3 Buried Leads (10 page)

Eliot nodded, but he was eying Shelly with open distaste. If I had to guess, he’d be jumping on my television reporter hate brigade before the night was out.

I saw Jake frown as he regarded the two of us, and then he turned on his heel and stalked away.

Fun times in Romeo.

After the candlelight vigil – which felt like it went on for hours – I waited for Eliot out on the front lawn while he went inside the Frank house for a few minutes. He didn’t tell me what he was doing, and I had the good sense not to ask.

As I paced, I saw Duncan start to approach me.
Great.

“I got some great footage,” he said excitedly.

“Good for you.”

Duncan furrowed his brow as he regarded me. I couldn’t help but notice – with a grim sense of satisfaction – that he was getting some gray hairs in his eyebrows. Since Duncan was terrified of growing old, I figured he hadn’t noticed them yet. “Aren’t you going to write your story?”

“I already did. I wrote it on my iPad in the car and sent it off.”

Duncan looked surprised. “Don’t you think you should look at my video and tailor your story to fit my
video.”

I can’t think of anything I’d rather not do. “No.”

“Well, I’m going to talk to Fish about this.”

“You do that.”

“Why are you still here if you’re done?” Duncan asked suspiciously.

“I’m waiting for someone.”

“Who?”

“None of your business.”

“If you’re hiding stuff from me, Fish isn’t going to be happy.”

“Fish is never happy.”

I was looking everywhere but at Duncan. Couldn’t he take a hint? I so did not want to be seen with him and his stupid little camera – which was still on his forehead, by the way.

“I think you’re hiding something,” Duncan shot back.

“No, I’m pretty sure I’ve made my disdain for you pretty overt.”

I saw that Jake was watching Duncan and me curiously. He started moving towards us, and Duncan started preening like a pigeon when he saw it. “Jake Farrell is coming over here.”

“I’ll alert the media.”

Duncan ignored me and took a step towards Jake excitedly. “Sheriff Farrell, I’m Duncan Marlow.”

Jake regarded him with mild amusement. “I know who you are.”

“You do?”

“Avery has told me . . . some things.”

Duncan shot an angry glance at me. “I’m sure they were slanderous.”

“After seeing the camera and talking to you for less than a minute, I’m thinking she was probably telling the truth,” Jake shot back.

Duncan makes friends wherever he goes. And, despite my general anger with Jake these days, I couldn’t help but love him a little bit for bitch slapping Duncan in a public setting. I didn’t think Duncan would be able to haul Jake down to human resources.

Duncan’s brown eyes darkened harshly. “I think you should know, Avery is a pathological liar and anything she’s told you is both slanderous and . . . “

“I really don’t care,” Jake interrupted. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to talk to Avery alone for a minute.”

Duncan’s mouth dropped open. “I’m working on this story with her.”

“I don’t want to talk to her about the story,” Jake shot back.

“Then what do you want to talk to her about?”

“How is that any of your business?”

“Duncan thinks everything is his business,” I answered.

“Well, this isn’t,” Jake replied, brushing his hand in a wave motion to get Duncan to walk away.

Duncan did slink away, but the glance he shot back at me was chilling. He was going to try and make me pay for this, I was sure.

When he was gone, Jake turned back to me. “That guy is a douche.”

“I know.” Everyone knows.

“Are you waiting for Eliot?”

“Yeah,” I said. There really was no reason to lie when he already knew the truth.

“Where is he?”

“In the house.”

“Other than the candlelight vigil, what did you do today?”

That was a pointed question. “Just some legwork on the story. Then Lexie and I went to hot yoga this afternoon.’

Jake smiled despite himself. “I can’t imagine you at hot yoga.”

“It wasn’t pretty,” I admitted.

“I bet.”

Jake looked out at the now empty lawn. The only people still hanging around were the media. I noticed that Shelly was standing over by her news van. She was watching Jake and me talk – and she didn’t look happy.

“What legwork did you do?”

Jake was digging for information. He wanted to know what I uncovered. I had no intention of telling him. “Just a few people I wanted to talk to,” I said evasively.

“Like who?”

“Just some people.”

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“Nope.”

Jake and I both looked up when we heard a door shut. Eliot was walking across the lawn in my direction. He made his way towards us. “Are you ready to go?” He asked me.

“Yeah.”

Jake regarded Eliot a second. “What’s your take on this guy?”

I was surprised by the question. Eliot wasn’t, though. “I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “He seems like he’s telling the truth, but the whole thing is off.”

