20. Aubree
20
AUbrEE
FIREWORKS — LITERALLY OR FIGURATIVELY.
I stride into work Monday morning, three coffees in hand and my backpack dangling off one arm, only to skid to a stop when I glance through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls of Minka’s office and find Daddy Mayor sitting in her visitor chair.
Or, well… Mayor Justin Lawrence.
Minka sits on her side of the desk, her elbows on the mahogany and her fingers stabbing her eyes. Almost. The energy is there, anyway. Because she loves the dude, but she hates that he tries to parent her.
Curious, I carefully set the coffees on my desk and drop my bag into my chair, then I pick up the phone and dial the lab. Since Doctor Raquel is my favorite accomplice inside this building when I want Minka not to pay attention to me.
“This is Raquel.”
“Hey.” I keep my voice down, though god knows, it’s unnecessary. It’s not like the duo can hear me. “Daddy Mayor is here.”
“Yeah?” She perks up instantly, bouncing on her chair so the frame squeaks. “Are the veins bulging in her forehead yet?”
“No. But her eyes are doing that crazy lady thing. And her steel ruler is on the desk. She’s not holding it yet, but it’s near. Just in case.”
“Well, of course. Stabbing the mayor, any mayor, is her thing. Always gotta be prepared.”
“I got you coffee. ”
“I’m on my way!” She slams the phone down and kills our call, so I do the same and swap my bag for my butt. I turn in my chair so I can see both the elevator and Minka’s office, then I wait for my colleague and practice my lip-reading skills.
‘Stop babying me!’
‘Stop working yourself to death. Janine and I worry.’
‘I took the weekend off and attended a gay wedding. Chicken skewers. Rainbows and unicorn farts.’
‘Gobble-de-goop. Where are you?’
The elevator light dings on my right, and immediately, Raquel bursts out. “I’m here! What are they saying?”
“Uh… well… I think Minka is discussing the wedding menu. And the mayor said, ‘ Please accept my ever-lasting love and affection. Can I adopt you ?’”
She snatches up the coffee labeled LAB and sits her ass on the edge of my desk. “He really said that?”
“I mean… my skills aren’t razor sharp, so…”
“How was your weekend, anyway?”
I give up on reading lips when I think I see ‘poop poop magoop’ , and instead turn in my chair and focus on the only person who doesn’t know my business.
Nor do I intend to tell her.
“My brother got married. The wedding was lovely, my parents behaved, and life went on. Yours?”
“I had a date and got laid. Like, six times,” she sniggers. “Best orgasms of my life.”
“Where’d you meet?”
“On the apps. That place is usually a cesspool of spaghetti-covered trash and unresolved trauma. But I got lucky with this one.”
“Name? Age? Star sign?”
She snorts. “Taylor. Thirty-three. Capricorn.”
I hiss. “You have my condolences. As long as the orgasms are good, I suppose, the Capricorn can be put aside for now. Don’t marry them, though. It’s doomed to fail.”
“Good to know. Suggestions on desirable star signs?”
“Your birthday is August, right? Like mine.”
She sips her coffee, her fire-engine red nails glittering around the cup. “Mmhmm. Leo babies rule the world.”
“Right. So your Taylor is January. Put that ish back and get you a Sagittarius. Fire signs work well together. ”
“I’ll be sure to update my app bio. What’s Tim?”
“He’s none of your business.” I show her my smile—feral, unwelcoming, and intolerant—then I glance back at Minka and consider Gemini babies. Tim and I are compatible too. I made sure way back on… around my twenty-second birthday. “You gonna see Taylor again?”
“Probably. Did I mention the six orgasms?”
“Mmhm.” I lift my chin when the boss’ eyes swing this way. And when she doesn’t grab the ruler and slice the mayor’s throat, I stand and take the remaining two coffees. “We’ve been summoned.”
“Goodie.” She bounds from the desk in combat boots and a cute red dress that matches her nails. She would freeze her ass off outside in that outfit, which means she brought a coat that wraps her up from her throat to her ankles. Swinging the door wide and grinning for the sexy mayor, she lopes across to the leather couch while I detour to deliver Minka’s boring coffee.
“Thanks.” She grabs the cup and sips like the liquid inside will save her life. “Jesus. What a morning.”
“I didn’t know you’d be here, Mayor.” I perch on the edge of Minka’s desk, facing the older, salt-and-pepper-haired, devil-may-care former district attorney. “I’d have grabbed you a coffee, too.”
“It’s no problem, Doctor Emeri.” He glances at Minka. “I’d say this about wraps up our meeting. I appreciate your time, Chief.”
Under duress! I know she screams those words in her mind. I didn’t come here today expecting to be ambushed so early on a Monday morning.
