Bylines & Skylines (An Avery Shaw Mystery Book 9)

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Then we’ll deal with it when it happens,” Eliot said. “For once, I refuse to let things get out of hand.”

  “You live in a topsy-turvy world with a chaotic woman,” Fish said. “Things are going to get out of hand.”

  “I have faith they won’t.”

  Fish shook his head. “Avery is going to eat you alive when it’s all said and done. I suppose if anyone is strong enough to withstand it, it’s you.”

  Eliot made a face. “Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?”

  “You’re supposed to take it as a prayer for your wellbeing,” Fish countered. “Now, all of you get out of here. I have a headache, and if history is any indication Avery will somehow make it worse before the day is out.”

  “Oh, you say the sweetest things,” I said, pushing myself to a standing position. “I can’t tell you how much your faith and support means to me.”

  “Just keep your eyes open,” Fish said. “No matter what, we’re going to have a big day of coverage. If you’re not careful, you’ll lose sight of the finish line and then we’re all going to be in trouble with the big bosses..”

  “Trust me. That will never happen.”

  28

  Twenty-Eight

  “Oh, you look marvelous!”

  I hopped to a stop next to Jake in the security office. We headed there first upon arriving at the convention. Eliot wanted to check his camera equipment and feeds before letting me loose on the convention floor. Because it didn’t open for another two hours I had plenty of time to talk to workers before the place was swarmed with geeks.

  Huh, a swarm of geeks? That’s really the best kind of swarm, isn’t it?

  Jake looked rough. I hadn’t seen him with a monster hangover since we were teenagers – although he’d seen me a few times, and been less than sympathetic. His eyes were rimmed with red, dark circles pooling beneath them, and his hair was still wet from the shower and didn’t have the usual height he managed to achieve. I had a feeling he forgot to use his favorite hair products this morning, or simply lacked the energy.

  He sat in a chair next to a computer, a huge mug of coffee in his hand, and glared as we entered. “This is exactly what my morning needs.”

  “Don’t blame me because you drank too much last night,” I chided. “I didn’t force the beer … and then bourbon on ice … and then wine … down your throat.”

  “You didn’t stop me either.”

  “To be fair, she did try to stop you,” Eliot offered, removing his laptop from the bag he carried and plugging it in at the table closest to where Jake sat. “You told her to mind her own business.”

  “You always take her side,” Jake grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

  “He does not,” I scoffed. “He always takes your side. I’m usually the one left sideless.”

  “That doesn’t even make sense.”

  “All I heard was ‘wah,’” I countered, making a face that caused Eliot to smile and Jake to scowl. “Suck it up, big guy. Take some aspirin and eat something greasy. You’ll feel better in no time.”

  “I’m not sure that’s true,” Jake said. “I think I might be dying.”

  “And people say I’m dramatic.”

  “You’re in your own league,” Eliot said, digging into his bag and returning with a bottle of aspirin. “I grabbed this before we left the house. I had a feeling you might need it.”

  Jake took the bottle without complaint. “I do need it. Thank you.”

  “I’m used to dealing with Avery’s hangovers,” Eliot explained. “I’ve learned that it’s better to be prepared. She’s a tyrant on a normal morning. When you add in a hangover, well, she’s downright unbearable.”

  “I don’t need this abuse,” I warned. “I’ve been good all morning.”

  “I think that’s a semantics argument, but we’ll go with it,” Eliot said. “I thought when you told your mother that three minutes was enough time to have sex and cook breakfast that you might’ve crossed a line.”

  “Hey, I was just being honest.”

  “Do I even want to know what you two are talking about?” Jake asked, annoyed.

  “Probably not,” Eliot conceded.

  “Let’s tell him anyway,” I suggested. What? I’m bored. “We woke up in a good mood and were feeling frisky … .”

  “Avery,” Eliot warned. “Don’t make him sick.”

