Page 72 of Forever Gone

“I hope Selena isn’t a tough boss.”

“Technically, we’re the same level in the FBI.” Kelly adjusted the file beneath one arm. “But I’m here to help.”

The words were harmless on their surface. Selena still felt them catch.

She headed to the Eagleton office. Temporary or not, Kelly had been assigned there under her direction. The distinction mattered to the chain of command and to every local officer watching how the new federal team worked together.

Kelly may not have intended to challenge that. Intention did not make Selena like it.

She turned toward Arnold before the irritation showed in her voice. “Where’s Connor?”

Arnold shoved both hands into his jacket pockets. “Don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him since earlier. I think he was looking into Linda Mercer’s phone records to see when her phone was last pinged. Cheryl said he’d been on calls most of the afternoon.”

“Was he working from here?”

“He left a while ago. Didn’t say where he was going. And I’m off duty now!”

Selena glanced at the darkened windows of Connor’s office. The missing-person report remained separate from the two confirmed murders, but Linda Mercer’s age and school history had drawn her too close to the pattern to dismiss. If her phone had stopped moving near a known address, Connor might have something useful before morning.

Arnold checked his watch.

His expression changed.

“Late.”

Selena folded her arms. “Nice performance, Arnold, but I still reckon she doesn’t exist.”

He backed toward a pickup parked near the far curb. “I’d come back with a great retort, but I genuinely am late.”

Arnold laughed as he opened the driver’s door. A moment later, the engine started and the truck reversed from the space. He raised one hand through the open window before pulling onto the road.

Kelly watched the taillights disappear. “He seems nice.”

“Yeah. I’ve worked with him on a couple of cases now.” Selena leaned against her car. “He’s young and naive sometimes, but he has a good heart.”

“That counts for a lot.”

“It can. As long as somebody teaches him caution before the wrong person does.”

Kelly rested the Boyd Cutler file on the roof of her sedan while searching her bag for the keys. The parking lot had grown quieter. A phone rang somewhere inside the department, muffled by glass and brick. Beyond the road, lights appeared one by one in the houses climbing the lower slope.

Kelly found the keys but did not unlock the car.

“Selena… Do you fancy a drink back at the motel?”

The question came without pressure. That made Selena’s discomfort worse.

A drink would mean sitting across from Kelly without a case file between them. It would mean conversation after the work ended, perhaps in Eric’s reception office while an old horror film played behind the counter, or in one of their rooms with the motel curtains drawn against the lot.

Once, Selena had planned her movements through school to avoid being alone near Kelly Voss.

Now they were sleeping several doors apart.

“I have stuff to do,” Selena said. “Maybe another time.”

Disappointment passed through Kelly’s expression before she lowered her attention to the keys.

“Okay. No worries.”