She held the bottle by the neck and looked at him.
Connor stood, calmer now but not softer.“We can’t just act like we’re two unconnected officers of the law and there’s nothing between us.The past matters.”
“Get this straight.There’s nothing between us.”The words felt like glass as they left Selena’s mouth.
“There was.”
“Yes.There was once.And I still care what happens to you.”
“As a colleague?”
“That’s right.”
His expression said he did not believe her, or maybe that he did not want to.
“It’s not like I’m asking you to get back with me,” Connor said.“I’m saying we have a connection.We shouldn’t pretend otherwise.It changes how we act.It’s also an advantage.We can play off each other like no one else.”
Selena set the bottle down too hard.Whiskey slopped against the glass neck.“A connection doesn’t give you the right to make reckless decisions and expect me to soften the consequences.”
“Maybe I came here because I knew you wouldn’t.”
That quieted her for a moment.
Outside, a car passed on the road, tires hissing over warm pavement.In the next room, water ran for a few seconds, then stopped.Eric’s battle with Room 6 continued in muffled thumps.
Connor rubbed a hand over his mouth and looked at the evidence of her interrupted sleep.The turned-back covers.The lamp.Her bare feet on the motel carpet.
“I shouldn’t have come this late.”
“No,” Selena said.“You shouldn’t have disappeared all day.”
A trace of a smile almost came to his face, but he stopped it before it formed.“Right… Anyway, are you going to debrief me?How didyourday go?”
Selena sat back down on the bed.“You’re not going to like that, either.”
“Like what?”
“I have evidence that Marlene Schmidt lied to us about her alibi.”
Connor went still.
“She was in town the night Victor was killed,” Selena said.
“That can’t be true.”
“I have an informant.”
“Who?”
“Cheryl’s sister.Amanda Lee.”
“Oh, come on.”Connor set his cup on the dresser with a dull tap.“Amanda?She likes a tall tale; I’ll tell you that.”
“She was certain, Connor.”
“She’s always certain.That’s what makes people listen.”
Selena kept her voice level.“Marlene believed Victor was having an affair.She dropped the kids at her mother’s, then drove back to Harlan County to catch him.”
