“Who is it?” I asked, glancing up when I heard Eliot’s feet on the ceramic tile. Whatever snarky thing I was about to say evaporated when I registered Jake was our visitor. This couldn’t possibly be good. “Do you have a warrant?”
Jake frowned. “Why would you ask that?” He looked tired, as if he’d been up for hours, and there was a ghostly pallor to his face. “Have you done something I should be worried about?”
That was a loaded question. “Oh, any number of things.”
“So, business as usual.” He sat at the table and grabbed the coffee pot without asking, glancing around for a mug.
Eliot wordlessly padded to the cupboard to get one for him. I could tell Jake was on edge, but he didn’t say anything. Whatever was about to go down was Jake’s show. I didn’t want to tip our hand before we knew what hell was about to be dropped on us.
“I need alibis for you guys for last night,” Jake started as he poured the coffee, smoothly averting his gaze.
“What time?” Eliot acted unbothered by the statement but I could tell his temper was ratcheting up.
“Between nine last night and four this morning.”
My eyebrows drew together as I darted a quick look at Eliot. Jake’s demeanor suggested something very bad had happened. I wanted to turn on the television to figure out what it was, but that would be rude. I was fine with that, but Eliot was a stickler on manners ... most of the time.
“We were here,” Eliot replied.
“Doing what?”
“Watching television. Avery wanted to see her performance against Ludington on both the ten and eleven o’clock news.”
“Of course she did.” Jake rubbed his cheek. “Is there anybody who can corroborate that?”
“Just Rocky,” I answered.
Jake looked hopeful. “Who’s Rocky?”
As if on cue, the kitten decided to make his presence known. He climbed up Jake’s jeans and perched in his lap, cocking his head to the side as if to say “I’m here now. You can pet me ... and you’d better make it good.”
“That would be Rocky,” Eliot noted as he dunked a piece of toast in his egg yolk. “Why don’t you tell us what this is about? We can’t help you clear us — which is obviously what you’re trying to do — if we don’t know what it is we’ve been accused of.”
“I bet it’s Tad,” I muttered, annoyance bubbling up. “I bet he vandalized his own house and then accused us of doing it as payback. That would be just like him. Once he watched the news last night he was probably steaming mad.”
“This does have to do with Ludington,” Jake hedged. “The thing is ... he hasn’t accused you of anything. He can’t.”
I stilled. Jake’s tone was so grave I sensed real trouble. “What do you mean?”
“Sometime last night, Ludington was shot in his home. He took two slugs to the chest at point-blank range.”
I was dumbfounded. “What? He’s dead?” For some reason, the notion made me sad ... if only because I would have nobody to fight with going forward during the election.
Jake shook his head. “He’s in critical condition. The doctors won’t give me a prognosis. They’re taking him into surgery — he’s probably already there. They’ll know more if he manages to survive ... but that’s a big if.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. There were days I would’ve wished for this. Heck, I would’ve wished for it the previous day. Now, though, that it had actually happened ... .
“Avery is a suspect,” Eliot deduced. He’d essentially abandoned his breakfast. “That’s why you’re here asking about alibis. Do you really think she broke into his house and shot him twice in the chest?”
Jake held up his hands in a placating manner. “Why do you think I’m here instead of a deputy? I know she didn’t do it. That doesn’t mean I can ignore what went down last night. Everyone in three counties saw that footage. Once word spreads of the attack, what do you think is going to happen? Avery’s face is going to be flashed on every news broadcast in the state.”
“Well ... crap.” I rubbed my forehead. “This isn’t good.”
“Oh, you think?” Anger flashed across Jake’s face. “Your antics yesterday have painted a target on your back. In a few hours, reporters are going to come swarming for you.”
Huh. I hadn’t actually put that together. “I didn’t shoot him.”
“I know you didn’t.” Jake growled. “That’s not your style. You don’t want him dead, because then you’ll have no one to torture.”
“There are plenty of people to torture,” I argued. “I have a list. He’s definitely at the top of it, though. That’s how I get my cardio. I make him freak out and then run when he chases me.”
“Well, that’s coming back to bite you now.” Jake looked morose. “You’re not the only one. Eliot is a suspect, too.”
I froze, the news serving as a knife to the chest. “What? Why? I’m the one who baited Tad.”
“And Eliot stepped in and grabbed him by the throat when he went after you,” Jake said. “It wasn’t shown on the news last night because the other reporters were happy to go after Ludington and leave Eliot out of it. But now that Ludington is a sympathetic figure ... .”
Something occurred to me. “Crap on a cracker! He’s going to be a martyr.” I turned to Eliot. “I told you last night the only thing that could save this election for Tad was him being turned into a martyr. Now look what happened.”
Jake’s jaw dropped. “That’s what you’re worried about? This is so much bigger than an election, Avery. I mean ... what the hell? You can’t say things like that in front of an investigator.”
“I’m not saying things like that in front of an investigator. I’m saying them in front of Eliot. As far as I’m concerned, you’re temporarily deaf right now.”
Jake shook his head. “Why must you be so much work?”
“Because I’m good at it.”
