Above the Fold & Below the Belt (An Avery Shaw Mystery Book 14)

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Welcome to Whedon Home Furnishings. How may I assist you today?”

  If she was hoping for a commission, she was about to be disappointed. “I’m here to talk to you about your dead ex-husband.”

  Lily frowned. “I ... what?”

  “Dan,” I pressed, refusing to back down. “He’s dead and I want to talk to you about him.”

  Lily spared a glance at the salesman loitering in the media center area before lowering her voice and stepping closer to me. “Now is not the time.”

  “I can always talk louder and ask your co-workers if you ever mentioned your ex-husband,” I offered with a faux sweet smile.

  She scowled. “Fine. Come with me to the mattress section. We can talk there.”

  Things were looking up. “Great.” I was quiet as I trailed her through the store, waiting until she pointed at the mattresses, silently instructing me to pick one so it wouldn’t be obvious that we were having a conversation rather than sharing a potentially lucrative shopping experience. “Do you prefer a soft or firm mattress?”

  “I don’t know. We have one that has one of those cool tops on it and I absolutely love that because I’m a hot sleeper. My boyfriend picked it out, but I’m a big fan.”

  “I ... .” Lily broke off, furrowing her brow as she glanced around. “Are you really here to shop?” She looked hopeful.

  I bit back a sigh. She obviously wasn’t the brightest crayon in the carton. I’d expected as much at first glance, yet remained hopeful that she was merely dressed to impress because it helped with commissions.

  “I’m here to talk about Dan,” I clarified, rolling to my side to retrieve my notebook from my back pocket and smiling. “How did you meet?”

  Lily scowled. “Does that really matter? I don’t think it’s important.”

  “I do. You were nineteen when you got married. How old were you when you met?”

  “I was an adult, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she hissed.

  “So ... eighteen.” I took a moment to look her up and down. “Dan was obviously already working for Bart when you guys met. Wasn’t that a red flag for you?”

  “No.” Lily shook her head. “I’m a big fan of Bart’s. I went to the radio station on a field trip and that’s how I met Dan.”

  “Wait.” I held up my hand, my stomach threatening to revolt. “You were on a field trip? That’s a high school thing.”

  “I was less than a month from graduating,” Lily replied dryly. “It’s not as if I was a child. Besides, I was there because I was interested in an internship. I always wanted to be on the radio ... until I realized there were no cameras.”

  I pursed my lips. That statement pretty much confirmed it: I was dealing with an idiot. Still, she was essentially a child when she met Dan. I didn’t want to think of the tricks he used to get her to date him. “Did he ask you out that day?”

  “No. He asked me to come back for an interview and then he asked me out.”

  “Did you get the internship?”

  “I did.” She looked happy at the memory.

  “Did you get the internship after you agreed to go out with him?”

  “Why does that matter?”

  Oh, geez. She was going to be a real pain in the behind. I could already tell. “Your marriage lasted less than two years,” I supplied, changing course. “Why is that?”

  Lily’s expression turned dark. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

  “Fair enough.” I forced a smile. “I’ll track down everyone who knew you during the period you were married and ask them. It’s fine.”

  “They won’t necessarily know the truth,” Lily protested. “They’ll make things up to make me look bad.”

  I seriously doubted that. “If you want to control your own story you need to talk. Otherwise I’m going to have to track down information through other means. I don’t make the rules. That’s simply how it works.”

  “Oh.” Lily turned pouty. “I guess that makes sense.” She rubbed her forehead. “You want the truth? Here it is. I married him for money. I thought that since he worked with Bart and people were talking all the time about the money that Bart made that Dan made a lot, too. I was wrong.”

  “You went to the radio station hoping to meet Bart, didn’t you?” I surmised.

  “I did meet him. He was nice. He simply didn’t pay any attention to me. Dan was another story.”

  “So you decided to make do, work Dan to get what you want, and then you ended up married to a jerk,” I mused. “How long did it take you to realize you’d made a mistake?”

  “Five minutes,” Lily replied honestly. “He was nice when we were dating, saying all the right things. I honestly thought the marriage wouldn’t be terrible. I thought things would somehow work out. Boy was I wrong.”

  “I’m sure he started spouting his nonsense about women staying home and tending to the family while the man serves as hunter and gatherer, right?”

  Lily shook her head. “That’s why I wanted to marry him. I was fine with that notion. Do you think I wanted this?” She gestured toward the mattress room. “I can guarantee I never pictured myself selling furniture for a living. I don’t really have a choice. I needed money and I got next to nothing in the divorce.”

  “What did you think you were going to get for such a short marriage?” I asked, legitimately curious.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. More than I did. Dan didn’t want me to work, which was fine. But he wouldn’t give me money to go shopping. He said we didn’t have it. Then he turned mean when he realized that I had no interest in cooking and cleaning. The marriage went downhill quickly after that.”

  “Meaning? Did he hit you?”

  “No, but he screamed a lot, told me I was stupid.”

  “You’re saying he was verbally abusive.”

  “Basically,” she confirmed. “I heard about what happened on television yesterday. I can’t say I’m surprised. That whole group is out for attention and Dan was the loudest one. Still, I’m kind of sad. He wasn’t all bad.”

