Free Bylines & Skylines (An Avery Shaw Mystery Book 9) by Amanda M. Lee

your only other option?”
    “See, he didn’t say it completely like that,” I clarified. “He said that I was in charge of coverage and if I wanted Duncan to cover something I could assign him to do it.”
    Eliot drew his eyebrows together. “It sounds as if you’re playing a very dangerous semantics game, Trouble. I’m sure you know what you’re doing, but be careful.”
    “I will.”
    Eliot dropped a kiss on the corner of my mouth before getting to his feet. “I need to head to the convention now. My understanding is that they’re just now replacing the thing over the fire pit where the woman’s body was found. The scene has already been photographed and cleared.”
    “Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”
    “Why would it?”
    “Because generally the sheriff’s department won’t clear a scene for at least twenty-four hours,” I replied. “This one has been cleared in less than ten. That’s unheard of.”
    “Yes, well, this is a big event,” Eliot said fastening his cell phone to a clip on his belt and glancing around the kitchen. “It will bring a lot of money into the area and I’m sure Jake wanted to make sure nothing got in the way of that.”
    “I get that,” I said. “It just seems strange.”
    “You’re strange,” Eliot said, smacking another kiss on my lips. “If I haven’t been fired, find me when you get to the convention center. We might be able to have lunch together.”
    “Jake won’t fire you.”
    “I’m not sure I wouldn’t fire me under the same circumstances,” Eliot said, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “I don’t regret it, though. Up until finding the body, I think it was one of my favorite nights ever with you.”
    “Does that count the time I agreed to go skinny-dipping in the neighbors’ pool when they were out of town?”
    Eliot’s grin was impish. “Nothing matches that night. I’ll call you if I get fired.”
    “Call me if you find out any information I can use for a story, too,” I ordered, earning a dark look from Eliot as he moved toward the door. “We still don’t have an identity, and I’m going to have to hit the ground running.”
    “You know I can’t actually help you if Jake orders me not to, right?”
    I did not know that. “Why?”
    “Because he’s technically my boss.”
    I made a loud derisive sound in the back of my throat. “Does Jake have sex with you?”
    “No.”
    “Then we’ll figure something out.”
    “I just know you’re going to get me fired before this is all said and done,” Eliot muttered. “I can feel it.”
    “If that happens I’ll cook you two dinners.”
    “Oh, that won’t be even remotely enough,” Eliot said. “We’ll talk about punishments later. I have to get moving.”
    “I’m looking forward to seeing you in a few hours.”
    “We’ll see if you feel the same when Jake lays down the law,” Eliot said. “Either way, I’ll talk to you in a bit.”
    “I’ll be there with an offensive Star Wars shirt on.”
    This time Eliot’s smile was genuine – and infectious. “That right there … you gave me that.”
    “What?”
    “A good laugh,” Eliot replied. “I love you. Try to behave when you do whatever mean thing you’re about to do to Duncan. If he touches you, though, I’ll kill him.”
    “My day just keeps getting better and better.”

    “ D ID MY story make it in?”
    I leaned over the side of Fish’s cubicle and stared at the front page of today’s edition of The Monitor, not bothering to greet him properly or ask if he wanted his personal space invaded. That’s not really my style.
    “We did,” Fish replied, pointing to the top spot above the fold. “You wrote it to the perfect length and we didn’t jump it. We were the only ones who had it.”
    “So I’m queen of the world.”
    “Only in your own head, but you did a good job,” Fish said. “We didn’t have time to talk last night. How did you find out about it?”
    “I was with Eliot when he discovered