On Deadline & Under Fire

by Amanda M. Lee

  “I often feel that way,” Eliot said dryly. “Continue.”

  “Well, Fish gave my story to Duncan, and he’s unbelievably lazy,” I explained. “They don’t have the mob angle and they’re working under the assumption that Jay Truman died because of the fire, not that he was murdered.”

  Eliot tilted his head to the side. “Didn’t Jake tell you over lunch that he was hit over the head and that’s how he died?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why wouldn’t he send that out in a news release?”

  “Because he clearly wants me to solve this for him.”

  Eliot scowled. “I doubt very much he wants that. Let’s not go wonky or anything. Still, and I don’t want to encourage you because that always comes back to bite me, he clearly had something up his sleeve when he let that information slip.”

  “That’s how I feel.” I focused on the faces and selected the one at the end. “I looked through the proof sheet when I was at the office and recognized the hero in the background of one of the photos. I figured there was no harm running his face through your facial recognition software.”

  “And I helped,” Maggie offered.

  Eliot shot her a dubious look. “Yes, you’re a regular enabler all of a sudden. How did that happen?”

  “Avery and I have come to an understanding.”

  “And what understanding is that?”

  “I want you to be happy. She makes you happy, even though she’s a bit dramatic and a lot of work. She’s going to make an effort to make sure I don’t go years without seeing you again. That makes me happy. We’re one big happy bunch.”

  “Right.” Eliot’s eyes were cloudy when they shifted back to mine. “You did something. I’m not quite sure what — and I’m honestly not sure if it’s something I should be irritated about — but I know you did something.”

  I absently patted his hand. “I did do something,” I agreed. “I fell in love with you and gave you my whole heart.”

  “You’re terrible at this.” Even though he was agitated, Eliot moved his hand to my neck and started massaging as he watched me read the information the computer spit back at me. “What do you have?”

  “Russell Warren. He lives in Eastpointe.”

  “That’s not a ringing endorsement, especially given the area of Eastpointe he’s living in.” Eliot’s brow furrowed as he studied the limited information on the screen. “You’re going to that house to look for him, aren’t you?”

  The question made me nervous. “Not if it upsets you. The last thing I want to do is upset you.”

  “Oh, that’s sweet.”

  “It is. When are you going back to the sheriff’s department? I’m not asking because I plan to wait until you have to go back to work or anything. I’m just curious.”

  “Of course you are, sweetheart.” Eliot’s tone told me he would blow a gasket if I pushed him too hard. “Luckily for you, I finished my work at the sheriff’s department. My schedule is clear again, which means I can spend the entire afternoon with you and my mother.”

  Son of a ... ! That was not what I wanted to hear. “Great.”

  “I thought you’d think so.”

  “I don’t think it’s great,” Maggie argued. “I wanted to track down the hero and grill him like swordfish.”

  I made a face. “Do you grill swordfish?”

  “How would I know?” Eliot shrugged. “You won’t eat fish, so we live on beef and chicken. Occasionally you’ll eat pork, but only if it’s bacon or hot dogs.”

  “We really do need to talk about your eating habits, dear,” Maggie chided. “That can wait until after we grill the hero, though. That’s what I want to do with my afternoon. It sounds much more fun than going to the mall again.”

  I pursed my lips as I flicked my eyes to Eliot. His expression was unreadable, but I didn’t sense happiness emanating from him. “Oh, well, I don’t think that’s what Eliot wants to do with his afternoon.”

  “Eliot definitely doesn’t want to do that,” he agreed. “Eliot wants to go home and relax by the pool.”

  “Not everything is about you, honey,” Maggie pointed out. “Besides, you’re outvoted. Avery and I want to track down the hero, which means you either need to come with us or stop complaining.”

  “Oh, man. I can see you’ve created a monster with my mother.” Eliot was unhappy as he gave my shoulders a deliberate squeeze. “Fine.” He capitulated. “We’ll check out this house. But if there’s nothing there I want you both to give it a rest.”

  “I’m looking forward to giving it a rest,” I enthused.

  “You’re a terrible liar.”

  “I’ll work on it.”

  “Do that.”

  ELIOT INSISTED EVERYONE drive to the Eastpointe address together. He didn’t come right out and say it, but he was worried I would take off and abandon him if things went a certain way. His mother was accompanying us, which would force him to remain with her and leave me to my adventures without backup. I would’ve liked to assuage his worry and promise that I wouldn’t take off, but we both knew my instincts and urges often won out over my decision-making skills.

  “Okay, we’re here,” Eliot announced when he parked. His mother insisted on sitting in the passenger seat, even going so far as to yell “shot gun” once we hit the sidewalk, so I was relegated to the back seat. It didn’t make me happy. “What’s your plan?”

  “I’m going to knock on the door and ask for Russell Warren.”

  “And what are you going to do if he answers the door?”

  “Ask him why he fled from the apartment complex the way he did.”

  “And if he doesn’t want to answer?”

  “I’ll jump off that bridge when I come to it.”

