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

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Why?”

  “Darby was a nice girl. She really was. That was her downfall, though. She broke up with Kevin. No one can blame her for that. He was an asshole who gets off on mistreating women. But then she threatened to go to the cops. We couldn’t have that.”

  “So you were working with Kevin this whole time?”

  “Not exactly working. More like leading.”

  “Did you ever really date him?”

  “Oh, we dated. He really is a bastard. He likes to smack women around. I really did leave. I took my formula with me. What I told Eliot Kane was true, I did leave town to get away from Kevin. He didn’t follow me because he was obsessed with me, though. He just wanted the formula back.”

  “So why did you come back?”

  “My mom really was sick. Plus, this will always be home. So I decided to make a deal with Kevin. We’d split the formula – but when it was done he’d let me go and not follow me.”

  “Did you believe he’d actually do that?” She was too smart for that. There’s no way she believed that.

  “No, but I needed to buy time.”

  “For what?”

  “You see, I had a plan all along. I was going to get Kevin to trust me and then I was going to arrange for him to have an unfortunate accident. He’s in the drug trade, no one would be shocked if he overdosed.”

  Something clicked in my brain. “You were purposely going to cook him a bad batch of the meth?”

  “You’re smarter than you look. Of course, that’s not saying much.” She was giving my Han Solo shirt a derisive look when she said that. Everyone’s a ‘Star Wars’ hater.

  “Why didn’t you go through with that plan?”

  “Because, that’s when Darby starting making noise about going to the police. You see, she didn’t just know about Kevin; she knew about me, too. Plus, she was pregnant and Kevin wasn’t thrilled about the idea of paying child support.”

  “That must have been an inconvenience.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “So that’s when I thought of another plan.”

  “Killing Darby and framing Kevin for it,” I supplied. I was trying to be helpful. I think I was coming off as a smart ass, though. It wasn’t the first time. I was worried that it might be the last time, though.

  “Exactly. I figured it wouldn’t take the cops long to uncover the ties between Kevin and Darby. Then I went to Eliot Kane and told him my stalking story. I just knew a big strong man like him couldn’t resist a damsel in distress. You should know.”

  Hey!

  “The only thing I wasn’t counting on was you,” Sunshine continued.

  “Glad I could be of service.”

  “You think that’s funny? You ruined everything. You stuck your nose where it didn’t belong. You started snooping into things that you shouldn’t have.”

  “That’s what reporters do.”

  “Everywhere I turned, there you were. You were out at the bar. You were down at the warehouse. You were over at the car dealership. You just wouldn’t let it go. Then you stole my flash drive.”

  “Better than the cops getting it,” I offered.

  “Yes, actually that’s true. So I thank you for that.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “So I had to think things out again. I sent Kevin to search your house and your grandparents’ house. But nothing.”

  “Why did you think it would be there?”

  “Word on the street is that you’re abnormally close with your family. Some would say co-dependent.”

  “I am not co-dependent.”

  “Actually, breaking into your grandparents’ house was supposed to be a warning. One you didn’t take, I might add.”

  “I don’t take warnings well.”

  “So I’ve noticed.”

  “Then we just happened to stumble across Lexie, and I had another idea. We would trade the flash drive for Lexie and end the whole situation there.”

  “You mean kill us both.”

  “That was the general idea,” Sunshine acknowledged. “Too bad that idiot Kevin couldn’t get anything right. Never could. He was horrible in bed.”

  “That sucks doesn’t it?”

  “He sucked at everything he did. He was just a black hole of suck-itude.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Then he tried to steal my flash drive. I knew he would. I met him here and he actually tried to blackmail me. You see he was smarter than I thought he would be. He knew that I had another partner and that I was planning on cutting him out of the deal and framing him for Darby’s death.”

  “Tina.”

  “Tina? That idiot? Tina was my roommate in college. She’s a piece of shit.”

  “She’s not your partner?”

  “No. She’s not my partner.”

  “Who is?”

  “You think I’d tell you that?”

  “You’re going to kill us anyway, what’s the harm?”

  “Let’s just say that Kevin had his nose out of joint when he found out I was sleeping with his father.”

  Well, that was just gross.

  “He tried to tell me that I had to stop seeing his father and come back to him. Like that was going to happen,” Sunshine scoffed.

  “Why did you meet here?”

  “Because we knew it was empty and where the extra key was kept. That was stupid by the way,” she said, finally turning her attention to Lexie.

  “So you killed Kevin. Why did you come back?” I was trying to get her to focus her attention back on me. Maybe, if it worked, Lexie at least could get away.

  “I wasn’t planning on it. We were going to leave the state together but Kevin just wouldn’t shut the fuck up. Finally I had to shoot him just so I didn’t have to hear him yammering nonstop anymore.”

  “How does Mr. Walker feel about you shooting his son?”

  “He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know any of it. He knows Kevin is a big disappointment. He wouldn’t be surprised by some random druggie offing his kid. He never has to know it was me.”

  I can see that.

  “So why did you come back?”

  “Because of this.” Sunshine pulled a flash drive from her pocket and placed it on the table. The fake flash drive. Uh, oh.

