Page 49 of Forever Dead
Selena picked at a loose thread on her sleeve. “I was thinking detective.”
Miss Marsh smiled. “Were you?”
“I know that sounds stupid. I used to love Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes. I guess it’s a stupid kids’ dream.”
“No. It sounds like a fine dream.”
“I like figuring things out.”
“I’ve noticed.”
Selena almost smiled.
Miss Marsh continued, “When you do find your calling, focus on that, no matter what life throws at you. If you have a North Star, even the worst of times will never stop you.”
Selena frowned. “A North Star?”
“Something that keeps you pointed in the right direction.”
“What if I change my mind?”
“Then choose another one.”
That had made Selena laugh, even with her cheeks still wet.
The memory faded with the sound of her laptop chiming.
Selena blinked and found herself back in the motel room.
The light outside had shifted.
She checked the clock. Three hours of reading the files and daydreaming had passed.
“Damn it.”
Her walk was now very late.
Another notification appeared on the laptop screen.
Email from Tanya.
Selena reached across the bed, pulled the laptop closer and opened it.
Hey, Raven.
Meg said you’re looking for former Elmsview High school students with violent histories. I pulled what I could from digitized alumni directories and cross-referenced the names against criminal records, court filings and archived local reporting. I found several that fit. Attached what I could verify.
Also, an important investigative question: how is that hunky sheriff? :)
Tanya
Selena smiled despite herself.
“Still impossible.”
She opened the attachment.
The first name belonged to a man now living in Tennessee with two aggravated assault convictions from his thirties. Nothing connected him to Eleanor beyond attending the school.
