Page 17 of Forever Dark
The corridor beyond the front area was narrow and lined with framed photographs.Retirements.fish fries.Deputy graduations.One of Connor shaking hands with a state official.Another with a group of schoolchildren around a safety display.
Selena kept pace beside Cheryl.
“I know you two were married,” Cheryl said.
Selena turned her head slightly.“We were, a long time ago.”
“Some would say a lifetime.”
There it was.Not quite a question.More a boundary being set with a pleasant tone.
Selena kept her voice even.“It was.”
Cheryl nodded once as if filing that answer away.“So, you’re just passing through?”
“Yes.”
They reached a turn in the hallway.Cheryl slowed a little and glanced at her.“A lot of people care about the sheriff.I’d hate to see anyone get under his skin, especially after this terrible murder.”
Selena met her eyes.
There was no smile now.
Selena said, “I’m here to work a case.We both have a job to do.”
Cheryl held her gaze one second longer, then nodded toward the end office.“He’s in there.”
She left it at that and walked away.
Selena stood alone outside Connor’s door for a moment before knocking.
“Come in,” he called.
She opened the door and stepped inside.
Connor sat behind a large wooden desk with a file open in front of him.He did not look up right away.Morning light came through the side window and cut across the office, falling over old photographs, a standing coat rack, and the mounted head of a deer fixed high on one wall.It lit his hair, messier than it should have been, making it seem a lighter brown than it was.Another wall held a turkey fan display and a framed newspaper clipping from early in his career.On a shelf behind him sat a wrestling trophy Selena knew well because she had watched him win it in high school after nearly getting himself disqualified for mouthing off to the referee.
The room felt rustic without trying too hard for the effect.More like a man had grown into it, piece by piece.
Connor turned a page in the file.“What’s up, Cheryl?”
Selena shut the door behind her and led with a joke.“You could at least get my name right.”
His hand stopped.
Then he looked up.
For a second his face gave nothing away.No smile.No frown.Just stillness, as if his mind had not yet decided whether what he was seeing belonged to the room.Then he rose from the chair.
Time did something strange.
Selena had prepared herself for Connor being older.She had prepared herself for the badge, the office, the title on the glass outside.None of that matched the fact of him standing there.Broader through the shoulders than he used to be.Lines at the corners of his eyes.A steadiness that had not been there when they were young, or maybe had been buried under louder things.Somehow, he felt more imposing.
They stared at each other.
Neither moved.
At last Selena said, “Are we playing who can stay silent the longest?”
