On Deadline & Under Fire

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Only when I need to discover information at a strip club.”

  “And what about that mouthy friend of yours who is pregnant?”

  “She’s my sidekick at coffee houses and lingerie stores,” I answered perfunctorily.

  “And your loopy cousin who keeps getting arrested?”

  “She’s my sidekick for the zombie apocalypse, because no matter how crazy you think she is, she’s a survivor. We’ve already figured out our apocalypse team and which relative we’re going to shoot to distract the zombies while we make our escape.”

  Even though he was clearly agitated by my presence, Fish smiled as he shook his head. “Are you going to shoot your mother?”

  “She’s on the table, but we’re aiming for one of the irregular cousins first. She’s so annoying we figure the zombies will applaud her death and give us a big opening.”

  “Well, it’s good you’ve given this some serious thought.”

  “I agree.” I waited for Fish to volunteer further information, but when he focused his full attention on Maggie I realized I was going to be forced to push him harder. “Where is Marvin? I assume you have him working on the fire. I need to talk to him.”

  “He works nights.”

  “I know. I figured there was a chance you brought him on days in my absence to pick up the slack.”

  Fish slowly shifted his eyes back to me. “Are you insinuating that we can’t get through a week without you?”

  That’s exactly what I was thinking, but Fish made it sound so preposterous I had no choice but to deny the charge. “Of course not.”

  “That’s good. We’re managing just fine without you.”

  “Right.” I didn’t bother to hide my eye roll. “Marvin is handling the fire, right?”

  “No.” Fish shook his head. “After the first day, I gave the story to someone else.”

  I realized I hadn’t bothered to read the newspaper yesterday, which meant I was behind. “Who did you assign it to?”

  “Does it matter?”

  The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. It was as if I sensed things were about to go sideways. “Oh, tell me you didn’t.”

  Fish averted his gaze. “I have work to do, Avery. You shouldn’t even be here. You’re on vacation.”

  I wanted to reach over the cubicle wall, wrap my fingers around his neck and squeeze until I choked the life out of him. “Am I going to have to kill you?”

  Her face blank, Maggie’s gaze bounced between us. “What’s going on? What did I miss?” She sounded excited rather than worried. “Are you going to have a big fight about news space or something?”

  I shot her a look.

  “What?” She held her palms out and shrugged. “I’ve seen a lot of movies about newspapers. I know how things work.”

  “Right.” My fury continued building as I slid my eyes back to Fish. “Tell me you didn’t give this story to Duncan.”

  “Ah, the plot thickens.” Maggie grinned like a kid with a new video game system. “The office tool is going to get in our way, right? How are we going to deal with that?”

  “Seriously, who is this?” Fish was flustered as he found the strength to meet my stare.

  “I’m Maggie Kane.” Maggie extended her hand. “I just love your newsroom. It’s exactly as I pictured it, although there are fewer people buzzing around than I imagined.”

  “We’ve had layoffs,” Fish murmured, shaking his head. “Wait ... Maggie Kane. Are you Eliot’s mother?”

  Maggie happily nodded. “I am. I see you know my son. How is that?”

  “I know him as the angel who somehow lives with Avery and doesn’t kill her,” Fish replied. “Other than that, we’re not really all that close.”

  “Oh, don’t sell yourself short,” I sneered. “We both know you would totally roll that way if Eliot showed you any interest.”

  Fish scowled. “Why are you here? Go away and enjoy your vacation. In fact, I don’t even care if you enjoy your vacation. I simply want you to go away.”

  “If you think I’m leaving now, that shows how little you know me,” I snapped. “Don’t think I’m just going to forget that you haven’t answered my question. You gave my story to Duncan, didn’t you?”

  “First, it’s not your story.” Fish lifted a warning finger. “Second, it’s not my fault that you finally decided to take some vacation days but can’t let the little things go. It’s a fire, for crying out loud. Yes, someone died. It’s hardly the story of the century.”

