“Your wish is my command.”
CAL WAS OUTSIDE ARGUING WITH A man I didn’t recognize when we made our way up the sidewalk. Eliot grabbed the back of my coat and pulled me flush with his chest as we stilled behind a hedge to listen.
“We have one rule here, Joe.” Cal’s voice was low and cold. “What’s that one rule?”
I’d heard this speech before and wasn’t overly impressed. I glanced at my phone screen to check the time. It was mid-afternoon. Why would he be grousing about somebody being late for curfew so early in the day?
Joe made a wheezing sound of complaint. “Don’t give me grief, Cal. I didn’t break the rules. I simply felt out another guy I knew to see if he was interested in joining the team. I didn’t squeal.”
“That’s exactly what you did!”
The sound of one thing hitting another caused me to stand straighter. Eliot tightened his grip on me and slowly shook his head, pressing a finger to his lips. I wanted to point out that I wasn’t an idiot and had no intention of alerting Cal to our eavesdropping, but that would’ve been a dumb move, so I rolled my eyes instead.
“I didn’t,” Joe snapped back. I peered through the hedge to see if I could get a gander at his face, but it was too thick to find an opening. “You said we needed more bodies after the others quit. We’re down seven people. I didn’t tell him any of the good stuff. I just asked if he was interested in making extra money. He has a family to use as leverage, just like you want.”
Quit? Seven bodies down? That was a little too convenient. I looked up at Eliot, who looked just as intrigued. If the way he kept darting looks out at the street and trying to use his body as cover was any indication, he was also extremely worried.
“What I don’t want is attention drawn to us,” Cal shot back. “We have people coming out of the woodwork to question us because of Beau ... and not just the cops.”
“I don’t know nothing about that,” Joe argued. “You said they quit, so they quit.”
Apparently, Joe wasn’t all that smart. Even I could read between the lines of that statement.
“Yes, they quit,” Cal agreed. “They quit because they’re weren’t team players. You don’t have that problem, do you, Joe?”
“Of course not. I love being a member of your team.”
“That’s good.”
Eliot moved his hands to my hips and gripped them tightly, pulling me back down the sidewalk instead. I wanted to struggle, but that seemed unwise given our proximity to the house. If Cal found out we were eavesdropping, he was likely to paint us as targets. We were already on his radar. We had to play it smart. I opened my mouth to tell Eliot just that, but a deafening roar filled the air before I could speak.
I froze, my eyes darting around. Eliot reacted immediately. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and instead of dragging me to the ground, he yanked me toward a car parked in the street. He hunkered down, his back to the car, and drew me in, doing his best to cover me.
“Put your head down,” he ordered as I tried to get my bearings.
“I ... what was that?” I knew what it was. I’d heard gunshots before.
Before he could answer — if he even planned to — another shot rang out. Eliot shoved my head down until it was level with his stomach and then drew his gun.
“Stay right here,” he hissed. “Don’t even think about moving.”
I did as he instructed. My heart was hammering too hard to make a break for it anyway.
DETECTIVE ANDREW MAHORN, THE SAME OFFICER WHO arrived after the altercation with Van, didn’t look happy.
Eliot had kept me hidden behind the car until uniformed officers arrived. They zeroed in on us right away, peppering us with questions. Even though I was flustered by what happened, I knew better than to talk out of turn.
“We were hoping to question Mr. Shepperly about one of his former residents,” Eliot told them smoothly, keeping his arm around my waist. He’d holstered his weapon. “We were walking up the sidewalk when we heard the shots.”
Mahorn didn’t look as if he believed the statement. “You were here the other night.”
“We were working on the same case.”
“You’re not a police officer,” Mahorn pointed out.
“I’m a private detective.” Eliot was generally unflappable under questioning, and that was on full display now. “Ms. Shaw and I often combine forces when certain stories fall into her lap.”
“You combine forces?”
Eliot nodded. “We live together. She’s a diligent and dedicated professional. I don’t particularly like it when she goes into dangerous areas alone. I often volunteer my time to make sure she’s safe.”
“That’s mighty magnanimous of you,” Mahorn drawled, his eyes darting to the lawn.
I had trouble staring in that direction. What was left of Cal and Joe wasn’t pretty. I wasn’t an expert when it came to firepower, but whoever had taken out the two men knew what he was doing. There was no chance either man could’ve survived.
“I don’t think of it as being magnanimous,” Eliot replied. “She’s my girlfriend. She tends to find trouble.”
“I’ll say she finds trouble. After the sheriff of Macomb County showed up here last time to protect her, I ran her name. She has quite the colorful background.”
I gritted my teeth. I knew what I wanted to say, but we weren’t on our home turf. If I opened my mouth, it would likely backfire on both of us ... and probably in spectacular fashion. I had to hold my tongue, but it was freaking difficult.
“Like I said, she’s a diligent worker,” Eliot stressed. “She’s incapable of letting go of a story until she has all the answers. That’s why she’s so respected.”
“She’s also hated.”
“Only by people who have something to hide.”
Mahorn
