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“Either a problem with authority or stubbornness.”
“Both?” His eyes twinkled. “What about you?”
“Which is my issue—authority or stubbornness?” She touched a strand of her red hair. “I’ll leave you to be the judge.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself, you’re only a little stubborn.”
“Jeez, thanks.” Although, she did take possession of the trait as a compliment. At least that meant she knew her mind and what she wanted. “If it’s really important for you, though, I’ll do the reading.”
“It would mean the world.”
“Well, it’s not like you’ll have nothing to do while I’m reading.”
“I wouldn’t expect it any other way.”
“Besides, depending on how much we’re told, reading might not be our top priority.” I can hope. She smiled at him and set off down the hall.
Trent knocked on the doorway for the third office on the left.
“Come in,” a man called out from inside, and Trent got the door.
A man in his thirties, full beard and mustache, sat behind a desk. Pale complexion much like Amanda. Unlike her, though, his skin was milky smooth without a freckle in sight.
“What can I do for you? Cara said you were with the Prince William County Police Department?”
Cara must have been the lady at the front desk. “That’s right. Detectives Steele and Stenson. You are Kristopher Black?”
“I am. Sit down if you’d like.”
There were two chairs against the wall, and they positioned them to face Kristopher.
“We just spoke with Melody Schmitt. She told us you handled Felicity Kelley’s email.” Trent took his tablet back out and had the notepad app at the ready.
Kristopher narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean by handled—past tense? Was I fired and don’t know about it?”
“Unfortunately, Felicity Kelley was found murdered yesterday,” Amanda stepped in, laying it out as a basic fact without embellishment. Doing so made it easier to remain objective and distance herself.
Kristopher didn’t say anything, but he leaned back in his chair. He rested his elbow on the arm and plucked at hairs in his beard. His eyes were blank and hard to read.
“You hear what I just said?” Amanda eventually prompted, anxious for him to respond, cautious of startling him.
He nodded and took a deep breath, blew out.
Trent said, “Mr. Black, we appreciate this must come as quite a shock to—”
Kristopher met Trent’s gaze, then he danced it toward Amanda. “It’s a shock all right.”
It was in his words, his inflection, his physical reaction… Amanda had a hunch. “Were you and Felicity close?”
He licked his top lip. “You could say that.”
“Could you elaborate?” Amanda was mostly in the dark as to how the relationship between an author and publisher worked, let alone author and marketing person. But she strongly sensed Kristopher and Felicity were more than simply colleagues of sorts.
“We rarely had to see each other, but we’d sometimes talk over Zoom. Mostly when she had questions about our marketing plans.”
“I don’t know much about publishing,” Trent inserted, “but wouldn’t her agent be responsible for sorting that out with you?”
“Typically, and Justine and I did consult often. But Felicity wasn’t the type of author who was just about writing, if that makes sense. She was also a businesswoman. She wanted to be involved, to offer input, not just remain informed.”
