“If you don’t mind, my brain’s a little tired. I don’t feel like rehashing my workday for you. And I won’t ask you to do the same,” the detective said.

The two men sat in silence. Callahan was right, Seth realized. He didn’t owe Seth any explanations. If the cops questioned every discovery he made during an autopsy, it’d drive him nuts.

“Sorry,” Seth said. “I see where you’re coming from.”

“I haven’t slept,” said Callahan. “I want to, but my fucking brain won’t turn off. Was hoping to slow it down in here. I need something to take my mind off the case, and it’s not easy to do. If I find myself thinking about a different subject, I worry I’m not putting a hundred percent of myself into the case.”

“Christ. Give yourself a break. You can’t be on duty twenty-four/seven. What do you do to relax?”

“Relax? What the fuck is that?” Callahan gave a half grin. “I know what’ll get my mind off work. Tell me about Victoria Peres. I’ve worked with her for a few years and know as much about her as I did on day one. Namely, I know she’s tall and don’t piss her off.”

The abrupt topic shift sent Seth’s beer down the wrong pipe and triggered a coughing fit. Callahan unhelpfully pounded him on the back.

“Tori?”

Callahan’s face lit up. “Yeah, how in the hell do you get away with calling her Tori? Most guys I know don’t dare call her anything but Doctor Peres. But you strolled in and used some cutesy nickname to her face. And she didn’t even flinch.”

“We’ve known each other since college. Well, we’ve lost touch over the years. But we were close once.”

“She’s close to no one.”

Seth’s heart hurt at that statement. “Maybe you don’t know her that well.”

Callahan nodded. “I’ll give you that. But I’ve asked around at the medical examiner’s office. The woman doesn’t have anything to do with any of them outside of the office. Even little Dr. Campbell, Lacey, doesn’t know much about her.”

“She’s always been a private person.”

“I know she was married at one point. A college professor, I believe.”

Seth nodded. When they’d crossed paths at that conference years back, she’d had a ring on her finger and they’d talked about their respective spouses. He hadn’t asked her what had happened to the marriage. Yet. “Yes, I don’t know how that ended.”

“She’s tough.”

“Can you blame her?” Seth clamped his teeth together. He’d said too much. If this cop didn’t know Tori’s history, it was because Tori didn’t want people knowing her past. It was no business of his to share her story.

Callahan’s gaze sharpened, and Seth felt him shift into cop interview mode. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Forget it. If you know nothing about her, then that’s how she wants it. But maybe you haven’t given her a chance. The Tori I know took a bit of digging to understand. Have you ever put any effort into talking to her? Have you ever asked her a question outside of a case?”

Callahan stared at him. “I don’t recall.”

“Probably not. Next time ask her what she does in her spare time. And don’t let her push you away. It’s a natural reaction. Keep at her and I promise you’ll be surprised at what you find under that cool exterior.”

“You do know her.”

“I know her well enough to understand she was dealt a shitty hand a long time ago. A few hands, actually. She grew those prickly defense spines for a reason. A good reason.”

Callahan looked fascinated. “Holy shit. The ice doctor has a history. And you were part of it, weren’t you?”

“Fuck off.”

Callahan grinned. “You aren’t the uptight medical examiner you pretend to be, are you?”

“Uptight? I seem uptight?” Seth didn’t know how to take that.

“Sure. The morgue is your kingdom, right? No one has the right to question your skills?”

Annoyance bubbled up in his chest, and he fought the urge to tell the detective off. Instead he counted to five and stared down the detective, comprehension dawning. “Jesus Christ. You had me going there. Did you think I’d spill Tori’s history because you pissed me off?”

“Ah, it was worth a shot.” Callahan winked at him and finished his beer.

Seth chuckled. “I don’t ever want to sit across the interview table from you.”

“A bar works just as well sometimes. You’d be surprised what people want to reveal. They’re usually looking for an excuse to talk.”

“Tori’s story is her own. Get to know her, and maybe she’ll let you in on it.”

“But my understanding is that you two haven’t seen each other in a long time. Maybe you aren’t the Victoria expert you think you are.” Callahan pointed at Seth’s chest.

The detective had a good point. There was a lot Seth didn’t know about the woman he’d once planned to spend the rest of his life with. If he was going to stay in Portland, he and Tori needed to talk.

But would she ever let him inside her walls again?

Eighteen years ago

His hands shook. Seth stopped and held them out in front of him, palms down. Definite shakes. They looked like he’d been drinking for hours; he felt like he’d been drinking for hours, but was experiencing only the bad effects, not the good. He shoved his hands in his coat pockets, continuing down the sidewalk, pushing through the rain. It wasn’t cold outside, but damn, he couldn’t get warm. He wanted to vomit.