New Media & Old Grudges

by Amanda M. Lee

  He clamped his jaw for a moment and then shrugged. “I don’t know, baby. I wish I had answers for you. I know you’ll feel guilty if he was killed in that office not long after we left, but we had no choice but to flee when we did.”

  “I don’t know that guilty is the word I would use,” I hedged. “I just ... don’t you think it’s weird?”

  “I think everything about you is weird.”

  That made me laugh. “You like weird, so I know I’m fine.”

  “I do like weird.” He gripped my hand and focused on the building. “As for this ... I definitely think it’s weird. I can’t help but wonder what he and Tad were up to. In theory, this should be good news for you. What would be your motive for wanting Ingalls dead?”

  He was obviously slow this morning. “What about the file Tad was amassing on me? It was on the top of the stack in his house. Either he put it there, the guy who is trying to frame me put it there, or the state police put it there. Either way, I don’t think that adds up to anything good.”

  His eyes drifted to me. “I forgot about that.” He pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead, his go-to move when fighting off a headache. “We still haven’t gone through that information thoroughly. We made plans and then got distracted.”

  “It’s probably good we did get distracted. Obviously if we didn’t come here last night then we wouldn’t have found Tad’s file ... which we still have.”

  “We do.” Eliot wrinkled his nose and sighed. “We haven’t gone through that either.”

  “We were distracted last night.”

  He shot me a grin. “I don’t regret it ... although it may come back to bite us.” He shifted on the bench and then suddenly leaned forward. “Crap. Here comes trouble.”

  I jerked up my head, frowning when I caught sight of Jake crossing the sidewalk. He looked freshly showered, which probably meant he was just starting his day. There was a spring in his step, making me think he’d probably had a good night with Lauren, and he greeted his men with a smile — one that faded the moment he saw Eliot and me.

  ‘“Uh-oh,” I muttered. “He’s heading this way.”

  “Yes, and he doesn’t look happy.” Eliot tightened his grip on my hand. “Let me do the talking.”

  I hated it when he said things like that. I was a world-class liar when I needed to get myself out of tough situations. He always forgot that. Still, if he wanted to be macho, more power to him. I was too tired to start making up elaborate lies.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Jake was obviously in no mood to waste time. “It’s barely eight.”

  “We heard about it on the news,” Eliot replied. “Avery wanted to come down here to check it out.”

  “She’s not on the job right now. Why would she want to do that?”

  Eliot held his palms out and shrugged. “You know how she is. I feel bad given everything that’s happened, so I don’t see any harm in placating her. We’re getting breakfast at the coney once she gets her contact buzz from the crime scene.”

  I had to admit it was a fairly ingenious lie. Eliot had told Jake I was feeling sorry for myself — my perpetual state — and that he was simply trying to make me feel better. He’d also reminded Jake that I was emotionally vulnerable and made sure he was aware I might cry if he came after us too hard. I was officially proud of the effort.

  “And you saw this on the news?” Jake’s eyebrows drew together. “I wasn’t aware it had already broken.”

  “Channel 4,” I volunteered, not missing a beat. “They have a new morning anchor I don’t recognize. I don’t like her, because her smile is weird.”

  “Oh, Savannah Gordon.” Jake knowingly nodded. “They’re saying the regular anchor is off for health reasons, but she was suspended for sexually harassing an intern. I heard some gossip from the other reporters.”

  Well, that was interesting. There was little I liked better than gossip about other reporters. “This new one won’t last. She won’t test well with viewers.”

  He rolled his neck and glanced between us. “You know I can’t tell you anything, right? You’re not officially on the job. I think this whole trip was a waste of time.”

  “Not really.” I forced a watery smile that I knew would make him feel sympathetic rather than suspicious ... at least for a few minutes. “It makes me feel connected to everything I’ve lost just by being here. This would’ve been my story.”

