Bylines & Skylines (An Avery Shaw Mystery Book 9) (8 page)

“Oh, I want you at the convention,” I said. “I’ve been looking at things for you to do. They have a mud-wrestling pit where men get to wrestle with female aliens. I think that’s right up your alley for a first-person piece.”

Duncan’s mouth dropped open. He hated being dirty more than he despised me being in charge. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Never say never,” I said, laughing as I walked away. “I’ll meet with you tomorrow to discuss coverage. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“You suck!”

I hadn’t even begun to suck where he was concerned. He didn’t need to know that, though. “Have a nice day,” I sang out. “I know I will.”

“
W
hat is that
?”

Marvin was agog when I led him into the convention center by flashing the special passes Eliot gave me, his eyes as big as a child seeing a giant cookie for the first time. Given the number of females in skimpy outfits, Marvin looked just as hungry as a child confronted with a head-sized cookie.

“That’s a slave dancer from
Star Wars
,” I replied, internally smirking when I saw Marvin’s eyes cross at the tiny outfit the woman in question wore. She had also painted herself blue, which freaked me out. “Do you think she gets that paint in … you know … unfortunate bikini places?”

“Ooh. Are you asking if she’s got a blue Smurf?”

“No, but now I’m wondering,” I said. “Smurf?”

“That’s a saying.”

Marvin is one of those guys who defy description. He’s fifty but acts twelve. He dresses in the same outfit every day – his uniform – and it consists of black polyester pants, a white button-down shirt and black suspenders. He pairs the uniform with white Reeboks. Oh, and he is a walking doormat when it comes to women. I knew it was dangerous to bring him to a place where scantily-clad women would be running around and looking for men to dominate, but anything is better than spending the day with Duncan.

“Just keep your eyes peeled,” I ordered. “We’re looking for people who can tell us about the victim. The sooner we get answers, the further ahead of all the other reporters we’ll be.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re unnaturally obsessed with winning?”

I shrugged. “So are you.”

“Yes, but I make it look good,” Marvin said. “It looks ugly on you.”

“Don’t make me kick you in the nuts.”

Marvin frowned at the threat and instinctively covered his crotch. His motion, drew my attention to my right when I realized someone was moving in behind me and Marvin was tracking the individual with his eyes.

“Oh, well, I see you two are enjoying yourselves.” Eliot smirked as he dropped a kiss on my cheek and regarded Marvin with a curious stare. “Why are you standing like that?”

“She said she was going to kick me in the nuts,” Marvin replied. “I’m protecting myself.”

“She won’t kick you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I won’t let her,” Eliot said, smirking. “She’s not as mean as she looks.”

“Oh, well, that’s a relief,” Marvin deadpanned. “If she was as mean as she looks I’d be dead.”

“A couple of times over,” I said, earning an eye roll from Marvin. “Why don’t you go check out that alien you like and see if you can sniff out information about the dead woman?”

“What are you going to do?” Marvin asked, irked. “Oh, wait … are you going to make out with him while I do all the work? I see how this is. You never used to stick me with all the work before you had a boyfriend. Don’t think I haven’t noticed … or that I’ll forget this.”

I narrowed my eyes, practically daring him to push me. “I can still have you replaced with Duncan,” I said. “You’ll never find out if that chick’s Smurf is blue if I do that.”

“Her Smurf?” Eliot glanced in the direction I stared and it took him a moment to realize what I was talking about. “You guys are just freaky. I can’t even … there are no words for how freaky you are.”

“She’s freakier than I am,” Marvin sniffed.

“I don’t believe that’s true,” Eliot said, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “Go check on your blue alien and give us a few minutes. I’ll make sure she helps with the work once we’re done.”

“If you can do that I’ll be forever impressed,” Marvin said. “I’m not holding my breath, though.”

We were silent as we watched him weave through the stream of convention workers, both of us shaking our heads when he started following the blue alien in the tiny costume while pretending to look at the displays. He is terrible when it comes to undercover work.

“He’s a trip,” Eliot said finally, smirking. “I can see why you like him, though. He’s as weird as you are.”

“Hey, I’m not interested in her Smurf,” I said, grinning when Eliot poked me in the ribs. “I see you’re still here, so that must mean you didn’t get fired. That’s good news, right?”

“I haven’t seen Jake yet so I don’t know,” Eliot replied. “He could very well fire me.”

