[Avery Shaw 11.0] Unwritten & Underwater

by Amanda M. Lee

  “How did you and Sheriff Farrell end up being so close to one another again?” Fraser asked, ignoring my joke.

  “I got a job at The Monitor. He was a sheriff’s inspector at the time,” I replied. “We crossed paths at a murder scene, and that’s when we realized we were in the same area.”

  “Did you ever consider picking up your relationship?”

  Eliot tilted his head, seemingly interested in the answer.

  “I don’t believe so,” I replied. “The second we saw each other we started arguing. It remained that way until Jake was elected sheriff.”

  “You didn’t argue once he was sheriff?”

  “No, it’s just … we didn’t see each other quite as often for a bit,” I answered. “What does any of this have to do with Cara’s death?”

  “I’m simply trying to pin down a pattern,” Fraser explained. “How does Mr. Kane fit into all of this?”

  “We live together,” Eliot answered, gesturing toward me.

  “So you live together and are friends with your girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend? Don’t you find that a bit … odd?”

  Eliot shrugged, refusing to be backed into a corner. “I knew Jake from the military. We had our own relationship before I knew Avery Shaw even existed.”

  “And after you knew she existed?”

  Eliot shrugged. “Avery and I didn’t take one look at each other and immediately fall in love. It was a slower burn than that. I knew she had a past with Sheriff Farrell when we got involved. That was long before we moved in together. I’m fine with it.”

  “Really?” Fraser didn’t look convinced. “I don’t think I’d be nearly as calm if my girlfriend spent a lot of time with her ex-boyfriend.”

  “Well, you’re not me,” Eliot fired back. “I trust Avery. Sure, I might not trust her to take out the garbage when I tell her to – and just the other day she said she would take the returnables back and I caught her paying two kids to cart away all of our bottles and cans – but I trust her heart.

  “She and Jake are close,” he continued. “Jake and I are close. My relationship with Avery is on solid ground. In fact, things between us have never been better. If you’re looking for a motive there, I can’t help you.”

  “And what about you?” Fraser asked, focusing on Jake. “Are you jealous of Mr. Kane’s relationship with your ex-girlfriend?”

  “I guess I’m jealous of the fact that I want what they have, but I’m not jealous of Eliot for the reasons you’re insinuating,” Jake replied. “I want Avery happy. He makes her happy. They had a housewarming Sunday, in fact, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the way he gets her. I’m thrilled for them.”

  “So you went to their housewarming on Sunday,” Fraser noted. “That’s the event where the victim showed up and surprised everyone, correct?”

  I’d wondered if Jake brought that up. I guess that answered that question.

  Jake bobbed his head. “It is.”

  “Did you see the victim since the housewarming?”

  “I have not.”

  Fraser turned to me, his expression serving to repeat the question.

  “I haven’t seen her since then either,” I volunteered. “Just for the record, I have no reason to kill Cara. I actually felt a bit sorry for her Sunday because she was so pathetic. She seemed lost and upset.”

  “Did you try to make things easier for her?”

  “No. I saw no reason to go that far.”

  “Okay, I think I have enough for now.” Fraser snapped his notebook shut. “Until we have a cause of death we can’t move forward. I’m sure I’ll be in touch after that.”

  And just like that we were dismissed.

  9 Nine

  Eliot and I walked out of the aquarium together after Fraser wrapped up his questioning. He was abnormally quiet. I couldn’t risk leaving him until I felt we were on solid ground, so I decided to attack the issue head on.

  “How angry are you?”

  Eliot snapped his eyes in my direction, the question catching him off guard. “What makes you think I’m angry?”

  “Answering a question with a question is a sign of aversion.”

  “Saying things like that instead of answering my question amounts to the same thing,” Eliot pointed out, pulling up short as we arrived at my car. “I’m not angry. I don’t understand why you think I’m angry.”

  “It was the questions about my relationship with Jake that set you off.” I saw no reason to lie. “I’d rather talk about it now than let it fester while I’m at work all day.”

  “And I would rather let it fester until I’ve gotten over it and then pretend it never happened.” Eliot heaved a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Because speaking to me about what I’m thinking is a vast improvement over what you used to do, I guess I can’t cut you off from information.”

  “What did I used to do?”

  “Puppet shows with those annoying mittens,” Eliot replied without hesitation. “You used to do voices and reenact key scenes from Star Wars movies until I gave up trying to draw real emotion out of you. This is growth.”

  “I don’t know anyone who could witness my interaction with Tad today and think I’m growing as a person.”

  “Baby steps.” Eliot ran his hands up and down my arms before dropping a kiss on my forehead. “Okay, here’s the thing, I’m not angry. Honestly, I don’t have an ounce of anger in me over what happened. I am, however, frustrated whenever I have to hear about your past with Jake.

  “I know it’s irrational and completely unfair because I was well aware of your relationship before we got involved,” he continued. “I still felt a twinge when you admitted you loved him. It’s unfair. It’s not your fault. It’s completely irrational. I swear I will be over it by the time I get home tonight.”

  Something about the way he was beating himself up caused me to love him even more. I didn’t think that was possible until the exact moment he admitted his fears. “You know I love you now, right?”