  “He tried to give me a fake flash drive. Like I wouldn’t check it. I figured he had the real one on him.”

  Now, here was a conundrum. I knew where the real flash drive was. I didn’t have it with me, but this might be some bargaining room for Lexie and I. I couldn’t be sure if it was smart to make Sunshine aware of that, though. Unfortunately, before I had a chance to decide the best way to proceed, Lexie opened her mouth.

  “We never gave him the real flash drive.”

  The look on Sunshine’s face told me that was probably the wrong move.

  “Where is the real one?”

  “It’s . . “

  “It’s hidden,” I interrupted Lexie. I didn’t think telling Sunshine that Eliot had it was a smart move.

  “Where?”

  “We can take you to it.”

  “Or you can just tell me.”

  “I’m going to be honest,” I said, looking at the gun, which had never left her hand. “I don’t really think that’s in our best interest.”

  “What’s your offer then?”

  “We’ll give you the flash drive and you let us go.”

  “How is that in my best interest?”

  “I can only see two options here. You shoot us, and you never get the flash drive. You let us take you to it and then we all get what we want.”

  ‘Until you sic the cops on me.”

  “What if I promised not to do that?”

  “Do you really think I’d trust you?”

  “Probably not, but from where I’m sitting that’s your only option.”

  “Or I kill you and just start over on the formula.”

  “That’s another option,” I agreed.

  Sunshine seemed to be
mulling it over. That, at least, was encouraging.

  “Okay. I’ll agree to this if you agree to give me 24 hours before you go to the police.”

  “Twelve hours,” I countered.

  “Don’t haggle with her,” Lexie hissed.

  “Fine, twelve hours,” Sunshine agreed.

  She motioned with the gun for Lexie and I to get up and move towards the door. I pushed Lexie in front of me as we exited the apartment. I was stunned when I saw Eliot outside the door, pressed into the wall. He grabbed Lexie and swung her to the other side of him. He was reaching for me when Sunshine caught sight of him.

  “I should of known,” she seethed. “You just can’t help yourself from running to her rescue can you?”

  Eliot seemed to be gauging the situation. I was still in between him and Sunshine. In the direct line of fire.

  Before I could think too hard on it, I dropped to my knees in an attempt to give him the room he needed to make a move. Eliot launched himself at Sunshine. To my horror, the minute he landed on her the gun went off.

  I didn’t know who had been hit and the world seemed to slow down to a crawl. Lexie was sitting stunned on the floor and I was frozen. Somehow I managed to overcome it, though, and I found myself rushing towards Eliot. I still couldn’t tell if anyone had been shot.

  Then, I saw it. There was a lot of blood. Sunshine was struggling to push Eliot’s dead weight off her. Oh, God, he’d been shot in the shoulder. I couldn’t tell if he was conscious or not.

  “Well, that’s a waste,” she said looking down at him. “That’s too bad, too. He was really good looking.”

  Something inside of me must have snapped, because suddenly all I could see was red. I launched myself at Sunshine. I must have taken her by surprise, because she didn’t have time to raise the gun. We both hit the ground in a jumble of arms and legs. I didn’t lose sight of the fact that there was a gun in there either.

  Before I realized what was happening, I noticed that Lexie had joined the fray. I was grateful for this. She may only be 4’11 but she’s a real bitch in a fight. We both started beating the shit out of Sunshine.

  Somehow, in the melee, I managed to register that there were two other people in the hallway. It was Cameron and Little Tony. They seemed to just be watching the fight. Where they had come from, I had no idea, but I was glad they were there.

  “Help Eliot,” I gasped to them.

  They immediately went and knelt down beside him, leaving some sort of tank they’d been rolling behind them a few feet away. What the hell is that?

  Somehow, despite all that was going on, Sunshine still hadn’t relinquished the gun. She was trying to get a shot off. I did the only thing I could do. I bit her.

  “Ow,” she howled. “You bit me, you bitch.”

  My move had the desired effect. She’d dropped the gun. Unfortunately, it skittered across the floor at a high rate of speed and bounced off the wall – discharging as it did so.

  It took me a second to realize what happened, and then I realized that the bullet had hit the tank and there was a ball of fire engulfing the hallway.

  Two explosions in the same week. Could my luck get any worse?

  Twenty-Five

  The fireball that accompanied the exploding tank was impressive – but it was brief. Sadly, I was fairly certain it had singed my eyebrows off. How did I know? I’d accidentally done the same thing to myself when I lit a cigarette off the stove when I was a teenager. I remembered the feeling. It was kind of like a “poof” rolling over your face. I don’t recommend trying it yourself.

  When the dust had settled, I looked around the hallway. Little Tony and Cameron were trying to help Eliot, who had regained consciousness and was giving me a dirty look.

  Lexie was sitting on Sunshine’s chest, keeping her pinned to the ground. Given the fact that Sunshine was a foot taller than her, that was a pretty impressive feat.

  I managed to get to my knees and crawl over to Eliot. “Are you alright?”

  “I will be, once I get away from you.” He was gritting his teeth in pain.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What does ‘don’t leave the house’ mean to you?”

