Crap. I hate hospitals. They smell. They’re far too clean. Did I mention sick people scare me?

  Jake and Eliot were both standing at the foot of the bed. They both looked worn out. For a second I wondered how long I had been here.

  Jake must have read my expression. “You’ve been here for about six hours.”

  “Then why do you two look like you’ve aged 20 years?” I reached for a glass of water that had been placed next to my bed. Unfortunately, my hand and eye coordination wasn’t back to where it should be and I dumped it down the front of my cotton hospital gown instead. Great, now my gown was plastered to my boobs like I was in a wet T-shirt contest.

  Jake sighed and poured me a new glass of water and held it up to my lips like I was a small child. I was so thirsty, though, I didn’t really care. I gulped it down.

  “What happened?” I could only remember bits and pieces.

  “The house blew up.”

  “I remember that. But why?”

  Eliot and Jake exchanged a look. They were debating how much to tell me. I hate being infantilized.

  “We’re still investigating,” Jake finally answered.

  “That’s not an answer. What do you think happened?”

  “We think someone set a bomb.”

  “For Tina, or for us?”

  “We don’t know.”

  Suddenly, I remembered Marvin. “How is . . . he’s not dead is he?”

  “No, he’s not dead,” Jake soothed, pushing my hair out of my face. “He’s worse off than you, though.”

  “How worse off?”

  “He has a broken arm, a concussion and a broken nose,” Eliot said. “He’s going to have to stay overnight.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “They want you to.”

  “But I don’t have to?”

  Jake grimaced. “No, you don’t have to. But you do have to go home and take it easy
.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “Take it easy,” Jake stressed. “No video games. No investigating. No being a general pain in the ass.”

  “I am not a pain in the ass.” I groaned as I shifted. Apparently I had one, though. If I was this sore now I didn’t want to know what I would feel like when I woke up tomorrow.

  Eliot and Jake exchanged wary looks. Neither one of them trusted me.

  “What?”

  “Tina’s body wasn’t found in the house, Avery,” Jake finally said. “If that bomb was meant for her, she’s still out there. If that bomb was meant for you and Marvin, then someone may still be trying to kill you.”

  “What else is new? Are you going to protect Marvin?”

  “We’re posting deputies in the hall. I was thinking of making Derrick one of them. However, you need protection, too. I thought maybe you would be more comfortable with Derrick, especially if you insist on going home instead of staying here overnight.”

  “I’m not having a bunch of cops in my house.”

  Jake set his jaw grimly. “Yes, you are.”

  “No I most certainly am not.”

  “Yes you are.”

  “It’s not going to happen.” I can be stubborn, too.

  “You’re not going home without someone watching over you. I have a team checking to make sure there are no explosives in your house right now.”

  “What? You can’t just go in my house without permission.”

  “Well I did.”

  “Great, so your deputies are going through all my underwear and stuff right now.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Because men are pigs.”

  “Honey, I doubt very much they care about your ‘Star Wars’ underwear.”

  “I don’t wear ‘Star Wars’ underwear.” I was thoroughly indignant at this point.

  Jake walked over to the chair in the corner, where I noticed a stack of my clothes had been placed on the seat. He pulled a Yoda thong off the top and lifted it up. “I had my guys bring you a change of clothes. They said that they weren’t sure which underwear to get, but since most of them looked like this they just grabbed any pair.”

  As he was holding up the thong, I noticed both he and Eliot seemed to have a slightly glazed over look in their eyes. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were imagining me in the thong. Both of them seemed to come to reality at the same time.

  I slowly crawled out of the bed, every muscle screaming in protest as I did so. I took one wobbly step towards Jake, grabbed the thong out of his hand and then took two more agonizing steps to the clothes and gathered them to my chest. It was then that I noticed it was feeling pretty breezy around my nether region. I reached behind me to where the gown was open and felt my hand come into contact with my own bare ass. Great.

  “Your clothes were ruined,” Jake said, while stifling a smile at my discomfort.

  Eliot didn’t even bother to hide his amusement.

  “I know you two think this is funny, but it’s not.” Then, with as much dignity as I could muster, I flounced into the bathroom with the clothes and shut the door behind me. I didn’t bother to try and cover my ass as I went. For one thing, they had already seen it. For another, it hurt to put my arm that far behind me.

  It took me a full 20 minutes to get dressed. Mostly because I had to stop and rest after each article of clothing I put on. I could hear Eliot and Jake talking through the door – but neither one tried to enter and help me. I was actually grateful for that.

  When I was done, I splashed some water on my face and did my best to tame my bed head. It wasn’t a vast improvement, but anything was better than it had been. When I came out of the bathroom, both of them were still waiting for me expectantly.

  “All set?” Jake asked brightly.

  “For what? I’m still not having cops in my house.”