  Eliot nodded, his long hair brushing his shoulders. “I do know that. Believe it or not, I never doubt that. It was still annoying to hear.”

  “I can’t go back in time and change it.”

  “And you wouldn’t even if you could,” Eliot supplied. “I get that. I want you and Jake to be friends – mostly because I think you need it, but also because I think he needs it. Inspector Fraser was purposely trying to stir things up between all of us. I know that. I shouldn’t let it bother me, yet it did.”

  “I’m not going to turn on Jake, but I don’t love him like I love you,” I said. “I won’t abandon him with all of this going on. He’s going to need us.”

  “I’m glad you said ‘us.’” Eliot cracked a smile. “You’re being very adult about this. I’m proud.”

  “I don’t feel adult,” I admitted. “Do you know the first thing I thought when I saw Cara’s body in the water?”

  “Are the stingrays eating her like sharks?”

  He knew me too well. “After that.”

  “You were thinking that Jake’s life would get easier,” Eliot said. “It’s not that you were glad Cara was dead, but you were briefly glad that Jake wouldn’t have to worry about her following him any longer.”

  I couldn’t help being impressed. “How did you know that?”

  “Because I felt the same thing. I was worried when she showed up at our house. That is not normal behavior. I thought maybe she might go after you. The first thing I thought when I realized it was her is that you were safe … at least from her. We still have your mouth to deal with when you infuriate people, but I don’t have to worry about that specific deranged woman showing up to do you harm.”

  “Oh, you say the sweetest things.” I poked his chest, teasing, and then sobered. “How do you think she ended up in the aquarium?”

  “I don’t know,” Eliot replied. “I’m guessing the fact that all of the cameras failed at the same time isn’t a coincidence. I’m not sure what to think. I have
to meet with the aquarium head before I leave … which means you’re not going to get your Red Lobster like I promised. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not. You’ve been screwed out of Red Lobster two days in a row. We can go there for dinner if you want.”

  My mind bounced to Cara floating in the pool, the stingrays drifting around her as they flashed their sickening smiles, and I immediately began shaking my head. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to eat seafood for a bit.”

  Eliot nodded in understanding. “Okay. How about I pick up takeout? I’ll go for some of your greasy favorites … and nothing that even remotely resembles seafood.”

  I smiled, thankful he knew me so well. “That sounds like a plan.”

  Eliot tucked a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear as he regarded me. “What are you going to do about the aquarium story?”

  That was a very good question. “My understanding is that they’re delaying the opening now by at least a day,” I answered. “It was supposed to open for a brief preview tonight, but that’s off the table.”

  “And rightly so.”

  “Yeah.” I pressed the heel of my hand against my forehead. “I guess I’ll have to talk to Fish and see what he says. I mean … I’m not technically a suspect. Fraser didn’t say I was a suspect.”

  “That’s because he doesn’t have a cause of death yet. Don’t kid yourself, Avery. All three of us will be suspects.”

  “I can see why Jake and I would be saddled with motives, but why you?”

  “Because I’d do whatever it takes to keep you safe,” Eliot replied. “It’s going to come out that I was worried Cara was a threat to you. When it does, Fraser will take a good, long look at me.”

  That didn’t seem fair. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault.” Eliot pressed a firm kiss to my lips. “You should probably head to the office. I’m sure Fish will freak out when he hears what happened. As for me, I’ll be here and text you any information I come across.”

  “Thank you.” I impulsively threw my arms around him, gracing him with a quick hug. “You and I have a pretty good thing going, huh?”

  Eliot chuckled as he returned my embrace. “We do.”

  “I won’t ever purposely do anything to screw it up. I want you to know that.”

  “I know.” Eliot gently knocked his head against mine before releasing me. “Try to stay out of trouble for the rest of the day, will you? I have my hands full here and can’t ride to your rescue should anything bad happen.”

  I was scandalized. “I don’t need you to ride to the rescue.”

  “Oh, well, I should’ve rephrased that. I’m sorry. I have my hands full and you probably won’t be able to ride to my rescue because of it.”

  “Much better.”

  “I thought so.”

  FISH EYED me expectantly when I strode into the newsroom, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

  “It took you long enough to get back here,” he announced, making sure his voice carried so my co-workers could easily hear me being dressed down. “Why is it that I have to hear from the television news that a body was discovered at an event you were covering?”

  “Because I was being questioned by the police and couldn’t get free to call you,” I shot back, agitation from my crappy day finally catching up to me.

  “Oh, well, that’s a good reason.” Fish didn’t appear perturbed. “Why were you being questioned? Did you discover the body?”

  “Yes.”

  “I guess that makes sense.”

  “I also knew the victim.”

  Fish stilled, the only movement coming from his sparkplug eyebrows as they ascended toward the spot where his hairline used to be. “You knew the victim? Please tell me it wasn’t Tad Ludington. If he’s dead and you’re going to prison that’s going to leave a big hole in our reporting staff.”

  “Ha, ha.” The situation wasn’t even remotely funny and the churn in my stomach was becoming almost unbearable. “It’s not Ludington. He was there, though. We had our usual words, so expect a complaint to be filed with the front office by the end of the day.”

