Page 93 of Forever Gone

Arnold continued, “Then my eyes started watering, so I rubbed them.”

“With the hand you used to eat the wings,” Kelly said.

“That became clear immediately.”

Selena pictured him coughing, crying, and trying to maintain whatever dignity remained at a crowded bar.

“I didn’t cover myself in manly glory,” Arnold said. “Let’s put it that way.”

“There are plenty more fish in the sea,” Selena told him.

“In Elmsview?” He shook his head. “That’s a small pond.”

The door opened again.

Connor entered with a muttered, “Hey.”

No one answered quickly enough to make the greeting feel natural.

His uniform shirt appeared freshly changed, but exhaustion had settled into the lines around his mouth. He crossed to the coffee machine without removing his jacket and pushed a paper cup beneath the dispenser.

The machine clicked.

Nothing came out.

Connor pressed the button again.

A low mechanical hum started, then stopped.

“Come on.”

He opened the compartment, adjusted the cup, and struck the side of the machine with the heel of his palm. Coffee spluttered into the cup, filling it halfway before the flow ended.

Connor stared at the result as if the machine had acted deliberately.

Arnold met Selena’s gaze and widened his eyes.

The message required no words.

Someone’s in a bad mood.

Arnold rose and collected the folder. “I’d better get out of here, or I have a feeling I’ll be next.”

Connor gave him a flat glance.

Arnold left before the door had finished swinging.

Selena waited until Connor took the chair at the end of the table.

“What’s wrong?”

He drank from the cup, grimaced, and set it down. “Linda Mercer’s husband is devastated.”

“Phil?”

Connor nodded. “He kept asking whether she suffered. Asked if she knew what was happening. Asked why I didn’t find her sooner.”

“You couldn’t answer any of that.”