Page 9 of Forever Dark
That got Selena’s full attention.
Meg folded her arms.“Local law enforcement requested FBI assistance because they feel it’s outside of their skill-set.It’s a ritualistic homicide.Staged scene.Rural county.The local sheriff believes it may be the start of something bigger and they need help on this one.”
Selena’s hand remained on the folder.“And they need me specifically because?”
“Harlan County asked for bureau support.Your name came up when the higher-ups were looking to assign an agent.”
A moment passed with a sigh.“This seems like cruel and unusual punishment,” she grumbled.
Meg let out a laugh.“I think that might be the point.”
Selena flipped the folder open.
Crime scene photos sat clipped inside.Church interior.Candles.Stone.A body in a chair.Even printed small, the image had enough wrongness in it to quiet the room around her.Something about the scene looked familiar.
“My God,” Selena said.“Is this St.Bart’s?”
Meg answered quickly.“I don’t know the details.Everything should be there.Is it somewhere you know?”
Selena nodded.“You could say that.”
Meg watched her read.
Selena went still in the way she always did when she was absorbing details fast.The sheriff’s initial notes were clipped behind the photos.Female victim.Mid-thirties.Body posed in choir loft of abandoned church.Script written on wall.Possible Latin.No immediate suspect.Scene preserved for further investigation.
The location line sat near the top.
Harlan County.
Her eyes held there a fraction too long.Too many memories.Too much heartbreak.It was almost overwhelming.
Then she closed the folder.
“Can’t they send anyone else?”
Meg didn’t answer right away, which told Selena more than the answer itself would have.If there was a way out, Meg would have given it to her.
Outside the conference room, office noise carried faintly through the glass.Phones.Footsteps.Somebody laughing too loudly down the hall.Inside, the room seemed to tighten around the question.
“At the moment,” Meg said, “some of the higher-ups would like you out of Washington for a bit.”
Selena stared at her.“Because I solved their case?”
“Because you solved it in a way that embarrassed people who don’t enjoy being embarrassed.”
“That’s bullshit.”Selena was pushing her anger down.But she didn’t know what leaving Washington would look like.She prided herself on getting this far, working the hard cases.If that was taken away?Selena felt a pulse of fear shudder through her at the thought.
Meg smiled softly.“It’s wrong.But this will also get you out of here for a while until they forget you exist and move on to their next annoyance.Being noticed isn’t always a positive.”
The calm agreement took some of the force out of Selena’s anger, which only annoyed her more.
Meg went on.“It’s also the kind of bullshit that might save your career from unnecessary friction.”
Selena stepped away from the table and folded her arms, then unfolded them again.Restlessness moved through her like a current.“So, this is me being thrown on the trash heap.”
“No.This is a temporary reassignment to a case that genuinely needs a strong investigator.”
“It’s pettiness by those who can’t stand being wrong, Meg.You know it.”
