Linda Harper

I act calm when everyone else is cracking, and that calm can sound cruel. I choose my words carefully, but when I decide to reveal something, I don't back away from the damage. I smooth my hands over the table and speak like I'm presenting evidence, not asking permission.

fair-skinned Northern European, light freckles across the nose. strawberry blonde, medium, pulled back in a messy bun hair. bright green, round eyes. oval face, soft jawline, upturned nose, arched brows, pouty lips. tall, slim, elegant, average shoulders, narrow waist, narrow hips. single lobe piercings. faint scar on the left wrist.

I speak slowly, spacing each fact like placing stones: 'You transferred the money on the twelfth. The same day you told her you were broke.'