“Doctors.” He winks at me, smirking when a warm blush fills my cheeks. Then he turns and does the same to Raquel. “Be careful on scene this week. This city is getting a little out of control. And though I’m working hard with the police to rein things in, we all know it’s easier said than done.”
“I never leave the lab,” she responds easily. “So you have no worries with me.”
“What’s he talking about?” The moment he steps out of the office and the door closes at his back, I spin and drop into the chair he vacated, the cushion still warm from his backside. “Minka?”
“There’s been a mass casualty event over by the bay. Rumor has it someone targeted Nathan Booth’s people. Wiped out a half dozen of his men in a single drive by.”
“Jesus.” I fold one leg over the other and rub my thigh to rid it of the goosebumps that sprint along my skin. “If they were targeting Nathan Booth, then that means it’s, like…” I can’t say too much in front of Raquel. We ’re friendly, but we’re not discuss the mafia friendly. “That means it was Booth’s enemies. And his enemies are… ya know?”
“Not them. I have it from Felix himself that they were not involved. The mayor came by to unofficially ask that same question. And since I have the ability to get the answers, and a vested interest in keeping up with the story, I obliged him. I’m not sure who targeted Booth, but they were fast, and their aim was good.”
I sigh and pick at the plastic lid of my coffee, wishing for my phone, though it’s still in my bag, and my bag is under my desk. “Six down?”
“Yeah, and they’re stacked up in our fridges right now, awaiting processing. They came in during the night-shift, so I didn’t pull us in early to get started. Doctor Patten bagged, tagged, signed them in, and photographed them for documentation. She finished just as I walked in. So there was no need for an early start.”
“But she didn’t cut?”
“Nope. These are homicide, so we need to keep it clean, cross our t’s, and present the investigating detectives with a complete report.”
“Archer and Fletch?”
She shakes her head. “Detectives out of Midtown are running lead on this one. Archer has been kept squarely away, which I suppose was probably part of the Mayor’s ‘ I’m working to get things under control ,’ thing. It’s no secret that Archer is related to certain people. Those certain people are cause for concern for Justin. So he came to me first thing this morning.”
Hmm. So he said homicide . Not gobble-de-gook .
I was close.
“Kind of him to make the trip. You want me to get everyone in here for rounds? The sooner we do, the sooner we can get to our six dead gangsters.”
She flashes a wide smile first, taunting and clearly telegraphing her intentions. Immediately, my stomach sinks. “I want to know about your Sunday, first, Doctor Emeri. We’re in my office, which means the record is off. The fact you chose to bring Raquel in here is on you.”
“What?” Raquel scoots to the edge of her chair, her bright blue eyes swinging between me and Mayet. “What happened?”
“Aubree’s engaged.”
“I’m not engaged!”
“You’re engaged?” Raquel sputters. “What?”
“I’m not engaged!”
“That’s not what you shouted in the middle of the bar yesterday,” Minka sniggers. “Then you disappeared into Tim’s apartment to talk sex. ”
“You had sex with Tim?” Raquel visibly vibrates against the couch. “You gave up the V and didn’t even cut in when I mentioned my copious weekend orgasms? That was a ‘ same !’ moment, Emeri! It was the perfect segue to share your news.”
“I’m not gossiping about my sex life! And I’m not engaged.”
“She’s a little bit engaged,” Minka giggles. Like she so rarely does, she sits back in her chair, warming her hands with her coffee, and allows her shoulders and chest to bounce with laughter. “And she’s definitely not a virgin anymore.”
“This is a wildly inappropriate discussion in the workplace!”
“You can’t be my best friend and claim inappropriate when I want to discuss sex.” She stares into my eyes, probing and still, silly. “Either I’m your boss, or I’m your bestie. Choose wisely, then stop crying about workplace harassment when it suits you.”
She steals the wind from my sails. The argument from my lungs. So I slump back in my chair and grumble, “I’m not engaged.”
“If you say so. You will be soon, I bet. Was it good?”
“The sex?”
“No. The dissertation you wrote on why Timothy Malone is a jerkoff, but he’s a delicious and obsessed jerkoff with a tendency to want to gobble you up and keep you safe, which means he still gets the key to your chastity belt and a pass on the being an asshole thing. Plus, he brews excellent coffee, and though I might be biased, I consider the Malones a special breed of impossibly charming. It shouldn’t be possible,” she adds with a huff. “But here we are anyway. Oh! You’ll be my sister-in-law soon! Does that supersede best friendships? Do I get a new anklet to commemorate the occasion?”
“No. I’m not buying you more jewelry. It’s time you reached into your expansive bank account and bought me something that shimmers. And yes, the sex was good. Can we work now?”
“The one time in your life you’d rather not gossip,” she teases. “I see how it is. Doctor Raquel?” She leans to the right and looks past me. “Do you have any follow-up questions?”