  He only said that because he didn’t know about the mob connection. Fish was a guy’s guy and would love that gossipy tidbit. I couldn’t share it with him, though. At least not yet.

  “You need to let this go.” Fish adopted a pragmatic tone. “You’re on vacation. You’re supposed to be getting to know Eliot’s mother on a personal level, not dragging her around so you can make your co-workers’ lives miserable.”

  “It’s like you don’t even know me,” I spat. “For crying out loud, how could you give my story to Duncan? That guy couldn’t find his own testicles with a magnifying glass and a flashlight. Do you want to know why? Because they don’t exist. That’s on top of him being lazy and not putting in the work to get to the meat of the story.”

  “Thanks for that,” Duncan said breezily as he strolled behind us and headed toward his desk. “I’m so glad to see you, too, Avery.”

  “Shut up, Duncan.” My anger was on full display. “No one wants to hear your voice.”

  “I think we can say the same about you,” Duncan shot back, abandoning his trip to his cubicle and planting his hands on his narrow hips. He’s thin — like Hollywood star trying to starve himself for an Oscar thin — and he fancies himself attractive. In fact, he thinks he looks like Tom Cruise. That’s neither true nor something that would make him attractive.

  “Don’t even think about starting a fight,” Fish warned, swiveling in his chair so he could eye both of us. “One of the things I was looking forward to most with Avery off this week — other than the quiet, of course — was the fact that I wouldn’t have to hear a ridiculous argument between the two of you. If you’re going to fight anyway, there’s no point in Avery taking off for vacation.”

  “Oh, there’s a point,” Duncan said dryly. “The point is that this place is better off without her.”

  “I see what you mean about him being a tool now,” Maggie offered, lowering her voice to a whisper that absolutely everyone could hear. “He’s definitely a tool. Like ... a screwdriver that doesn’t fit the screw.”

  I had no idea what she meant by that, but I didn’t want to discourage her from annoying Duncan. “That’s exactly right.”

  “Oh, your friend is so witty,” Duncan drawled. “Where did you pick her up? Wait ... I already know the answer. It was at the big-and-dumb store, wasn’t it?”

  “Hey!” Maggie was understandably affronted. “Why would you possibly say that?”

  “Because you called me a tool,” Duncan fired back.

  “I only called you a tool because Avery did,” Maggie argued. “I thought it was a nickname or maybe a term of endearment.”

  “Oh, you did not.” Duncan’s annoyance sparked to the point I was glad we didn’t have gasoline handy to fuel it. “Why are you even here? The newsroom is supposed to be closed to people who aren’t part of the staff.”

  “Is that true?” Maggie looked horrified. “Are we breaking the rules?”

  “Don’t listen to anything he says,” I argued, my eyes drifting to several proof sheets in the photo box at the edge of Fish’s desk. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” I snagged the proof sheets and deftly evaded Fish when he tried to take them from me. “By the way, Duncan, this is Eliot’s mother. I’m looking forward to telling him what you said about her. You know how boys are ridiculously protective of their mothers? You might want to double that for Eliot.”

  That was a gross exaggeration, but I knew Duncan lived in fear of Eliot and I was looking for
ward to exploiting his terror for amusement. I watched Duncan out of the corner of my eye as I flipped through the proofs. He swallowed hard, his face going ashen, and he looked as if he wanted to find a hole to climb in. Good. That was the reaction I’d hoped for.

  Duncan finally recovered, although he sounded weak when he found his voice. “I’m not afraid of your boyfriend. If you think I am, well, you’ve got another think coming.”

  “I’ll tell him you said that, too. He much prefers it when his prey isn’t afraid of him. Otherwise, it’s too easy and it doesn’t feel like a real victory when he crushes spines and snaps necks.”

  Duncan’s eyes were slits when I checked his reaction to the threat. “I’ll have him arrested if he steps on my property.”