I pursed my lips and studied the grim set of his jaw. I could tell this was really bothering him. “Jake won’t fire you.”

“Avery, I would fire me.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not going to happen,” I said. “I promise.”

As if reading my mind, Eliot extended a warning finger. “Whatever you’re thinking … don’t.”

“What makes you believe I’m thinking of doing anything?”

“Because I know you and can just tell by the way you’re acting,” Eliot replied. “Don’t stick your nose in this. Jake and I will hash it out ourselves.”

“But … .”

“No.” Eliot’s head shake was firm. “Tell me what’s going on with you. How did you get Marvin assigned to this instead of Duncan?”

“I told Fish the murder was the most important thing today and all cops think Duncan is a douche,” I answered. “He agreed, Duncan pouted and then I got Marvin.”

“Well, you’re nothing if not dedicated to screwing Duncan over,” Eliot said, rubbing a strand of my blond hair between his fingers. “Does he want to kill you?”

“He’s not happy, but he’s afraid of you,” I said. “I told him he would have to sleep with you to get special treatment. He didn’t think that was funny.”

“I don’t think it’s funny either.”

“That’s because you don’t have a sense of humor right now,” I pointed out. I was leery about pressing him when he was in such a bad mood, but I didn’t see many options. “I don’t suppose you know the name of the dead woman, do you?”

Eliot shook his head. “I’ve asked around, but if anyone knows they’re not sharing.”

“When is Jake supposed to show up?”

“I have no idea.”

I rolled my neck until it cracked and glanced around at the busy convention workers. They were gearing up for the fan appreciation event – which was invitation only – and then everything would revert to a more normal schedule the following day. No one seemed particularly upset about the fact that a dead body was found on the premises the previous evening, which was frankly dumbfounding.

“These guys know a dead woman was found here last night, right?”

Eliot shrugged. “I haven’t asked anyone,” he said. “I’ve been keeping to myself and focusing on the security cameras.”

“You’re such a Boy Scout,” I teased, although he didn’t return my smile. “Eliot, you’re good at what you do. Last night was … a fluke.”

“It wasn’t a fluke,” Eliot argued. “I planned it. I knew what we would end up doing. I didn’t care.”

“It’s not as if you killed her.”

“No, but what if she was alive when we were in the hut?” Eliot challenged, his eyes flashing. “What if I could’ve saved her?”

“What if the person who killed her took out both of you in that scenario?”

“Oh, don’t get all dramatic,” Eliot muttered. “I would’ve been fine.”

“Well, if you’re going to be dramatic, then I’m definitely going to be dramatic,” I said. “You’re supposed to be the calm one. People expect me to be more freaked out than you, so if you’re going to go off the rails … well … I’m going to jump from the train as you do it.”

Eliot fought the urge to smile … and lost. “You make me laugh,” he said, chuckling as he pulled me in for a hug. “I’ve just never been fired before. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“You’re not going to be fired,” I promised, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. I wasn’t used to him being insecure. He’s generally the one who bolsters me, not the other way around. “It’s not as if we planned it. It just happened.”

“Well, I’m not sorry,” Eliot said, cupping the back of my head. “Until we found the body we had a great time. I don’t want to take that back.”

“That’s good, because I’m going to include our filthy dealings on our Christmas cards this year and if you deny it happened that’s going to make me look bad.”

“Ha, ha.” Eliot kissed my forehead and then took a step away from me. “I need to do my job and not focus on you. You’re a distraction, Trouble. What are you going to do?”

“Try to find out the name of the victim.”

“How are you going to do that?”

I smirked. “I have my ways.”

“I’m sure you do,” Eliot said dryly. “Do me a favor and don’t wander anywhere alone. Someone here might be a killer – and it could be someone from the convention, so that means you have to behave yourself. I can’t watch you every moment you’re here.”

“Somehow I think I’ll survive,” I said. “It’s okay. Go do your work. I’ll be here … and I’ll be perfectly safe.”

“Do you promise to behave yourself?”

Oh, well, behave myself? That’s another story. “I promise to let you do your work.”

Eliot wasn’t swayed by my smile. “That’s what I thought,” he muttered. “Try to not to draw attention to yourself if at all possible.”

“See, I don’t think that’s going to be possible because people are drawn to me,” I said. “I can’t explain it.”

“I can’t either, but I know the feeling,” Eliot said. “I told myself that getting involved with you was a terrible idea, yet here I am. I love you and we’re moving in together. I’m not even sure how it happened.”