“Do you think she’s dead?”

“Probably,” Eliot said. “We can’t really be sure, though, can we?”

“No,” Jake agreed. He turned and cast a wary glance in my direction. “Watch her,” he said finally. “If this guy is a murderer – or even if he isn’t – she’s bound to get in some sort of trouble if she’s not watched.”

“I know,” Eliot said. “I’ll do what I can.”

“I’m standing right here, you know?”
Unbelievable.

“I know,” Jake said before turning and walking away.

I followed Eliot to his place, parking in front of the pawnshop and heading up to Eliot’s apartment above the store. I had spent the night here before, but it hadn’t been in the same capacity. This would be the first time we stayed at his place together, and I was suddenly nervous.

Eliot was already upstairs when I arrived. He took my overnight bag from me and put it in his bedroom. Then he went into the kitchen, poured us each a glance of wine and then joined me on the couch in the living room. “I want to talk to you – and I don’t want you to freak out.”

“That’s a great conversation starter,” I joked.

“This is still kind of new, but I know you well enough to feel that if I tell you not to investigate this story that’s only going to make you more determined to investigate this story.”

That was definitely true.

“So,” he continued. “I need you to be careful.”

“You think he killed her, don’t you?”

“I think he’s a weird guy,” Eliot said cautiously.

“Is that because his eyes bug out of his head like he’s trying to take a dump or because his wife was having an affair?” I decided to go for broke.

Eliot didn’t look surprised. I figured he already knew. “Is that what you were doing today? Investigating the affair?”

“Actually, I was just fishing. The affair information just kind of fell in my lap.”

“Who told you?”

“A secretary at her office.”

“You sweet talked a secretary for gossip?” Eliot looked impressed.

“I’m good at my job.”

“I don’t doubt it. What else did this secretary tell you?”

“Just that Sarah Frank was a loner who only spent time with the boss, Dick.”

“Yeah, he’s been out of the country all week,” Eliot said. “I’ve been trying to track him down.”

“Where is he?”

“The Bahamas,” Eliot said. “I don’t know exactly where, though.”

“Are you going to go there and talk to him?”

“No,” Eliot said. “I don’t want to be that far away if you get in trouble.”

That was sweet – and condescending. “I’ve been taking care of myself for a really long time,” I reminded him.

“In the few months I’ve known
you, you’ve been taken hostage by a madman and held at gunpoint by a deranged stripper. I’m not taking any chances.”

I decided to ignore the statement – even if it did make me feel a rush of affection for him. “Have you met the au pair?”

Eliot looked surprised. “How do you know about the au pair?”

That rush of affection fled as fast as it came. “Why didn’t you tell me about the au pair?”

“I didn’t think it mattered.”

“A young woman living in the house who might have seen something?
You don’t think that matters?”

“I don’t think she knows anything,” Eliot said simply.

“Have the police talked to her?”

“Yes.”

So Jake was a liar, too. “Do the police know about the affair?”

“Yes.”

“I knew it! I knew he was lying to me.”

“Isn’t that his job?”

Whatever. “Do you think he killed her?”

“I think she’s dead,” Eliot said. “Of course, she could also be in the Bahamas with her boss.”

I had wondered that briefly myself.

“Most of the people I’ve talked to don’t seem to think she would just abandon the kids,” I said.

“Unless there’s something else about their marriage that we don’t know about.”

He had a point.

Eliot slid a sly glance in my direction. “Any more questions?”

“Not right now.”

“Good. Let’s go to bed. I’ve got things I’d rather be discussing in there with you.”

I couldn’t help it, I felt a little thrill. We’d done enough work for tonight.

When I got to the office the next morning, I was feeling relaxed and satiated – despite the stressful situation from the night before. What can I say? Eliot is good at taking my mind off things.

When I got to the office, Fish called me over to his desk. He slid a piece of paper towards me. It looked like a press release from the sheriff’s department. I was surprised when I read it.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I muttered. “They’re holding daily press conferences now?”

“Yeah,” Fish replied. “I thought it was odd, too.”

“At least they’re holding the press conferences at the sheriff’s department instead of out at the house.” That meant a five minute drive instead of a half-hour one.

“This whole thing is just weird,” Fish finally said. “What have you found out?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t be cute. I know you have been tracking stuff down. What have you got?”

I told Fish about the affair and the au pair, making sure to keep my voice low. I didn’t want everyone in the room to hear me. We’re a gossipy bunch. Fish didn’t seem surprised. He had been in the news business for forty years. We’d heard it all at this point. “What is your next move?”