  “That’s okay. He can do it in the parking lot or at whatever grocery store you frequent. I’ll just tell him to follow you around until he finds the perfect opening.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Try me.” I frowned when I reached the last proof, holding it up so I could see it better. It was a crowd shot taken the day of the fire — I recognized Gina Dobbins right away, and she looked almost happy as she watched the building burn. Most of the faces I didn’t recognize, but one was of particular interest.

  “Do you think Jared got identities from all these people?” I held up the proof for Fish.

  “I don’t know.” Fish seemed confused by the question. “Why?”

  “No reason. Do you think he’s back in the photo room?”

  “He could be. I haven’t checked his schedule today.”

  “Okay.” I handed back the proofs before lobbing a withering look in Duncan’s direction. “You’d better start running now, because when I tell Eliot what you said about his mother ... well … it’s not going to be pretty.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not frightened of him?” Duncan’s voice turned whiny.

  “Just until I believe it.” I inclined my chin toward the back of the office so Maggie would follow me. “Come on. There’s something I want to check before leaving.”

  “A lead?” Maggie was back to being an eager helper.

  “Maybe.”

  Unlike Maggie, Fish wasn’t one to fall for my subterfuge. He called out before I moved more than three cubicles away. “What are you up to, Avery? Why are you so focused on this fire?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m just trying to close some questions that have been bothering me.”

  “What questions?”

  “It really doesn’t matter. Although ... .” I trailed off as I focused on Duncan. “You might want to get your crack reporting team working on another angle. I’d hate to think he’s falling down on the job.”

  “I do not fall down on the job!” Duncan snapped, straightening.

  Fish briefly held my gaze and then turned to my least favorite co-worker. “I want to see everything you have. You’re missing something.”

  “Just because she says so?” Duncan reminded me of a screaming toddler as he stomped his foot.

  “She’s only interested in this story because she knows something,” Fish replied. “Whatever it is, it’s big enough to interrupt her vacation.”

  “So make her tell us what she has.”

  Fish snorted. “She won’t tell us. She’ll take that secret to her grave if she has to. She’s too petty to help someone else crack a story.”

  Oh, that was kind of sweet. Maybe he did know me after all.

  19 Nineteen

  Maggie watched me from the passenger seat of my car, curious. I had collected the proofs I managed to convince Jared to print, bribing him to keep silent with a promise that drinks would be on me when I returned from vacation. I studied them for information. This was the first time I’d seen the hero since the day he walked out of the building with Serafina clutched in his arms. After that, he’d disappeared ... although I remained convinced he was the creepy figure I saw hanging around the building the night I stopped by to get a break from Maggie.

  “What do you see?” Maggie asked finally.

  “I’m not sure.” I tapped on the proof sheet. “See this guy.”

  Maggie nodded. “He’s very handsome.”

  That’s not exactly how I would describe him — he had one of those necks that screamed steroid abuse — but if Maggie wanted to look at him that way, I wasn’t in a position to rain toxic waste on her fantasies.

  “The day before you arrived there was an apartment fire about five miles from our house,” I explained. “I saw the smoke after finishing grocery shopping and headed in that direction because I was curious.”

  “I’m aware of the fire. That’s where that guy Jay Truman was killed, right?”

  “Pretty much,” I confirmed. “Before I even realized he died, the focus of my story was on a missing girl. Serafina. Her mother lost track of her in the fire and was terrified that she had run back into her apartment. Before firefighters could find the girl, a man walked out of the building carrying her.”

  “That man?” Maggie pointed at the proof.

  “Yup. He handed her over to her mother and then slipped away when everyone was distracted. At the time I thought there were a variety of reasons why he might disappear. Maybe he went to a business to use the facilities ... or had someone pick him up ... or was simply behind a vehicle so I couldn’t see him.”

  “And now?”

