Swerve by Michelle McGriff

Keliegh back and quickly headed back toward the elevator, as if he wanted to be the first to see the bodies that were coming in. Still, Keliegh looked around for the other man that was talking with Maxwell earlier, but he was gone.
    Stepping outside, Keliegh thought about Romia. He needed to talk to her. He needed to believe her—to clear out from his head all Maxwell had said. Just then the phone rang. It was Tommy.
    â€œWhatcha got?” he asked Tommy.
    â€œNot much, but then, maybe a lot,” she answered.
    â€œWhat the hell does that mean?”
    â€œDon’t bite my head off. I’m stepping out on a limb here and maybe worse. I’m not even getting a thanks.”
    â€œThanks,” Keliegh barked.
    â€œAnd you’re welcome too.”
    â€œSorry, it’s that Maxwell Huntington guy. He was here at the morgue. The body wasn’t here, but he was.”
    â€œReally? Wow, this is getting really interesting.”
    â€œI wouldn’t call it interesting…not really.” Keliegh responded.
    â€œI would…’cause nobody’s heard of the guy. I keep trying to corner the captain but can’t get near him.” Tommy said.
    â€œWho the hell is he?” Keliegh asked, turning back to the morgue doors, debating if he would go back in and find out on his own.
    â€œWant another mystery? I was doing some snooping around, you know, seeing who’s on this case and well, nobody is. That means nobody’s heard of this Maxwell cat or a shooting last night. I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t suspended either. Hold on…”
    Keliegh could hear the commotion through the muted phone. “You hear that? Captain stormed through asking what the hell was going on. He asked where you were. He said, ‘Mike’s dead?’ This is like a sick joke.”
    â€œNo joke. Apparently, somebody is claiming that Romia took out some guys at The Spot about an hour ago. For real. One of them was Mike.”
    â€œShe killed Mike? Is that what all the hubbub is about? Things are getting really nutty around here. Mike is dead? Hey, wait a sec…who knew before we did?”
    â€œMaxwell,” they said at the same time.
    â€œI’ma see if I can find out more about this Maxwell dude, maybe find out his game. Then I’m headed out to The Spot.”
    â€œI’ll meet you there. Hey, what about your girlfriend?” Tommy said, allowing plenty of sarcasm to come through. “I mean, she just dropped outta sight and that’s not like her.”
    Keliegh sighed heavily and hung up. “Oh, don’t I know it. I still need to go see her.”
    After storming back into the morgue, Keliegh was told that Maxwell and his partner were gone. “How? I didn’t see them leave.” he asked the receptionist.
    â€œGuess what? Apparently there is more than one way outta here, Mr. Bad Luck!”
    â€œHey, by the way, who all came in last night? I’ll just take the entire roster.”
    â€œAh, well, this I can tell you. Mr. Huntington told me not to tell you anything else. So as far as you’re concerned, nobody did.”
    â€œFine!” Keliegh growled before rushing back out of the morgue to his car.

Chapter 15
    Shashoni barely cracked the door after Keliegh knocked relentlessly. “Go away,” she whined.
    â€œOpen the door, baby. What’s the matter with you?”
    â€œI can’t talk about it,” she cried.
    Pushing the door open, he stormed in like Bogart.
    She stepped back. She was wearing a robe and her hair was a mess. Dark circles had formed under her sleepless red eyes. She looked as if she’d been through the mill.
    â€œWhat’s going on?”
    Holding back for a moment longer she finally burst into tears, falling into his open arms. “Oh, Keliegh. I was abducted by aliens!”
    â€œWhat?” he asked. Holding back his first thoughts, he held her up. He supported her in