I swallowed the odd lump in my throat. “You could still change your mind.”

“No, I can’t,” Eliot said. “My heart would kill me if I tried.”

It was a schmaltzy sentiment, but I couldn’t stop myself from grinning. “You’re going to get really lucky tonight.”

“That sounds good,” Eliot said. “For now, though, I have to get back to work.”

I
MADE
a big show of being a good girl and questioning convention regulars once Eliot returned to his job. That lasted exactly twenty minutes before I got bored. Then I lucked out and caught sight of Jake’s personal sheriff’s vehicle through the window and tracked him until he entered the center. He thought he had a straight shot to a private office, but I cut him off before he could open the door.

“Oh, I should’ve known,” Jake groused, glaring as I stood in front of him and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not releasing the name of the deceased yet. I don’t care what you do or say.”

“I’m actually not here about that.” I surprised myself with the admission. “I need to talk to you.”

“I’m not tipping you off early,” Jake said. “The other media will have a fit. They’ll all be here in a few hours. You can find out everything the same time they do.”

“Believe it or not, I don’t care about beating everyone else today.” That was a blatant lie. There was something else weighing on me, though, and I couldn’t focus on wearing down Jake until I talked to him about Eliot. “I swear it’s not about the case.”

Jake blew out a frustrated sigh and then pointed toward the office. “If you ask one question about the case I’m going to boot you.”

“Duly noted.”

I waited until Jake closed the door and got settled at the small conference table in the center of the room before starting.

“Are you going to fire Eliot?”

Jake’s chocolate eyes widened at the question. “Seriously? That’s what you want to talk about?”

“It’s not his fault,” I said, surprised to find myself in the odd position of caring more about Eliot’s feelings than my own desire to win. How did that even happen? “He was just trying to make me happy.”

Jake rubbed his chin as he leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. “Did he ask you to talk to me?”

“He told me not to talk to you,” I replied, opting for honesty. “He doesn’t want me getting involved.”

“So you decided to get involved anyway?”

I shrugged. “I’m worried about him,” I admitted. “He’s never been fired before and he’s obsessing about it. I’ve been threatened with firing so many times I’m numb to it. I understand that he would be upset if it happened, though.

“I’ve been telling him you won’t do it, but he says he’d fire himself,” I continued. “He thinks that maybe someone was in here when we were … um … otherwise engaged. He thinks he could’ve saved her.

“He’s beating himself up over this, Jake,” I said. “It’s not his fault. If you’re going to take it out on someone, take it out on me. He only invited me here because he knew it would be like a dream come true.”

Jake pursed his lips as he ran his hand through his messy bird’s nest of black hair. When he started speaking, he took me by surprise with his resignation. “You really love him, don’t you?”

“I … yes.”

“That drives me crazy,” Jake muttered, shaking his head. “I want you happy, but it kills me to see you with him. It would be fine if I knew he was incapable of giving you what you want. He’s going to make you happy, though. You’re going to move in together … eventually get married … and then that’s it. You’re his Avery. You’ll never be my Avery again.”

My cheeks flooded with warmth at his words. “I … thought we talked about his.”

“We did,” Jake said. “I know we can’t be together. You know it, too. That doesn’t mean it’s easy for me. Knowing you guys were in here … doing that … made me want to punch someone last night. Pretty much I wanted to punch him.”

For some reason, the admission warmed me. “I know the feeling. I want to pull Cara’s hair whenever I see her.”

Jake snorted. “Yes, but Cara and I aren’t going to work out,” he said. “She’s not geared for this world. She doesn’t understand why I have to go to work in the middle of the night. She doesn’t understand about you. She’s just … not the one.”

That was an interesting way of putting it. “Do you believe in ‘the one?’”

“I don’t know,” Jake answered. “I think maybe now isn’t the right time for me to be with anyone if all I keep doing is fixating on you and Eliot. I don’t exactly think that’s fair to anyone else.”

He had a point. Still … . “Are you going to fire Eliot?”

“No,” Jake replied. “I expected him to do something along the lines of what he did. I just didn’t want to know the specifics.”

“Can you please tell him you’re not going to fire him?”

“Oh, geez,” Jake muttered. “You’re so much work. Yeah, I’ll tell him. I’m sure he’ll be relieved to know that she died hours before you guys even showed up at the convention center. We’re pretty sure she was inside the entire time.”