Page 66 of Three for a Girl

He wasn’t on the tightrope, he hadn’t hit the bottom, he was in freefall waiting, not knowing when, if, or how the bottom would come.

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Chad wiped his sweaty hands on his pants. It didn’t help, a few seconds later and his palms had a fresh sheen of moisture. He glanced at the clock on the wall, ticking by painfully slowly. There were others in the reception area, all a healthy distance from each other. No one made eye contact, no one made a sound.

There were six living, breathing people in the waiting room, but they all resembled corpses, still and pale.

The clock counted down their fate, and when Keeley finally came for him, he rushed after her, eager to be out of the room of the ticking clock and the lost souls.

He perched on the edge of the chair waiting for Keeley to take her seat. Chad frowned at the bird song, far too loud and chirpy considering they were so close to the road.

“Where’s the bird sounds coming from?” he asked.

“Outside.”

He tilted his head, watching her until she relented and pointed at the bookcase. “Speaker over there, I’ve found it helps people to relax. I can turn it off if you’d like.”

“No, it’s okay, as long as there’s no whale music.”

“That’s track two.”

Keeley smiled, and leaned forward in her chair. Chad did his best to grin back, to put some warmth into his expression, but he knew he’d failed when Keeley dropped her gaze and made a quick note. As soon as her pen touched the paper, he gave up pretense, and stopped trying to smile.

“You cancelled our Saturday appointment.”

“The case has been hectic.”

“This is a condition of you working homicide. I only think you came today because I threated to tell your DI.”

“I’m sorry.” Chad whispered.

“Well, you’re here now. That’s what’s important. How have you found your first ten days as a detective?”

“It’s been okay.”

“Okay.” Keeley echoed, “And your new colleagues, have they been welcoming?”

They had been, Ally in particular. Chad nodded, but Keeley didn’t seem impressed with his response, she craned her neck further forward.

“Has the case you’re working on brought up any memories?”

The numbers on his flesh hadn’t stopped tingling. Even after an ice-cold shower they continued to prickle and itch. The sheen of sweat coating his body didn’t help either.

“No.”

She hummed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like you haven’t been sleeping well.”

“I could say the same about you.”

She recoiled and he put his hands up.

“Sorry, that was a poor attempt at a joke.”

“A lot of people use humor to mask their pain. It deflects attention.”

“I’m awful at it.”

She hummed. “Have you been sleeping well?”

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