“She’s going to be a problem,” Eliot noted as he followed me to the street corner, watching as I whipped out my phone. “You’re not going to hire a hitman, are you?”
I pinned him with a withering look. “I’m putting Fish on this.”
“I thought you said that he already put his foot down.”
I shot him a dubious look. “That means very little to me. There’s a reason I always get my way. I’m just going to wear him down until he gives in.”
Eliot smiled. “You do have a darling ability to make people cry,” he agreed. “Why do you think I took a page out of your playbook for the proposal? I knew exactly how to approach you.”
I stilled, the phone close to my ear, and gave him a long once-over. “That’s both devious and insulting. You can’t use my moves against me.”
“I’ll use whatever moves I have to.” He was blasé. “You can’t always have your way. This time I’m getting my way ... and you’re going to like it.”
I was doubtful. “Maybe ....”
“Place your call,” he barked, his eyes flashing with annoyance. “We’re not getting into this again. It’s flipping cold out.”
“Whatever.”
Fish picked up on the third ring. He sounded suspicious. “I don’t want to hear it,” he announced by way of greeting.
“Have I ever mentioned what a gracious and giving boss you are?” I started, ignoring the expressions wafting over Eliot’s features. “You’re a true giver.”
“I’m not giving you a way out,” Fish argued. “You have to keep her with you. There will be multiple lawsuits if Marvin and Duncan can track her in the office.”
His recognition of that fact bothered me on multiple levels. “Have you considered making them behave rather than punishing me?”
“Please. Have you ever tried making them behave?”
“You try to make me behave.” And that’s what grated more than anything else. “You at least pretend that you can control me once a month. Heck, my employment has been threatened multiple times because you think you can control me.”
Worry flashed in the depths of Eliot’s eyes as he rested his hand on my shoulder. It was almost as if he was expecting me to explode, something I didn’t realize I was close to doing until he registered — and reacted — to my high-pitched tone.
“Don’t give me that,” Fish complained. “It’s not my fault you’ve terrorized Ludington. It’s not my fault that you were a suspect in a murder. You did that to yourself.”
“And one would say Marvin and Duncan have done a multitude of things to themselves as well ... and yet I’m stuck with the intern from hell.” I had one card to play, and I decided to throw it now. “It’s because I’m a woman, isn’t it?”
Eliot’s lips twitched but he managed to keep a straight face. On the other end of the call, Fish swore viciously.
“You’re trying to get a rise out of me. It has nothing to do with you being a woman.”
“No? You told me that my co-workers couldn’t be trusted because they’re sexual harassers and now I’m stuck with an intern getting in my way,” I reminded him. “I have important people to interview, and I can’t do it with her hanging on my every word and saying stupid stuff.”
“Avery ....”
Before he could get up a full head of steam, I interrupted him. “I’m on what could be a huge story and she’s ruining my vibe. I tried to dump her at the sheriff’s department, but somehow I ended up with her again. The next neighborhood I dump her in might not be as safe.”
There was silence on the other end of the call before Fish sighed. I knew I’d won. “You’d better get something good. I’ll call her back to the office and say we need her here. That doesn’t mean I won’t assign her to you again.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
Eliot’s smile was pronounced when I shoved the phone in my pocket. “And that right there is why I took a page out of your playbook. You always get your way.”
“Yes, I’m awesome,” I agreed, rubbing my hands together against the cold.
Eliot caught them between his and brought them to his mouth so he could blow on them. “Where are your mittens? You never go anywhere without those obnoxious sharks. Your hands are cold.”
“They’re in the car.”
“Well put them on.” He leaned close. “What do you plan to do between now and when we head out to that halfway house?”
“There are two prominent women I want to question about Beau. They’re both single but bring various dates to charity events. Even if they didn’t date him, they likely knew women who did.”
“Do you think they’re dangerous?”
“They’re old.”
He made a face. “That doesn’t mean anything if they’re determined.” He lightly flicked the spot between my eyebrows. “Just be careful. If they get nervous because they think you’re digging, they might act out.”
“I think I can take a couple of old ladies.”
“You can’t even take your intern.”
That was the most insulting thing he’d ever said to me. “Keep it up,” I warned. “You’ll be sleeping alone tonight.”
He didn’t look particularly bothered at the prospect. “I can hold out longer than you.”
“No way.”
“Would you care to place a wager on that?”
Ugh. He knew I couldn’t resist a challenge. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that he might be right. What if he could hold out longer than I could? “We’ll talk about it later. For now, I have some questions to ask ... and an intern to return to the office.”
“Be careful.” He gave me a quick kiss. “I have my doubts that someone angry over a love affair gone wrong killed five other Santas, but stranger things have happened.”
“I’m always careful.”
He shot me a dubious look. “Be ten times more careful than that.”
SABRINA WAS A POUTING MESS WHEN I dropped her off at The Monitor. She insisted I go inside and talk Fish out of giving her
