Page 29 of Scripted for Love and Poison
Jason leaned back on the sofa, pausing for effect. “He looked his usual curmudgeonly self.”
“Not really. Don’t you remember?” Emily intervened again, and Sol was starting to feel both aggravated by her but happy that she was there to jog Jason’s obtuse memory and keep him on a short leash. “He was even more grouchy than usual. I think it’s because he was having a hard time finding a publisher for his book.” She said those last words in a lower, compassionate tone.
“Could that be reason enough for him to do something silly?” said Sol hesitantly. She wasn’t equipped to deal with that kind of questioning. She should have told Luke what Julie had asked her to do, but he’d been so adamant about her not getting involved in the case ...
“Something silly? Do you even hear how you sound?” Jason barked. “It’s as if you were playing detective! No, he wasn’t so distressed that he couldn’t sell his book that he would have killed himself. If that’s what you were insinuating!”
“He’d poured body and soul into that book,” Emily said.
“To the detriment of his journalist work!” Jason threw up his hands, scowling.
“Do you mean that his reviews were getting worse?” Sol said.
“His reviews had always been bad!” Jason’s voice was rising. “But they were simply atrocious lately. Look at what he did withHaughty Horizons, which is a perfectly masterful film by a visionaryauteur. He eviscerated it!”
Sol tried maintaining a calm tone, even if she realized Jason was getting agitated. “So you didn’t share his views on the movie?”
“Of course I didn’t! I’ve been complaining to our editorin chief for years about Simon. But does anybody listen to me?”
Did Emily roll her eyes at her husband’s last remark?
“The awards ceremony the other night was absolute agony,” Jason whined, no longer shouting. “To be seated at the same table with Victor Lago. I wanted to tell him I didn’t share Simon’s views on his masterpiece of a film. He pretended he didn’t care, but he was flabbergasted. But then that unfortunate incident with Travis happened, and I could never explain myself to Victor.”
Sol would have sworn that Jason was annoyed at Travis for getting himself poisoned and thus robbing Jason of his chance of fanboying with the filmmaker.
“That must have been hard, editing someone whose views in movies were so different from yours, I mean,” Sol said tentatively. She kept a close eye on both spouses. “And then having to interact in real life with the people who made those movies.”
“That’s literally my job as an editor.”
“So you didn’t resent Simon?” Sol prodded.
“What are you trying to say? Do you think I had anything to do with Simon’s disappearing act because I don’t like how he writes? Are you demented?” The editor was shouting again.
“There’s no need of calling Sol names,honey,” Emily said, and once again Sol noticed the woman was using the term of endearment when she was clearly exasperated with her husband. She did seem to be able to calm him, though. “Julie asked her to come talk to you because she’s worried about Simon, and Sol did just that,” Emily continued in the type of high-pitched and exaggerated tone one would use with a bratty child. “I’m sorry we weren’t able to be of morehelp,” she told Sol with her grown-up voice, cutting the conversation short.
“No problem,” Sol said. “And thanks so much for the tea.”
“Oh, I love having guests,” Emily said. “Let me see you to the door.”
The two women left Jason brooding at the couch and walked toward the house’s grand entrance.
“I didn’t want to say anything in front of Jason,” Emily told Sol in a whisper by the front door of her home. “But Simon sent me his manuscript.”
“He did?” Sol said, not sure what Emily was implying.
“I never told Jason, because I don’t think Simon shared it with him as well. They were never veryfriendly,” Emily continued. “But I suppose I could share the book with you, see if there’s something there that could help you find him.”
“Would you? That would be great!”
“Sure, it’s in my office somewhere. Hold on a second,” Emily said.
The woman disappeared behind a door, and Sol waited patiently at the entryway, hoping Jason wouldn’t make his way there. The last thing she wanted was to see the rude editor again.
While she was waiting, Sol saw a recently delivered box from Cacao Vieille with the name Jason Zit as the recipient. She just hoped the gourmet chocolates would make the sour editor a bit less grouchy. Emily came back a mere two minutes later, holding a thick stack of copy paper in one hand.
“That must be at least five hundred pages long!” Sol’s eyes widened.
“Six hundred and eighty-seven, to be more precise.”
