‘Miss Lewis—’
‘I want to see the Cool Room.’
‘We’re expected at Behavioral Science—’
She ignores him, walks on without pausing. Suddenly she is in the correct hall, and away farther down on the right is the door to what used to be her office.Theiroffice. She is running on the dry edge of her nerve now.
When the door opens and Travis Bell steps out into the hall, she feels a jolt.
He does not see her for a second – she has a moment to take in the sight of him. He looks tall and serious in his dark suit. His hair is cut regulation-sleek at the back and sides, longer in front. His eyes are shadowed, and he looks tired.
She wasn’t expecting this intensity of emotion on seeing him, but there’s a lot of emotional stuff inside that she usually avoids thinking about. Mainly it’s like she’s been staggering under an oppressive weight and now, finally, she can put it down. The relief is sharp as a knife cut. It stops her in her tracks.
Bell looks up at her arrested movement. She sees him mouth her name.
Her bag slips to the floor, then she is covering the last few steps. Her hands are lifted weirdly, but Bell doesn’t seem to notice, and they clasp forearms in the way of people who do not hug.
The first thing he says to her is, ‘It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.’
‘It’s him,’ she blurts.
‘It’s not him. Emma. Look at me. You know it’s not him.’
‘I know,’ she says. Her face feels frozen with the effort to appear neutral. ‘I know.’
‘Emma. It’s okay. It’s gonna be all right …’
He hangs on tight, glances over her shoulder to nod Martino away. Bell is the only person who violates the ‘give her space’ order, and Emma is shocked to realize how much she needs human contact.
I’ve got my partner back.The thought grounds her enough that she can draw breath. ‘I know. I know it’s not him. But it feels the same.’
‘That’s whatIsaid. Hello again!’
Emma’s attention is dragged sideways. Kristin Gutmunsson steps from the Cool Room into the hall. She is wearing midnight-blue trousers and a matching jacket, a white shirt with a sharply pointed collar. She looks elegant and lovely with her long white hair loose.
‘Kristin.’ Emma stares. Dredges her voice up from somewhere. ‘Hey.’
‘It must’ve been an awful shock,’ Kristin says. ‘And you had to look at the bodies.’
‘Emma—’ Bell starts.
‘One body.’ Dazed, Emma lets go of his wrists. ‘There was only one body.’
‘Of course!’ Kristin flaps the lanyard around her neck. ‘I’ve been helping with the case. Look, I have a special permission card from Chesterfield, and my own ID.’
Emma glances between them, composing herself. ‘Carter said there’s been three victims.’
‘Yeah. Lewis, I’m sorry.’ Bell shoves his hands in his trouser pockets. For a moment, she’s not sure what he’s apologizing for. ‘I didn’t want to call you, I know you didn’t want to get pulled back in—’
‘It’s okay. You didn’t have any choice.’
‘There’s more you need to know.’
‘Travis, stop it,’ Kristin says. ‘Look at her, she’s definitely too tired to deal with all this now. Emma, how are you? Have you eaten? Goodness, it’s nearly one in the morning. Can we still get her some food?’
Kristin puts her hand on Bell’s arm when she speaks to him, and Emma feels it like a hard punch in the solar plexus.
‘I’m fine.’ She steps back. ‘I’m not hungry. Let’s get moving, I want to start putting everything together.’
