Unforgettable (OLD COPY DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 18

"Eden doesn't know about Greenwood so don't...don't mention anything about it," Diana warns me as we walk back down the staircase and take a small corridor that leads to another door on the ground floor.

"O-kay?"

She nods and opens the door to reveal a bookstore on the other side as row upon row of tall, dark shelves lined with books stand on either side of the doorway. We step through and she shuts the door behind us. There's a sudden, low boof and I startle when there's a clicking of toenails as a dog rounds the corner of a bookshelf.

The dog has long, shaggy black fur and a white chest along with a few patches of tawny fur above the eyes and near its muzzle. It bares its teeth into a snarl, a low rumble coming from it as it stands in our way like it's protecting the bookstore.

"Down, boy," Diana says as she claps her hands at the dog.

The dog's floppy ears perk up at her voice and its tail starts to wag as its brown eyes glimmer with excitement and recognition.

"Salem?" a voice suddenly calls from what sounds like a few rows over. "What did you find boy?"

A woman steps around the corner of a shelf then as the dog trots over to her, his tail wagging. The woman has pale skin and black hair that is pulled back into a ponytail as her dark eyes watch me curiously and she reaches down to pet the dog.

"Oh, you just found Officer Marshall," she coos to the dog as she glances over at Diana, "so what are you here for? Raiding the break-room pantry?"

"Maybe, I have a guest over and I haven't done enough grocery shopping lately," Diana admits as she looks from me to the woman, "Kara this is Eden."

The woman lifts a hand in an easy wave as she motions for us to follow her, "We can go hang out in the break-room, no one's been by for the last half hour or so."

I breathe in the thick smell of books as I follow her, the scent mingled with the hardwood floor as we walk behind a large desk to a door. Salem trots off then, his tail wagging as he appears to patrol the bookstore while we head for the back room. Eden leads us through a door into a kitchenette type area, a couple of dark, wooden cabinets lining the wall as a stained formica countertop serves as a perch for a coffee machine and a microwave.

The woman gestures to a small table with a couple of mismatched chairs and Diana and I take a seat as Eden riffles through the cabinets before she pulls out a plastic container and sets it on the tabletop.

"Does anyone want coffee?" she offers as she steps over to the coffee pot.

"I'll take a cup," Diana says and Eden laughs.

"Of course you do," she murmurs as she sets aside a mug that has the name 'Diana' written on it in Sharpie.

Eden turns to look at me after she's filled Diana's cup and I shake my head.

"No, thank you," I say and she shrugs.

"Suit yourself," she replies as she opens the lid on the container to reveal chocolate chip cookies.

She selects one for herself before she sits down across from me and narrows her eyes suspiciously.

"So...are you the 'difficult' teen case that Diana was handling a couple of years ago?"

Diana flinches and looks away guiltily as I sit in stunned silence for a moment. Eden backpedals when she realizes that she's right as she lifts a hand and takes a sip of her coffee.