Jenna tilted her head slightly.“Had she been taking classes with him for long?”
“About four months.It was supposed to be her thing, you know?After we...”He trailed off, gesturing vaguely between himself and the door, where his girlfriend and office manager waited.“She had always wanted to try acting.Book club wasn't enough for her anymore, she said.She was really excited about it, at first.”
“But something changed,” Jenna supplied, watching him closely.
“She wouldn't say exactly what happened,” Keir replied.“Just that she'd quit the class and wasn't going back.When I pressed, she said Ashton wasn't what people thought he was.”He frowned, the memory visibly troubling him.“She kept looking over her shoulder while we were talking.I'd never seen her like that before.”
Jenna knew that Ashton had a reputation for being cruel to his students, but cruelty alone didn't typically inspire the kind of fear Keir was describing.
“Did she elaborate at all?”Jake asked.“Give any examples of what she meant?”
Keir shook his head.“No.I tried to get her to talk more about it, but she shut down.Said she shouldn't have mentioned it at all.”He tugged at his tie, adjusting it though it sat perfectly straight.“I thought maybe he'd been too harsh with her critique or something.Claudia was sensitive about her performances.But this seemed...different.I could see that she was actually afraid.”
“Did she mention any other students who might have had similar experiences?”Jenna asked.
“No names.Just said she wasn't the only one.”Keir looked up, something hardening in his eyes.“I should have pushed harder, shouldn't I?Made her tell me what was wrong?”
His question was heavy with implications.Jenna didn't answer it directly—couldn't offer the absolution he seemed to be seeking.
“Was that the last time you spoke with her?”she asked instead.
“Yes.”His voice turned hollow.“She said she'd call me about finalizing some paperwork, but she never did.”
Jenna exchanged a quick glance with Jake, a silent confirmation that they were thinking the same thing: they needed to visit the Mountain View Theater immediately.
“Thank you for your time, Mr.Kingsley,” she said, rising from her chair.Jake followed her lead.“We'll be in touch if we have any more questions.”
Keir stood too, his movements stiff.“You think this is important, don't you?That it might be connected to what happened to her?”
“We follow every lead, Mr.Kingsley,” Jake replied.
They moved toward the door, Jenna's mind already racing ahead to their next steps.The hallway seemed longer on the way out—those lovely portfolio photos seeming less impressive now.
Grace Thompson sat at her desk, phone pressed to her ear.She looked up as they passed, her face still flushed, eyes widening with what Jenna recognized as a mixture of fear and guilt.She mumbled something into the phone and quickly hung up.
“Sheriff,” she said, the word coming out breathy and strained.“Deputy.Are you...finished?”
“For now,” Jenna said, noting how the woman's hands trembled slightly as she straightened a stack of papers.“Thank you for your cooperation.”
Grace nodded too quickly.“Of course.Anything we can do to help.”
Jenna held the woman's gaze a moment longer than necessary, watching her squirm under the scrutiny.Of course Jenna knew that her demeanor might mean nothing more than embarrassment over her adulterous relationship with her boss, perhaps also some guilt for having helped break up a marriage.
Then Jenna turned away, Jake a half-step behind her as they pushed through the glass doors and into the crisp autumn air, leaving behind the perfumed atmosphere of Kingsley Landscape Design for the honest Missouri morning air.
“Mountain View Theater next?”Jake asked as they crossed the parking lot.
Jenna nodded, unlocking their vehicle with a chirp that cut through the quiet.“Let's see what Mr.Ashton has to say for himself.”
They climbed in, then Jenna started the engine and cranked up the heat, letting it idle for a moment as she gathered her thoughts.
“What's your read on Kingsley?”she asked, pulling out onto the main road.
Jake's face tightened in consideration.“Nervous.More than just the usual discomfort of being questioned.The way he kept adjusting his tie, avoiding eye contact when talking about Grace.”
“I noticed that too,” Jenna said, taking the turn that would lead them out of town toward the theater.“And Grace was practically vibrating with anxiety when we passed by her desk.”
“Could be guilt about their affair, could be something else.The timing of his separation from Claudia is convenient.Three months gives him enough distance to establish an alibi, but not so much that he's completely disconnected from her life.”
