“Do you think they really believe you did it?”
I shrugged. “I can’t say either way. I didn’t, for the record. I’m not sure if you have doubts about that, but I wouldn’t shoot him.”
“I know.”
“There have been times when I’ve considered running him over with my car, but only to maim.”
She laughed. “Join the club.”
Her response made me laugh. Then I sobered. “Do you have any idea who did hate him enough to do this?”
“I don’t. I’ve been out of the loop for months now when it comes to the things he’s doing. We only talk about the children. Even those conversations are few and far between. It’s as if ... well, it’s as if he blames the children for me wanting to end the marriage. It’s not fair, but I’m not sure what to do about it.”
“I don’t know that you can do anything about it. If he’s not interested in being in his children’s lives you can’t force him. The kids will pick up on that. They might develop complexes or something. I think all you can worry about is your relationship with them. Tad’s relationship ... well ... that’s his problem.”
“You sound like my father.”
“Your father isn’t one of my favorite people these days.”
“I know.” She looked sad. “He feels bad about what happened. He doesn’t believe you’re guilty, but he had no choice, especially with that woman riling people up about you. I don’t even know her. Why is she so gung-ho to drag you down?”
“That’s a very long story. She has ulterior motives that revolve around Eliot. Suffice it to say she used to work for him, had a bit of a crush, and isn’t taking it well now that he fired her.” I chewed my bottom lip as I debated how much I should tell her. I figured we were putting all our cards on the table. “It’s come to my attention that maybe — I don’t have direct proof, but there is something that leads me to believe this is true — but maybe Tad and Fawn were involved.” I cringed as I waited for her response.
“That wouldn’t surprise me.” She was blasé. “Tad fought it when I first brought up divorcing, but I could see there was a bit of relief mixed in there. He was no happier than I was. The difference was I wanted to better myself. He wanted freedom to be ... what he always pictured himself to be.”
I was intrigued. “And what was that?”
“He always wanted to be one of those politicians like JFK or even Bill Clinton, the guys who had the affairs and looked like swaggering sex machines on television. He would never admit it, but it was always there, right below the surface.”
That made sense. It also fit his persona. “So, you don’t know if he really was sleeping with Fawn?”
“No, but like I said, it wouldn’t surprise me even a little. She’s young and attractive and that’s all he cares about. As for her ... well ... it sounds like she has her own set of issues.”
“She definitely does.” I considered asking her about the blackmail files, but ultimately opted not to. If she mentioned to her father what sort of questions I was asking it might not go over well. I figured it was best to let it go. “Just for the record, I’m glad you got away.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry this is happening to you. I won’t say I always agree with the things you’ve done to him over the years. But I know you’re not the sort of person who would attack him that way, with a gun and an intent to end his life.”
“I appreciate it.”
She moved to stand, but I stopped her before she could walk away.
“Just another quick question. You said you’ve been in to see him. Did he tell you who shot him?”
She shook her head. “He’s completely out of it. He’s on pain meds. When they try to walk them back he’s a total baby about it. Basically he’s in la-la land right now. I’ve refused to let the kids see him that way. He tried to say something to me when I was in there, but it came out gibberish.”
“Which is why Jacobs is still in a holding pattern,” I mused. “He wants to take me in, but if Tad starts screaming that someone else tried to kill him, that will ruin Jacobs’ perfect record.”
Maria’s face was blank. “I don’t know what that means.”
“It doesn’t matter. I was mostly talking to myself. As for Tad, I hope he recovers quickly for the sake of your children. As for the rest ... I wish you good luck.”
“Thank you. I’m glad we got to clear the air.”
“Me, too.”
ELIOT WAS GRUMPY WHEN I BREEZED into his shop with the coffee and doughnuts.
“What took you so long?”
“I love you too,” I shot back as I plopped the pastry box onto the counter in front of Mario.
My cousin let loose a war whoop and immediately dove in. “Now this is what I’m talking about.”
“I got your wimpy vanilla latte, too.” I shoved it in his direction. “Twice the amount of normal sugar, exactly the way you like it, right?”
“Um ... this is totally awesome.”
“The last thing you need is more sugar,” Eliot groused. Somehow his mood had completely gone down the toilet in my absence.
“What’s wrong with you?” I planted my hands on my hips and stared him down. “You were fine a few minutes ago and now you’re all growly. I don’t get it.”
“I’m not growly.”
“He thought you went down to the rally to poke at the people there,” Mario volunteered as he double-fisted a pair of bear claws. “He was going on and on about how you cut him out of the action. He’s like a whiny woman sometimes.”
“I see.” I fixed Eliot with a dark look. “I didn’t abandon you to go on an adventure. I ran into Maria Ludington and we had a little talk.”
Eliot was surprised. “Really? She didn’t accuse you of shooting Ludington, did she?”
“No. She said Jacobs has been sniffing around her, but apparently not to the same degree he’s been going after me.”
“I would think that unlikely,” Eliot agreed. “He has to look like he did his due diligence, if only by the skin of his teeth.”
