Page 38 of Forever Gone

Kelly selected the desk nearest the door. She placed the laptop bag on the chair, stood her rolling case beside it, and removed her jacket.

Selena returned to her own desk but did not sit immediately.

Kelly glanced around the room. “Meg said the office was still being established.”

“That was the polite description.”

“I’ve worked in worse.”

“Were they abandoned schools?”

“No.”

“Then give it time.”

Kelly rested both palms on the back of the chair. “You don’t seem very happy about this.”

Selena sat and pulled Karen’s file closer. “I wasn’t expecting you, Kelly.”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll get along.”

“You made my life hell.”

The words settled between the empty desks.

Kelly lowered herself into the chair but did not open her bag. “I knew this might be difficult.”

“Did you?”

“Yes.”

“You still came.”

“I requested a transfer months ago. This assignment became available, and I thought I could be useful because I used to live here.”

Selena studied her. The years had altered Kelly’s manner more than her features. The teenager had filled every space as if other people existed only to move aside. The woman seated across from Selena held her shoulders carefully, measuring each response before giving it.

Care could be remorse. It could also be strategy.

“Did you speak with Meg Calloway, directly?” Selena asked.

“Yes. On the phone. I’d put in a request to transfer somewhere outside the Seattle office. She said there was an opportunity to return to my home county.”

“I assume the rationale was that you know the ground here and can get acclimated quickly.”

“That was part of it.”

“What was the rest?”

Kelly’s gaze moved toward the county map pinned above the filing cabinets. “My case experience. Violent crime, missing persons, and multi-agency investigations.”

“Did you happen to mention that we knew each other when we were younger?”

“I did say that.”

“What exactly did you tell her?”

“That we knew each other in passing.”