  “I’ll just add it to the five hundred already on record.” Fish’s eyes were keen as he scanned my face. “Who was it?”

  “Cara Carpenter.”

  “Why does that name sound familiar?”

  Here’s where things were about to get tricky. “Because she’s Jake’s ex-girlfriend.”

  “Holy crap!” Fish moved to stand and then immediately sat, his legs unable to make a decision. “How was she killed?”

  I shrugged. “She didn’t have any marks on her. She was in an open pool where the stingrays were swimming. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find out she got an early tour and had a heart attack or something.”

  “I can already tell you don’t believe that.”

  “The cameras at the aquarium went down in something called a cascade failure during the overnight hours. Also, if she was visiting, someone had to let her in. That individual wouldn’t just leave her dead in the pool if she died accidentally or abandon her there.”

  “All good points,” Fish noted. “That means she was probably murdered. You said there were no marks. That doesn’t mean someone didn’t hold her under the water until she stopped breathing.”

  “This is true.” I scratched my forehead, unsure how much information I should share. Finally, I saw no reason to hold anything back. Fish was bound to find out everything at some point. “Cara showed up at my house on Sunday.”

  “At your housewarming thing?”

  I nodded.

  “I was going to come to that, by the way, but I went golfing instead.” Fish’s apology was as lame as his gold-plated jewelry.

  “You just didn’t want to risk running into my mother.”

  “The woman is terrifying.”

  “Try getting ready for a party with her.”

  “I’ll pass.”

  “Jake and I caught Cara hiding behind some bushes and spying on the party. Eliot eventually joined us. There might’ve been some harsh words exchanged.”

  “How harsh?”

  “Harsh enough that Cara was extremely angry when she left,” I replied. “Now, I have no idea what Cara was doing between when we kicked her off the property and when she ended up dead at the aquarium, but I’m a little worried.”

  “You didn’t kill her, did you?”

  “No.”

  “Then what are you worried about?”

  “Why would someone dump a body in an aquarium when a big unveiling was planned for the next morning?” I challenged. “Whoever did it had to know that a bunch of people would be traipsing through there today. Now, the stingray room was closed off because they were finishing up a few things, but the odds of making it through the entire day without anybody finding Cara were pretty slim.”

  “Do you think the murder was aimed at Jake?”

  “I think that’s probably the most likely scenario,” I conceded. “Even if someone wanted to point a finger at me, it’s risky. There were no guarantees I’d be covering the event. Something could’ve easily happened to change my schedule. Jake is another story.”

  “So, how do you want to handle it?”

  “That depends … am I going to remain in charge of the story?”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  I was relieved by Fish’s answer. The feeling lasted only a split-second before Duncan Marlow – more affectionately referred to as the office tool and company dick weasel – cleared his throat as he approached.

  “Oh, geez.”

  Fish held up his hand to quiet me and pasted an even look on his face as he regarded Duncan. “Can I help you?”

  “No, but I can help you,” Duncan replied. “I couldn’t help but overhear your discussion.”

  “That’s what happens when you eavesdrop,” I pointed out.

  Duncan ignored me. “It seems Avery has gotten herself
into another pickle.”

  “I’m going to put my foot in your pickle,” I muttered, averting my gaze so I didn’t have to cringe under Fish’s watchful stare.

  “I believe ethical concerns come into play on a story like this because Avery knows the victim and has a special relationship with another suspect,” Duncan noted. “We all know Sheriff Farrell will be dragged into this investigation. In fact, he’s probably already working to cover his own culpability.”

  “He called in the state police, genius,” I snapped. “They’re handling the investigation.”

  “Oh, well … .” Duncan looked caught. “That doesn’t change the fact that Avery is crazy enough to have probably killed that woman. She shouldn’t be in charge of handling her own media coverage.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him where he could shove the media coverage, but Fish was already on the offensive.

  “Avery is a better reporter than you, and this is bound to be a big story,” Fish interjected, causing Duncan to scowl. “Unless Cara Carpenter stole her Converse, I can’t see Avery putting in the effort to kill the woman.

  “As for coverage, we’ll play it by ear,” he continued. “For now, Avery is in charge of the story because she was there and will have details no one else has. That’s good for our sales tomorrow. After that … I’ll let her follow her instincts.”

  I flashed a haughty smile for Duncan’s benefit as he glared.

  “Don’t get too full of yourself,” Fish warned, focusing on me. “If I feel that you’re too tied to this investigation I will force you to hand over the story.”

  Now it was Duncan’s turn to gloat. “Thank you.”

  “I’m not giving it to you,” Fish countered. “If it has to go to someone else, I’ll give it to Marvin.”

  Duncan was incensed. “Who happens to be her buddy!”

  “Who happens to be a great reporter,” Fish clarified. “This is a big story, Duncan. It’s out of your wheelhouse. You’re not capable of grasping what this could mean. Avery and Marvin are. For now … it remains Avery’s story. If things change, then we’ll adapt.”

  “That sounds good to me,” I said, moving toward my desk. “I’ll have two pieces for you within the next hour.”