“You could visit your family again while you’re there,” Meg added.
Then her father’s face rose in her mind.
Robert Raven on the porch, thinner than he should be, smiling at her as if forgiveness had cost him nothing.His voice calling her Lena.The promise she had made to visit more, to call, to stop treating family as something that could wait until work was finished.
Diane’s face came after it.
Her sister.Less forgiving.More guarded.Arms folded.Eyes full of old hurt she had every right to keep.
And Connor.
Selena kept her grip on the file steady.
Connor Chase had looked at her differently when she left last time.Not healed.Not free of what had happened between them, the wreckage of their divorce still lingering.But no longer standing completely on the far side of the life she had abandoned.That was dangerous in ways she had not found language for yet.
Part of her wanted to see him.
The admission stayed inside her, unwelcome and plain.
Another part wanted distance, anything that would keep old feelings from becoming decisions before she understood them.
Tanya broke the silence.“You should go.”
Selena glanced at her.“Thank you for the official Bureau guidance.”
“I’m serious.”Tanya hugged the envelopes against her chest.“A strapping sheriff asks for help, you go.That’s basic public service.”
Meg looked at Selena.“She makes a strong procedural argument.”
“She makes a romantic one.”
Tanya lifted one finger.“Also, if you don’t want him, can I have him?I’ve seen a picture in his file when you were looking over it.He’s dreamy.”
"No," Selena said.
Tanya’s eyebrows rose.“Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”
Selena sighed.“That wasn’t what I meant.”
“Sounded clear to me,” Tanya said.
“Don’t you have mail to deliver?”
“I’ve lost interest in the mail.”
“Explains why no one gets theirs at the office,” Selena joked.
Meg took the file back just long enough to open it to the summary page.“Warren Holt was found this morning at a disused hunting lodge.Gunshot wound to the head.Sheriff Chase and the crime scene technician flagged inconsistencies.A blank piece of paper in front of the victim.An envelope with his name on it.Weapon not positioned convincingly for self-infliction.Local medical examiner hasn’t completed his assessment yet.”
Selena’s professional focus tightened despite herself.“Who found him?”
“A local man, Tom Reeder.Sheriff’s office secured the scene.Call came to me shortly after.”
“Connor called you directly?”
“Yes.”
“But not me.”