  “Yeah, Eliot and I were talking about that,” he said. “He’s going to stay the night at your house. On your couch.” He stressed the last part. I think it was more for Eliot’s benefit than mine.

  I thought about arguing, but realized that would be pointless. For one thing, having Eliot around actually would make me feel safer. For another, Eliot was definitely better than a bunch of cops.

  “Fine.”

  Jake narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “You’re fine with Eliot staying at your house then?”

  “On the couch, yes.”

  Eliot smiled at Jake – I thought it was slightly malicious, but then again I had a slight concussion, so I didn’t know if my mental capacities were up to their usual stellar standards. Of course, Eliot and Jake would argue the standards were never that high.

  Eliot helped usher me out of the hospital room. “We’ve already settled up your paperwork.”

  “Just on the couch,” Jake echoed as he watched us leave.

  Eliot led me out to his car, even opening the door for me as I sank into it. I had a sneaking suspicion climbing back out of it was going to hurt.

  I noticed I had been taken to a hospital in Warren. It would only take us 10 minutes or so to get to my house. Eliot, however, hopped on I-696 instead.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I got a call when you were getting dressed,” Eliot explained. “Will has deciphered the flash drive.”

  I perked up at this information. Eliot could see my interest.

  “Here’s the thing,” he cautioned. “I’m going to take you with me to get the information, and then we’re going to your house so you can rest. If the information is something that Farrell should know, then we’re taking it to him together tomorrow.”

  I wasn’t sure I was okay with that, but I figured Eliot would turn around and take me home right now if I didn’t agree.

  When we got to downtown Mount Clemens, Eliot parked in front of Will’s computer shop. He came around the car and helped me out. I groaned as I stood up.

  “Sore?”

  “You have no idea.”

  Eliot smirked. “It could have been a lot worse. You were lucky. You scared the shit out of me and Farrell.”

  “I scared the shit out of me.”

  “I don’t doubt it.”

  Inside, Will was waiting for us. He was pacing anxiously. Whatever he had discovered must be pretty good.

  “It’s about time,” Will said. “I don’t want to keep this thing here any longer.” Will looked frazzled.

  “What did you find?”

  Will turned the sign on the front of the door to closed and locked it behind us and then ushered us into the office behind his front desk. Paranoid much? He switched his monitor on and swiveled it so we could see. I still didn’t know what I was looking at.

  Eliot, however, seemed intrigued. “Is this what I think it is?”

  “It depends on what you think it is,” Will said. “I’ll tell you what it is not. It is not a recipe for cookies. It’s not some breakthrough medical find either. It took me awhile, but I finally figured out what it is.”

  “It’s a recipe for meth.”

  “How do you know that?” It just looked like a bunch of bullshit to me.

  “I’ve seen it before.”

  “That’s an odd thing to have seen before.”

  “I’ve been to a lot of odd places.”

  “It’s not just a recipe for meth, though,” Will supplied. “It’s a new recipe for meth. And, if I’m reading it correctly and from what I’ve managed to find on the net, it’s supposed to be some form of super addictive meth.”

  “Isn’t meth already super addictive?”

  Eliot and Will both looked at me like I was a simple child. “Well isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but this is worse,” Eliot said. “My guess would be, not only is it more addictive but it takes less to make you high.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Probably that it’s less expensive to cook and they can sell smaller amounts of it so they have less to manufacture.”

  “So?” I c
learly wasn’t getting the concept.

  “So, it’s easier to produce and they can charge a lot more for it. They would probably double their profit.”

  Will nodded. “There’s something else, too,” he said.

  “What?”

  “From some of the people I talked to, it’s also more deadly.”

  “Who did you talk to about this?” Eliot looked worried.

  “Don’t worry bro, just people on the net. No way they can track it back to us.”

  “These people you talked to, why do they think it’s more deadly?”

  “Because if it’s cooked wrong, then it can essentially go toxic. Turn it into a literal poison.”

  “So, wait, you’re saying that this can literally be turned into a poison pill if the druggies cooking it get something wrong?”

  “Essentially, yeah.”

  “Well, that’s just great. How much do you think this could be worth to the guy who is looking for it?”

  Will shrugged. “That’s impossible to say. I would guess, though, this is a million dollar discovery for meth heads.”

  Eliot looked at me darkly. “That’s definitely worth killing for.”

  My head was starting to ache again.

  Twenty

  Eliot took the flash drive back from Will and we left. The ride home was quiet. I think we were both processing. This case had taken a decided turn for the dangerous. I probably should have realized that with the explosion – but sometimes it takes me awhile. I was the one to break the silence first.

  “I’m worried about Lexie.”

  “Your cousin?”

  “No one has heard from her since Saturday. It’s Monday night. She has to be in trouble. She would have called me to help her if she could have.”

  “I got the feeling from Jake that she was always in trouble.” Jake was starting to piss me off with the constant badmouthing of Lexie.