Page 22 of Forever Gone

“I told you another agent was coming.”

“You said soon.”

“And I meant it. I’ll get someone transferred over, at least temporarily, to help with this case and the office setup.”

Selena watched a leaf slide across her windshield before dropping onto the pavement. “Thanks.”

“I’ll call you when I have a name. Anything else I should know?”

“Not yet. We’re about to speak with the ex-husband.”

“Keep me updated.”

“I will.”

“Call me after the interview if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Meg.”

Selena ended the call.

The silence inside the car settled around her. In Washington, the same conversation would have ended with office noise continuing beyond the phone. Tanya leaning over a partition with a question. Brent appearing beside her desk with a file he could have emailed. Meg summoning someone before Selena had returned to her chair.

Here, the old school building waited in Eagleton with three empty desks and a corridor that magnified every footstep.

Maybe accepting the post had been a mistake. She could have stayed in Washington and fought the people who wanted her out of the way. She could have appealed every decision, called in every favor, and forced the higher-ups to defend what they had done. Instead, she had accepted an office in Harlan County because Meg presented it as a way to protect her career.

A few months. A year at most.

Such arrangements had a habit of lasting once they became convenient for everyone else.

The sheriff’s office door opened.

Arnold stepped outside carrying a paper cup. He spotted her through the windshield and raised his free arm.

“Are you going to come in,” he called, “or are you having a staring competition with the building?”

Selena lifted a hand in reply, slipped the phone into her bag, and got out.

“You could’ve given me another minute,” she said as she approached.

Arnold held the door. “You’d already been sitting there long enough for Cheryl to ask if something was wrong with your car.”

“Tell Cheryl I was conducting surveillance.”

“On us?”

“You’re a suspicious group.”

Inside, Cheryl sat behind the front desk with a telephone receiver against one ear. Her dark hair was pinned away from her cheeks, and a legal pad lay open beside the computer. She ended the call as Selena entered.

“Hi, Cheryl.”

“Hi, Agent Raven.”

The title remained carefully formal.

Arnold took a sip from his cup. “We’ve got the usual room all set up.”