AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They found the room. The lights were on, but no one was home.
“Okay, where the—” Amanda pivoted at the sound of footsteps padding toward them.
A woman—early thirties, round face, green eyes. Her brown hair was in a loose braid that was seated over her left shoulder. She was wearing a tan jacket over a peach blouse and black dress pants. “Detectives?” she said.
“Detectives Steele and Stenson,” Amanda replied. “I assume you’re Melody Schmitt?”
“That’s me.” Melody pinched a gold chain around her neck. Uncertainty leaked from her hesitant tone and body language, as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to acknowledge her identity.
“We were told to speak with you here.” Amanda gestured toward the open doorway of the conference room.
“Yes.” The editor led the way inside.
A stately credenza held residence against one wall. Centered in the space was an oak table with ten leather chairs. Melody sat in one near the foot of the table. Amanda and Trent sat across from her.
“Ah, would you like any water or…” Melody said.
“We’re fine, but thank you for asking,” Amanda answered on behalf of herself and Trent, then said, “We’re here with sad news, Ms. Schmitt. Unfortunately, Felicity Kelley was found murdered in her home yesterday morning.”
“She… she… was what now?” The editor’s face paled, and her mouth fell slack. Publishing crime fiction seemed to do little to buffer the impact of real-life murder.
“We are sorry for your loss,” Trent added. “As Felicity’s editor, I would assume the two of you were very close.”
Melody nodded, but it appeared to take a lot of effort. “She was the first author I signed when I started at Garrison & Marrow three years ago.”
“You bet on a sure thing.” Amanda added a smile to her statement, and it sparked a mild one from the editor.
“I can’t believe she’s…” Melody put a hand to her neck and pinched her gold necklace again.
“We can imagine this news may come as a shock to you,” Amanda started.
“Ah, yeah. I just saw her two days ago. There was a champagne lunch on the top floor on Tuesday.”
“To celebrate the upcoming movie?” Trent asked.
“No, she came in to sign over international rights to her books.”
“What time was this?” Lunch could be anytime from noon until three.
“It started at noon.”
“And it was over when? Or more precisely, when did Felicity leave?” The contrast in Felicity’s last day was incredible and extreme—from high to low.
“Around two, somewhere in there.”
That allowed plenty of time for her to get home before all hell broke loose. “My partner and I have more questions, if you’ll indulge us.”
“I’ll answer whatever I can, but I should probably call management to join us.”
“We’d like to speak with you alone first, if that’s all right.” Amanda presented it as an option, knowing her choice of words would give the editor a feeling of power.
Melody tugged down on her blouse and sat straighter. “I’m sure that would be okay. What would you like to know?”
Amanda inched forward on her chair slowly, so as not to spook Melody, but to insert some intimacy. A subtle cue to suggest she was safe with her and Trent and free to speak her mind. “We’re in possession of Felicity’s phone and looked at some of her email and social media profiles. It seems the world has nothing but positive things to say about her.” This was when Amanda expected Melody to chime in with praise, but she remained quiet. Amanda added, “Usually when someone is in the limelight, as much as Felicity had been, it attracts a certain type of person—”
“A stalker?”
Tingles ran over Amanda’s shoulders. Was the fact the editor went straight there a promising lead or logical progression?