“Yes, in fact, I do.” She pops to her feet and comes around to lean against the edge of Minka’s desk. “Can I be the flower girl? Can I bring three plus ones? Can I borrow six hundred thousand dollars? I want to buy my apartment, but the bank claims I earn too little. Also, on a scale of standard banana to a well-endowed foot-long sandwich, where does Timothy Malone fall? ”
“No. No. No, I don’t have any money. Good luck buying your apartment. And no.”
“No?”
“Despite Tim’s apparent obsession with me, I know he’s a private man. I might be sleeping with the fish if I publicly divulge the size of his dick.”
“But you do know?” Minka presses. “Correct?”
I meet her playful stare and growl. “Yes, I know.”
“My baby.” She presses a hand to her heart and sniffles. “All grown up. Will you move in to the apartment above the bar? We both know he’s not letting you sleep alone ever again.”
“No! I’m not moving anywhere. My life isn’t changing. I’m dating a man who likes to boss me around sometimes. Let me focus on that for a little while before we consider wedding gowns and divorce attorneys. Please!”
“You’re exceptionally cranky for a woman who had sex with a multi-millionaire,” Raquel giggles. “And you won’t even lend me a measly six-hundred g’s?”
“Ask Tim yourself.” I shove up from my chair and stalk across the office. “Since clearly, you think you know his business and bank account balance.”
“It’s called rich-adjacent,” Minka taunts. “You,” she clarifies, “not him. He’s rich rich. You’re now rich adjacent. And the fact you wouldn’t shut the hell up about that earlier this year means I’m gonna rub it in your face till you want to explode. You can totally ask him for half a million and he wouldn’t bat an eye.”
“So you lend her the money.” I yank her office door open and step out to my desk to snatch up my cell. “You’re rich adjacent too, Mayet. Ask Archer for the cash. He’ll give it to you in exchange for an extra hour in bed and all attention on him.” I pick up the desk phone in my free hand, since I technically have to work, and hit the broadcast button, so my voice rings out at every desk. “Rounds are commencing. Chief Mayet’s office, please.”
Then I drop the phone back in its cradle and unlock my cell instead. I don’t bother tapping a message out for the man who probably doesn’t even read texts—I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him do it in the past—so I hit dial instead, the idea of a rogue gang family cruising Copeland City and shooting people fresh in my mind.
I bring the device to my ear and wait for only a single ring for him to answer, his voice gruff and serious. “You’re locked away inside the George Stanley, safe and sound, so I’m not gonna ask if you’re okay. Instead, what’s wrong?”
“Are you stalking me? How do you know I haven’t left for a job? ”
“I stalk you. A hundred percent, zero hesitation, seven days a week. What’s wrong?”
“I just heard about the Nathan Booth thing down at the bay. Someone shot a handful of his men last night, and you didn’t mention anything.”
He goes silent for a beat. Confused, perhaps. Or thinking up an adequate response. “What was there for me to mention? I didn’t know about it.”
“Booth is on the Malone radar. That’s no secret.”
“Felix’s radar. Not mine. I’m not Felix and I’m not interested in joining the family business. Why are you worried about the Booth situation?”
“Because I’m worried about the Malone situation!” Medical examiners slowly file past my desk and into Minka’s office. “I know Booth hurt Jada. Jada is Fletch’s ex-wife, and Fletch is Archer’s cop best friend. That means the entire Malone family has a vested interest in whatever Booth is doing. You may not be an active participant, but I expect you’re kept abreast of things happening in this city.”
“Aubree—”
“Did you know about the shooting or not?”
“I found out about twenty minutes ago. Felix called me, he said Archer called him. Archer’s not running the case, but news travels fast and he knows to come to the family to talk first. Why is this bothering you so much?”
“I already said! Things that bother your family, bother me. It had nothing to do with Felix?”
“No. But he caught wind that Booth was the primary target. Booth wasn’t at the bay, which means the hit was a failure. Whoever came here with the guns has probably already left. Maybe they’ll regroup. Maybe they won’t. Hard to know when we don’t even know who they are.”
“And where is Booth now?”
“Woman! I don’t know. I try to stay as far from all this as I can. Snooping around and inserting myself is the last thing I’m gonna do. If the bodies are yours now, I suggest you pass them on. Keep your hands clean now that you’re mine.”
“I can’t pass them on.” I turn on my heels and watch as techs fill Minka’s office. But they don’t start their meeting without me. Minka taps at her phone—perhaps she’s having a conversation not completely different to the one I’m having—and Raquel sips her coffee. “It’s a Monday morning and my slab is clear, which means I’ll be assigned at least one of the DBs. But I’m staying in house as far as I’m aware. Are you working today? ”
“Yeah. And I’ll meet with a real estate agent too. Since we’re in the market for a house.”
“Oh, for god’s sake! We’re not buying a house.”
