Off the Record (An Avery Shaw Mystery Book 10)

by Amanda M. Lee

  I’d seen the autopsy results. Perhaps he wasn’t counting on that. “While the full toxicology isn’t in, there were no initial signs of drugs.”

  “That doesn’t mean she wasn’t selling them. I’ve read studies that suggest the most proficient sellers don’t sample their product. That’s how they stay on top.”

  My temper got the better of me. “So you think she was a drug dealer – with no evidence to prove that, by the way – and we should ignore what happened to her?”

  Aiken emphatically shook his head. “Absolutely not. I think we should definitely figure out what happened to her. But turning this into a racial thing isn’t the way to do that.”

  “Oh, really?” I didn’t bother to hide my scorn. “How do you think it should be done?”

  “Well, when I’m elected, the first thing I’m going to do is develop a crime task force to look into cleaning up certain areas in the county,” Aiken replied. “I think that’s a marvelous way to start.”

  This wasn’t the first task force I’d heard about from politicians who had no idea what they were talking about. I dismantled the last one – which just happened to be run by Tad – within a few weeks’ time. “Does Jake know you plan on taking a bite out of crime?”

  Aiken shifted his shoulders. “I … if you think I’m casting aspersions on our fine sheriff, you’re wrong.”

  “That wasn’t an answer to my question.”

  “I don’t believe I’ve discussed all of my plans with Sheriff Farrell,” Aiken said, his body stiffening as he stood. I had a feeling this conversation was almost over. It wasn’t soon enough for me. “I am my own man. I have my own beliefs, and I think a lot of the voters identify with those beliefs.”

  I scanned the district he was running in through my head. “You’re from a predominantly white district. Fancy that.”

  “I am not racist!”

  “I didn’t say you were.” I insinuated it, sure, but I never flat out said it. “I’m sure you’ll do what’s best for your constituents when you’re elected.”

  “Does that mean I have your support?”

  That was an odd question. “I don’t vote in your district.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  I knew exactly what he meant, but I wanted him to say it out loud. “I guess I’m not following you.”

  Aiken made an exasperated face, as if he couldn’t believe I was so stupid that he had to utter the words. “You’re a reporter. You have a lot of pull in certain circles.”

  “I don’t try to pull elections in any direction,” I pointed out. “I report on elections, but I don’t care who wins.”

  “You don’t seem to be a fan of Mr. Ludington.”

  “Oh, well, I hate him,” I admitted. “I want him to lose. There’s no doubt about that.”

  “But you just said you don’t care who wins.”

  “That’s not an election thing,” I clarified. “I always want Tad to lose. That’s a personal thing. Still, I don’t know anything about you. There’s a saying … the enemy you know. I know Tad. I also know how to bring him down. It’s not difficult.”

  “So you want him to be elected?”

  “Nope.”

  “That means you want me to be elected.”

  “I don’t know you,” I repeated. “I believe several other people have filed for that seat.” To be fair, I didn’t know them either. “I don’t care who wins. The voters will make the decision.”

  “And you won’t get involved?”

  I shook my head. “Not until the winner does something stupid and I get to report on it.” It wasn’t exactly a threat. It was, however, close enough to give me a giddy feeling.

  Aiken pursed his lips. “Your relationship with Sheriff Farrell could cause him problems down the line. You know that, don’t you? It has already caused him problems.”

  Oh, well, it looked as if I wasn’t the only one making veiled threats. “Jake does what he needs to do to keep the people of this county safe. That’s his job. I do what I need to do to keep the people of this county informed. That’s my job. The rest is inconsequential.”

  “Sheriff Farrell might not feel the same way.”

  “That’s a distinct possibility.” I grimaced when I noticed the man in question heading in our direction. He moved fast, seemingly with a purpose, his eyes pointed in our direction. “Here he comes now. We should ask him.”

  Aiken flinched at my observation, momentarily grimacing before adopting a smile. He offered Jake a hearty wave as soon as he collected himself. “There you are. I thought I’d lost you.”

