At the grocery store and taking requests.
Seth Mays
Anything is fine.
About to do a phone interview.
Good luck!
I’d thrownmyself into the job hunt, applying for things I had no business doing, half out of desperation and half because I was trying to avoid Elliot. We’d finished the garden boxes, and I’d done my best to not look at him.
Unfortunately, Elliot Crane isn’t a stupid man. He knew there wassomethinggoing on, and he wasn’t terribly pleased that I didn’t want to talk about it.
But I couldn’t tell him. Not yet.
Not as long as I was completely dependent on him for, well, everything.
I was also currently jacked up about the phone interview, which was actually with the Shawano County Sheriff’s Office. Ineeded this job. I also actually wanted this job, as opposed to any of the others I’d applied for.
I hadn’t been what Annello’s had been looking for—according to Elliot, because I wasn’t female enough. I’d gaped at him for a second, then remembered having met an older man when I’d come through who had given me a little bit of a stink-eye. They’d said I wasn’t what they were looking for, which, if they were looking for attractive younger female servers—which is a description that matched the half-dozen or so who’d been there when I’d gone in—then I really wasn’t what they were looking for.
Disappointing, but only because I needed the money. I didn’t really want to be a server.
I wanted to work crime scenes. Or even accidental death scenes. Anything that would let me use my forensic muscles. To provide answers so that people would know what happened to their loved ones—so that the dead could rest in peace and the living could move on with their lives. Could get justice, in some cases.
My phone started buzzing.
I swallowed, letting it ring a few times so I didn’t seem too eager. Then I thumbed the green button.
“This is Seth Mays.” I tried to make myself sound pleasant. Cheerful. But not too cheerful.
“Mr. Mays, my name is Lacy Krinke. I’m calling from the Shawano County Sheriff’s Office—I’m in charge of the crime scene investigation team. Is now a good time?”
“Now is great.” I told myself not to be too agreeable. Not because I wanted to be difficult, but because I know being too agreeable can be annoying.
“Fantastic.” She sounded relieved. “Are you still interested in possibly becoming a technician with us?”
“I am,” I replied.
“And you last worked in… Virginia?” She sounded a little surprised. “What brings you to Shawano?”
“I have a friend up here,” I answered. Hopefully Elliot would be okay with the designation of ‘friend’ if anyone asked. “I was looking for a change, and he mentioned that there might be a position open.”
“Oh? Does he work for the Sheriff’s Office”?
I grimaced. It had sounded good in my head, but I realized—too late—that it raised all sorts of questions. “No,” I answered. “But he…” I swallowed, then figured they’d find out eventually, anyway. “His father was killed last year,” I told her. “And when they needed some evidence collected, the investigating detective ended up calling me because everyone was busy at other scenes.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone. Then, “That wasyou?”
Apparently I had a reputation before I’d even applied for the job. “Yeah. Yes.” You should always be more formal during interviews. “Detective Smith was working with someone who used to work with me in Richmond.”
“Mr. Hart?”
I didn’t bother correcting her, given that Hart’s title-change to ‘Agent’ was extremely recent. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Would you be available for an interview on Thursday?”
I blinked, my heart rate immediately shooting up. I forced myself to take a single, slow breath, to bring down the adrenaline. “Absolutely.”