  “Had you seen him since the divorce?”

  Lily shook her head. “He basically forgot I was even sharing oxygen on this planet with him as soon as I told him I wanted to end the marriage. He was furious. He stormed away and he never looked back. I guess he had so much practice he knew what to do.”

  “I guess.” Suddenly, even though she’d married for money so she wouldn’t have to work, I felt sorry for her. “You were probably lucky to get away when you did. I know you don’t like this job, but things could’ve been worse.”

  “That’s what I keep telling myself.”

  “I’m sure things will get better.”

  “I hope so. They couldn’t possibly get worse.”

  10 Ten

  The courtyard in front of the courthouse was packed by the time I arrived. Jury selection was scheduled to begin at two and the attorneys and defendant were already upstairs, which meant the warring factions had nothing to do but snipe at one another.

  “You should try shaving your armpits,” one of the men barked at a woman carrying a sign that read “You’re so vain you probably think this sign is about you.” I had to give her credit, because that one made me smile. The dude frothing at the mouth as he gave her grief was another story.

  “Did you hear me?” he bellowed at her back. “You have hairy armpits.”

  The woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, merely rolled her eyes. “You can’t even see my armpits.”

  “That doesn’t mean I don’t know they’re hairy.”

  I decided to add my voice to the conversation. “In Europe, hairy armpits are considered sexy,” I offered.

  The man slid me a disgusted look. “I’m guessing you have hairy armpits, too.”

  I opted to play along. “Not only that, but in the winter I let the hair on my legs grow long when it’s really cold because it’s like fur and keeps me warm.”

  “Ugh!”

&n
bsp; I snickered, thoroughly enjoying myself, as he stormed off. That’s when Jake appeared to my right and slid me a sidelong look.

  “Do you really let your legs go in the winter?”

  I shrugged. “Sometimes.”

  “Poor Eliot.”

  “Hey, Eliot is lucky to have me.” I meant it. Of course, I recognized I was lucky to have him, too, so it was something of a wash. “Any incidents so far today?”

  “No.” Jake was calm. “How are you feeling after yesterday?”

  “I’m fine.”

  He continued staring. “You can tell me if you’re not. I know you don’t like looking weak in front of Eliot, but I can take it.”

  I groaned. “I’m fine. I didn’t have nightmares or anything. You don’t have to worry about me. I barely registered what was happening as it was going down.”

  “I don’t believe that.”

  “Well ... I don’t know what to tell you.”

  He blew out an exaggerated sigh and then held his hands up in mock capitulation. “Fine. I wasn’t trying to rile you, no matter what you think. Believe it or not, I worry about you at times.”

  “There’s nothing to worry about.” I meant it. “It was a frightening situation, but it’s over. I’m more interested in the follow-up investigation.”

  Jake’s expression turned suspicious. “What do you mean by that?”

  “You aren’t holding a news conference today,” I pointed out. “Usually, after a high-profile incident like this one, you hold a conference. What gives?”

  “We don’t have information to share at this time.” He turned stiff and formal. “When we have information to share with the media I’m sure you’ll be the first to know.”

  Ah, he was being cagey. That was intriguing. “Do you know what kind of weapon was used?”

  “We’re waiting on the report.”

  “Have you checked the cameras in the area?”

  “That’s an ongoing process.”

  Oh, well, now he was just being difficult. “You kind of suck. You know that, right?”

  “It’s not my job to make things easier for you. It’s my job to protect the residents of this county.”

  “Is that why you have fifteen deputies hanging around?”

  “How did you manage to count that high without taking your shoes off?”

  I didn’t appreciate his belligerent tone. “We don’t have to talk if you’re going to be a crank. I’ve already had a long day.”

  “Oh, yeah? What did you do today?”

  Hmm. Now he was fishing. Something else was going on here. “I’ve been interviewing people from Dan Crawford’s life. That includes his son, two wives and a father who has the personality of an angry colon after three coneys and a wet burrito.”

  Jake made a disgusted face, although I didn’t miss the way his lips twitched. “You have a wonderful way with words,” he drawled. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

  “I tell myself that every day.” I shifted to study the women behind me. “Things seem quieter today. Sure, the insults are flying fast and furious, but no one is getting in each other’s faces. That’s an improvement.”

  “There have been a few incidents. We rushed in and separated the angry parties, warned them that they would be removed if it continued, and then they settled down. I expect this situation to remain a powder keg of tension until it’s over.”

  On that particular point we could agree. “Are you leaning toward the notion that Crawford was the target?”

  “As opposed to who?”

  “Savage.”

  Jake looked around the crowd. “I’m sure you’re looking at this from the same angles we are,” he said. “This is off the record, by the way, and I’m not commenting on the record until I have more information. If you quote me, we’re going to be at war ... and I’ll win.”

  It took everything I had not to roll my eyes. I didn’t lose wars. Jake knew that. Besides, he was too much of a softie to really punish me. The one time I was locked in a cell overnight on his watch, he sat with me to make sure I wasn’t alone. He was all talk, false bravado and the like, but at his core he was a good man.

