“I—” There was no use denying it. Were they that obvious? “Yes.”
“And?”
“I wouldn’t be happy about it,” Roz admitted.
“Would you get upset?”
“Of course.” And then she realized what Enolia was saying and leaned forward. “You and Wayne were … together?”
“We had a relationship. I thought it was an exclusive one. And then he set down his phone in a careless moment and walked away just when a particularly lurid text appeared on the screen. I saw it. I picked it up. How could I not? Could you have resisted?”
“I—I don’t know.” Roz was still trying to figure out just how angry Enolia was. She didn’t need disturbing thoughts like that—of Alden with someone else—planted in her head.
“You’re a curious person—I mean driven by curiosity,” the novelist said. “I think you know the answer. I read the whole chat. His disgusting exchange with that woman. She works at your newspaper, you know.”
“Sheryl Pugh? She’s a freelancer.”
Enolia glared at her. “She’s a tramp. Making plans to go away with him. Gushing about how much he was helping her. Commenting on his anatomy.”
“Ew.” Roz didn’t mean to say it, but there was such a thing as too much information.
Enolia nodded in agreement, her eyes bright with emotion. “I’m not saying I was in love with Wayne. But I expected some loyalty. I think the worst part was that he’d lied to me. And I’d had a bad morning. I was nervous about appearing at the bookstore.”
“You didn’t seem nervous.”
“I’m a very good actress. I’m a closet introvert.” She acted like she was telling Roz a secret, but Roz got the feeling the line was well-rehearsed. And hard to believe, given how she’d teased her audience. “Besides, I’ve had one or two obsessive fans cross the line over the years, which adds to my jitters. It’s why I like having people I trust around me when I do an event like that—Mae and Craig, who can be a bodyguard when I need him to be. To tell the truth, I usually have a Taser in my bag as well.”
So Enolia wasn’t afraid to use a little violence. “Had you just found out that Wayne wasn’t—loyal?”
“I saw the messages that morning, just before he left my house.”
“Why didn’t you confront him then?”
“I wasn’t ready. My characters often have a snappy comeback. But I’m one of those people who has to think about what to say, especially when I’ve experienced a shock. I fumed all morning, going over it again and again in my head. I couldn’t focus at all before the reading. I realized I couldn’t go on unless I set things straight with Wayne. I’d heard his voice in the hall. So I followed him out back. And I told him exactly where he could stuff that phone.”
Roz nodded, swallowing a laugh that tried to escape. “Did you hit him?”
A proud glint sparked in Enolia’s eyes. “I yelled at him. I told him we were done, though I still expected him to deliver on his business obligations. And I smacked him the way a trifling man ought to be smacked. And then I went inside feeling much better.”
“How many times did you hit him?”
Enolia seemed surprised by the question. “Once. That was enough to convey how I felt.”
“Did he hit you back?”
“He—” She paused. “No. He seemed to be in shock, honestly. And before you ask, he was very much alive when I left him. And then I did my last-minute touchup in Mae’s office before I met my fans. I thought I did rather well, especially given Craig misplaced the book I was going to use. I’m always very careful about annotating the text before something like that, you know?”
The book! Roz had almost forgotten about the beaten-up book. The book with blood on it.
Craig had custody of her book?
Maybe he didn’t lose it.
Maybe he hit Wayne with it!
“Did Craig know about your relationship with Wayne?” Roz asked, her spine tingling.
For the first time, Enolia seemed discomfited. “I suppose it couldn’t have escaped his notice. The car in the driveway overnight and that sort of thing. He hasn’t been happy lately. He warned me about giving Wayne too much money. Though I’ve always said you have to spend money to make money.”
