“Let me do the talking,” Jake instructed. He was the first to recover, so that was probably a wise choice.
“The code word if it’s time to panic is Starship Enterprise,” I offered.
Jake pinned me with a look of annoyance. “This is exactly why I’m doing the talking.” He turned to Jacobs. “This probably looks bad,” he started.
“Oh, you have no idea how this looks. I’ll have your badge over this.”
That was enough. “If anyone loses their badge here, it’s you.”
“Avery.” Eliot’s voice was low and full of warning. “Shut your mouth.”
Unfortunately, that was something I simply couldn’t do now that I’d started. “Tad Ludington had a blackmail file on your sister. When we mentioned it to her, she invited us into her house ... and then ran. I’m fairly certain you knew about this file, because it was out in the open in Tad’s office and you took over the investigation. So, I think the question is, what exactly are you hiding?”
“Oh, geez,” Eliot and Jake said at the same time.
Jacobs’ eyes never left mine. “How is it that you know what files Tad Ludington had in his home?”
Crap. I really am a moron sometimes. I decided to pretend I didn’t hear the question. He would ask it again, but I would simply deflect until he gave up. It was a tried and true tactic ... and I was good at it. “Don’t you think it’s a conflict of interest for you to be investigating a case that your sister should be a suspect in?”
“How do you know about those files?” he pressed.
“Do your superiors know that your sister should be a suspect? Do they know that you’re fixated on me so that you can protect your sister?”
“How do you know about those files?” he gritted out.
“Is that why you’re focused on me? You think your sister did it. I bet you’re part of the frame job. That’s it, isn’t it?”
He slowly shook his head. “You know what? I’m not playing this. I think it’s finally time I took you into custody. You’re going to answer questions whether you like it or not.”
Jake extended a hand in front of me this time. “You’re not taking her.”
“Oh, no? How are you going to stop me?”
“With one call to the director,” Jake replied. “I have his personal cell phone number. I think he’ll be fascinated to learn the latest development in this case.”
“A case that isn’t yours because of your ties to one of the suspects,” Jacobs exploded.
“My ties to Avery are more tenuous than your ties to your sister,” Jake argued. “You’re not taking her in. In fact, you’re off this case.”
“You don’t have the authority to remove me from this case.”
“Watch me.” Jake looked to Eliot. “Take her home. Don’t go anywhere else. Do you understand?”
I opened my mouth to argue — I wanted takeout because we had nothing good to eat at home — but Eliot slapped his hand over my mouth and nodded.
“I’ll be in touch,” Jake added.
“Okay.” Eliot kept his hand over my mouth as he navigated us toward the door, not removing it until we were almost there.
“This is kind of like Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” I noted once free of his grip. “Everyone on the Enterprise gets turned into the enemy except for Bones, Kirk, and Spock. That’s who we are now.”
He grimaced and remained silent as Jacobs glowered at us.
“I’m totally Kirk, by the way.”
“I’m going to kill you when we get home,” Eliot muttered. “You always have to have the last word.”
“Yeah. I’m good like that.”
26 Twenty-Six
Eliot picked up pizza on the way home. He picked up wings, breadsticks, a giant cookie, and fried mushrooms, too.
We trudged into the house, dumped the food on the coffee table, and proceeded to eat without saying a word.
I was feeling numb, and there really wasn’t much to say.
Thirty minutes into gorging ourselves, Jake let himself into the house and flopped down on the couch next to me. He looked exhausted. He immediately reached for pizza without asking and methodically chewed as he stared at the television.
“I think he’s broken,” I said to Eliot. “Either that or he’s fueling up before he kills me.”
Eliot smirked and handed me a wing, which Jake stole and shoved into his mouth. “That was for her,” he said. “There are plenty more if you want them.”
Jake chewed for a few seconds more and then swallowed. “I don’t think she deserves any wings after what she pulled with Jacobs.”
And there it was. Jake was finally ready to lose his mind and possibly kill me for sticking my nose in police business. I always knew this day would come, but I didn’t think he would be ballsy enough to go after me in front of Eliot.
“Listen, I know you’re upset, but she has a right to protect herself,” Eliot argued. “Jacobs was making life miserable for her. We had to do something.”
“We, huh?” Jake cocked a challenging eyebrow. “See, that’s the part that really bothers me. Usually she’s the one flying off the handle and you’re reining her in. This time you helped her break into businesses ... and homes ... and I’m sure there were other sordid things you didn’t bring up. It turns out that she’s been a bad influence on you, not the other way around.”
Eliot remained calm, but I could see the muscle in his jaw working. “I’m not sorry we did any of those things. I’ll protect her any way I can. If she hadn’t broken into Ludington’s house we wouldn’t know about Jacobs’ sister being on the blackmail list.”
“He denies that, by the way. He said Avery is making that up.”
I used one of the rough paper napkins to wipe the corners of my mouth. “I saw it. Her name stuck out because ... Trowbridge. I didn’t think it was important, and I was on a timetable. I should’ve screenshotted it like I did the others.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “You screenshotted the other files?”
“Most of them. I was interested in a lot of the names. I knew he didn’t have anything good on you. All that was in there were questions about how you were raising so much for your campaign while he was struggling.”