“What do you want from us?” Eliot challenged, shoving his plate away. “I mean ... what is it that you want us to do?”
“I want you to be prepared. That’s the reason I came. Going forward ... I can’t be seen with you.”
Reality smacked me across the face. “You think we’re going to be arrested.”
He fervently shook his head. “I think that’s doubtful. But I cannot open myself to public suspicion on this. Everyone knows I give you special treatment. If Ludington dies ... .”
“It doesn’t matter if he dies.” Eliot moved his hand to the back of my neck and rubbed at the tension there. I could practically hear the gears in his mind working. “We’re going to be in a load of trouble regardless.”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m here. I wanted to tell you what was happening. In about thirty minutes, one of my detectives — not Derrick — will show up to officially question you. I can’t be the one to conduct the interview. You guys need to be cohesive on your story.”
I looked toward Eliot, confused. “We need an attorney.”
“No.” Jake waved his hand. “Don’t lawyer up. That will only make you appear guilty.”
“I don’t really care about that,” Eliot countered. “My priority is keeping Avery safe and out of jail. That means an attorney. We’ll need a good one ... or two.” His eyes were conflicted as they locked with mine. “Maybe we shouldn’t have the same attorney. Do you know anyone good who would be willing to take you on? I have Brian Gallagher. He’s a client and he could handle my case. It might be better if you have someone separate.”
“No.” Jake slapped his hands on the table. “You will make things worse if you lawyer up. Don’t you see that?”
“From your perspective, that might be true,” I countered, “but from our perspective ... .” I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead. “Trudy Bishop. She likes me. She thinks I’m funny. More importantly, she once told me that she liked how I went after both sides with dogged determination. She should be willing to take me on.”
“That’s good.” Eliot looked relieve
d. “She’s one of the top defense attorneys in the state.”
“She’s considered a pitbull in law enforcement circles,” Jake argued. “She takes on the worst of the worst.”
“And she gets some of them off,” I pointed out. “If Tad dies, we could be charged with murder. I want a tenacious bitch taking on my case in that instance. Although ... .” I trailed off, uncertain.
“What?” Eliot prodded.
“She’s going to be expensive. I make forty-five grand a year. There’s no way I can afford her.”
“Don’t worry about that.” He was adamant. “I’ll handle the retainer. Just call her.”
I hesitated. “I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that.”
This time Eliot’s anger was focused on me. “You listen here, Avery, I’m not going to sit back and watch you get railroaded for something you didn’t do. You have to get over this money thing. I have enough money for both of us, and I’m not letting you go the prideful route. Call her.”
“Rawr.” I made a cat noise, which caused Rocky’s ears to twitch. He almost looked amused.
Eliot’s lips curved, but the mirth didn’t make it all the way to his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just can’t lose you. We need to play this smart.”
Jake slowly pushed himself to a standing position. “You’re playing this wrong.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Eliot challenged. “It’s not the woman you love looking at life behind bars. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her. I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but that’s the way it is.”
“You’re wrong.” Jake looked worn down. “I love her, too. Not the same way you love her, but she’s been in my life for as long as I can remember. If you think I want her in jail, you’re crazy.”
“Yes, but you’re looking at this from a law enforcement perspective,” Eliot argued. “In your good-guy mind, the innocent are never wrongfully convicted. Avery has so many strikes against her where Ludington is concerned. A lot of them were caught on camera. She’s going to be all over the place. I can’t risk something happening to her.”
Jake opened his mouth, probably to argue, but ultimately changed his mind. “Do what you have to do. I know you’ll die for her. You’ve proven that over and over again. Just ... keep in mind that there’s a real potential murderer out there. Obviously this was timed to make Avery look like the bad guy. If she lawyers up and it looks like she won’t be the focal point of the investigation, somebody could come after her.”
“Somebody is always coming after her,” Eliot countered. “I’ll keep her safe. I just ... can’t let her be railroaded. I’m sorry if that’s difficult for you, but I won’t let her remain vulnerable.”
Jake dragged a hand through his hair and looked at the clock. “I’m sorry I can’t be more help to you. If things don’t look as if they’re running by the book, because of Ludington’s infamy the state could step in and take over the investigation. That’s the last thing we want.”
“I agree.” Eliot extended his hand. “Thank you for warning us. I’ll take it from here.”
Jake shook his hand and then slid his eyes to me. “For the love of all that’s holy, don’t go poking your nose into this investigation. That will only make matters worse ... and you can’t afford that.”
We both knew that was a promise I couldn’t make. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve been in worse situations than this.”
“Sadly, that is so true.”
5 Five
I got Trudy’s voicemail and left a message. When it came time to dress for work I wasn’t feeling it, so I grabbed the first offensive shirt I could find and paired it with my new tie-dyed Converse. Eliot was already dressed and in the living room when I joined him.
“Did you get in touch with your guy?”
He nodded. “I’m meeting with him later. You and I need to talk before that happens.”
His tone told me I wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “Listen ... .”
“No, you listen.” He cut me off by wagging his finger. “You’re the most important person in the world to me. Jake came here to warn us because this is serious. You’re important to him, too, but his hands are tied. That means you have to listen to me for a change.”
