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“That’s right.”
Amanda wanted to address one more thing with the editor before leaving. “There were a few pieces of paper with printed text on them at the scene. I’m curious if you could search The Romeo Killer, or any of her other books for that matter, to see if they turn up in one of them.”
Melody nodded. “I can look.”
“Great. Trent, do you have those words close at hand?” She turned to her partner, trusting he’d come through for her.
“Yep. One second.” He swept his finger around the screen of the tablet. “Here they are. The typed words were: ‘beauty has always’ and ‘case closed.’”
“Hmm. The last one could have a place in any of her books. I’ll have to search her manuscripts.”
Amanda appreciated the editor’s cooperation. She also realized even if she found the words, it might not advance the case. There was also a handwritten scribble that was barely legible. If she remembered right, it said ‘could it be?’ Amanda stood and thanked Melody for her time.
“Oh, before you go…” Melody opened a cabinet door in the credenza and pulled out two hardcover editions of The Romeo Killer. “Here is one for each of you.”
“Thank you.” Amanda hadn’t much success with reading these days, but she had a feeling that trend had to change. Between the covers of this book might lie the key to solving a real-life murder.
Amanda and Trent parted ways with Melody when she got off the elevator on the eighth. They carried on to the lobby.
“A thought hit me while we were speaking with Schmitt,” Amanda started. “Felicity must have had electronic backups of her work.”
“We didn’t find any drives in her house.”
“Which I realize, and maybe the killer took them, but it’s also possible she saved copies on web-based storage. I think it’s worth looking into.”
“Her financials could tell us, though sometimes those services are renewed yearly. We might have to look over a long period. Another option is we contact her internet provider, hope they confirm she had cloud storage through them, and go from there.”
“Let’s get it done as soon as we can.”
The elevator dinged its arrival at the main floor, and they headed toward the front desk.
The woman there smiled. “Have a good—” She stopped talking when Amanda and Trent came to a standstill in front of her. “Can I help you with something?”
“We need to speak with Ian Moss.” Amanda wanted to start with him. If he could summarize The Romeo Killer that would save some time.
“One minute.” The woman typed on her keyboard, paused, squinted at the monitor, and dragged a finger across the screen. “He is here, but in a meeting until eleven. After that it looks like he has a fifteen-minute window.”
“Put us in there,” Trent said. “In the meantime, we’d like to speak with Kristopher Black from Marketing.”
“Let me see what I can do.” The receptionist tapped on the keyboard again, then clicked the mouse with flourish. “His calendar is showing all-clear. I’ll call him now.” She tapped her earpiece, and the blue light came on. She ran through a similar spiel to what she had when they’d requested an audience with Melody Schmitt. She pressed on the earpiece again. To Amanda and Trent, she said, “He can talk with you in his office. Seventh floor, off the elevator, turn left, third door on the left.”
“Thank you,” Amanda told her, and she and Trent headed back up.
“Well, if we don’t accomplish anything else today, we got to ride the elevator at a huge publishing house.” He was smirking when she looked over at him. She shook her head.
“Always you and the bright side.” She smiled. “But in all seriousness, Trent, we’re getting leads.” She held up the hardcover edition of Felicity’s bestseller. “We also have some reading to do.”
Trent groaned.
She faced him as the elevator continued its ascent. Floor five… six… seven… A ding, then the doors opened. He unloaded, and she stepped out and caught his arm on a back swing.
“What was with the groan?” she asked him.
“I’ve never been good at required reading. In school, I’d pray to be assigned to groups, then hang back while the others carried me.”
“And you actually got away with this?”
“Every time. I like reading when I have the time—even if it’s not often—but the minute someone tells me I must read a particular book… Nope, no way. Not interested.”