  “I’m sorry.” Jake looked legitimately apologetic. “We’ll figure this out. I don’t know how — especially since the state police have shut me out — but we will fix this.”

  He was going above and beyond to placate me, which only upped the guilt factor. Still, I nodded and then made small shooing motions with my hands. “Go. You don’t have to worry about us. We’re only staying for a few minutes so I can get my fix and then getting breakfast. I’m in the mood for sausage.”

  Eliot shot me a wicked flirty look. “That’s because you’re a pervert.”

  “Ugh. You guys are officially gross.” Jake offered us a haphazard wave and then headed toward the front door. I waited until he was gone to speak again.

  “That was a smart move with the sausage talk,” I said as I watched two deputies gather evidence by a side window. “You know he’s extremely upset whenever anybody talks sexy in public.”

  “I know that he’s uncomfortable when we do it,” Eliot corrected. “He may recognize that things worked out as they were supposed to, but it’s still weird for him sometimes to imagine you with me.”

  I frowned. “How can you possibly know that? Did he say something?”

  Eliot snorted. “You know guys don’t talk about feelings.”

  “So how do you know?”

  “I’m a student of human nature.”

  “How really?”

  “Lauren and I had a five-minute discussion about it two weeks ago when you and Jake were arguing outside the coney place about that Washington Township homicide.”

  I racked my brain trying to remember the instance. “Oh.” I made a face. “I didn’t realize you and Lauren were bonding.”

  “I wanted to make sure she wasn’t worried about the two of you being out there together. She seemed fine with it. She recognizes you guys will always be close. She also understands that you’re going to fight. She’s pretty observant.”

  “Apparently so are you. It’s still weird that you guys were talking about us. It makes me feel ... exposed.”

  “You’ll get over it.” He inclined his head toward the parking lot across the street. “Isn’t that Marvin?”

  I perked up immediately, following his gaze and grinning when I caught sight of my favorite co-worker. Marvin Potts was ... well ... words don’t suffice. He’s hard to describe. Essentially, he’s a teenage boy caught in a man’s body, if that man is socially awkward, a sex fiend, and addicted to professional wrestling. Throw in frequent visits to strip clubs, a refusal to eat anything that isn’t a chicken strip or bacon, and an inability to wear anything other than polyester pants and suspenders to work and you have Marvin.

  I absolutely love him.

  “Things are looking up.” I grinned at Eliot, who merely shook his head. “What?”

  “I don’t get your fascination with that guy. He’s kind of a loon.”

  “He’s great at his job,” I countered. “I’ve never met a better reporter. Just because he’s a little odd doesn’t mean he’s not awesome.”

  Eliot held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine. I apologize for talking bad about your buddy. He just drives me nuts.”

  “He’s hyperactive,” I acknowledged.

  “He’s also manic, a bit of a pervert, and I’m pretty sure he has ADD, because he can’t focus on anything for more than thirty seconds.”

  “He’ll also have information on Ingalls,” I pointed out.

  “Well, I guess that’s reason enough to talk to him. This time you can do the talking.”

  “Oh, thank you, sir.”

&n
bsp; He poked my side and chuckled. The noise was enough to attract Marvin’s attention.

  “Hey.” He was clearly taken aback. “I ... are you back?” He looked so hopeful it momentarily caused a lump to form in my throat.

  “No.” My voice was rusty and I was forced to clear my throat. “I saw the story on the news and wanted to check it out.”

  “Yeah. It’s a big deal.” He shuffled closer to us. “Did you know this guy? His father was a mobster and he was a big deal private investigator for the bad guys for years. He fell on hard times when they put Malcolm Bickerstaff away.”

  I narrowed my eyes. That was the second time I’d heard that story. “Why are you so knowledgeable about local mobsters?”

  “My father is a bookie.” He stated it as though he was claiming his father was an accountant. “He’s partly retired now, but he still knows all the players.”

  “What do you think is going on with Ingalls? I mean ... do you think this was a mob hit? What have you heard?”

