Page 55 of Forever Gone

“That’s it,” he said. “Again.”

Selena stayed near the hallway. Kelly stopped beside the front door, giving Oliver space.

After several breaths, Connor asked, “Can you tell me what happened?”

Oliver rubbed both palms over his thighs. “I came over because I couldn’t get a hold of Ruth.”

“Were you in a relationship?”

“We’d been seeing each other for two months. Maybe closer to three.”

Selena opened her notebook. “Is Ruth the woman in the study?”

Oliver nodded and covered his mouth. A sob pushed through his fingers.

“We need to ask you some questions,” Selena said. “I know this is difficult, but the timing matters.”

He lowered his hand. “All right.”

“When did you last speak with her?” Selena asked.

“Tuesday night. Around nine. We talked on the phone for maybe twenty minutes.”

“What did you discuss?”

“Nothing important. Her work. Dinner on Friday. She said she had paperwork to finish.”

Selena noted down his answers carefully. "What did Ruth do for work?"

“She was an insurance adjuster. Worked from home most days.”

“Did she sound frightened or upset?”

“No. Tired, maybe.”

“When did you become concerned?”

“I texted her first thing this morning. No answer. I called twice after that. By late morning, I knew something was wrong.”

Connor said, “What made you come over instead of waiting longer?”

Oliver flinched. “We’d had a small disagreement Tuesday afternoon. We made up on the phone later, but I worried she might still be upset.”

“What about?” Selena asked.

“She said I was pushing things too fast. I told her I didn’t think seeing each other twice a week counted as fast.”

“Did she invite you here today?”

“No. I came because she still wasn’t answering.”

Selena shifted her attention to the front door. “Did you force your way inside?”

“Yes. I knocked for ten minutes. Her car was here. I walked around the side and saw her through the study window. She was on the floor.”

“Did you enter the study?”

“No. I kicked the front door until it opened. It has one of those auto-locks and locks up after several minutes. I got halfway down the hall, saw all the blood, and called nine-one-one.”