  “Well, now I’m not so sure,” I admitted. “The way I remember it, Jared showed up when I was interviewing Serafina’s mother. I told him to take photographs of them. I searched for the hero after that, but before tracking down the fire chief.”

  “Okay. I’m not sure why that’s important.” Even though she wasn’t caught up on the game, Maggie seemed eager to play. For the first time since landing in Michigan, she seemed to be having a good time.

  “Because Jared took these photos at the scene,” I explained. “I was talking to this woman before I heard about the missing girl. That means this photograph was taken after this man saved Serafina from the fire.”

  “That would make sense.”

  “I didn’t see him when I was leaving.”

  “Do you think he was hiding?”

  “I don’t know. I guess he could’ve returned after I left. I’m not even sure how important he is. He was in the building at the time Jay Truman was supposedly killed, although Jake is clearly still keeping that under wraps. I don’t understand why. You would think he would want people to call in tips about what happened on the seventeenth floor.”

  “Do you think this guy had something to do with Jay Truman’s death?”

  “I think he was up there for a long time and might have at least seen something,” I said. “I also think that most people want to receive accolades after saving a child’s life. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, mind you. It’s simply human nature. Everyone wants to be seen as a hero when the opportunity arises.”

  “So ... because he didn’t want his photo plastered all over the newspaper, that makes you think he might be a murderer?” Maggie was clearly out of her element. “That doesn’t make much sense to me.”

  “I didn’t say he was a murderer. I said it was possible that he knew something.”

  “Oh, like he was a witness, right?”

  “Exactly. My problem is that Jared didn’t identify the people in this photo. There were too many to get names. Without an identity, I have no way of tracking this guy.”

  “How do you fix that? I mean ... can you think of a way to figure out who he is?”

  “Just one way.” I rubbed my forehead as I considered my lone option. “It won’t be particularly easy.”

  “That’s okay.” Maggie brightened considerably. “I’m sure we can make it work. Together.”

  She’d gone from a ‘me’ person — as in what she wanted mattered more than anyone else — to a ‘we’ person in the space of a few hours. I couldn’t help being impressed.

  “Come on.” I made up my mind on th
e spot. “I’m going to show you another of my favorite hobbies.”

  “Does it involve irritating someone? You seem quite good at that.”

  “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  I BREEZED INTO ELIOT’S pawnshop as if I owned it. Once Maggie saw the coffee shop next door, she insisted on stopping. I was fine with that, even though I knew we were running on a truncated timetable. If I was going to face off with the morose wildebeest of the Midwest, I would need caffeine.

  “What are you doing here?” Fawn, Eliot’s annoying clerk, wrinkled her nose as she focused on me. An open magazine on the counter told me she was caught off guard because she’d been focused on something other than work. “I thought you were on vacation this week, which means I shouldn’t have to see you.”

  “Oh, you give me a tingly warm sensation whenever you greet me with such love,” I drawled, moving toward the counter as I debated how to handle Fawn given the maneuver I was about pull. “I think you’re secretly in love with me. Have I ever told you that?”

  Fawn took an inadvertent step back, clearing the way to Eliot’s office, which was exactly what I wanted. “You’re gross!”

  “And don’t you forget it.” I threw open the door and held it for Maggie. “This way.”

  “Wait a second.” Fawn recovered enough to slap a hand against the middle of Maggie’s chest to stop her. “What are you doing here? This isn’t your office. It’s Eliot’s office.”

  “And I’m using it to check something.” I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at the furious expression on Maggie’s face. Given the way her eyes turned to fire as her temper flared, she clearly wasn’t going to become president of Fawn’s fan club. “I won’t be long. I just need to use his computer.”

  “Random people are not allowed to walk in from the street and use Eliot’s computer,” Fawn said primly.

  I was used to Fawn’s attitude, so I managed to control my irritation ... though just barely. “I’m not a random person. In fact, I’m the one who gets to climb into bed with Eliot every night and touch his muscles. That’s hardly random.”