always Lara.”
“And with you?” Harrison asked, wondering if the beer was going to his head.
“I don’t have time for relationships. At least not that kind. Jason was my friend. And I’ll miss him until the day I die. But there was never anything more. On either side.”
“I’m sorry,” Harrison said, raising his hands in defense. “I shouldn’t have asked. I’m just being nosy.”
“It’s a fair question.” Hannah shrugged. “I know I talk about him all the time. I still wake up in the middle of the night wanting to call him about something, and it takes a moment to realize that he’s not there. And even more strange, I thought it would be easier with Lara gone. Butit’s not. It’s only made it harder somehow. As if in seeing her and talking to her, I was still somehow in touch with Jason. Stupid, right?”
“Not at all,” he assured her. “When we care about someone—no matter the context—and then we lose that person, I think it’s sort of like a part of us dies, too. And we want it back. That’s perfectly normal.” He paused, realizing the danger of the ground they were treading. “Or at least that’s what they kept telling us at Quantico.”
“That’s right. I forgot,” she said, fortunately following his conversational lead. “You worked with the serial killer unit, didn’t you? That must have been horrific.”
“More than you can possibly know.”
“And now all of this with Sara. It must be bringing up all kinds of memories.” She sounded so caring he almost told her the truth.
Almost.
“You have no idea.”
She studied him for a moment and then nodded. “I can’t imagine dealing with that kind of thing day in and day out. I guess it’s not surprising you moved on. And now thanks to A-Tac, you’re potentially right back in the middle of it.”
“Well, we don’t know that for sure. There’s still the possibility that Sara’s disappearance and the video are unrelated.”
“But you don’t believe that, do you?” she asked, shoving her glasses farther up onto her nose as she opened the beer he’d handed her.
“No,” he shook his head, wishing it weren’t the truth. “I don’t.”
“Which means that you think Sara’s already dead,”Hannah said, putting voice to the words he couldn’t bring himself to say.
“We don’t know that either. And for now at least, we’ve got to keep operating as if we can still help her. And the best thing we can do now is get back to work.” He pushed off the stool as Hannah’s cellphone started to ring.
Pulling it from her pocket, she answered, nodded as she listened to the conversation on the other side, and then flipped the phone shut again.
“What?” Harrison asked, his mind running through the possibilities.
“That was Avery,” she said. “They’ve found Sara’s roommate, Stephanie.”
Regan Hall was the newest women’s dorm on campus. Which meant the 1940s. So not exactly “new.” But still it boasted larger rooms and better bathroom facilities. And though there was fierce loyalty to all the dorms, Regan was the most popular by far.
Stephanie Blackwell sat at the table in the Regan dining room, her hands clasped tightly together as she watched Harrison and Hannah. “I swear to you I had nothing to do with Sara’s disappearance. I’m sure Tony told you, we barely talk.”
“So where have you been?” Harrison asked. He was standing by the window, hand braced on the frame.
“I went home,” Stephanie said, her voice trembling. “My mother’s been sick, and they put her in the hospital. I wanted to be there. You can call my dad or the hospital.”
“It’s okay,” Hannah said, careful to keep her voice reassuring. “We’re not the police. We’re just trying to find Sara.”
“Well, I don’t know where she is. I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning just before I left.”
“And was there anything wrong? Had she been acting strangely? Like something was bothering her
“And with you?” Harrison asked, wondering if the beer was going to his head.
“I don’t have time for relationships. At least not that kind. Jason was my friend. And I’ll miss him until the day I die. But there was never anything more. On either side.”
“I’m sorry,” Harrison said, raising his hands in defense. “I shouldn’t have asked. I’m just being nosy.”
“It’s a fair question.” Hannah shrugged. “I know I talk about him all the time. I still wake up in the middle of the night wanting to call him about something, and it takes a moment to realize that he’s not there. And even more strange, I thought it would be easier with Lara gone. Butit’s not. It’s only made it harder somehow. As if in seeing her and talking to her, I was still somehow in touch with Jason. Stupid, right?”
“Not at all,” he assured her. “When we care about someone—no matter the context—and then we lose that person, I think it’s sort of like a part of us dies, too. And we want it back. That’s perfectly normal.” He paused, realizing the danger of the ground they were treading. “Or at least that’s what they kept telling us at Quantico.”
“That’s right. I forgot,” she said, fortunately following his conversational lead. “You worked with the serial killer unit, didn’t you? That must have been horrific.”
“More than you can possibly know.”
“And now all of this with Sara. It must be bringing up all kinds of memories.” She sounded so caring he almost told her the truth.
Almost.
“You have no idea.”
She studied him for a moment and then nodded. “I can’t imagine dealing with that kind of thing day in and day out. I guess it’s not surprising you moved on. And now thanks to A-Tac, you’re potentially right back in the middle of it.”
“Well, we don’t know that for sure. There’s still the possibility that Sara’s disappearance and the video are unrelated.”
“But you don’t believe that, do you?” she asked, shoving her glasses farther up onto her nose as she opened the beer he’d handed her.
“No,” he shook his head, wishing it weren’t the truth. “I don’t.”
“Which means that you think Sara’s already dead,”Hannah said, putting voice to the words he couldn’t bring himself to say.
“We don’t know that either. And for now at least, we’ve got to keep operating as if we can still help her. And the best thing we can do now is get back to work.” He pushed off the stool as Hannah’s cellphone started to ring.
Pulling it from her pocket, she answered, nodded as she listened to the conversation on the other side, and then flipped the phone shut again.
“What?” Harrison asked, his mind running through the possibilities.
“That was Avery,” she said. “They’ve found Sara’s roommate, Stephanie.”
Regan Hall was the newest women’s dorm on campus. Which meant the 1940s. So not exactly “new.” But still it boasted larger rooms and better bathroom facilities. And though there was fierce loyalty to all the dorms, Regan was the most popular by far.
Stephanie Blackwell sat at the table in the Regan dining room, her hands clasped tightly together as she watched Harrison and Hannah. “I swear to you I had nothing to do with Sara’s disappearance. I’m sure Tony told you, we barely talk.”
“So where have you been?” Harrison asked. He was standing by the window, hand braced on the frame.
“I went home,” Stephanie said, her voice trembling. “My mother’s been sick, and they put her in the hospital. I wanted to be there. You can call my dad or the hospital.”
“It’s okay,” Hannah said, careful to keep her voice reassuring. “We’re not the police. We’re just trying to find Sara.”
“Well, I don’t know where she is. I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning just before I left.”
“And was there anything wrong? Had she been acting strangely? Like something was bothering her
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