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“All right, then.” Malone clapped his hands together, an obvious dismissal.
Fred picked up on it and left.
“First thoughts?” Malone asked her and Trent.
“Far too soon to leap in any direction,” Amanda said.
Malone smiled, bobbed his head, and left the house with, “Keep me posted.”
Trent turned to Amanda. “I’m going to assume you haven’t seen the news recently, about how well Felicity’s latest book has been doing?”
“I do my best to avoid the news.” She had precious little free time, and she wasn’t spending what she did have filling her head with more bad news.
“As I figured. Well, it’s apparently blowing up the bestseller charts. I’m not a reader, so don’t ask me what it’s called, but its success resulted in a movie deal. And I’m talking box office, blockbuster huge. Apparently, Chris Hemsworth is set to play her lead detective.”
That made her momentarily speechless. “Wow. That’s incredible.” And it was, but it might also complicate finding Felicity’s killer. Was it someone envious of Felicity’s success? An avid fan? A rejected lover? The list was truly endless.
“Just wanted to give you a heads-up. Obviously, I don’t know if it will factor into the case.”
“Again, too early to say. But if I were to ask your early thoughts, what are they?”
“Assume you’re asking?” A brief smirk, then, “I’d say an isolated incident. You know how I feel when it comes to people getting struck in the heart.”
She nodded, recalling he saw it as testifying to a love affair gone wrong. “We’ll talk to her friend, Celeste Sweeney, see if she knows of any boyfriends or exes Felicity had.”
“On board with that. We also need to find out if there is any sign of forced entry. If not, Felicity may have let her killer in.”
With this statement, Amanda conjured a sad possibility. Had Felicity answered her front door expecting the pizza she’d ordered to find her would-be killer standing there instead? “Yeah, we’ll need that answer.”
“You must have missed this.” Trent gestured back and forth between them.
Her cheeks heated, not exactly sure what he was implying.
“I just meant all the questions,” he rushed out. “After all, you did come back early.”
Mostly wracked with guilt and spurred on by compulsion… “I wouldn’t go that far, but sitting around does get kind of tedious.”
“You? Sitting around? I’d have to see it for myself.”
“Very funny.” She bristled some, probably because his jest was so accurate.
“It’s true, though, isn’t it? What you are basically telling me is you were bored once you got back from Florida.”
“Fine, yes, I was. Today, anyway. Not that I wanted this”—she glanced over at Felicity’s dead body—“excitement to liven things up.” If it meant Felicity Kelley were still alive, Amanda would have happily stared into space for days on end.
FOUR
Amanda and Trent stepped outside and found that detectives Hudson and Ryan were gone. Malone wasn’t in sight either. Officer Wyatt was with the man and that upset woman. Appearance-wise, they were a mismatched couple. Him around six foot two, her about five foot five. Both were dressed casually. Her fair-haired, him dark. Her with a round face, him oval.
Amanda wasn’t privy to their relationship, but they appeared comfortable and familiar with each other. His arm was around her, and while she currently wasn’t crying, she was tucked tightly against his side.
As Amanda got closer, she noticed they wore wedding rings and the woman had the beginnings of a baby bump. Amanda dipped her head to Wyatt in greeting and dismissal, which he picked up and excused himself. “Celeste Sweeney?”
“That’s me.” Celeste’s lips quivered, and Amanda felt for her. If merely confirming her identity was hard, the rest of this conversation would be hell.
“I’m Detective Steele, and this is Detective Stenson.” No need to announce themselves as being with the Prince William County Police Department as they’d assume as much. “We understand you spoke with Detective Ryan,” Amanda started, wishing that Natalie had stuck around long enough to bring them up to speed before she jettisoned. “We’re going to be the detectives in charge of investigating your friend’s murder.”
Celeste’s eyes filled with tears, turning the steely blue to cobalt, and a few fell. She let them, unabashed, unlike earlier when Amanda had noted her wiping them away.
