“I guess that means we’re going to the sheriff’s department,” I said, shaking my head. My life felt as if it was spiraling downward. “I’ll bet Jake stonewalls me too.”
“You’re right,” Derrick readily agreed. “Perhaps you shouldn’t waste your time.”
Yeah, that sounded nothing like me. “It’s part of the job.”
“And I’m going with her,” Sabrina enthused, her eyes full of determination. “We’re going to rattle the sheriff’s cage until answers fall out.”
Derrick cocked his head. “She really is adorable.”
“She’s annoying,” I muttered, not caring in the least that Sabrina heard.
“You’ll knock that optimistic streak out of her before it’s all said and done. In no time flat, she’ll be as cynical and mouthy as you.”
Now that was something to look forward to.
SABRINA WAS AGOG WHEN WE HIT the sheriff’s department. The lobby, per usual, bustled with activity. Down one hallway was a courtroom for emergency arraignments. The county jail took up the other side of the building. I wasn’t interested in either.
“I’m here to see Sheriff Farrell,” I announced to the two deputies lounging behind the bullet-proof bubble. They looked more interested in carrying on whatever hilarious conversation they were enjoying.
“What is this regarding?” the male deputy demanded when it became apparent I wasn’t going to retreat.
“It’s a private matter.”
“It’s news,” Sabrina hissed behind me, extending a finger. “It’s important news and we have rights.”
I cast her a sidelong look. “Chill out, Woodward.”
“She’s new,” the female deputy noted from behind the glass, leaning forward. She looked intrigued by Sabrina’s presence. “Is she your new sidekick?”
I opened my mouth to shoot back a hot retort and then snapped it shut. In truth, I’d always wanted a sidekick. Every Batman needs a Robin, after all. Every Jay needs a Silent Bob. Heck, every Han needs a Chewbacca. Unfortunately, nobody needed a Sabrina.
“Is Jake here?” I directed the conversation to what was important. “I really need to talk to him.”
The male deputy, who I’d run into a time or two in my years with The Monitor, sighed. “I’ll call back to see if he’s accepting guests.”
I flashed a smile I didn’t really feel. “That would be great.”
“I’m not surprised you think that.” He paused. “She hasn’t been vetted for security clearance, so she won’t be allowed behind the security doors.”
My initial response was to tell him he was full of crap. Jake held news conferences on the other side of the security doors all the time. Nobody had to go through a background check to be included. In this particular case, though, letting the deputy have his small thrill would also mean I didn’t have to entertain Sabrina when I was trying to grill Jake. That seemed a decent enough trade-off.
“That’s fine,” I said. “She can wait for me here.”
Sabrina opened her mouth to argue but I shook my head and lowered my voice. “You can hang close to the deputies, listen for anything they might say about what happened at the train tracks. Odds are Jake won’t give me any information. You might luck out and get us a good lead.”
Sabrina nodded, her demeanor shifting in an instant. She tapped the side of her nose. “Good plan. You’re so smart.”
I always thought it would be cool to have someone follow me around and acknowledge my brilliance. Apparently I was wrong. “Just don’t be obvious.”
“I’ve got it under control.”
I was still shaking my head when they buzzed me into the back. I knew exactly where to go to find my prey. Jake was positioned behind his desk when I strode into his office.
“What’s up with the dead Santas?” I asked before uttering a single word of greeting. I saw no sense in dithering. “Is it a mob hit or something else?”
Jake glanced up from his computer and shook his head. “We’re not releasing information just yet. We haven’t notified the next of kin. Heck, we haven’t even identified all the bodies.”
The fact that they hadn’t identified all the bodies was worth noting, but there was no need to point that out. “You must have something.” I threw myself into one of the chairs across from his desk. “You might not have identified all the bodies, but I guarantee you’ve identified some of them. How about you release those names?”
I didn’t expect him to bite — he was a stickler for rules, especially those of his own making. There was no way he would identify a handful of dead people if it might tip off families of the other victims. Jake had a hard and fast rule that nobody should ever find out about the death of a loved one from the media.
“I can’t, Avery. Sorry.”
I knew he would go that route. “Are you at least close to identifying all the bodies?”
“That’s something for you to take up with the medical examiner. Right now, we’re in a holding pattern.”
“You mean you’re waiting for someone else to give you information to act upon.”
“As you like.” His eyes went momentarily cold before he switched gears. “Congratulations on the engagement.” He lowered his gaze before I could register the words.
I knew when I’d decided to descend on his office that there was a possibility he might question me regarding Eliot’s bombshell from the previous evening. I didn’t think he would go for the jugular right from the start. “We’re not engaged,” I mumbled staring at my shoes.
“Not yet, but it sounds like it’s coming.”
What could I say? The annoyance that bubbled up when Eliot first made the announcement in the diner returned with a vengeance. “I might not be the marrying kind.”
“That’s what I always thought in the past. But now ....”
I lifted my eyes and found him staring at me. There was no accusation in the look, no hatred. He didn’t appear particularly sad or shattered. He did look shaken. “Jake ....” I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wondered if there was anything