I shrugged. “I’ll go to the press conference and then decide from there.”

“I’m sending Duncan to the press conference to video it.”

Great. “I’m not taking him with me to do interviews,” I warned Fish. “No one is going to tell me anything with that asshole by my side.”

“I know. We’ll keep him busy with the video. I’ll send him out to the house to get B-footage this afternoon to keep him busy.”

I wanted to ask Fish what the sudden push to have Duncan do video was, but I didn’t want to piss him off since he was finally talking to me again. “That’s a good idea,” I said finally.

Fish smiled at me for the first time in a month. “As long as you don’t have to deal with him, you don’t care.”

That was true.

I sat down at my desk long enough to check my emails, but there wasn’t anything interesting in my inbox. I grabbed a fresh notebook and headed off to the sheriff’s department. I wanted to get there early enough to talk to Derrick – without the other media muddying the water.

The sheriff’s department is only a few minutes away from the newspaper office, so I stopped at an area coffee shop to get a shot of caffeine before I headed over. When I got to the sheriff’s department, I stopped at the protective bubble to announce my presence. Like most law enforcement offices these days, you can’t just wander around the sheriff’s department. You have to be buzzed in to the inner sanctum.

“You’re early,” the petulant female officer on the other side of the glass informed me. “The press conference doesn’t start for another half an hour.”

“I know. I just love law enforcement and I can’t spend enough time around you guys,” I shot back sarcastically.

The officer gave me a dour look, but she buzzed me in anyway. I was familiar with the halls of the sheriff’s department, so I made my way down to Derrick’s office – which was open – and looked inside. He was sitting at his desk. “Hey,” I greeted him.

“You’re early,” he didn’t bother looking up.

“So I’ve been told.”

“What do you want?”

“Can’t I just want to visit my favorite cousin?”

“Lexie is your favorite cousin.”

“Well, you’re her brother, so you’re favorite cousin adjacent.”

“How is she, by the way? I heard she’s staying with you until she finds a place.”

“She’s already got a job at Starbucks – and she’s got a new passion in life.”

“I’m afraid to ask,” Derrick grimaced. “What is her new passion?”

“She wants to be a yoga instructor.”

Derrick considered that for a second. “She might be good at that,” he said finally. “It’s a lot better than some of her other passions.”

“You mean like when she moved to Florida for two years and thought she was Cuban and wanted to organize rescue boats to save Cuban refugees from the ocean?”

“Yeah, like that.”

“She made me go to hot yoga yesterday,” I said.

“That must have gone over well. You hate being hot.”

“I lasted twenty minutes and then bailed,” I admitted.

“I wouldn’t have lasted that long. That sounds like hell.”

“You have no idea.”

I slid into the chair across from Derrick’s desk. He watched me with a bemused expression.

“So, what’s going on with the Frank case?”

“You’ll find out at the press conference,” he said briefly, turning back to his paperwork.

“Come on, give your cousin a little tidbit,” I pleaded.

“No.”

“Do all of your co-workers know that you wore a dress for Halloween?” When all else fails, blackmail is always a viable option.

Derrick narrowed his eyes as he regarded me. “I doubt my co-workers care what I did when I was a small child.”

“You were in college,” I corrected him.

“That was a fraternity dare,” he shot back.

“Not when I get done telling it, it won’t be.”

“You wouldn’t tell people that,” a voice from the hallway said.

Derrick and I both turned to see Jake standing in the doorway regarding us. “You don’t know that,” I scoffed.

“Please. You guys bag on each other constantly, but you wouldn’t really turn on him. You’re too loyal. You both are.”

“I think you’re giving her too much credit,” Derrick said. “She told Devon that she wasn’t sure I was straight until I started bringing her to family dinner.”

Jake raised his eyebrows. “You did that?”

What? I don’t like her. “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

“Right.”

I turned to Jake irritably. “Shouldn’t you be doing your hair so you’re camera ready?”

“I’m always camera ready,” he replied calmly. “I’m naturally pretty.”

“I wouldn’t go around announcing that,” I told him.

“I’m comfortable with my masculinity.”

“Of course you are,” a saccharine voice emanated from the hallway behind Jake. He turned and smiled when he saw Shelly standing behind him.

“Hey,” Jake greeted her warmly. “You look really nice.”

“Thank you.”

I rolled my eyes and looked over at Derrick. He was watching me for my reaction. I stuck my tongue out at him in response.

