Catering ending his conversation with Samuel, Holden left the apartment, reuniting with Sable in the hallway. Sable was glowering at him as the duo made their way out of the building.


    “You’re a jerk,” Sable said. “I could hear everything going on inside. This was all just a big waste of time.”


    “Not necessarily,” Holden said. “I doubt Samuel Howe is our culprit given his unwavering co Firenze in himself. I won’t completely write him off, though.”


    “Ha. That was a pun wasn’t it? Mr. Grouchy just made a pun.”


    “What are you talking about, Cat?”


    “You said ‘write him off’. He’s a writer, and we’re investigating a stolen manuscript. I have to say it was very subtle. Still, it was well executed.”


    “I don’t do puns. I hate them. They’re stupid.”


    “But you just made one.”


    “No I did not.” Holden crossed his arms as they duo made their way out the door of the apartment building. They then made their way to the next destination, RavenEye’s office and printing press in Chrimoria.


    Sable looked at Holden in confusion. “What are we doing here? Shouldn’t we be talking to the other suspects?”


    “Randy only knew where Samuel lived,” Holden reminded him. “We’ll have to look up the addresses of the others using public records. But before that, I want to talk to Randy’s editor. Maybe see what she has to say about all of this?”


    “Why his editor? What could we possibly learn from them about a stolen manuscript?”


    “Think about it, Sable. How would anyone know that Randy’s current manuscript was even worth stealing? Sure, he’s a decent author. But given his success that’s all anyone might think about him. Most people would reasonably treat his claims that this manuscript was his best work yet as bluster to build up hype. The only person who could actually accurately make that assertion would be the only other person who read it, his editor.”


    “So, you think the editor might’ve spoken to the thief?”


    “Or at least someone who knows the thief. The editor might’ve even talked to one of our suspects about it.”


    The two of them entered the lobby of RavenEye’s publishing house. They went up to the receptionist and asked for the editor, whose name was Carla.


    “I’m sorry,” the receptionist said with a smile plastered on her face. “But do you have some kind of meeting with her? I don’t recognize you. Are you here to pitch a new story?”


    “We’re actually-.” Holden then stopped himsel, and cleared his throat. “Actually, my associate here is a writer. Though he’s a cait-sith, so he needs me to do the actual writing.” Holden then showed the receptionist the briefcase he carried all of his tools in. “I have the manuscript here in my bag.”


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    “That’s wonderful. I’ll let Carla know you’re here. Please take a seat while you wait.”


    Holden and Sable made their way over to the lobby’s seating area. They waited several minutes before the editor finally arrived and brought them into a side office connected to the lobby set aside for editors to talk to perspective authors. The office was bare with nothing more than a wooden table with four chairs around it.


    Holden took a seat on one side, while Sable sat next to him on the table itself. Carla took a seat right across from Holden.


    “So, this cat is the author,” Carla said, looking at the gem on Sable’s forehead. Despite being human, Carla had already been told that Sable was at cait-sith, making her able to see the gem and hear Sable talking. “Sorry. Cait-Sith. Not cat. What’s your story about?”


    “Well, you see-.” Sable paused while nervously staring at the ceiling, trying to quickly come up with something off the top of his head. The first thing that came to mind was their encounter with the ghost girl several days prior. “It’s about a teenage girl who is murdered, and comes back as a ghost. You see she doesn’t have any memories from when she was alive and can only be seen by a grouchy old PI. The two of them end up working together to try to solve her murder.”


    “Oh, so it’s a supernatural mystery,” Carla said with a look of intrigue. “I like the premise. But let’s take a look at the manuscript.”


    “Well, I don’t actually have a manuscript.”


    Carla tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean? The receptionist said-.”


    Holden then cut her off. “Sorry. This was mainly just a ploy to talk to you. My name’s Holden. His name is Sable. We’re both PI’s investigating Randy’s stolen manuscript.”


    “Oh. Is that it?” Carla shuttered. “So, you have some questions then.”


    “Yeah,” Holden said. “And you look pretty nervous. What do you know?”


    Carla started trembling. “Well, it’s not that I-. I mean-.”


    She continued to stutter, until someone burst through the door shouting her name. It was a middle-aged man dressed in business attire. “Carla, sorry to interrupt you. One of the other editors is falling behind. You’re not busy at the moment, so help him out.”


    “Okay, sir,” Carla said, still a bit frantic. “I just have to finish talking to these two PI’s about Randy’s missing manuscript.”


    “PI’s huh?” The man said, glaring at both Holden and Sable. “If you’re not actual law enforcement officers, then leave. We’re a business, and have no time for whatever foolishness this is.”


    “One of your authors had their manuscript stolen. I would think you’d want us to solve this quickly.”


    “Get out,” the man said with a scowl. “I’m the publisher here, so no one’s authority supersedes mine. If you don’t leave, I’ll have you thrown out for trespassing.”


    Holden and Sable reluctantly left the building. This was the hardest part of being a PI; they had no real authority, couldn’t get a warrant, and had to rely purely on suspects'' willingness to cooperate. Either that, or they’d have to find a way to coax the information out of them. Fortunately, Holden and Sable had other leads to follow aside from the editor. Though that didn’t stop Sable from complaining.


    “That stupid human. How audacious. How rude. I bet he’s hiding something. He may even be the culprit.”


    “You mean the publisher?” Holden asked. “I mean, he certainly would know if Randy’s manuscript was a high quality novel. All editors have to report to him. But I can’t really blame him for kicking us out.”


    “So, you’re saying that man was right to be so rude to us?”


    “Well, think about it. We aren’t law enforcement. I doubt any business would want a bunch of strangers snooping around.”


    “We’re trying to find one of his employees'' stolen manuscripts,” Sable said. “You said it yourself, you’d think he’d want us to resolve this as soon as possible and get that manuscript back.”


    “Yeah. But I wouldn’t want some strangers wandering around my office asking people questions. Regardless, it doesn’t matter. We need to focus on our next suspect. The other RavenEye mystery writer, Alex Lyons.”