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“Okay,” Cynthia dragged out.
Amanda ended the call. “Now that’s out of the way, Mr. Lowe, let’s have a real talk.”
TWENTY-SIX
Amanda opened a folder that she’d brought in with her and took out a promotional photograph of Felicity Kelley.
Sheldon leaned forward, his eyes dancing over the glossy image. The glimmer of a smile touched his lips. But as if just becoming aware that she and Trent were watching him closely, he pushed up his glasses and sat back again.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Amanda decided she’d play this interview a little differently than most. Instead of leaping right to their suspicion, she wanted to lay the groundwork for their interest in him. For that, she intended to prove his infatuation with the author. She was sure his obsession extended beyond showing up at all her book signings. Given the way his pupils dilated upon seeing Felicity’s face, she concluded Sheldon Lowe had romantic feelings for Felicity Kelley. Dangerous and volatile territory, especially when one builds up a nonexistent relationship in their head. “Mr. Lowe? She’s beautiful?” she prompted when he hadn’t responded.
“Yeah, she… she is.” He seemed to be having a hard time tearing his gaze from the photo. Eventually, he did, but his eye contact wasn’t steady.
He was clearly hiding something, and she was determined to find out if it was Felicity’s murder. “Why did you run?”
“I’d rather not say.” Sheldon bit his bottom lip.
She could approach his reluctance one of two ways: head-on or circle back. The former could cause him to request a lawyer, while the latter might allow them to learn a lot more. “I noticed you sell her books in your store,” she said, choosing option two.
“If you want to talk about Flick, can you at least remove these?” He wriggled his hands, and the cuffs jangled.
It was rather unsettling that he referred to Felicity by her nickname, but Amanda considered the request. Sheldon struck her as bookish, but the fact remained they deemed him a strong suspect in a murder case. “I’m sorry, but we can’t do that.”
Sheldon pursed his lips and let out a ragged breath, but then spoke. “Of course I sell her books, I’d be stupid not to. Felicity Kelley is an A-list author. The Romeo Killer will be a box-office hit.”
“It sounds like you’re a huge fan of her work.” She tagged on a smile.
“You could say that.”
His response was dry and reserved. Was he guarding himself because he was guilty of her murder? “What is your favorite book?” She refused to ask outright if it was The Romeo Killer for the reason of building the case against him on firm footing. If it came down to prosecuting Sheldon Lowe, she didn’t want some defense attorney claiming she’d led his statement.
“It’s hard to choose just one.” His shoulders relaxed, no longer hunched forward, they lifted higher. “Which would you pick?”
“The Romeo Killer hands down.” She turned to Trent. “My partner’s a fan too.”
Sheldon grinned. “Your favorite?”
“I’d have to say the same,” Trent said.
“It is the one with all the buzz, but even her early stuff was good.”
“What did you like about The Romeo Killer?” She was curious how his answer might tie back to Felicity’s murder.
“All of it, I guess. Completely believable.”
Amanda nodded, while a churning in her gut alerted her to the implication of his blasé answer. It was avoidance but also possible admission. Believable? Was that relatability why he’d copied Felicity’s work? She cleared her throat. “Have you been a fan of hers from the beginning?”
“Pretty much. She’s local too, as you would know.”
“That’s right. She lives in…” Amanda let that hang out there like she had no idea. It was honestly incredibly noteworthy they had talked this long without him bringing up Felicity’s murder.
“Triangle,” Sheldon volunteered.
“Oh, you know that? You really are a fan.” Good Cop was on notice but was needed just a little longer.
“I follow her to all her signings—some books I get for myself, others for the store. It’s Criminal has carried her titles from the start. She even signs copies in-store or drops them off for me to sell. Quite sure she did this because she likes me.”
Kristopher Black hadn’t mentioned this, but he might not be aware of the arrangement. Even if he was, he might not have seen a point in sharing it. But if Felicity had gone out of her way to sign books for the store, it would have been professionally motivated not indicative of personal feelings for Sheldon Lowe. And it also made it unlikely she had feared Sheldon—as Amanda thought before—meaning she may have let him into her home. There were more facts working against him too. His seeming obsession was just one. “Then you were close? That’s why you feel comfortable calling her Flick?”