  “I’m never far away,” Jake said, his eyes drifting to me. “I see you were getting to know Avery.”

  “Yes, she’s an absolute delight,” Aiken intoned.

  “I can think of a few more words for her.” Jake appeared relaxed, but I knew him better than most and recognized the act. “Speaking of Ms. Shaw, though, I was hoping to have a word with her.”

  Aiken brightened. “About the matter we discussed?”

  Jake nodded.

  “Oh, well then … .” Aiken shuffled in the direction of the carnival. “It was nice chatting with you, Ms. Shaw. I hope we can do it again.”

  “You can count on it.”

  I watched him go, dislike growing in leaps and bounds as he greeted random people with fake waves and smiles. I’d almost convinced myself to keep my observations to myself … and then Jake opened his mouth.

  “He seems to like you.”

  Yup. That did it. “He’s a big phony and I’m totally going to rip my way through his past to figure out what he’s hiding.”

  And just like that, the war was on.

  27

  Twenty-Seven

  “Excuse me?” Jake was incensed.

  “You heard me.” I wasn’t in the mood to back down. I’d lost track of Carly and Lexie twenty minutes earlier, but could hardly focus on that when Jake and I were about to throw down. “He’s a fake guy. He might also be racist.”

  “Oh, well here we go.” Jake rubbed his hands together. “I know you’re angry because of the comment I sent you yesterday. You wanted me to confirm that we were looking at race as a tie to the murders and I couldn’t do it. You don’t have to take that out on Dick.”

  “I have no interest in Dick for that reason. Wait … that came out wrong.”

  Jake’s eyes flashed with impatience. “I know what you meant.”

  “He talked about ‘those people’ on the other side of Gratiot,” I argued. “He said that Teyona was probably a drug dealer and that’s why she died.”

  Jake leaned back on his heels, surprised. “He did?”

  “He didn’t come right out and say anything overtly racist, but there’s clearly something there,” I replied. “He also suggested that I might be able to help his campaign.”

  “How?”

  “Well, we didn’t get into the nitty gritty,” I hedged.

  “Are you sure this isn’t another case of you overreacting?” Jake challenged. “Two years ago you were convinced that Judge Shepherd was a pervert because you saw him at the gym and he was staring at your boobs. Then, even when you found out he had a glass eye because of a childhood injury, you still maintained he was staring at your boobs to save face.”

  I vaguely remembered the incident in question. “That gym membership was a total waste of money. I went twice. They should have a mixed drink gym instead. You know, a place where you can sit and gossip instead of lift weights.”

  “They do. They’re called bars.”

  “Oh, good point.”

  Jake exhaled heavily. I could see him working overtime to control his temper. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you the comment you were looking for. I couldn’t do what you asked.”

  “You gave me the comment I expected.”

  Now it was Jake’s turn to be surprised. “I did?”

  “I knew you couldn’t confirm it because there would be an uproar,” I answered. “You did what you had
to do and I wrote the story I had to write.”

  “So … we’re okay?”

  “Actually, I thought maybe you’d be angry with me, but if you’re worried I’m angry with you that’s probably not the case.”

  “No, I guess not.” Jake scuffed his feet against the pavement and shoved his hands in his pockets. “So … um … how are things?”

  He always was terrible at making up. His discomfort was almost cute. I decided to cut him some slack, mostly because I wasn’t in the mood for another fight. “Eliot is being a crazy babysitter, and I lost Lexie and Carly.”

  “You’re here with Lexie and Carly?” Jake glanced over his shoulder. “I thought you were working.”

  “It’s Saturday.”

  “Since when do you take off Saturdays?”

  That was a good question. I used to work all of the time until … .

  “Eliot,” Jake supplied. “You take Saturdays off now because of Eliot. It’s good that he has you focused on things other than journalistic domination.”

