Jett Landry

December Character Interview

Patricia Parrington ~ December 1, 2025

Hello my lovely readers and fellow book-lovers! For those of you who are new here, I, your inquisitive host Patricia Parrington, have the pleasure of interviewing characters from books all over the world.

Today we have here with us Jett Landry from the detective noir thriller The Devil’s Triangle by Stephan Oak. Stephan is an author who reports that he’s just a guy with a story to tell. His belief? That the story is much more important than he’ll ever be.

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Meet Jett

[Patricia and her guest enter the studio and settle onto an orange suede couch. Patricia rubs her hands together.]

Sorry, I know it’s a little chilly. The heat should be kicking on soon.

[She adjusts a checkered pillow and leans back.]

No problem.

[Jett adjusts her leather trenchcoat as she sits opposite Patricia.]

I love your office.

Well thank you! And welcome to Fable Features.

So what do you do for a living?

Thank you. I’m a private investigator. I own Investigative Associates, which was my dad’s business before he died. My partner, Angelique, does accounting and research. I do investigative work.

What an interesting job! How’d you come to be a private investigator? Were you always interested in that line of work?

I grew up in my dad’s office; our apartment was in the same building. Sometimes I’d go to his office after school and do my homework and answer the phones. There were some real characters in and out of that office. My dad and his partner, Ashley, tried to shelter me from the realities of their work, but I would eavesdrop and try to figure out what was going on. After my dad and Ashley, who was like a mom to me, died, I just felt like it was important for me to pick up where they left off. After my own adventure, I went off to college, and when I came back, I re-opened the family business. My dad dealt with a lot of corruption and human trafficking. All the politicians and mafia guys hated him. They all hate me now, too.

[Jett laughs cynically.]

I’m a lot like my dad. I don’t give a—

[Jett smiles.]

You know what I mean.

[Patricia smiles back and nods.]

I find that very admirable, that you would continue the business even knowing the enemies you’re going to make.

Do you have any close friends? What are they like?

I keep a close circle. I’ve made some powerful people angry and being close to me often puts a target on my friends’ backs, but I protect them fiercely, and they’re always there for me. My best friend is Melinda Brown. We’ve been friends since high school. She’s an attorney now, and I do some work for her practice. Melinda and I have had some adventures. Angelique is another friend from school. Like I said before, we run the agency together. She keeps us afloat, and she keeps me laughing. She also tells me the hard truths when I need to hear them. Sonya, the owner of the Underground Tavern, is another close friend. She has skills from her previous career that she doesn’t talk about, and she was a huge help in my last big case. She literally saved a life. I also have a cat named Steve.

That sounds like an amazing group of friends. And I love your cat’s name!

[Patricia glances out the window. Snow is gently falling.]

What’s your favorite winter activity?

Curling up with a good book or watching a movie with friends. Or going out for coffee. Hot coffee just feels right in the cold. Even though we live in Port City, Texas. The cold here isn’t all that cold.

Hot coffee does go well with a cold day, doesn’t it? Although sometimes I’ll go for hot coco or hot apple cider.

What makes you feel seen and appreciated?

It sounds weird, but a private intelligence operative, a smart but dangerous guy, once sent me a text congratulating me for outwitting him when he was paid to manipulate or force me into telling him where my client was hiding.  I don’t like the guy; I don’t trust him, but I did appreciate the acknowledgment.

[Jett looks at her hands and sighs.]

I also loved it when my dad gave me compliments. Usually on my grades or my hard work training for karate tournaments. I miss him a lot. He was good to me.

Hmm I don’t like that either about the guy trying to manipulate you. But hey, that’s cool he complimented you. And that’s good to hear your dad would give you compliments.

[Patricia frowns slightly.]

You say you miss him a lot. Is it alright if I ask what happened?

[Jett looks down and swallows.]

I can’t talk about it yet. I was seventeen when he died, and it was the absolute worst day of my life. I’ve been to therapy. I’ve tried to drink it away. When I was younger, I went through a phase of self-destructive behavior, trying to forget what happened or to get revenge or whatever . . . But I just can’t talk about it. I’m not there yet.

[Jett looks at Patricia.]