  “Fine. Off the record.”

  “We don’t know if Crawford was the target,” Jake admitted, glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody was watching. “The thing is, Crawford had numerous enemies. The guy was a ... total jerk. He has three ex-wives, three kids who he rarely saw, and a father who ... defies description.”

  “I’ve spent time with John Crawford,” I admitted, my mood darkening. “I can see why Dan ended up the way he did. John is a real piece of work.”

  “Did he say something to you?”

  “He said a number of things. He’s pretty much a sexist ass with a side of perverted tool thrown in for good measure.”

  Jake’s cheeks flushed red. “Did he touch you?”

  “If he’d touched me he’d be in the hospital. Why? Did he touch someone else?”

  “Let’s just say he has a colorful background and leave it at that.”

  He didn’t know me at all if he thought I was going to ignore that tidbit. Instead, I filed it away to chase later. I never considered running a background check on John. Now it seemed that would be prudent. Jake didn’t need to know that, though.

  “He’s a jerk,” I said. “I never got the chance to talk to Dan — I put it off because I wasn’t looking forward to it — and now I’m kind of regretting it. Everything I’ve gathered, from those who are supposed to be closest to him, paints a picture of a very unhappy man.”

  “I think you hit the nail on the head there. Did the other family members talk to you?”

  “They didn’t seem to have a problem with it. The second wife was expecting me. The third wife put up a bit of resistance, but she’s slow and it was easy to get her to cave.”

  “We haven’t talked to the third wife yet,” Jake admitted. “She was at the bar last night and didn’t get home until after two. She Ubered — which is good — but she was pretty well hammered when she returned. We had to put off the interview, and then she had to work today.”

  “She’s twenty-two,” I pointed out. “She’s at the age when it’s perfectly okay to get hammered in the middle of the week without judgment.”

  “I always judge.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re you.”

  He grinned and poked my side before sobering. The second I saw the serious expression wash over his face I knew things were about to shift.

  “I need you to be careful, Avery.” He lowered his voice so only I could hear. “I know this story has you excited because it boasts everything you crave — morons on both sides, loudmouths who will say anything to get into the newspaper, a victim who had so many enemies it might take weeks to sift through all the information — but you’re in a precarious position here.”

  That wasn’t exactly how I saw it, but I was intrigued. “Oh, yeah? How do you figure?”

  “You’re a public figure whether you want to admit it or not. You’re everything a lot of these guys hate.”

  “Most of these guys are probably thumb-suckers and bed-wetters,” I countered. “They talk big, but they’re cowards at the end of the day.”

  “I wouldn’t argue with that assessment. But not all of them are blowhards. Someone was intent enough to take several shots into a crowd.”

  “I’m guessing you have that covered,” I said. “No one will be shooting from the rooftops again under your watch.”

  “No, but that doesn’t mean an attack won’t come from a different direction.”

  “And you think I’ll be a target? Why?”

  “Because the public knows your face and you tend to tick off the wrong people. I don’t want anything to happen to you, so watch your back.”

  “I always do.”

  “Thankfully, I know that’s true. Keep an eye out. And if you see anything suspicious, report it to me instead of investigating on your own.”

  We both knew that wasn�
�t going to happen, but I nodded all the same. “I’ll be careful.”

  “That would be a nice change of pace.”

  I SPENT THE NEXT HOUR interviewing protestors on both sides. I enjoyed talking to the men more than the women, but only because they said absolutely ridiculous things and didn’t see anything wrong with it.

  “So, you think what happened yesterday was an act of God, huh?”

  Ed Spitz , a local construction worker, wore a shirt that read “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” It looked to be about twenty years old (and that was being generous) and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d accidentally wandered into the wrong protest.

  “It was.” Spitz bobbed his head, earnest, the pinch between his cheek and gum approaching golf ball circumference. “God is angry at all of us and he wants to teach us a lesson. That’s why he took one of his most valuable angels in a public display, to send a message.”

  His gaze darkened as he glared at Julia across the way. “Unfortunately, not everyone understood the message.”

  “Right.” I licked my lips, debating how to proceed. “You know you’re wearing a shirt from twenty years ago, right?” I decided to come right out and ask the question. There was always a chance he’d accidentally slipped into a time machine and came out in the wrong era.

  “This shirt is a classic,” he countered, smoothing the wrinkles. “The sentiment is as true today as it’s ever been.”

  “Yes, but this is a protest about sexual harassment and rape in the workplace,” I pointed out. “Homosexuality isn’t really on the table for debate.”

  “Except God is angry about homosexuality, and that’s why all this is happening.”

  Huh. I didn’t see that coming. I should have, but I didn’t. “He’s angry about homosexuality so he arranged for an anti-feminist protester to be shot in a public setting?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Well, great.” I could only take so much crazy before my eyes threatened to roll back in my head. “It’s been nice talking to you. Have fun at the rest of the protest.”

  “Oh, I intend to.”

  The malevolent look in his eyes made me uncomfortable, so I was eager to put distance between us. When I turned to make my escape, I found Eliot blocking my path. “What are you doing here?” I blurted out.