“What is everyone doing?” Shelly asked. Her tone never shifted, but I could tell she was a little uncomfortable finding Jake with me – again.

“Talking about the merits of men wearing dresses,” I said smoothly.

“Like kilts?” Shelly looked confused.

“No, like chiffon.”

Derrick shot me a dark look, while Jake shook his head in my direction. “The press conference will be starting in a few minutes. Why don’t we all go over to the conference room?”

Shelly smiled at Jake obligingly. “Of course.”

“I’ll be there in a second,” I said. “I need to talk to Derrick about something.”

“What?” Shelly asked suspiciously.

“Family stuff.”

“Meaning?” Shelly obviously didn’t like me. I didn’t blame her. The feeling was entirely mutual.

“Meaning you’re not family,” I shot back.

Jake grabbed Shelly by the elbow and started to lead her away. “Behave,” he admonished me.

Once he was gone, I turned back to Derrick. I was running out of time. “I heard you guys talked to the au pair?”

“How do you know about the au pair?”

“I’m omnipotent.”

“I didn’t believe that when we were eight and you kept telling people you were really a magical alien, and I don’t believe it now.”

“A little birdie told me,” I tried again.

“She doesn’t know anything,” Derrick said finally. “She’s a dead end. Don’t waste your time.”

He’s hiding something.

“Okay,” I said, getting to my feet. “I believe you.”

“That’s your lying voice,” Derrick replied.

“It’s no different than your lying voice,” I countered.

Derrick and I eyed each other carefully. We were at an impasse. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an unusual scenario for us.

I left Derrick’s office and went into the conference room. Most of the television reporters and newspaper representatives were already present. I helped myself to a donut and then made my way over to Tony Winters. “How’s it going?”

“Good,” Tony said. “I can’t believe how big this story is blowing up.”

“Me either,” I said. “It must be a slow news cycle.”

“It’s getting national mentions now,” Tony said. “Nancy Grace mentioned it on her show last night.”

I knew it.

“She’s asked me to be on her show tonight,” I heard a voice behind me say. I turned to see Shelly standing behind me with a smug look on her face.

“Good for you.”

“This is a big deal,” Shelly said. “Jake and I are going to be on a national news program together. That’s a big step for us.”

“Will you be naked?”

“What?” Shelly furrowed her brow.

“Just curious.”

Tony was smiling at our exchange. Everyone likes a girl fight.

“What is your deal?” Shelly asked me angrily.

“What do you mean?”

“You have an attitude with me.”

“Avery has an attitude with everyone,” Tony supplied.

Shelly shot him a dirty look. Tony looked appropriately abashed and walked away. I could see him heading directly for Derrick in the corner. Probably warning him that I was about to throw down.

“I want to know what your problem is,” Shelly repeated.

“I don’t have a problem. I just don’t like you.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I don’t like all television reporters. Don’t take it personally,” I said flippantly.

“I think it’s more than that. I think you’re jealous because I’m with Jake.”

“You’re entitled to your opinion.”

“You’re not denying it.”

“I don’t deny being an elf either. That doesn’t mean it’s true.”

Shelly looked confused again. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Derrick was making his way across the room towards us. He was clearly worried. He should be.

“Listen, Shelly, you’re not my problem. Let’s just agree to stay away from each other.”

“That’s not a problem for me, but you seem incapable of staying away from my boyfriend.”

“That sounds like a problem for you and Jake to discuss,” Derrick interjected, moving to my side.

“I’m discussing it with her.”

“This isn’t the place to discuss it,” Derrick replied. He was clearly angry. “Maybe you should pick a playground and fight it out there.”

Shelly shot Derrick a disgusted look. “Your whole family is nuts, from what I’ve read. It shouldn’t surprise me that you’re taking her side.”

“She doesn’t need me to take her side,” Derrick replied curtly. “She’s more than capable of doing it on her own. “ Derrick took a step towards Shelly. “And you’re not equipped to take her on. She’ll eat you for lunch and still have room for dessert.”

Shelly narrowed her eyes and regarded him. “I’m telling Jake that you’re disrespecting me in favor of your low-class cousin.”

Oh, I was in this now. “Why don’t you do that,” I seethed. “Why don’t you go tell him that I was being mean to you and see what that gets you?”

Shelly shifted her gaze between Derrick and me for a second. She seemed to be collecting herself. “This isn’t over,” she said finally before turning on her heel and stalking away.

“I can’t wait for the encore.”