That sounded like the exact opposite of what I wanted to do. “We didn’t do it,” I reminded him. “We’re innocent.”
“That won’t matter if the detective in charge decides that you’re guilty. It’ll be worse if the state police decide to get involved. They already hate you. Quite frankly, I’m fairly certain most of the sheriff’s department hates you, too. If Jake is smart — which he is — he selected someone who isn’t a member of your fan club to conduct the investigation.”
“I don’t think as many people hate me as you seem to think. I’m actually a popular girl. I have a winning personality and people love me.”
“You’re right. The people who love you are numerous. They’re evenly matched by the people who hate you, though. There is no middle ground where you’re concerned. People either love or hate you. Nobody ‘sort of’ likes you.” He used the appropriate air quotes.
“I don’t know. I think Fish ‘sort of’ likes me. That blows your theory out of the water.” Fred Fish, my editor, spent more time sighing and shaking his head than telling me I’d done a good job. Still, he often took my side, which was more important than the accolades.
“Fish loves you,” Eliot countered. “He might not always show it because, like me, he realizes that you tend to get a big head if you feel you can run roughshod over people. But he loves you.”
That didn’t seem likely. “Last week he made me cover synchronized senior swimming.”
“That’s because you spent two hundred bucks on Freedom of Information requests looking into Ludington’s finances even though he told you not to. That was a punishment. Occasionally, you need to be punished.”
“That sounds dirty.”
A ghost of a smile flitted around his lips. “Maybe we’ll play that game later. For now, you need to follow the rules I set forth. That means you don’t answer questions from the deputy. Refer all questions to your lawyer.”
I glanced at the front door. “Jake said his detective was on the way.”
“And that’s why we’re leaving right now. We’re not going to help him.” He held out his hand and led me toward the garage. “Please tell me you agree not to answer questions from any law enforcement representative without either me or your lawyer present.”
He was so earnest I could do nothing but nod. “Okay, but I can’t keep my nose out of this story. You know that, right? I have to dig. I can’t just let this go.”
“I know that.” He was resigned. “Before you do anything, I want you to ask yourself if I would approve of what you’re doing.”
My mouth dropped in outrage. “If I do that I won’t have any fun.”
He chuckled. “Just think before you act.” He stopped in front of my car and gave me a quick kiss. “We’ll be okay. There’s still a chance Ludington won’t die.”
“How does that help us?” I made a face. “He’s bitter enough to name us the second he comes out of it whether we did it or not.”
“That’s true. He’s also the type who seeks vengeance. If he has an enemy angry enough to kill him, you’ll take a backseat. You might be annoying, but you’ve never physically threatened him.”
I would need more than both hands to list the times I’d physically threatened Tad, but I opted to let it go. “I need to check in with Fish and see how he wants me to handle this. I’ll text you when I know what’s going on.”
“That would be a welcome change of pace.”
THE NEWSROOM BUZZED WITH ACTIVITY. I could hear the other reporters talking excitedly as I cut through the conference room that served as a shortcut between the main hallway and our department. The topic of conversation? Yours truly.
“She won’t be able to get out of this one,” Barney Napoleon, the religion reporter, said gleefully
. I couldn’t see him, but I could imagine him rubbing his hands together. “She’s actually going to have to face the music this time.”
“I don’t know.” The court reporter, James Carlson, sounded more dubious. “She’s a pain in the behind, but she’s not a murderer. She would rather annoy someone than kill them. That’s what gets her off.”
“Yes, but Ludington has been a thorn in her side so long that it was only a matter of time,” Ned Gardner volunteered. He was the Warren beat reporter. I usually liked him. Today, not so much. “Obviously she lost her mind after what he tried to pull last night. Can’t say I really blame her. I saw the packet he was circulating and it was nonsense.”
“Yeah, but it was expressly aimed at her,” Duncan Marlow, the office tool, responded. I should’ve known he’d be in the thick of this conversation. “She pushed him too far because she’s the worst person in the world and he finally retaliated. It was only a matter of time before he snapped ... and now she’s snapped in return.
“I feel sorry for her,” he continued, faux concern pasted on his face. “She clearly lost her head and killed him in a fit of rage. That won’t matter when she goes to prison, but it should be taken into account when she’s sentenced. Maybe she’ll get lucky and only get twenty years instead of life.”
Oh, well, I’d heard enough of this. “Yes, that would be a relief, wouldn’t it?” I drawled as I made my presence known.
The other reporters had the grace to look abashed. They obviously didn’t mind gossiping about me. They did not, however, want to be caught doing it. Ned swallowed hard and immediately slid into his cubicle to hide. James and Barney scattered toward their side of the aisle so they could pretend to be working. Duncan, however, preened when he realized I’d overheard the conversation.
“Good morning, Avery.” He looked far too happy. “I was sorry to hear about your trouble last night. How are you holding up?”
“I think I’ll survive.” I shot him a dirty look before trying to slide around him. “If you’ll excuse me, Duncan, I need to talk to Fish.”
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