Page 45 of Forever Dead

He made it three blocks before pulling into the empty lot of a closed hardware store.

The report came back into his hands.

Connor read it once more from the beginning, taking his time over Eleanor’s account of the waiting, the messages, and the confrontation in the corridor. By the time he reached the final page, the school was already behind him, and the sheriff’s station still lay several minutes ahead.

He returned the pages to the folder, but the name stayed with him.

Curtis Halle.

CHAPTER SEVEN

By midday, the dresser mirror in Selena’s motel room had stopped being a mirror.

A handful of pages from Arnold’s folder and Selena’s handwritten cards covered much of the glass, fixed in place with strips of tape borrowed from Eric at reception. A sketch of Eleanor Marsh’s farmhouse sat near the center. Beneath it, Selena had written a rough timeline from the first vehicle sighting after ten until Chuck Danners entered the house the following morning. To one side she had grouped the details that felt deliberate: phone line cut, rear door forced, no obvious theft, body covered with pieces of the rocking chair.

The word PERSONAL had been underlined twice.

Selena sat on the edge of the bed with her braced leg stretched toward the chair. The remaining pages from Arnold’s folder lay in a thin stack beside her. A notebook rested on her thigh.

She added another line beneath a heading marked VICTIM PROFILE.

Loved by community.

Long teaching career.

No children.

Lived alone.

Possible old grievance.

Possible former student or colleague.

Selena paused, then wrote:

Someone who hated what she represented?

That felt closer.

Eleanor had been admired for decades. Patient. Dependable. The teacher people remembered when they were grown and had children of their own. If someone believed she had harmed them, every story about her kindness might have felt like an insult.

Selena tapped the pen against the page.

The problem was scale. Thirty-five years in a classroom meant thousands of former students. Add colleagues, parents and extended family, and the pool became useless without something to narrow it.

Her phone sat beside the files.

Selena picked it up and scrolled to Meg Calloway.

Meg answered on the fourth ring. “Well, well. She’s alive!”

Then her tone softened. “Seriously, it’s good to hear your voice.”

Selena smiled. “Nice to hear your concern.”

“I’ve been deeply concerned. I’ve also been reading the updates from your orthopedic team. They think you might be fit for light duties in three weeks.”

“Optimistic of them.”