“I have a lot of donors who are interested in law and order,” Jake shot back.
I stared at him for a moment, conflicted. Eliot spoke before I got a chance.
“She didn’t say she questioned how you got the donations,” he said evenly. “She just said Tad was questioning it. Before you get worked up, he had a file on me, too.”
I bobbed my head. “He was trying to get leverage to force Eliot to dump me. All he had on him were questions regarding the sale of guns in his shop, but I know from personal experience that Eliot does everything on the up-and-up. He didn’t allow Fawn to sell weapons, so there’s no chance of that coming back to bite him. Half the people in those files had very little for Tad to work with.”
“What makes you think the sister is any different?” Jake asked. “If half the files were useless, why are you so certain she falls under a different category?”
That was a fair question. “Some of the names are wishful thinking. That’s where you and Eliot fall. Some of the others ... well, he had personal knowledge of quite a few of them because of his first term on the county board.
“Pete Barton, Don Bridges, and Craig Madison were in there,” I continued. “Tad was tight with all of them during his tenure. They were all like-minded individuals who spent a lot of time together. Their files had information that Tad knew about because he was just as guilty as they were.
“Like, there was this thing about that county park where there was forty grand missing from the development fund,” I continued. “They worked on that park together.”
Jake stirred. “But how would he use that information against them if he was just as guilty?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he thought he could use the incident as a jumping off point. It’s hard to say. I was just
using it as an example. The wish-fulfillment aspect was for the bigger names, like you and the county treasurer ... and he clearly was hoping for dirt on the new clerk but came up empty.”
Jake leaned back on the couch and regarded me with unreadable eyes. “What did he have on you?”
“Don’t you know? I assumed you were in his house and looked at the files before the investigation was taken from you.”
“We didn’t get that far. Jacobs was too fast. We didn’t get as far as the files. I’m assuming Ludington had them hidden.”
I thought about where I found them. “They were on top of the desk in his office.”
Jake was pensive. “When were you in there?”
I glanced at Eliot and found an unreadable face staring back. “Um ... live long and prosper.” I held up my hand and did the Vulcan salute, which was enough to garner a smile from my boyfriend and a scowl from my ex.
“She was in there early,” Eliot volunteered, ignoring the way I waved my hands and shook my head. “He won’t arrest you, Avery. That’s not his style. She was there right before Jacobs entered the house. She fled through the back door as he was coming in the front.”
“Oh, that’s just great,” Jake snapped. “What were you going to do if he caught you?”
“Kick him in the nuts and run,” I replied. “Then Eliot and I would’ve had to flee. I’m glad it didn’t go down that way. Running with a cat would be difficult and I would miss the pool.”
Jake turned his incredulous gaze to Eliot. “How can you live with her?”
“Life is a constant adventure,” Eliot replied. “She wasn’t caught. That’s the most important thing. You don’t need to get riled up.”
“Really?” Jake was nonplussed. “You two broke into multiple businesses and homes the past few days. Why would I, a duly sworn officer of the law, possibly get worked up about that?”
“How should we know?” I shot back. “You’re the one who gets worked up all the time over insignificant stuff. Also, we did not break into Becky Trowbridge’s house. She let us in and then ran. That has to prove she’s guilty.”
“It doesn’t look good,” he conceded, rubbing his chin before reaching for another slice of pizza. Under any other circumstance, it would’ve been a friendly and fun evening. That wasn’t the world we lived in right now, though. “I don’t know what to do about Jacobs.”
Oh, I had an answer for that. My hand shot in the air and I started talking before being called on. “You call his boss and get him yanked from this case. That will give us some breathing room.”
“I hate to side with Avery on this one — especially because it puts you in an awkward position — but I wholeheartedly agree,” Eliot offered. “That guy is a menace. He’s been fixated on her since the very start. What if that’s because he’s protecting his sister and wants a scapegoat? Given what happened that night at the county building, she was an obvious choice.”
“Except for the fact that anybody who knows her realizes she would rather torture Ludington than kill him,” Jake said. “I just don’t know if I can go that route. Ratting on another officer is considered bad form.”
“And what is framing the county’s top reporter considered?” I challenged.
Jake slid me a sidelong look. “Ingenious?” He smirked when I growled. “I’m not saying what’s happened here is right, Avery. I would never say that. I just want to be really sure before I pull the trigger.”
“What more proof do you need?” Eliot asked, lifting a finger to silence me before I could get up a full head of steam and start ranting. “Pretend you’re on the holodeck and chill,” he ordered. “You’re completely wound up. That’s only good when it involves sugar and bed.”
“Oh, geez.” Jake rubbed his forehead. “I can’t deal with you guys sometimes. I know that Avery and I were together a lifetime ago, but must you say things like that in front of me? It’s weird ... and uncomfortable ... and did I mention weird?”
Eliot merely shrugged in response. “Sorry. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable in our house.”
Rocky, who had been licking the grease from my fingers, moved to Jake’s lap and stared as he methodically chewed his pizza.
“What’s his deal?” Jake asked, changing the subject.