  Eliot gave me a long look. “I don’t know that this is a good idea. Why don’t you let me run a background check on this guy and we’ll come back tomorrow? That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I want to talk to him now. The longer we wait, the better chance we have of losing him.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Because he didn’t even live in the apartment complex,” I answered without hesitation. “What was he doing there if he didn’t live there? The computer spit out this address for a reason. This is his home. It’s obvious that he took off before I could question him because he didn’t want to be tied to the building.”

  “Huh.” Eliot stroked his chin, considering. “I did not put that together.”

  “She really is the smartest girl you’ve ever dated, Eliot,” Maggie supplied. “At first I didn’t like that because I knew I wouldn’t be able to bully her into my way of thinking, but now I’m starting to like it.”

  “Yes, I’m thrilled that you’ve bonded, Mom,” Eliot drawled. “It doesn’t make me nervous in the slightest.”

  “Don’t listen to him,” I offered Maggie. “He likes to pretend he’s crabby on stuff like this, but he really likes it.”

  “I don’t like it,” Eliot countered. “In fact ... .” He trailed off and stared at the front porch of the small bungalow. “Isn’t that your guy?”

  I followed his finger and frowned. “Yes. Crap!” I fumbled with the door handle, growling when it wouldn’t open. “Why am I locked in here?”

  “I think it’s the child locks,” Maggie said pragmatically. “They automatically engage for the back seat.”

  Was she kidding? I was being stymied by children’s locks. That didn’t seem fair. “Open them!”

  “I’m doing it.” Eliot flicked the switch to disengage the locks. I bolted through the door before he had a chance to stop me. “Avery!”

  I ignored him as I jogged down the sidewalk. Russell Warren’s back was to me, so he didn’t notice the kerfuffle in the truck. I was thankful for that. He also didn’t notice he was being followed.

  “Russell!” I called out his name, pulling up short when he jerked his shoulders and crouched lower, as if taking up a protective stance
. When he swiveled to meet my gaze there was fire there, as well as something else. I was fairly certain that something else was annoyance.

  “Do I know you?”

  “I was at the fire in Chesterfield Township the other day, the one at the apartment complex,” I offered, racking my brain for the best way to ask the obvious question. “You saved that little girl. I work for The Monitor and I want to interview you. I mean ... you’re a hero, after all.”

  Instead of preening under the compliment, he scowled. “I think you’re mistaken. I wasn’t at any fire.”

  “I saw you.”

  “I think you have mistaken me for somebody else.” He crossed toward an SUV parked on the street. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really must be going.”

  I wasn’t a fan of his attitude. “I know it’s you. I was standing right there when you handed over the kid.”

  “Sorry. You’ve definitely got me confused with someone else.” He opened the door and briefly made eye contact. “I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing. I hope you find the man you’re looking for.”

  “I already did.” I watched him go, my frustration mounting as he drove away. My cheeks were flushed with anger when I turned back and found Eliot watching me. “What?”

  “He doesn’t want the accolades you think he does,” Eliot pointed out.

  “No.” I dug into my pocket until I came up with a business card. “I’m going to put this in his door anyway. I might as well as long as we’re out here. There’s always a chance that he’ll change his mind.”

  “Okay.” Eliot fell into step with me, sliding his arm around my shoulders as we climbed the steps to the front porch. “I can tell you’re disappointed.”

  “I’m not. I’m on vacation. I have nothing to be disappointed about.”

  “Yeah, well, we’re going to discuss the proper way to take a vacation when we have some time alone. For the record, this is not it.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” I opened the screen door and pressed my business card into the glass panel before allowing it to fall shut, my eyes flicking to the big bay window next to the door as I turned to retreat. “Wow. And you think I’m a bad housekeeper.” I pressed my face against the window and shaded my eyes so I could get a better look. “Huh.”

  Eliot followed suit. “I don’t think that’s bad housekeeping,” he said after a beat. “Someone has ransacked that place ... and good.”

  “Which could explain why he was in such a hurry to get out of here,” I supplied. “Maybe he knows people are watching him.”

  “And it’s a different sort of people,” Eliot said. “I mean ... whoever did this broke into his house. They were looking for something.”

  “I wonder what.”

  “I don’t know. But I am going to remind you that this isn’t your story. You’re on vacation. I don’t understand why we’re even out here.”

  I was starting to question that, too. “I don’t know. I can’t shake the feeling that something big happened in that apartment building. I just can’t figure out what it was. Er, well, other than the obvious murder, of course.”

  “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. You’re supposed to be spending time with me.”

  “We are spending time together.”

  “Time that doesn’t include stalking some random guy who doesn’t want to be honored for being a hero.”

  He had a point. I hated it when that happened. “Fine.” I heaved out a sigh. “I’m done. What do you want to do with our afternoon?”

  “I thought maybe we could go to the Henry Ford Museum.”

  Oh, now he was just messing with me. “Why?”

  “Because my mother wants to see it.”

  “Well, I’ve already seen it and it’s boring.”

  “That’s too bad. If only you had your own car to break from the group,” Eliot drawled. “That’s a total bummer, huh?”

  Ugh. He’d outsmarted me. I should’ve seen that coming. “I’m going to make you pay for this.”

