A Most Malicious Messenger by Katherine Black

Author:Katherine Black [Black, Katherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

Roger that.

Burgos Books was packed again. There were even people standing around on the pavement outside the shop, phone in hand, waiting to see what would happen. May squeezed through the door, managing to catch Bastian’s eye behind the counter. She held up the paper, to which he nodded solemnly, then gestured for her to meet him at the back of the shop.

Jilly was helping out with the hot drinks again. ‘What a carry on,’ she said, placing an espresso in May’s hand. ‘You’d think the Good Lord himself was expected. Is this all for those silly mobile phone messages?’

‘I think so,’ May replied. She thanked Jilly for the coffee then moved past her, smiling hello to familiar faces. Bastian was over at the door to his flat waiting for May.

Once upstairs in the peace of his sitting room, May dared to open the newspaper to read the full article while Bastian waited on the sofa. The sounds of someone cooking came from Bastian’s kitchen. A pan banged onto the hob, a blender whined.

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘My... friend is staying over. I’ll just...’ He disappeared into the kitchen.

The sound of cooking quietened down and was replaced with a whispered discussion that quickly grew heated.

May tried to concentrate on the article as the hissed argument behind the door continued. Trouble in paradise already? Oh dear.

Once she finished reading, she refolded the paper carefully then closed her eyes with a long exhale. The kitchen had gone silent.

Bastian returned, running his hands through his hair, red-faced.

‘Apologies,’ he said.

‘I’m guessing you’ve read it?’ May said, opening her eyes.

‘Yep,’ he replied, returning to his place on the sofa. He seemed relieved that May hadn’t asked about the commotion in the kitchen.

She leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees, preparing her evaluation.

‘It could be worse,’ she said. ‘They haven’t used Fletcher’s name. Yet. I’m guessing she’s going to drag it out, get more than one headline from the story, so full exposure is probably on the way. Still, it means they most likely don’t have any real proof, just conjecture.’

‘Yes,’ Bastian replied. ‘But the court of public opinion doesn’t need evidence to convict. Have you spoken to Fletcher yet?’

May shook her head. ‘He’ll take it hard. It’s such an invasion of privacy to be outed like this. And the language! “Appropriation”, “male privilege”. Barb’s publisher didn’t even know she was a man for the first few years. They assumed Fletcher Redmond was her husband or agent. It was only when she’d won her first RITA and they couldn’t understand why she refused to accept the award in person that Fletcher had to come clean. If this journalist knew him and Barb, she’d never write such nonsense.’ Standing up, May went to look out the window. The view was a beautiful one, encompassing the heath, St Julian’s church, Minty on her bench entertaining someone who had a number of dogs on leads. May noticed that Bess and George had retreated from the pack by settling next to Minty on the bench.

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