Bone Cold by Debra Webb Page B

Scully and Mulder on the X-Files now?” She shook her head. No way was she buying into this. The scenario was too farfetched. And everyone thought she’d gone around the bend that one time.
    To his credit, Tom seemed to take her remarks in stride. “Chief Larson, I’d like a few minutes with Sarah, if that’s all right.”
    Larson looked to Sarah. She shrugged. “For the record,” her boss rose from the table, “I’m with Sarah on this one. I’ll be in my office.” He hesitated at the door. “If you need me, Sarah, just say the word.”
    As the chief left, Tom shook his head. “You know,” he raised his hands as if in surrender, “I understand that you’re no longer my wife beyond that piece of paper we signed fourteen years ago. I even get that there’s a huge canyon of hurt between us, but what I will never comprehend is your refusal to be friends. What did I do, Sarah, to deserve being cut completely out of your life?”
    Her heart was pounding before the last word was out of his mouth. How dare he demand an explanation from her period, much less at a time like this! He was fully aware of what he had done. “Unless what you have to say relates to this case, we’re through talking.” She would not let this turn into an analysis of their shared history. There had to be another agent who could have come with this incredible story.
    He dropped his hands. “Fine. You made your point.” He tapped the stack of files she’d prepared for him. “I need your help with this, Sarah.” When she would have launched an argument, he added, “You’ve already interviewed the families. I respect the relationships you’ve forged. We can work together toward the same end. I want to find these children the same as you do.”
    Sarah laughed. “I see. You want to use the connection I’ve made with these families to your advantage. Why didn’t you start with Senator Adams? Since he called you, surely you can apply a little pressure and get this truth you believe he’s hiding.”
    If she sounded angry and annoyed that was just too bad. She was angry and annoyed. She had seven, possibly eight, missing children. She didn’t have time to waste on the FBI’s outlandish theories.
    “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Sarah.” The concern in his eyes was undeniably genuine. “We have a painful past. If there were any way around the two of us working together that would be the better solution. The fact is we’re the ones sitting here. For the sake of those children we need to put the past aside and get the job done.”
    Her first instinct was to throw something at him. But, he was right so she opted to hold onto the chair arms to keep her hands busy. “Where would you like to start, Agent Cuddahy?” The sooner they got through this the sooner he would leave. “Shall we start with the family of the first victim?”
    “Line up as many interviews as possible,” he agreed. “I’ll review your assessments and get up to speed on where we are.”
    “No problem.” Sarah pushed out of her chair and almost escaped the room before he manacled her arm. His touch sent a jolt surging through her. His fingers burned her skin and her traitorous heart lurched with confusing signals.
    “It doesn’t have to be this way, Sarah. We can pretend the life we shared never happened if that’s what you want, but would it be such a bad thing for us to be friends?”
    “Maybe if you’d stop ignoring my petition for divorce we could talk about being friends.” She had been pushing for a divorce for better than a year. He kept coming up with reasons not to sign the papers. If he thought dragging his feet would parlay into a friendship he was wrong. He’d had her committed against her will. Did he really believe after a move like that she would ever trust him again? Impossible. She tried to pull free of his grasp. “Sign the papers and we’ll discuss the option.”
    He held on tighter. “Is a divorce really what you want?