“He’s trying to steal your soul,” I replied dryly. “He’s a cat. He wants some of your pepperoni.”
“That’s my pepperoni,” Jake said, gripping the pizza tighter. “I’m not sharing.”
Rocky stared at him a moment longer and then moved across my lap to plant himself closer to Eliot, probably figuring he was an easier mark. Eliot, already trained to overindulge our cat son, automatically plucked a slice of pepperoni from his pizza and fed it to the kitten.
“How did you leave things with Jacobs?” I asked Jake. “I mean ... you’re not in trouble, are you?”
“Things were ... tense. He’s extremely angry, but he’s also worried. He must’ve thought he’d managed to hide his sister’s involvement fairly well.”
“You knew she was a volunteer for Ludington,” Eliot pressed. “Obviously he didn’t hide it that well.”
“He volunteered that. He wanted me to know, told me in such a way that it appeared above board. He didn’t tell me about the file Ludington had on his sister, of course, but I can’t prove that file hasn’t been entered into evidence. I’ve been shut out of all of that.”
“You could find out if you called his boss,” I pointed out.
“And I might do that. But I need to think.” He leaned back and rested his head against the back of the couch, watching the ceiling fan whirl above us. “Why do you always have to be in the center of this type of stuff, Avery? Why can’t you ever just keep your nose out of it?”
I shrugged. “I’m Captain Kirk. The action revolves around me whether I like it or not.”
Jake blew out a sigh. “This is a mess ... a complete and total mess. We’ll all be lucky to get out of this unscathed.”
“If it comes to it, I’ll clear you,” I offered. “I’ll make sure they know you weren’t part of it if I’m arrested. You’ll be fine.”
“Fine?” Jake’s eyes fired with fresh ire. “If you go to jail, Eliot will enlist me to break you out so he can get you out of the country. Don’t be ridiculous.”
I was curious. “Would you help him break me out?”
“No.” The answer came fast, and I didn’t miss the way his lips curved as he went back to staring at the ceiling. “Probably.”
“It won’t get that far,” Eliot reassured me. “You’re innocent. That still counts for something in this country. Now that we know why Jacobs was so fixated on you, we can figure the rest of this out.”
I wished I could believe that as easily as he did. But I was something of a pessimist. Okay, I was a complete and total “the glass is half-empty” girl. I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could choke down while still smiling.
“Jake, you have to get ahead of Jacobs,” I said, even though I knew he didn’t want to hear it. “He’ll be working hard to diminish your reach tonight. You have to go to his boss. You don’t have a choice.”
“Avery is right,” Eliot said. “You don’t have a choice. If you sit back and keep being the good guy, it’ll blow up in your face. You have to go on the offensive.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Jake pinned him with a hard look. “I’m well aware of how this is going to play out. I’m used to politics far more than the two of you.”
“So ... call his boss,” I prodded. “That’s your only shot.”
“I’ve already made the call.” Jake sounded resigned. “I don’t know why I played coy earlier. I just ... needed a little breathing room. I placed the call before I left the sister’s house. I knew it was our only option. I’m waiting for a call back. I was on the phone before I left the driveway. I’m not sure what I’m going to say to him when I get him on the phone, but I wanted to beat Jacobs to the punch. That was the smart move.”
I was relieved. “And nobody can say you’re not smart.”
“Oh, don’t suck up.” He reached for another slice of pizza. “Why haven’t you dug into that cookie thing yet? If I’m going to overload on carbs and sugar, I might as well go all the way.”
Eliot grinned at the resigned look on his friend’s face. “Dig in. This might be the last quiet moment we have before the big storm.”
JAKE STAYED UNTIL ALMOST ELEVEN. I felt sorry for him. In his world, police were supposed to protect the innocent. For Jacobs to subvert that ... well, it was something he couldn’t stomach. I had a feeling he would be up all night with a wicked case of heartburn, and only a small portion of it would be due to the exorbitant amount of pizza he consumed.
“I’m going to get ready for bed.” Eliot dropped a kiss on the top of my head as I cleaned up the kitchen. “You can leave this until morning if you want.”
“No, I’ll clean it up.”
“Feeling domestic, are you?” His grin was lopsided. “You could tackle that mountain of shoes in the foyer if you have excess energy to burn. Now that I’m relatively sure the state troopers won’t grab you, I’m back to being annoyed by it.”
“Oh, I’ll die before I move those shoes now. I’m putting all of this away so Rocky doesn’t get any ideas during the night.”
“You’re such a good mom,” he teased, giving me another kiss. “Don’t be too long. You need some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.”
“Yeah.” I grabbed his hand before he could drift away. “In case I don’t have a chance to tell you before ... um, something bad happens, I just want you to know that I really appreciate all you’ve done for me. You’ve gone above and beyond.”
Instead of smiling as I expected, he let loose a long sigh. “Avery, when you love someone, you do what needs to be done for them. I will always help you, even if you drive me crazy. I know you’d do the same for me.”
“I would.”
“I wish I was the one in the hot seat for this one. I don’t understand why whoever did this is focusing on you instead of me. It makes me think that it’s either someone who doesn’t know you very well or ... .” He left it hanging.
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