  I ignored the admonishment. “My mother picked that moment to come in without knocking, and she totally upset Eliot,” I said, enjoying the story. “He whipped the sheets up to cover himself and then tried to hide under them, like somehow he would suddenly become invisible to her eagle eyes due to a magic sheet.”

  “Why did she enter without knocking?” Jake asked, his expression grim. “That’s kind of rude.”

  “That’s what I said,” Eliot supplied. “She didn’t see it the same way. I told her things would change when we got the new house and she pretended not to hear me.”

  “So you got the house?” Jake pursed his lips. “Congratulations. That’s a really cool house and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Avery that excited. Er, well, scratch that. When we were in high school someone told her they were filming one of the Star Wars movies in Traverse City. Even though it made absolutely no sense, she stalked the hotels there for a week until giving up. She was excited then, too.”

  “Hey, I finally rank with Star Wars,” Eliot teased, resting his hand on top of my head. “I’m all aglow with love.”

  I was going to make him aglow with my foot in his rear if he wasn’t careful. “Can we go back to my story?”

  “There’s nothing left to your story,” Eliot said. “Her mom came in, pitched a fit, explained that she was worried I wouldn’t be able to live with Avery because she’s a lot of work and then when she heard the offer was accepted she flipped like a coked-up acrobat and said she thought it was a great idea and she looked forward to decorating.”

  Jake snickered, mustering the first real smile of the morning. “Sounds entertaining.”

  “Then I’m telling it wrong,” Eliot said. “It was mortifying … and embarrassing … and completely unbelievable. Her family has absolutely no boundaries.”

  “Yeah, well, get used to that,” Jake said. “They’re never going to change and she’s happy with the way things are because she feeds off the negative energy her mother generates. She’s like a Gremlin. Instead of skidding out of control if you feed her after midnight, she turns into a monster if you take the drama away.”

  Eliot barked out a laugh at the visual. “Now that’s funny.”

  That was so not funny. “I know you’re hungover and dealing with a loss, Jake, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t take your attitude out on me,” I said. “I’m in a good mood. Don’t ruin it.”

  “Why are you in a good mood?” Jake asked. “I mean … I get you’re excited for the house and I really am happy for you … but you’re working on a Sunday when you should be celebrating.”

  “We celebrated last night,” Eliot supplied. “It was … nice.”

  “And Eliot even pretended to be Princess Leia,” I added, earning a harsh look for my revelation. “That’s what you get for turning against me. You should’ve taken my side over Jake’s.”

  “I always take your side and I can’t believe you told him that,” Eliot snapped. “That was supposed to be our secret.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have ticked me off on my happy day,” I said unbothered by his tone. I knew it wouldn’t last. He wouldn’t let it. No matter what, he was focused on watching me today. There were no lengths I could push to make him forget that. “I actually thought it was very sweet when you told me I was your only hope.”

  Eliot slapped his hand to his face to cover his eyes. “Oh, geez! I’m never going to live this down.”

  Jake snickered, legitimately amused. “Well, at least she got me out of my funk,” he said. “I have a feeling that was her intention all along, although she’d never admit it. Now tha
t I can focus, and the aspirin seems to be doing its job, we need to talk about today.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. I’m going to spend most of my day on the floor watching everybody,” Eliot said.

  “Oh, you’ll be watching Avery and we both know it,” Jake said. “That’s fine. If we go by recent history, if something bad happens, it’s going to happen to her … or at least near her. That doesn’t mean we can slack off and ignore everything and everyone else, but we’ll figure out a way to keep a close eye on her.”

  “Does anyone want to hear what I have to say on this topic?” I asked.

  “Not even remotely,” Jake said. “In fact, why are you even in here? Why aren’t you out there doing your thing?”

  “Because Eliot insisted we check on you first.”

  “Well, thank you,” Jake said, his face blank. “You’ve done that, and it’s time to get to work. Do you have a place to start?”

  I flashed an enigmatic smile. “I do.”

  “Would you like to share with the class?”

  “No.”

