25
Melissa was studying a map on the computer, doing her best to memorise the route she would have to take to get from Oakhurst to the address she had found for Ralph Graves, when two things happened simultaneously — the phone next to the keyboard rang, and someone knocked loudly on the front door of the station.
She picked up the phone and, glad that it was portable, got to her feet so she could see who was at the door. She was tempted to just ignore the door, to not even look to see who was there, but she couldn’t ignore the possibility that it was someone with a problem, rather than someone wanting to know about the morning’s events.
“Oakhurst Police Station, Constable Turner, how can I help you?” she answered the phone.
The moment she left the office and started down the passage, M