  “I’m still not done making you pay. You should probably wait your turn.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  21 Twenty-One

  The museum was a bust. Maggie liked it, but I was bored out of my mind. She forced Eliot and me to pose for so many photos I lost count. She was clearly a museum person, which I didn’t get. The only fun museums are wax museums and Michigan is fresh out of those.

  “We should’ve gone to the zoo,” I complained hours later when Eliot parked in front of the family restaurant and I fumbled with the back door for the third time. “I’m stuck again.”

  Eliot chuckled as his mother exited the vehicle, opening the door for me and helping me down. “I kind of like being able to keep you in a vehicle. I think we just discovered how we’re going to handle all our joint spying missions going forward.”

  “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Oh, I’ve already done the thinking.” Eliot gave me a quick kiss before shutting the door and lowering his voice. “Thank you for going to the museum. The fact that you only complained twenty times was a great relief.”

  “It was twelve times,” I corrected. “I counted.”

  “I think your idea of complaining is different from my idea.”

  “Yes, well, whatever.” I blew out a wet raspberry as he linked his fingers with mine. “I don’t understand why she was so excited to look at old cars and movies about old cars and displays about old cars.”

  “My mother likes history.”

  “She can’t be my sidekick, even on a provisional basis, if she keeps that up.”

  “I’ll make a mental note of it.” Eliot led me to the spot in front of the truck where his mother stood. “Are you ready to meet the rest of Avery’s family, Mom?”

  Maggie nodded, excited. “I am. I’ve heard so much about these people I feel as if I already know them.”

  “Just for the record, that’s not a good thing,” I offered as we trudged across the parking lot. “These are not the sort of people you want to brag about knowing.”

  “You came from them, didn’t you?”

  “That’s what the blood tests I paid for in high school said,” I replied. “I thought for sure it would turn out I was adopted, which would’ve explained so much. But it turned out these people are responsible for unleashing me upon the world.”

  Eliot snickered. “I’m so glad your head is in such a good space.”

  “I know. I thought I’d be grumpier, too.” I tugged on his hand. “Come on. I’m sure everybody is already inside. We’re late. That won’t go over well.”

  “I thought dinner was at seven,” Maggie said. “It’s only ten after.”

  “That might as well be a year in my mother’s world. Prepare yourself, by the way; she’s going to be all over you.”

  “I’m fine with that.” Maggie’s smile was wide. “I love being the center of attention.”

  Eliot slowed his pace as his mother hurried toward the door, an expression that could only be described as terror flitting across his features.

  “What’s wrong with you?” I asked, legitimately concerned.

  “That’s something you would say.”

  “The being the center of attention thing? Yeah.”

  “You and my mother have a lot in common.”

  “I guess.”

  “That means I fell for someone like my mother.”

  “Does that upset you?” I brightened a bit under the realization that Eliot was flummoxed by the turn of events. “This night is looking up.”

  “I can’t believe it. I never thought it was possible.”

  “Yes, well, things could be worse.”

  “How?”

  “You could’ve fallen for someone like my mother.”

  “You said your mother and my mother have a lot in common,” Eliot challenged. “I don’t think you realize how similar to your mother you really are.”

  “That is a horrible thing to say.”

  “It’s the truth.”
r />   “It’s not.”

  “It is.”

  “It’s not.”

  “It is.” Eliot was firm. “I can’t believe this is happening. I just ... this is terrible.”

  Unfortunately, he wasn’t wrong. “I’m going to punish you severely for saying I’m like my mother. I’m going to try to wait until we’re home so I can make the punishment inventive, but I’m not happy.”

  Eliot squeezed my hand. “At least I have that to look forward to.”

  EVERYBODY WAS ALREADY grouped around the family booth when we entered, although I didn’t miss the fact that three spaces remained open. I had no doubt who those seats belonged to, and the fact that one of them was located directly next to my mother gave me chills.

  “Aw, man.”

  Eliot followed my gaze. “It looks like your mother wants to spend some quality time with my mother.”

  “You could always take that seat,” I suggested. “That might cut down on the potential for world implosion.”

  “And be separated from you? Never.”

  “Fine. If the planet explodes, though, or a spontaneous zombie outbreak happens, I’m blaming you.”

  “I’ll just have to deal with the fallout.”

  Mom was on her feet before we reached the booth. She introduced herself to Maggie before I had a chance to at least pretend I was polite. I met Grandpa’s gaze over Maggie’s shoulder as Mom offered the woman a gregarious hug. He had chili splashed on both sides of his mouth and looked to be amused by the proceedings.

  “I saved you a spot next to me,” Mom enthused as she led Maggie to the correct seat. “I thought we could share information about our children over dinner.”

  “That sounds like a fine idea,” Maggie agreed. She didn’t so much as look in Eliot’s direction to see if he cared that she wasn’t sitting next to him. “I’ve only known Avery for a few days, but she seems like an extremely interesting woman.”

  Mom’s eyes darkened as they locked with mine. “She’s ... something, including late for a dinner that started eleven minutes ago.”