  “I figured,” Jake muttered, sipping his coffee. “It’s going to be a long day.”

  He had no idea.

  I HEADED toward Damien and Chucky’s candle display first, finding them deep in conversation when I approached. I cast a few glances over my shoulder to see if Eliot was really following, but I didn’t see him. Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t there. He was good at his job.

  “What’s up?” Damien asked, grinning when he caught sight of me. “You look very … shiny … this morning.”

  Oh, geez. Is that code for something? I hate when the kids come up with new lingo and I have no idea what they’re talking about. It reminds me of when my mother used the word “rad” for fifteen years straight. No one wants to live with that horror. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means he thinks you got laid last night,” Chucky supplied, grinning. “Your skin is all shiny.”

  “Oh, well … thank you. I guess. Wait … was that a compliment?”

  “It’s totally a compliment,” Damien replied, rolling his eyes. “You’re kind of a spaz, huh? I thought that might be the case yesterday, but today I’m convinced.”

  “I am not a spaz. I am the furthest thing from a spaz that exists. What would that even be? I guess I’m the antispaz.”

  “Like the Antichrist, but not a spaz instead?” Damien queried.

  “Exactly.”

  “Now I like you even more,” Damien said, chuckling. “You make things up as you go along. That’s always fun to find in a new friend.”

  New friend? These guys need to spend more time around regular people. “Actually, I’m here for two reasons,” I said.

  “You want more information, don’t you?” Chucky asked.

  “That’s one of the reasons,” I confirmed. “I also need some of these candles. My boyfriend and I made an offer on a house last night and it was accepted. I want to celebrate with creepy candles.”

  “Ah, a girl after my own heart,” Damien nodded as he grabbed some tissue paper to wrap my finds. “There’s nothing more awesome than sexy time spent in front of horror candles.”

  I got the distinct impression he was making fun of me, but since it was a lame attempt I opted to ignore it. “I want quite a few candles.”

  “Okay,” Damien said, bobbing his head. “You can ask your questions while I’m wrapping them.”

  “That’s exactly what I was hoping for,” I said, perusing the display. “I want Darth Vader, Boba Fett, the Stormtrooper, the Cthulhu, Frankenstein, Dracula and that one that looks like Herman Munster.”

  “You weren’t kidding when you said you wanted candles,” Chucky said, widening his eyes. “You know they’re twenty-five bucks each, right?”

  I nodded. “I’m fine with that. They’re cool.”

  “We’ll give you a deal,” Damien said. “We’ll do the ‘buy two and get one free’ promotion we ran on fan day. No one has to know which day you bought them.”

  “Thanks! In that case add the mummy and the dementor from Harry Potter, too.”

  “You’ve got it,” Damien said, retrieving the candles. “This will look good on our bottom line. Go ahead and ask your questions.”

  “Does anyone here dress like Jason Voorhees?”

  Damien was taken aback by the question. “The Camp Crystal Lake guy?”

  I nodded. “I was attacked in the parking lot the other day. The guy who did it was dressed as Jason Voorhees. Now, I’m not ruling out that it might’ve been a drunken worker or overzealous fan, but it’s one of the few leads I have, so I’m focusing on that this afternoon.”

  “I don’t know anyone offhand, but there is a Jason Voorhees costume back in storage,” Chucky said, rubbing his chin. “It’s black pants, a kind of olive shirt with blood on it, the mask, a big knife and a lot of fake blood.”

  “That sounds like what the guy was wearing but that’s the standard Jason outfit, so I can’t be sure without seeing it,” I said. “It also could’ve been a fan.”

  “It could’ve been a fan,” Damien conceded. “I’m not sure how likely that is. These conventions are generally full of people dressing up like recent fads. That’s why The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and superheroes are all over the place these days. Ever since Marvel and D.C. started going at each other everything has been all superheroes, all the time.”

  That made sense. “So you’re saying there’s really no need for someone to dress as Jason Voorhees these days.”