“That’s my take on things. I asked her if she thought it was out of the realm of possibility for Tad to be sleeping with Fawn. She said it was possible. She also said he liked all those politicians who got caught in sex scandals. He somehow thought that was neat, though I’m still trying to figure that out.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Eliot’s earlier annoyance seemed to be gone now that he knew I hadn’t abandoned him to make things worse. “That’s exactly the sort of politician he strikes me as.”
“Yeah, well ... she didn’t have much to say. Tad is out of it, but incoherent. That’s about it.”
“Well, while you were gone, I discovered something in this file from Ingalls’ office.” Eliot held it up for emphasis. “I think you’re really going to like what I tracked down.”
“Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?”
“I’m going to tell you, but first things first. I want your promise that you’ll include me in whatever you do going forward. Given everything that’s happened, that’s only fair. I want your word on it.”
Well, at least he was deliberate. “I promise. I was never going anywhere without you anyway, not this go-around.”
“I know.” He was sheepish. “That was me having a bad moment. I apologize.”
“It’s fine.” I moved closer to the counter. “What have you got?”
“There’s a notation in this file. The entry on Garvey. It says she used to go by another name: Leona Lewis.”
I frowned. “Okay. Is it possible Garvey is her married name? I’ve met her husband. He seems nice enough.”
“Garvey is her married name. Before that, she was Leona Sharpton. She changed her name from Lewis because fifteen years ago she was a teacher in the Utica Community Schools district and ... well ... she had sex with one of her students.”
And there it was. “How did she manage to run for public office without that coming out?”
“I d
on’t know, but I think it’s fair to say that Tad was going to blackmail her with that information.”
“And that would be reason enough to want to shoot him,” I mused. “Well ... crap. I always got a good vibe from her.”
“We’re going to have to talk to her.”
“Yeah.”
“Also, you realize that even if she’s not guilty of shooting Ludington, the sex-with-her-student information will come out and she’ll lose the election no matter what. Tad will essentially win by default.”
I’d already put that together myself. “Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, okay? Let’s talk to her first.”
“Sounds like a plan ... after I have a few doughnuts.” He moved toward the box Mario guarded like a rabid watchdog. “Don’t make me fight you for those long johns, man. You know I can take you.”
“I want my doughnuts, too.” I moved to join the fray. “If I’m going to accuse a woman of being a skeevy pervert I need some sugar fueling me.”
“I’m right there with you,” Eliot lamented.
23 Twenty-Three
Eliot insisted on accompanying me to visit Leona rather than wait in his truck. I felt he was cramping my style.
“I don’t want to hear a word of complaint,” he admonished as we left his shop and headed for the courthouse area. “We’re a team. You agreed.”
That was true. Unfortunately for both of us, I was starting to chafe under the constant supervision.
“You know that when I get my job back — I mean if ... if I get my job back — that we’re going back to the old way of doing things, right? I’m going to do whatever I want whenever I want.”
Rather than picking a fight, he smirked. “I’m looking forward to that.”
“Why do I doubt that?”
“Probably because you’re an untrusting soul.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I kept my eyes on him as we walked. “Are you really not going to give me trouble for wanting to go back to our old ways in a few days?”
“You seem surprised.” He narrowed his eyes as we approached the throng in front of the courthouse. Fawn was in the center, churning the emotions. He didn’t seem happy to see her. In fact, he was downright agitated by the sight of her.
“I don’t know that ‘surprised’ is the right word,” I hedged. “It’s just ... you’ve been on me to stick close to you. I thought maybe you were going to put up a fight later if I wanted to spy on someone alone.”
“I don’t want to cramp your style, Avery.” He was matter-of-fact. “One of my favorite things about you is that you can entertain yourself. I want to stick close to you for the remainder of this one for a very specific reason.”
“Because you think I’m going to end up in jail if you don’t?”
“Okay, two very specific reasons.” He flashed a genuine smile. “I don’t want you in jail. That’s a given. I also need you to be careful. You’re so fixated on going to jail that you forget that there’s a killer out there. Tad might not have died, but Ingalls did, and while nobody else has put that together, we know the two cases are connected.”
He had a point ... and I was loath to admit it. “So, you’re saying that you want to act as my bodyguard.”
“There’s little I love more than guarding your body.” He shot me a flirty smile. “I want to keep you safe. I have plans for you — long-term plans — and I don’t want you ruining things by getting hurt ... or worse.”
That made two of us. “Do you think I want to get myself killed?”
“I want to make sure it doesn’t happen. Besides, working together hasn’t been all bad, has it? We’ve had a few laughs.”
“I did get turned on watching you break the law.”
“See.” He extended a finger and grinned. “You’ve had fun. As for how long I’m going to be on you, the simple answer is that I’m here for the duration. Until this one is over, you’re stuck with me.”
Even though the notion of having a babysitter chafed, he’d been fairly handy. I’d had worse offers. “I guess I can handle that.”
He smirked and grabbed the front of my shirt, hauling me up for a playful kiss. “I knew you would see things my way.”