  “He’s working today.” The irony didn’t escape me. “It’s a busy day because of the festival, and he had to work because I terrorized the chick who works for him to the point that she cried and suckered him into giving her the day off.”

  “That sounds pretty much your speed.” Jake flashed a genuine smile. “How is the new house?”

  “My mother snuck in and wants to paint the kitchen pink.”

  “That sounds painful.”

  “The women in the neighborhood want me to power walk with them.”

  “That sounds … unlikely.”

  I cracked a smile. “It’s a nice house and I’m excited to move,” I said after a beat. “I’m not excited about the moving process, but I think I’m going to like the house.”

  “I think you will, too.”

  “Eliot and I picked paint colors last night … and ordered new furniture this morning.”

  “That sounds domestic.”

  Two years ago that statement would’ve freaked me out. Now it sounded … nice. Good grief. How did that happen? “Is this what you want?” I asked, taking myself by surprise when I uttered the question. “Do you want to live in a house in the suburbs? Do you want a pool? A girlfriend to live with?”

  “Are you asking if I want the life Eliot has with you?”

  “I … maybe.”

  “I want that life for myself someday, but I don’t picture you at my side when I fantasize,” Jake explained. “I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings.”

  “It doesn’t hurt my feelings.” Okay, maybe a little.

  “I do picture you there on Sundays for barbecues, if that makes you feel better,” Jake added. “I picture Eliot there, too. We’ll talk about sports while you terrorize my wife with stories of our childhood and run away in panic when we have kids and someone tries to make you hold a baby.”

  He knew me too well. “When you picture this future, what does your wife look like?”

  “I don’t know. She doesn’t have a face.”

  “If you could get more specific I’d start searching for you,” I offered. “I think you should let me pick out your next girlfriend so we can be assured that I like her.”

  Jake’s laugh was low and full of genuine mirth. “I think I’ll pick her out myself, if you don’t mind, of course.”

  “Oh, but I do mind.”

  Jake took me by surprise when he stepped closer and pulled me in for a brief hug. We weren’t known for being touchy-feely these days, mostly because Cara hated it, and no matter what Eliot said, excessive physical contact made him uncomfortable. Despite my reservations, it was a surprisingly nice moment. “I’ll consider it.”

  He released me and took a step back, offering one of those guy “chin bob” things to someone behind me. I saw Eliot heading in our direction when I swiveled.

  “Great. He’s going to ask where Carly and Lexie are, and I have no idea. I’m totally going to get spanked.”

  “Do I even want to know?”

  I shook my head and adopted a huge smile. “Hi, honey!”

  Eliot scanned the immediate area. “Where are Lexie and Carly?”

  “They’re in the bathroom.”

  “She lost them,” Jake volunteered, causing me to scowl. “She says she’s going to get spanked for it. I don’t want to get involved – especially in the spanking because the entire thing freaks me out to think about – but she has a defense if you’re interested.”

  “You?”

  Jake shook his head. “She had a long conversation with Dick.”

  “Not in a dirty way,” I offered, earning a pronounced eye roll from Jake and a smirk from Eliot. “Dick Aiken stopped by. By the way, I’m pretty sure he’s a fake loser with racist tendencies.”

  “Oh good.” Eliot fingered the ends of my hair. “You haven’t had a good political nemesis in weeks. It might make you feel better to focus on Dick for a bit.”

  I pursed my lips to keep from laughing.

  “I heard it the minute I said it, so there’s no reason to comment,” Eliot ordered, shifting his eyes to Jake. “Did you two make up?”

  “You saw the hug, so you already know we did,” I pointed out.

  “I know, but I want to hear the details.”

  “There are no details,” Jake said. “We talked. We both agreed we have jobs to do. We’re fine.”

  “Jake is also going to let me pick his next girlfriend,” I added. “We’re going to have barbecues in the future, and I’m not holding any baby that woman births for him. We’ve got it all mapped out.”

  Eliot looked confused but unbothered by the revelation. “Sounds nice. On a different note, I have information for you, Trouble. That search you wanted me to run is done. There’s some interesting stuff.”

