Her lips tasted like strawberries, the fruit still fresh on her tongue. I bit gently at her lip and felt her fingers curl in response. If this was all I ever got, then that was enough. As much as I wanted to give myself fully to Len, I knew it wasn’t that simple for her.

Len had a life in Briarport. Even if we found the Coastal Killer, I would be leaving for Quantico after. It wasn’t fair to promise her something I couldn’t give her here.

She continued to kiss me, each second more passionately than the last. We were in our own little bubble of peace and blissful ignorance to the problems we left behind in the coastal town.

A sound off to the side had Len pulling back. She giggled, catching sight of two squirrels chasing each other across the grass.

The sky over the cliff was already growing dark, and I didn’t want to keep Len out in the park when it finally grew pitch black.

“We should head back,” I said, each word paining me.

The wince that escaped her lips hurt me even more. At least I hadn’t imagined her wanting this as much as I had.

“I don’t think we want to find out what it’s like here after the sun sets,” I pointed out.

“Stop being so reasonable,” she said and shoved my arm.

“Unfortunately, there’s no off switch,” I laughed.

She rolled her eyes. That was the Lenny I knew.

“Let’s go,” I said, cleaning up the picnic. “If we hurry, we can get back with enough time for you to read at least two chapters of that thing before you fall asleep.”

Len’s smile grew even more, something I didn’t think possible.

“We need to stop somewhere on the way back,” she said.

* * *

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

Len still had a key to the museum and had used it to let us in. No one else was around, and she dragged me to the back, to the filing system. “I need to find an old article.”

Folders sat a mile high on top of the cabinets as she pulled them out and disregarded them.

“Can I help?” I offered.

“No,” she stated, pulling another folder out and setting it aside. “I organized this. I know it’s in here somewhere.”

The stacks only grew, and eventually, I took a seat in an office chair to watch. I wanted to give her the space to search without me hovering over her every move.

With each folder that came out, I tried to catch a glimpse. I saw dates labeled on some and event titles on others. Most were from three years ago, and I tried not get too far ahead of myself, assuming Len had something to help our case.