Page 16 of D for Dead

‘My book?’ Amy looked from one detective to the other. Was this some kind of prank?

From the expressions on their faces she knew they weren’t fooling around.

‘How do you know?’ she asked, aware it sounded a dumb question, but not sure what else to say. She looked to Angell for a response. The way Sullivan was intently watching her as if she’d done something wrong was a little off-putting. His partner was nicer.

‘Chapter twenty-six, the murders in the graveyard: girl buried alive, boy stabbed to death.’

‘That happened?’

Angell nodded.

‘It did, last night.’

‘Oh boy.’ Amy shoved her hands back through her hair and turned away from the detectives to look out over the park. The sun was setting, creating a dusky pink and orange backdrop, the trees motionless in the still heat. It was a pretty evening. Too pretty to be receiving news like this. ‘Why are you connecting it to Grave Encounters? It could be a coincidence.’

‘The killer left clues leading to your book,’ Sullivan told her grimly. ‘He didn’t make it difficult; he wanted us to know where he got his inspiration.’ He waited for Amy to look in his direction, then added, ‘He, or of course it could be she.’

Asshole.

‘You think I did it?’

Sullivan held her gaze before answering. ‘Nope,’ he conceded eventually. ‘But we would be interested in knowing where you were last night between about eight and eleven.’

‘It’s a standard question,’ Angell added kindly. ‘So we can eliminate you from our enquiries.’

Amy was rattled. Why would someone take a scene from her book and use it as a brief to commit murder. It made no sense.

There are plenty of sick people out there.

You can never tell how someone gets their kicks.

Right now she was experiencing a whole range of emotions.

Guilt, disbelief, a little bit of fear and frustration, and anger, the last mostly directed at Detective Jake Sullivan.

‘I was working,’ she told Angell. ‘Finished my bar shift about one thirty.’ Scowling at Sullivan, she added sarcastically, ‘Then of course I was busy getting dog training tips from you.’

He didn’t react to the jibe. ‘Work? I thought you were a writer?’

‘I am, but I need more than my books to pay the bills. I waitress at the Velvet Lounge part-time; it’s a cocktail bar downtown.’

‘I know where it is.’

‘Your friend mentioned someone wrote on your windshield,’ Angell said, changing the subject. ‘Was that today?’

‘Yeah, I was doing a signing for my new novel at Too Many Books this morning. My car was parked across the street and someone had written on the windshield, I think it was lipstick.’

‘What did it say?’

Amy looked at the floor, uncomfortable.

‘It said “bitch”,’ she said quietly. It was one thing telling her friends about it, but these detectives didn’t know her and she didn’t like the connotations the word implied.

‘Any idea who might have done it?’

‘There is a woman, Nadine. She’s a fan of my books and she got a little mad today because I’ve ended the series and tried something new. I didn’t see her do it and it might not have been her, but I can’t think of anyone else.’

‘Do you know her last name?’