Selena turned.Tanya had drifted to the end of the cubicle row with a stack of envelopes in her hand and the guilty face of a woman who had not meant to overhear but had enjoyed it once it happened.
“He’s notmysheriff,” Selena said.
Tanya held up the envelopes.“You did divorce fifteen years ago, but you have a twinkle in your eye whenever you talk about him.But don’t mind me, I’m nothing to do with this.I’m just delivering mail.”
“Of course you are.”
Meg looked at Tanya.“Ms.Bell.”
Tanya straightened.“Sorry, ma’am.”
“Stay or go.But if you stay, don’t pretend you’re not listening.”
Tanya considered that, then took two steps closer.“I’ll stay.”
Selena looked at Meg.“I don’t know if this is a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“You know why not, boss.”
“I know several reasons you think are reasons.”
“That sentence makes me feel this is more than just a request.”
“You’re best suited for this.”Meg nodded toward the file.“You know the lay of the land.You grew up there.You solved the Nolan Pruitt murders there a couple of months ago.Local law enforcement trusts you.People in that county know your name.”
“That isn’t always an advantage.”
“No.But in this case, it might be.”
Selena opened the file again, this time forcing herself to look past the county name.Scene photographs had been clipped to the first report.A man slumped forward at a long table.Blood across white paper.A hunting lodge with dirty windows and a tired roof line.A pickup outside with something tied down beneath ropes.
Warren Holt.
The name tugged at memory but didn’t fully catch.Harlan County had been full of men like that when she was young.Men with weathered hands, hunting caps, and opinions they shared whether anyone had asked or not.
Connor would know him.
That thought came too quickly.
Selena closed the file again.
“I just got back into rhythm here.”
Meg’s face softened by a fraction.“You did, and you will again.”
“I have active reports.”
“They’ll survive reassignment.”
“I’m not sure I want to go back there every time Harlan County stumbles over a body.”
“This isn’t every time.He’s asked for you, Selena.”
Selena looked past Meg toward the rest of the floor.Agents moved between desks.A man laughed near the elevators.Someone pinned a document to a board inside a conference room.
This was the life she had spent years building.Order.Pressure.The kind of cases people in the Bureau remembered.Harlan County had always been the place behind her.