  “I don’t think they have a cause of death yet. I find that odd, but it’s probably because of the fire.”

  I shifted on the bench and looked over my shoulder, staring hard at the exterior of the building. “It doesn’t look like there’s been a fire.”

  “No, but apparently you can tell at the back of the building. There’s a file room back there. That’s where the fire started ... and that’s what drew attention to the building in the first place. The building didn’t go up despite the use of accelerants. The body is apparently in rough shape.”

  My stomach gave a little heave as I looked to Eliot. He looked as baffled as me.

  “Do they know when it happened?” Eliot asked finally. I could see the gears of his mind turning.

  “I only got sparse details over the scanner.” Marvin was the sort of guy who slept with his police scanner on and made no apologies to any overnight guests when questioned over his bedmate choice. “They’re saying after eleven last night and before two this morning. That’s all I know.”

  I did the math in my head. The noise we heard when we were leaving could’ve very well been Ingalls returning to his office to die. I felt a little sick to my stomach at the notion. “Do they think it’s mob related?”

  Marvin gave a half shrug. “I’m guessing that’s the assumption they’ll be operating under. I mean ... what else could it be?”

  I could think of only one thing. The file room had been set on fire. It was possible that the arson was the perpetrator’s main goal. We still had Tad’s file, which now looked fortuitous.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Marvin offered when he caught sight of Jake. “I need to hammer the sheriff.”

  “Hammer him good,” Eliot called after him. “It wasn’t the mob,” he told me after a moment. “It was whatever he was doing for Tad. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “He managed to uncover really good dirt on one of Tad’s enemies,” I surmised. “We need to figure out who. Tad obviously went far enough to use the information on someone. I’ve been trying to figure out how that could benefit him. The only thing I come back to is the wife. She’s been quiet since he was shot.”

  Eliot’s eyes narrowed. “Wait ... what do you mean? You think the wife is guilty?”

  “She makes the most sense,” I clarified. “She had a personal vendetta against him. He had a file on her and MacDonald. I think he was trying to blackmail her to get out of paying child support. But what information he could have had on that boring woman is beyond me.”

  “Do you know where she’s staying these days?”

  “With her father.”

  “Ugh.” Eliot’s lips twisted. “We can’t risk going there. If your boss sees you, he could fire you permanently. We need to be careful.”

  “I didn’t think you cared either way about my job.”

  “You care. That’s enough for me. We can’t risk your boss finding out that we’re looking at his daughter — at least not yet. We need more information.”

  “There’s only one place to get it. We need to go back to the hospital. I don’t know if Tad has come out of it.”

  “If he had, don’t you think he would’ve told the cops that you’re innocent?”

  “Not necessarily. He is a world-class douche.”

  “That’s true.” Eliot rolled his neck and stretched out his legs. “Okay. Let’s get some breakfast and then head to the hospital. The longer Jake stares at me, the more uncomfortable I get. He’s obviously suspicious.”

  Jake watched us with a narrow-eyed intensity that made me distinctly uncomfortable. “We should definitely get out of here. I can press Marvin for more information later. The fire makes sense in an odd way. Whoever did this was trying to burn all copies of his or her file.”

  “Except that it still exists at Tad’s house.”

  “Unless it was removed from the stack before the cops got there.”

  He stilled. “I thought you said there was a file on his wife.”

  “There was, but that doesn’t mean information wasn’t removed from it. It also doesn’t mean she’s guilty. Someone could’ve removed an entire file or information from a file. I’m guessing whoever we’re dealing with went after Ingalls as an afterthought.”

  “An afterthought on the same day you visited him,” Eliot mused. “That seems too much of a coincidence.”

  “Do you think they saw us last night?”

  “No. I think it’s far more likely they saw you and Andre yesterday afternoon. Jake will find out about that eventually, you know that, right?”

  I nodded. I’d already prepared myself. “We should probably gather as much information as we can before that happens.”

