20.
Mark stayed the night with her again. Avery knew she shouldn't get used to it; after just a couple of nights it was already starting to feel like he belonged there.
This time she went to sleep at a reasonable hour and went in to work, even though Mark had tried to talk her out of it. Temptation again, but putting it off wouldn't get it done.
She was fine until she got to the school. And noted a deputy's car parked in the lot. Avery ignored it. But she kept it in the back of her mind as she got to work on her files. When she broke for lunch the car was still parked there. Annoyed, she made a beeline for the driver's side window.
At least it was a deputy she knew. Ben Marsh. His son was entering third grade the next school year. He spotted her coming and had the presence of mind to look uncomfortable at her approach.
"Ms. Landry." He nodded at her.
"Mr. Marsh. Why are you taking up real estate in my parking lot?" She figured she might surprise him by being blunt.
"Um..."
Avery leaned down, peering into the car, forcing him to meet her eyes. "Please don't bullshit me, Ben. I've had enough for that the past few days to last me a lifetime."
He averted his eyes. "Well. The sheriff assigned us to keep an eye on you. Because of Calaway."
"That makes perfect sense." Avery said sarcastically. She didn't know where it was coming from lately.
"He's a suspect in Rob Williams's shooting. And maybe the fire?" That part sounded like a question. "That's the gist though. Sheriff is worried that somethin' is gonna happen to you."
"How touching. This is the same sheriff that threatened to have me fired if I didn't play ball, so to speak."
Ben looked at her again and something in him seemed to give. "I don't get it either. I mean, it's my job and I gotta do what I'm told, but ever since Calaway came to town the sheriff has had a hard-on for him."
Avery tilted her head. "Unlock the door. I'm getting in." She went around to the passenger seat and climbed into the car, moving a stack of papers to the floor to do it. Ben merely watched her, waiting. "Tell me exactly what the sheriff said." He hesitated. Avery could see him wavering. "There is something seriously wrong in this town, Ben. And for some reason, Walls is in the middle of it. And trying to drag me down with him, apparently. I'd like to know what the hell I'm getting into."
"It wasn't what he said, exactly." Ben finally gave in. "Although that was weird too. Look...I've had some problems. With pain meds. And he said if I did this, he'd not put it in my record or hold it against me if I got clean. That kinda thing could get me fired."
"If you did what? Followed me?"
"Pretty much. 'Keep her under surveillance, call in when Calaway shows up', that kind of thing. Weird but this is cake. It's not like you run from one end of the county to another." He seemed to realize what he was saying. "Sorry, Ms. Landry. I don't mean it to sound..."
Avery waved that off. She didn't care if he thought she was boring. "What's the point though?"
"Sheriff said it was to protect you because he thought maybe Calaway was gonna make you some kind of target. Unfinished business. I told you. It wasn't what he said exactly, because he didn't say much, and none of it made any sense."
"Were you there when they questioned Mark after Williams got shot?"
"Not in the room." Ben smiled uncertainly. "But I don't think it went the way Walls thought it would go. I think Calaway ended up running the questioning. And I think the sheriff took offense to it."
"So what set him off?"
Ben shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. I just know that as soon as Calaway got into town, Sheriff seemed to fixate on him." He met her eyes. "Look. I can't lose this job. Beth isn't workin' right now. I have to be where the Sheriff sends me and report back to him."
"Tha'ts ok, Ben. You do that." Avery said with a sigh. She wasn't going to do anything that would require much in the way of reporting anyway. "I just wanted to know if I had to worry that you were going to break into my house or do something stupid."
"God, no." Ben looked horrified at the thought. "I was just supposed to keep an eye on things. In case Calaway got out of hand. But...I've seen you two together. I think that's bullshit. But I can't wok my mind around the real reason."
"And you shouldn't have to. Look, I won't tell about this little talk if you don't, all right?" Avery got out of the car and shut the door.
"Ms. Landry?" Ben called out before she could walk away. She turned back to look at him.
"Since your following me, you can drop the 'Ms. Landry' thing. It's just Avery."
"You be mindful the Sheriff. I don't know what he's thinking but he gets into moods every now and then. And I think this might be one of them." Ben cautioned her.
Avery nodded. Whether he'd meant to or not, Mark had managed to turn the Sheriff's eye toward her. Comforting.
Instead of going to her car for a quick drive to lunch, she went back inside the school. Straight to her phone. She called Jack's cellphone and tapped her fingers impatiently waiting on him to pick up.
"Hey, Avery. What's up? You wanna talk to Em?"
"Yes. But first I want to talk to you. Can you keep her longer?"
Jack thought that over. "Of course. But why?"
"There's something going on here. I can't explain it but I'd feel better if she stayed with you for a couple of weeks." They ahd planned on Emily staying at her Dad's for a few weeks in July. Avery figured she was just pushing up the schedule.
"Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"I don't know what I'm in. It's like the air down here is rotten." She gave him the short version of events, the shooting, the bodies found outside of town but near enough to be troublesome. "There are people here trying to figure it out. I would just feel better if Emily wasn't involved at all."
"I understand. And sure. She's welcome. Matter of fact, you're more than welcome to come stay with us too."
Avery smiled at that. It was so Jack-like, offering up his home. It was one of the reasons she had fallen for him. He was steady. Reliable.
"I'll be all right. But thank you. Now let me talk to my kid." Avery spent fifteen minutes chatting with Emily, letting her daughter erase the tension that she felt. Emily was surprised to be spending more time at her dad's and worried about her job at Danielle's but Avery assured her she would take care of it.
Having Emily safely away took a huge weight off of Avery's shoulders. She went back to work, determined that she would finish everything up that day. Most of the teachers were done, the custodial staff usually cleaned early in the day, and the empty school felt vaguely threatening now even if she knew it was just her nerves.