  “Pretty much,” Damien confirmed, using tape to secure one of the candles in a ball of tissue paper. “You see Jason Voorhees at horror conventions, not comic book conventions. I can’t even remember seeing a Jason character in the past six months.”

  “Now that you bring it up, I haven’t either,” Chucky said. “There’s a new movie coming out – although I think it’s at least a year away – and they have that video game coming out soon, but I’m not sure how much buzz that’s getting. It was a Kickstarter deal.”

  What they said made sense. “So you think it was probably someone at the convention.”

  “Probably,” Damien confirmed. “Everyone has access to those costumes. If someone wanted to catch you by surprise, what better way to do it than to dress as a horror movie icon?”

  “I’ve been thinking that myself,” I admitted. “Even if no one generally dresses as Jason, he wouldn’t stand out at an event like this because he’s still a pop culture icon.”

  “Exactly,” Damien said, bobbing his head. “Just out of curiosity, though, why would someone want to attack you?”

  “I ask a lot of questions.”

  “So you think you asked questions of the wrong person,” Damien mused. “I don’t suppose you know who you ticked off, do you? We want someone to pay for Kristen’s murder as much as anyone.”

  “I talked to at least a hundred people over the past week or so,” I said. “It could be any of them. I don’t suppose anyone has to record when they check out a costume, do they?”

  Chucky’s eyes widened as he nodded. “Actually, they do. You have to check them out. They’re locked up.”

  “Oh, wow! I was hoping that was the case. Is there a way I can see the Jason costume? I yanked on the arm and ripped the fabric a bit.”

  “I don’t see why not,” Damien said, accepting the money for the candles and handing me the bag. I grunted when I lifted it. “It’s heavy,” he warned. “You might want to store it in a cool place. It’s going to be hot today, so I don’t recommend putting it in your car.”

  “I’m strong,” I said, forcing a smile. “I’ll manage.”

  “I think you’re stubborn more than you are strong, but that’s close enough,” Damien said, smirking. “Come on. We have time to check out the costumes before the convention opens. I’m just as curious as you are to find out if Jason is one of us.”

  I had my doubts, but I wasn’t going to ignore an offer of help – especially w
hen I desperately needed it. “Lead the way.”

  29

  Twenty-Nine

  “Oh, well, this isn’t dark and depressing or anything. If this were a horror movie, we’d be the first to die just for walking into this room.”

  Sarcasm is a gift only some can master. I happen to be one of the blessed. The look Damien shot me when we entered the storage area behind the convention room told me otherwise.

  “It’s a storage room,” Damien said. “Did you expect it to be pretty?”

  I shrugged. “It’s still storage for a convention,” I said. “I thought it would have cool things – or be set up like a magic closet or something. Oh, whoa! Is that a Wonder Woman outfit?” I broke away from Damien and Chucky and hurried to a rack on the far wall. The red, white and blue fabric caught my attention the second I stepped inside. The bracelets attached to the outfit – and the rubber boots – were an added bonus.

  “You have ADD or something,” Damien said, chuckling as he watched me. “What’s the deal with you and Wonder Woman?”

  “I always wanted to be Wonder Woman as a kid,” I admitted, pulling the costume out so I could study it. It looked as if it would fit me, which was giving me ideas. “Or the Hulk. Sometimes I think I channel the Hulk. I can’t be him, though, because if I run around shirtless – even if I’m covered in green paint – people will talk.”

  Chucky snickered. “You don’t strike me as the type of person who cares if people talk.”

  “I don’t, but even I have some modesty. It’s a very small amount, though.”

  “You make me laugh,” Damien said, shaking his head. “You would fit right in on the circuit. Have you ever considered leaving the newspaper and doing something like this?”

  I tilted my head to the side, considering. “No. I like being a reporter. Plus, well, this is my home. I don’t think I’m built for a nomadic life. I’m stuck in my ways and I like collecting Star Wars stuff. You can’t build a big collection if you’re constantly on the move.”