  “You read my mind.”

  17 Seventeen

  Jake showed up at the diner while Eliot and I were eating breakfast. I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was obvious he was suspicious, and no matter how masterful Eliot’s tale, Jake knew better than to believe we just happened on a crime scene so early in the morning because I was jonesing for a little action.

  “Coffee,” he said to the passing waitress as he slid into my side of the booth. The tension was thick as he looked between Eliot and me. “What were you really doing at Ingalls’ office?”

  “I already told you,” Eliot answered, wiping the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “Avery is feeling out of the loop. I want to give her as much peace as possible.”

  Okay, that was laying it on too thick. He made me sound as if I was in the middle of a breakdown. Sure, I was close, but I wasn’t there yet.

  “Uh-huh.” Jake smiled at the waitress as he accepted his coffee, indicated he wouldn’t be eating, and waited for her to depart. When it was just the three of us, he leaned over the table and pinned Eliot with a pointed look. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but I’m convinced it’s nothing good.”

  “That’s not a very nice thing to say,” I chided, mashing my hash browns and eggs together. “You’re hurting his feelings.”

  “No, he’s not,” Eliot countered, machismo on full display. “He is ticking me off. I’m allowed to do what I want to make my girlfriend happy. She’s had a trying few days.”

  “And if I believed you were simply trying to make her feel better I might let it go,” Jake shot back. “The thing is, it doesn’t make any sense. She wouldn’t go to Ingalls’ office for a shot of adrenaline. There’s a county board meeting in exactly one hour. She could’ve attended that, spoken during the public comment session and got her jollies there without getting up early. This is something else ... and I want to know what.”

  I pressed my lips together and focused on my breakfast. This was quickly unraveling.

  “How do you know we’re not doing both?” Eliot challenged.

  “Because you were too fixated on what was going on at Ingalls’ place. Do you know anything about that?”

  “Of course not,” I answered, finding my voice. I had to head this conversation off before it got out of
hand. “Why would we know anything about some low-life private investigator?”

  Jake turned to me. “How do you know he was a low-life private investigator?”

  Ah, he was trying to trip me up. I could play this game all day. More aggressive individuals than Jake had tried to beat me at this game and they’d all failed. “It was on the news.”

  “They said he was a low-life?”

  “The office suggests he’s a low-life. Besides, Marvin said that Ingalls has mob ties.”

  “And how would Marvin know that?”

  “His father is a bookie.”

  Jake stilled. “I forgot about that. Actually, I try not to give it too much thought because I genuinely like Marvin, but what his father does to make a living is illegal.”

  I rolled my eyes. “His father is old. He takes small bets and doesn’t ruffle feathers. Like you care about his father.”

  Jake’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “I could care.”

  “But you don’t.” I refused to back down. “Really, Jake, I was feeling low this morning and Eliot wanted to perk me up.”

  He leaned back in the booth and regarded me with speculative eyes. “Have you ever considered trying to boost your morale differently?”

  “Like what? I’m totally open to suggestions.”

  “How about a day spa? Lauren goes every two weeks and loves it. If anybody is in dire need of a relaxing massage, it’s you.”

  “Yeah. I’m not letting some weirdo put his hands on me when I’m naked. I get enough of that at home.”

  “Thank you, Avery.” Eliot grinned and winked. He was obviously enjoying messing with Jake. That was another reason he was the perfect man. He didn’t give me grief when I waded into wars of words with authority figures.

  “You’re welcome.” I beamed at him in such a way that it elicited a groan from Jake.

  “You two are definitely up to something,” he groused, his expression pained. “I don’t want to know what it is. Not even a little. I hate this!” He slammed his hand on the table, attracting several sets of eyes.

  “Calm down,” Eliot admonished, flashing a smile for the waitress’s benefit before jabbing a finger at Jake. “You’re the one out of control for a change. How bad does it have to be for Avery to be the good one?”