Free Passions of the Dead (A Detective Jackson Mystery/Thriller) by L.J. Sellers

through the door, and headed out. As she reached her car, Shane pulled up in his little white Toyota truck.
    “Morning, Carla.”
    “Hey, Shane. You’re a little early. No one’s ready for school yet.”
    “No problem. I’ll make sure Nick doesn’t go back to bed.”
    “Thanks.”
    Carla watched him lope up to the house. Since Shane had been laid off, he’d had more free time and was taking the kids to school and bringing Lori home from softball practice. Carla appreciated the help and couldn’t wait until Lori could afford the used car she was saving for.
    Carla hopped in the Subaru, and as the engine roared to life, she said a little thank you to God or whoever was in charge. The last thing they needed was car trouble. So far, the Subaru had been very faithful. Carla kept coming back to the idea they should sell the truck but she hadn’t said anything to Jared. He was so down about being unemployed, she couldn’t kick him with that reality yet.
    Silver Moon Jewelry had expanded soon after she started, and the new worksite was bigger and nicer, but she wasn’t crazy about the location off West 11th. Not that it mattered, Carla reminded herself, as she hurried into the long narrow building. This was her dream job. She was designing jewelry! She had never been this happy.
    Two years ago, the Willamette News had laid her off after fifteen years of selling classified ads for them. Craigslist had cut the paper’s classified business in half and Carla, having been there the longest, was the highest paid and the first to go. The loss of income and security had knocked her off her feet for a few days, but by the end of the week, she’d started to feel liberated. Nobody enjoyed selling classifieds. Good grief. Every day had been a challenge to get through but she’d stayed because of the health insurance benefits for her family.
    Carla said good morning to the receptionist and trotted up the stairs to her shared office with a big window overlooking a little canal. She loved this space and this job. She’d started out in sales because that’s what her resume said she could do. She had targeted this business specifically because it designed and manufactured beautiful jewelry. Long ago, Carla had wanted to attend college and major in art. Instead, she’d gotten pregnant with Lori her senior year in high school and everything changed. She had tried to bury that part of herself because it wasn’t practical. The layoff had opened the door just a crack and Carla found a way to push through it.
    She sat down at her desk, still excited by the huge monitor they’d given her two months ago when she shifted to full-time designing. Her office partner wasn’t in yet and Carla had a few moments to herself. She pulled off her sweater and opened her e-mail. The top message was highlighted in red, meaning priority. Carla opened it, scowled a little. Helen wanted to see her right away. Could she make herself a cup of tea first?
    She decided against it, grabbed a notepad and pen, and hurried down the hall to the owner’s corner office. Did they have a new big order? Was there a problem with one of her designs? Sometimes manufacturing challenges forced the designers to make changes.
    “Hi Helen. You wanted to see me?”
    “Yes. Close the door, please.” Helen, wearing her usual velour jacket and yoga pants, smiled tightly, then set her face in expressionless mode.
    Carla’s stomach lurched. Closed door? What did it mean?
    “Carla, I have some bad news. We lost the Lacey’s account, which means we lost half of our business, just like that.” Helen snapped her fingers. “It’s the damn economy. Everyone is cutting back, tightening their expenses.” Helen averted her eyes and bit her lip. “This is very difficult for me to say, but I have to let you go. I’m cutting five people in production too.”
    Too stunned to speak, Carla sat unmoving. This can’t be happening. We can’t both lose our jobs .
    “I’m sorry.”