Beyond Repair (A Reese Link Mystery—Book Three) by Molly Black

Author:Molly Black [Black, Molly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2023-03-23T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Reese crossed her arms and shivered as she stood in the precinct's break room, watching her bowl of soup slowly turn on its glass tray in the microwave. Her jacket had served its purpose surprisingly well, though it had not, of course, kept her warm, and it felt as if the chill of the spring storm had sunk into her very bones like rot.

"You doing okay?" Clay asked.

Reese took a deep breath, unsure how to answer. The truth was that the sight of Margaret O'Rourke's body had shaken her. She tried to steady herself, to get herself to focus on the x's and o's of the case, but she kept picturing Margaret's vacant eyes staring down at her.

"Hey," Clay said gently, as if reading her thoughts, "don't get discouraged. I know it's a lot, dealing with murder victims on a regular basis. It takes a toll on you, but you're doing fine."

"I don't feel fine," she answered wearily, opening the microwave door, and stirring her soup with a spoon. "I feel stuck, like no matter what we try to do, we can't change anything. The killer's going to take his victims one by one, and we're powerless to stop him." She hated the defeated sound of her own voice, but she felt powerless to change it.

"Come on," Clay said, playfully punching her shoulder. "Where's the headstrong rookie I first met? You're selling yourself short here."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Really? Selling myself short? What happened to you thinking it would be a better fit for my skills for me to be saving cats from trees?"

Clay grinned, remembering his words. "I thought so in the beginning, sure, but you've proven far more capable than I expected. You have a gift for this."

"Gift?" Reese repeated, surprised as much by the word as by the sincerity on Clay's face. "How's that?"

"The victims are real people to you," he said, leaning against the counter. "They're not just 'cases' or 'victims' but actual, flesh-and-blood human beings. The fact that you can keep that in mind and still do your job … Most rookies would have been overwhelmed by what you've been through, and the only way they learn to handle it is by getting jaded. But somehow that hasn't happened to you. It's remarkable, really."

Reese felt her cheeks flush at his words, and she looked away. She wasn't used to receiving such compliments, especially ones that were so sincere. But Clay was right: She had been feeling discouraged lately, more so than usual. Part of it was the case; she knew they were running out of ideas and time was slipping away faster than ever before. But more than that was the fact that she wanted to prove herself, to show Clay and everyone else in the precinct that she could handle this job as well as anyone else could.

Because of Bass, she thought.

Yes, it really was about Bass, wasn't it? It was impossible not to compare herself to her brother. As confident

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