Page 27 of Blood Moon

“He recently became the former boss,” she said ruefully. “Max is a living legend in the network news industry. After I’d been withCrisis Pointfor a couple of years, he took me under his wing as an apprentice. I was thrilled because I knew I would be trained by a master. Writing, editing, all aspects of production. We’ve been working side by side for the past five years.”

“Why’s he stepping down?”

“It isn’t by choice. A year ago, the network was acquired by an international media conglomerate. The expected corporate shake-up ensued, but becauseCrisis Pointis so highly rated and one of the network’s cash cows, Max maintained his position as executive producer.

“Then he began experiencing some health issues, minor at first, then one serious health scare. He recovered, but the medical setback was the opportunity that his detractors, led by a smarmy shark named Winston Brady, had been waiting for.”

“He’s been elbowed out?”

“Internally. Publicly, a fanfare has been made of his impending ‘retirement.’ His official departure date isn’t for another three months, but Brady, who was appointed the new EP, is already making all the decisions onCrisis Pointcontent.”

“How does this baton passing affect you?”

“My situation is tenuous. Ruffling Brady’s feathers is one reason Max discouraged me from coming down here. He warned that my ‘obsession’ with the Mellin case could be unhealthy for my career path.”

“It’s certainly been toxic to mine,” he muttered.

“But you haven’t been fired. Max thinks that I’m at risk and that if I want to keep my job, I should leave well enough alone.”

“So you didn’t ask Brady’s permission to take another look at the episode that covered the Mellin case because you were afraid he’d say no.”

“Correct.”

“Hmm. Beyond Brady’s reaction, what were Max’s other reasons for discouraging you from coming down here and poking around?”

She lowered her gaze. “He thinks it’s hooey.”

“The blood moon angle?”

“He called it ‘moon cycle crap.’ In other words, he agrees with you.” She raised her head and looked at him. “Satisfied?”

She was still miffed, and, for some nameless reason, that was a colossal turn-on. He wanted to get up and go to her, lift her face to his, and kiss her. Without timidity or finesse. Kiss her until those lips, now unsmiling and compressed, softened and opened to him. And then take it from there.

He put the brakes on that runaway-train fantasy and came back to the subject at hand. “It’s a long way up the corporate ladder from gofer and fact checker to where you are now.”

“Not all that far. I still do research and fact checking,only now it’s exclusively for Max. I also serve as his personal assistant. I order chocolates for staffers at Christmas and forge his name on the enclosure cards.” She raised a shoulder in a slight shrug. “I’m his go-to person.”

“For what else besides chocolates and fact checking?”

“Like foot rubs and sex?”

“You give him foot rubs?”

“No. And I don’t have sex with him, either.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“You didn’t have to. The implication was loud and clear. Let’s get this out of the way so we can move past it, all right?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Max isn’t my sugar daddy. He’s eighty-two years old. He’s been married and divorced four times, and none of his exes has a good word to say about him.

“His son by wife number two is his only progeny, but they haven’t spoken to each other in twenty years, even though he also works in the television industry and they often attend the same functions.

“Max isn’t a warm fuzzy. In fact, he’s rather horrible. On a good day, he’s merely irascible. Ordinarily, he’s hot-tempered, mule-headed, dictatorial, rude, often crude, and he views all those traits as assets. Despite all that, he’s my mentor and friend.”

“How does he feel about you?”

She smiled wistfully. “I’d like to think he has a soft spot for me, but he would never acknowledge it, and, if he did, it would feel patronizing. Given the choice, I would far rather have his respect. It’s not easily earned. He would regard that as the greatest honor he could bestow on me.”

John processed everything she’d told him, then asked, “When did your obsession with the Mellin case start?”