months ago.”
“I see. And when you’ve talked to Scotty over the last few days, have you noticed anything unusual?”
“I haven’t talked to Scotty at all. Not in person. Not once, not during the whole convention. The first time we came close to interacting was today at the panel when he launched into his spiel about romance and our readers.”
“Really?” Shaw said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, someone did see you follow Scotty into a men’s room.”
Behind her tanned hide, JD’s color dropped. “I didn’t—that’s not—”
“And they got it on camera,” Shaw lied.
“Oh my God,” JD moaned. “Oh my God. I didn’t—I didn’t do anything, ok? He was avoiding me. He was making me mad. I wanted to talk to him, and he ducked in there to avoid me. I wasn’t going to stand for it, so I said screw this, and I went in after him. We were the only two in there; it’s not like I was trying to peep on anybody.”
“Never take no for an answer,” Shaw said.
“Right,” JD said desperately. “That’s exactly right. I was just…you know, being determined.”
“When was this?”
“Tuesday, late afternoon. It was technically before the con started, so I wasn’t lying when I told you I haven’t talked to him during the con. I just didn’t want to get into all this.”
“What did you need to talk to him about?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound very good.”
“I was standing up for a friend, if you have to know.”
“What does that mean?”
“Scotty was a liar!” The words burst free before JD seemed to realize she was saying them. A look of horror flitted across her face, but the words kept coming. “He promised Karen he’d help her with a book. He said he’d edit it for her, make sure it was perfect, and then give it to his agent. He basically guaranteed that she’d get a book deal.”
“And?” Shaw said.
“And he didn’t do any of it. Karen told me about the promise; we were talking about how to build a career, and she pretended she didn’t want to say anything about it, made me drag it out of her. I was jealous, of course, but I was happy for her too. When I asked her about it a few weeks later, she laughed it off. When I asked her a few weeks after that, she made excuses. A few weeks after that, and she said it wasn’t going to happen. Things had changed. She put on a brave face, of course, but I could tell she was devastated. I emailed Scotty, and he didn’t reply. I tried messaging him, and he didn’t answer those either. This was my first chance to talk to him in person, and he was going out of his way to avoid me, so I took the initiative.” JD raised her head and issued a challenging stare. “It’s not like I broke the law or anything.”
“And that’s all?” Shaw said. “You just talked about Karen’s book?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“Not about your own career?
“Please. I don’t need any help from the golden boy.”
“And then?”
“And then I left. He went to the urinal for a pee; that’s the last thing I saw. And I didn’t see him again until today.”
A string of swearing broke Shaw’s concentration, and he glanced to the right. North was using shoulders and elbows liberally to clear a path through the crowd. One overweight man in a pink boa and a tiara let out a shriek as North stomped on his foot. Shaw winced; the Redwings could do some serious damage. North barely seemed to register the noise, though. He was too busy wiping his face and turning the air blue.
“The goddamn candy fairies blasted me right in the fucking face,” North said. “I’m going to be lucky if I don’t get chlamydia in my eye or a raging infection of giardia.”
“I’m not sure you can get chlamydia in your eye,” Shaw said, “but I do have a potion that will help the giardia.”
Glaring with only one eye—his hand covered the other—North growled, “Pass.”
“I brewed it myself.”
“Shaw, so help me God, now is not the time for whatever ant-piss-and-chrysanthemum-stamen bullshit you want to force down my throat.”
“Oh no, I would never use chrysanthemums. Well, not for this. This has whole fennel seeds, peppermint leaves, carob, ginger oil—”
“Are we done?” JD said. “I’ve got a reader who wants to talk to me.”
“Really?” North said. He was actually scarier, Shaw thought, with just one eye. Even JD seemed to think so because