  Jake’s demeanor changed in an instant. “What information?”

  I stepped closer to Eliot and shooed Jake in the hope that he would back away. “It’s private. It’s for the house.”

  Jake crossed his arms over his chest, dubious. “Really?”

  “Fine. It’s boyfriend and girlfriend stuff. You know, it’s kinky.”

  “You’re a terrible liar,” Jake challenged.

  I’m a great liar when necessary. Now happened to be one of those times when it was unnecessary. “Total bummer.” I grabbed Eliot’s arm and dragged him toward the shop. “We’ll catch up later. You can draw me a sketch of this fantasy woman. I’ll start looking for her on Monday.”

  “Avery, if you get any information pertinent to this investigation, you need to share it with me,” Jake called out.

  “I totally know that.”

  “Oh, you’re not going to tell me.” Jake made a disgusted face. “Watch her, Eliot. Keep her out of trouble.”

  “I’m not a miracle worker,” Eliot said, his smile indicating he enjoyed the game. “I’ll do my best, though.”

  “WHAT DO you have?”

  I waited until Eliot and I were tucked away in his pawnshop to ask the obvious question.

  “First you need to tell me what that was about,” Eliot countered.

  “The date thing? I don’t really think Jake is going to let me pick his next girlfriend, but I’m going to try my best.”

  Eliot flicked my ear. “Not that. The making up thing. Did you apologize to him or did he apologize to you?”

  “Neither. Aiken was talking to me and Jake joined us. We both agreed we did what we had to do, and that was it. Then he hugged me, which was kind of weird, and that’s when you appeared.”

  “Well, I’m glad you made up.”

  “Did I mention Aiken is evil?”

  “Yes, and we’ll focus on that later.” Eliot opened the laptop and pointed at the screen. “I’ve got some information I think you’re really going to like.”

  “Bon Jovi is coming to the Palace of Auburn Hills this summer?”

  The corners of Eliot’s mouth tipped down. “Don’t push me.”

  I blew out a sigh. “Fine. What do
you have?”

  “So, I’m still looking for answers on the weird Jess Hamilton and Jess Davenport thing, but I did get results on Don Hamilton.”

  “And? Seriously, sometimes I think you’re picking up bad habits from Lexie. There’s no need for the dramatic pauses.”

  “You do it,” Eliot protested.

  “It’s cute when I do it.”

  “Hardly.” Eliot made a throat-clearing sound as he focused on the computer. “Anyway, Don Hamilton has a record.”

  “Like a shoplifting record or an absconding from law enforcement while on trial for murder record?”

  “Not quite either,” Eliot answered. “Don may have been running background checks on his employees, but it’s clear no one ran a background check on him. It didn’t even occur to me until I realized that he wasn’t on the employee list.

  “The majority of those names that we could track down, which is in no way a complete list, came up relatively clean,” he continued. “There are some petty larceny complaints and a few drunk and disorderlies here and there, but there’s nothing to indicate anyone is capable of murder.”

  “That doesn’t mean they’re innocent.”

  “No, but we have nothing to lead us to a guilty party,” Eliot said. “Don Hamilton is another story. Do you want to know about his history?”

  “Not if you’re going to drag it out like it’s Friday on General Hospital and the local mobster got another woman pregnant.”

  Eliot ignored the dig. He wouldn’t admit he enjoyed watching General Hospital with me for all of the slinky Underoos strip teases in the world. “I’m waiting for my apology.”

  “I love you more than life itself and will roll around naked in the crab leg butter sauce tonight if you share your wisdom.” That sounded dirty and gross … and possibly unhygienic. That’s always a great combination.

  “We’ll discuss details later.” Eliot hit a button on the computer and brought up a file. I recognized the man in the photograph. It looked to be about twenty years old, but it was clearly Don. He was just as round back then, although he had a lot more hair. “Don Hamilton was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder twenty years ago.”