I sank into the kiss even though I wasn’t big on public displays of affection. I was so lost in the exchange I didn’t notice a shadow moving upon us until it was too late.
“Well, well, well,” a female voice drawled, disdain dripping from Fawn’s tongue as we separated to acknowledge her. “I’m glad to see this whole ‘shooting a beloved politician’ thing isn’t getting in the way of your romance.”
I found her response amusing. Eliot? Not so much. He immediately went on the offensive. It was as if he’d been waiting for the opportunity.
“Nothing gets in the way of our romance,” he sneered, slinging an arm over my shoulders and firmly anchoring me to his side. “She’s so cute I just can’t keep my hands off of her.”
He was obviously trying to get her to react. Unlike previous instances, though, she’d clearly learned her lesson. She remained calm — and smug. “You should probably enjoy what time you have, because once Avery goes to jail your romantic interludes will be limited to conjugal visits.”
“Avery isn’t going to jail,” Eliot snapped. “The police have searched our house and found nothing. She’s innocent and will be vindicated.” He glanced around to see if anybody was listening. When he was certain it was just the three of us, he leaned closer. “And when that happens, we’re going to focus on the person who slandered her all over town by calling her a killer on every broadcast. We’re looking forward to that, too.”
Fawn didn’t overtly react but I didn’t miss the way she swallowed hard. “I haven’t said anything that’s not true,” she said. “She is a suspect. State police have confirmed that for me.”
“We have specific plans for you once this is finished,” Eliot seethed, causing me to cast him a sidelong look. He sounded like me. I didn’t hate that he was being so aggressive. It’s just ... there can be only one bad cop when running a specific routine. I was always bad cop. Being good cop was boring.
Fawn looked whiter than normal as she studied Eliot’s face. “I think you’re misunderstanding my part in this,” she argued, finding her backbone even as she continued to whiten. Her discomfort with Eliot’s rage was palpable. He was doing such a good job unnerving her that I was comfortable sitting back and watching.
“I’m not misunderstanding anything,” Eliot hissed. “You’ve been nothing short of transparent since this entire thing started. Blaming Avery for what happened to Ludington was slimy and wrong. I don’t appreciate you threatening her.”
“I’ve hardly threatened her,” Fawn shot back. “She threatened Tad. He’s a good man and she’s been torturing him for years.”
“He’s a weasel and I don’t feel sorry for him.” Eliot refused to back down. It was as if now that he’d gotten his chance to start railing on her he couldn’t stop. That was also something I would do. “I didn’t want him shot or anything, but everything else he’s ever done to her deserved payback. You’re pointing the finger at her because you’re upset about me firing you.”
Fawn’s eyes burned hot. “I was a good worker. You fired me without cause.”
“Without cause? You verbally attacked my girlfriend whenever she entered the shop.”
“Well, then maybe she shouldn’t have been in the shop. Did you ever consider that? Probably not. You’re so infatuated with her it’s a little sickening. There are times I’ve actually wondered if she’s a witch who cast a spell on you.”
I brightened at the possibility. “Now that would be fun.”
Eliot shot me a look but didn’t admonish me. He was too busy taking advantage of the opportunity to argue with Fawn. That worked out well for me, because at the back of the crowd, toward the courthouse’s main entrance, I found the person I was seeking. Leona stood with her back to the glass wall, watching as more and more people joined the rally.
&n
bsp; “Leona is by the door,” I said to Eliot when he paused long enough to take a breath. “I’m going to talk to her.” I pointed so he would know where I was going and not put up a fuss. “I don’t want to interrupt you when you’re just getting to the good part, but I also need to talk to her before she disappears.”
Eliot hesitated and then nodded. “Don’t leave this area,” he warned. “I don’t want to have to go looking for you.”
“I have no intention of leaving, but you should probably brace yourself for a big fight about how bossy you are when this is all over.”
That was enough to elicit a small smile. “Bring it on.”
I took a moment to glance between him and Fawn before shuffling around her. I stopped at her side long enough to offer a word of warning. “I wouldn’t push him.” I kept my voice low. “He’s pretty much at his limit and he absolutely hates you.”
Fawn’s eyes flashed with malice. “He only hates me because you’ve poisoned him against me. You caused all of this.”
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. You might want to take some personal responsibility. Just a suggestion.” I left her to argue with Eliot and cut through the crowd. None of the gathered faces as much as looked in my direction, which told me they were there for the photo op rather than the fact that they actually cared about Tad’s well-being.
Leona was focused on the crowd and didn’t notice me approaching until I was on top of her.
“Oh, well, hello.” She let loose a nervous laugh as she looked me up and down. “You’re a brave woman showing your face here.”
“Not really,” I countered. “Most of these people don’t even know who Tad is let alone what went down between us. They don’t care. They’re here to say they joined something and possibly to get on television.”
Leona’s eyes widened. “You’re very good at reading a crowd.”
“I am,” I agreed. What? There’s no sense being good at something if you don’t own it. I was definitely good at reading people — and Leona was a bundle of nerves. I decided to get right to the heart of matters. “How long was Tad blackmailing you?”
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