He chuckles, low on his breath and taunting in the way I remember that breath on my thighs last night.
“I’m gonna buy us a house. You wanna be up on the hill near Minka? I know you two are obsessed with each other, so…”
“Minka doesn’t live on the hill. She lives next door to the bar. And if you’re so set on buying real estate today, Doctor Raquel mentioned needing a backer to buy her apartment. Since you have so much cash to toss around, might I suggest you start there?”
“I have no interest in buying real estate for other women. Just you.”
“I’m hanging up. Don’t buy anything. I’ll see you at the bar after work.”
“I’ll make you a meal and show you the shortlist of properties I’ve selected. Do you want a big party or a small, intimate thing with just friends?”
“Like…” Confusion settles over my brain like fog on a cold Copeland morning. “A housewarming party for the house we’re not buying?”
“For the wedding, silly. Big and loud, or small and just us? Or we can do the boat like Archer and Minka, if you want.”
“I’ll marry you when you tell me what’s in the Cordoza envelope.”
He silences. Swallows. Bested, he snarls in the back of his throat. “You’re being unnecessarily difficult.”
“Uh-huh. It’s my thing.”
“Doctor Emeri?” Minka taps on the glass door, firming her lips when I glance up. “You’re holding us up.”
“I’ve gotta go. Talk to you later.”
“Okay, I?—”
But I hang up and shove my phone into my back pocket. Swinging into the office, I stride across and grab my coffee before it goes cold. “Sorry, Chief. I’m here.”
“Start the rounds.” She delegates to me, though God knows why. She knows more than I do about what’s happening inside this building today. She meanders back to her desk and plops down until her chair squeaks. “Current loads first,” she instructs. “Then I’ll assign the six from the bay.”
“Yes, Chief. Uh…” I face our crowd and remember back to Friday, since I was awarded an entire, blissful weekend off with no after-hours call outs. “My slab is clear. I tied up my last DB, MV accident: internal decapitation. I’ve handed the case back to the detectives, and I believe they’re pursuing ma nslaughter charges. I have cases pended, awaiting tox, but other than those, I’m ready for something new.”
“Good. You can have two of the six.” She gestures toward Cara. “Doctor Flynn?”
“I was on call this weekend and caught a few that robbed me of my sleep. Break and enter gone wrong. Homicide cops are on the case and awaiting my final reports.”
“COD?”
“GSW to the face. Made a damn mess, blew out the back and sprayed gray matter all over the kitchen. I spent a good long while scooping up the bits with a dustpan and broom. Body has been put away for now. Obviously no one is permitted to visit with the decedent. It’s too traumatizing for the family?—”
“You don’t get a say, Doctor Flynn. If the DB’s next of kin wants to see, they get to see.”
“But—”
“You can warn them of what’s coming, but you can’t stop them. This is their right. What else came in on the weekend?”
Doctor Flynn is only a few years older than her chief. She’s a solid tech with a track record of showing up for the dead. Which means she drops her chin in respect and acceptance of her boss’ word. “We had two vagrants turn up in the early hours of Saturday morning. Both mid-forties. Unmarried. Both male. They were sleeping rough and froze to death a few hours before they were discovered by uniformed officers. Winter is harsh, and December is the worst for it. Shelters are full, especially this close to Christmas, and these two had no-where else to go.”
“Autopsy showed?”
“Besides the freezing to death part? Both were reasonably healthy. Livers showed signs of abuse, and their stomachs were alarmingly empty, but heart and other vital organs appeared strong. Lungs were clear, which rules out infection. No pneumonia. No sickness. No brain bleeds. No physical ailments I could pinpoint that would lead to natural or unnatural death. Neither were bleeding. Neither were bruised except for the standard, expected scuffings you’d expect of someone living on the street. Both had lice, but they, too, were frozen when I brought them into my autopsy suite. Ultimately, my decedents froze to death. No foul play detected.”
“Good. Is your slab clear?”
“I’m finalizing reports for my weekend cases, but yeah, I’m clear.”
“You can have two of the bay bodies, and I’ll take the final two. That’s six between us, and we’ll see what we find by the end of the day.” Minka reclines in her chair and looks at the next tech. “Doctor Kirk. I know your Friday night was interesting. Tell me how your ‘ fireworks up a construction worker’s ass ’ case ended.”
Poor kid. He blushes hotter than I ever have. “Y-yes Chief. Autopsy is written, case is pended, awaiting tox results. I can reasonably assume the decedent was under the influence of something, considering the nature of his death.”
“I would normally pull you up for making assumptions on the job. But I, too, would need something fun and hallucinogenic to convince me to stick pyrotechnics up my backside. Chase the lab for your results and complete the report.” Finally, she grabs her beloved ruler and stands. “Let’s get those bodies upstairs and begin.”