I’m sorry. I always feel like I’m trying to put myself back together.

Hey, that’s okay! Losing someone close to you is incredibly hard.

[Patricia passes over a box of tissues.]

Let’s move on to a different question: When was a time you made a mistake?

“A” time?

[Jett sits back and laughs, covering her face.]

I make mistakes all the time. Who doesn’t, right? I’ll admit it. But it’s all in the recovery. Sometimes you can use your mistakes to your advantage, to get leverage that the bad guys don’t know you have. A lot of the bad actors I deal with don’t take me seriously. I could get offended by that, or I can exploit it for leverage. I’m a practical woman. I exploit any advantage I can get. Underestimate me at your own peril.

I think that’s a great way to handle mistakes. Because don’t we all make them? Nobody’s perfect. Might as well take advantage of them when we can.

[Patricia grins.]

I like this next question: If you could change the color of one animal, what animal would you choose and what color is it turning?

[Jett chuckles at the question.]

Angelique said she was asked that question at a job interview once. She said she would turn all cats blue because she loves cats and blue is her favorite color. Me? Hmm.

[Jett looks at the ceiling for a moment, thinking.]

I don’t think I’d change anything. I love black cats, they’re gorgeous, but my cat is white with black markings. I love him just the way he is, so I wouldn’t want to change him into a black cat. He is what he is and that makes him perfect for what he is. Wanting to change him would mean that he’s not perfect to me, and I think that would be hurtful to him if he was able to understand that. Accepting animals, and people, for who they are is a way of being at peace. Wanting to change them invites dissatisfaction. These days, I want to be at peace.

[Jett rolls her eyes.]

I didn’t mean to get so philosophical about that. I overthink things a lot. I’ll probably think about this question for the next week or so.

What a thoughtful answer! And no worries—I don’t mind philosophical musings.

[Patricia considers her guest and taps her chin.]

What quality do you value most in a friend?

Trust. Not just that I can trust them but knowing that they trust me. My work is dangerous, sleazy at times, and I deal with a lot of crooked, conniving, scary people. Knowing that my friends and I always look out for each other is everything.

That does sound like an important quality to have in your line of work.

What’s the biggest problem you’re facing right now?

[Jett sits up, excited.]

I’m working on this case. Four guys were allegedly abducted by a UFO thirteen years ago, when they were teenagers. Three of the guys have a story that, objectively, is difficult to believe. It’s weird. Like something out of the X-Files. The fourth guy has a reasonable, normal version of what happened. He absolutely disputes the idea that they were abducted by a UFO. But he’s lying. I recognized the tells and he’s hiding something. The other three guys are telling the truth, or at least they believe they’re telling the truth. I want to know what the fourth guy is hiding, because I think something terrestrial and sinister is going on.

[Patricia’s green eyes widen.]

How bizarre. And what do you theorize is going on? Has anything like this ever happened before?

As a private detective, people lie when you get too close to a truth they want to keep hidden. You learn to look for signs. It’s part of the job. What do I think is going on? I’m still investigating, but my theory is that there is something shady going on and he wants me to stop asking questions.

[Jett leans forward, excited.]

[Patricia leans forward as well, curious.]

 I do know that he became incredibly wealthy after that night and we can’t figure out where that wealth came from. I’ve been contacted by

[Jett pauses,]

other people with an interest in knowing more about a particular tech company this guy is connected to. What started out as an exploration into UFOs and aliens has become something much bigger. I’m intrigued.

Wow, how fascinating. I’m intrigued as well. Your life certainly isn’t boring!

[Patricia stands.]

I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with me. And I hope you crack this new case!

End of interview.

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Want to Read More?

Jett’s author, Stephan Oak, can be found on Goodreads and you can check out The Devil’s Triangle and other books here.

Art by Micki Mitchell.

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See Ya Next Time

Aaand that's all the time we have today. Thank you, readers, for coming. And thank you, Jett, for letting us get to know you! See y'all next time.

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If you would like to submit a character to be interviewed for a future issue of Fable Features, please send an email to linnae.writer@gmail.com with the subject line: Fable Features.

Please note that erotica and content with excessive vulgar language will not be accepted.

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