  “I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

  “Well, obviously it was.”

  “How did you find us?”

  “I was with Jake when I got the message you left on my phone. He told me where the apartment was. He’s on the way.”

  “Oh, well, that ought to go over well.”

  Eliot chuckled as he lowered himself back to the ground. “I have a feeling we’re going to wish we’d let Sunshine kill us when he gets here.”

  I had a feeling he was right.

  ΩΩΩ

  When I look back on the previous day’s events, I can’t decide what the worst part of the day was. Finding a dead body? Yeah, that sucked. Getting threatened by a gorgeous stripper/chemist? That sucked, too. Eliot getting shot? While frightening at the time, I was relieved to find out it wasn’t that serious of an injury and he’d be out of the hospital some time today.

  So what was the worst part? Burning off my eyebrows ranks up there. I think it was the look on Jake’s face when he came down the hallway that was truly terrifying, though. That fact that he actually had to restrain himself from shaking me wasn’t a good sign. He’d refused to talk to me while the other police officers that arrived on the scene questioned me.

  Then, when all the questions had been answered and all the cops were leaving the scene, he’d stormed off without saying a word to me. I hadn’t heard from him since. I could tell he was really mad at me. It wasn’t the first time and – thankfully – it wouldn’t be the last. I didn’t think he was too thrilled with Eliot either. I doubted Eliot cared.

  Right now, I was waiting outside of Eliot’s hospital room to pay him a visit. I’d drawn on my eyebrows. They looked kind of funky, but I didn’t have a lot of options. I took a deep breath and pushed my way into the room. To my surprise, Jake was sitting in a chair next to the bed and it was clear the two men had been having an intense conversation.

  I stopped short when I saw the two of them. “I can come back,” I offered lamely.

  “No, come in,” Jake’s voice was hard and his eyes were decidedly unfriendly. Before this was all said and done I’d have to apologize – and I hated admitting I was wrong.

  I smiled hesitantly at Eliot. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I need a vacation – from you.”

  Well, that was a little hurtful.

  “You’re more tiresome than liberating a third world country,” he added.

  I decided to take that as a compliment. Don’t ask me why.

  “You get out of here this afternoon, right?”

  “I’m just waiting for the paperwork right now.”

  “Why are you here?” I finally turned to Jake.

  “I was filling Eliot in on the case.” Jake refused to meet my gaze.

  I decided to tackle the problem head on. “Listen, I know you’re mad at me. But maybe we can just get over it.”

  Jake leaned back in the chair and finally regarded me. I saw him looking at my eyebrows dubiously. “Get over it? What should I get over? The fact that you stole evidence from a crime scene? The fact that you lied about seeing Sunshine that day at the warehouse? Or how about the fact that you left your house even though you were told not to? Which part would you like me to get over first?”

  “Hey, I made a judgment call.”

  “Yes, you did. And, as usual, your judgment is complete and total bullshit.”

  “Then take me to jail.”

  “You don’t think I’ve considered it?”

  I swallowed hard. I didn’t think I’d survive very long in jail before I became someone’s bitch.

  “You’re not going to jail. I took care of the situation.” Jake seemed mad at himself on that front more than me.

  Despite himself, Eliot smirked.

  “The only reason y
ou’re not going to jail is because I’d have to send Eliot there, too, and I think spending the last few days with you was punishment enough for his transgressions.”

  What, now these guys were friends?

  Feeling a little bit more relaxed; I sat down in the open chair on the other side of Eliot’s bed. “Well, that’s a relief.”

  “I bet.”

  All three of us lapsed into silence for a few minutes. Jake finally spoke again. “You don’t deserve any updates, but you should know that Sunshine is in custody and she’s admitted to everything.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “She’s cutting a deal. She’s going to testify against Kevin Walker Sr. Apparently he’s got a happening drug trade going on through that car lot.”

  “Well, that explains the thugs.”

  “He was running a chop shop, too.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. Did you arrest him?”

  “We got the thugs, but he skipped the country.”

  “Do you know where?”

  “Somewhere in Europe. We’re still looking for him.”

  “Do you think you’ll find him?”

  “Probably not. Either way, he won’t come back here.”

  “That’s good.”

  Everyone became silent again.

  “What about Lexie? Where is she?” Eliot finally asked.

  “I dropped her off at that rehab center out in Port Huron yesterday afternoon.”

  “Well, that’s a step in the right direction.” Eliot seemed surprised and relieved at the same time.

  “I hate to say it, but it was that nitrous tank exploding that did it. Why did they have that tank by the way?” I was still confused by that whole situation.

  “It’s laughing gas. They were going to get high.”

  “That sounds safe.”

  “Well, it saved your life.”

  “Are you regretting that?” I looked at Jake expectantly.

  “I haven’t decided yet.”

  “Are Cameron and Little Tony going to be in trouble?“ I couldn’t help myself, I still liked them.

  “Given the fact that they tried to help, we’re working at pleading them down to a misdemeanor. They should just get community service and probation.” Jake didn’t seem happy about that development either.

  “That’s good.”