Kitabı oku: «The Texas Ranger», sayfa 2
Must be an upscale place, Sam thought as he drove through. He’d heard of gated communities, but he’d never been to a gated vet’s office. He parked in the lot in front of a white Austin stone building with a red tile roof, retrieved Pookie and attached a leash to her collar. When he got to the front door, he was even more mystified. The door was locked. What the devil? Had they closed already?
He rang the doorbell, then knocked.
He waited. And waited. The door opened a crack. “Mr. Outlaw?” a woman asked.
He started to say, “Joe sent me,” but, instead of smarting off, he answered with a simple, “That’s me.”
The door opened wider. “Please come in and have a seat. Dr. Walker will be with you in a moment.”
Pookie balked at the threshold, and Sam had to pick her up and carry her inside. She was shaking again.
“It’s okay, girl,” he said, stroking her. “Dr. Skye’s one of the good guys. She won’t hurt you.” How was it that animals always knew when they were going to the vet? He’d had to drag Pookie from under the bed this morning when he was ready to leave.
He heard voices at an interior door, then it opened and the mayor walked out with his Doberman. Wouldn’t you know? The dude glanced at Pookie and smiled. “Cute dog.”
“My neighbor’s.”
“I see,” the mayor said. “Sam, isn’t it?” He held out his hand.
“Yes.” Sam stood and shook hands with him.
A guy roughly the size of a tank followed the mayor out of the interior. He checked the peephole in the front door, then flipped a switch on the wall, unlocked and opened the door for the mayor.
“Good to see you again,” the mayor said.
John? Jim? Sam couldn’t remember. He only remembered that he didn’t much care for his toothy smile.
As soon as the lock clicked into place and the switch was flipped back up, the tank turned to Sam. “I’m Napoleon, Dr. Walker’s assistant. Come with me, please.”
Sam didn’t argue. He was meaner looking than any man he’d ever seen on death row, and, although Sam didn’t often meet anyone who made him nervous, the tank put him on guard. This guy didn’t look like he’d go down unless you shot him—a bunch of times.
He was led into a room where Skye waited. Gus lay quietly in a corner. Gus raised his head and glared at Sam—or did something that passed for a dog-glare. His lips twitched back over his teeth.
Dressed in a blue smock, Skye stood by a tall examining table, scanned a chart. She glanced up when he entered and smiled. “Well, hello, Sam. What brings you here?”
He held out the dog. “Pookie.”
Skye took her, and the dog almost went into ecstasy, wiggling and licking Skye. “Hello, sweetie. How are you?”
Pookie arfed. Twice.
Skye cuddled her close. “Somehow I never figured you for the type who’d choose a Lhasa apso named Pookie.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Me, neither.” He told her the story of how he came to be her new owner. “I don’t know anything about her. I didn’t even know what kind of dog she was until you said. She just looks like a dust mop to me. I don’t know about her health or if she’s had her shots. She hides under the bed a lot.”
Skye checked a tag on her collar. “Here’s the number of her vet in San Antonio. Why didn’t you call the office and ask?”
Feeling a little dumb, Sam managed to grin. “Never thought of it. Guess I was looking for an excuse to drop over and ask you to lunch.”
She laughed, took a cell phone from her pocket and punched in a number. She identified herself and asked for information on Pookie. After a few moments, she hung up and told Sam, “All her shots are in order, and she’s a bit overweight but basically healthy. Let me examine her to be sure.”
Skye set the dog on her examining table, whispered something to her, and Pookie’s wiggling stopped. She stood statue-still while Skye looked her over.
After a few minutes, Skye said, “She’s fine, just a little sad about the loss of her mistress. It’s to be expected. She likes you.”
“I feed her hamburgers and steak.”
“Leave off the hamburgers and steak, or she’ll be a real roly-poly.”
She named a dry food that she recommended for small dogs. “She can have a treat occasionally.” She ruffled Pookie’s coat. “Show dogs of this breed really do look like dust mops, and they have to be carefully and frequently groomed. Her coat has been kept clipped, and I’d recommend continuing that for her comfort and your convenience. She needs a haircut and grooming now before she starts getting painful mats.”
“Where do I get that done?”
Skye glanced at Napoleon. He nodded. “Napoleon will get her fixed up. Every few weeks you can take her to any good groomer near you.”
Skye handed Pookie to Napoleon, and the dog went into her wiggling and licking routine again for him. She didn’t seem to mind his looks. The man spoke to her softly as they left the room.
“Sam, I think it’s very sweet of you to take in Pookie.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want to take her to the pound. Do you know of anybody who might like to have her?”
Skye looked concerned. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to traumatize her further. She’s probably best off with you.”
Sam nodded. Looked like he now had a dog. “How about joining me for lunch?”
“How about you join me at home instead? You and Pookie. Belle is coming over to go swimming this afternoon.”
“I don’t have a suit.”
“I’m sure one of Gabe’s will fit.”
“It’s a deal.” The thought of Skye in a bathing suit had him salivating. He’d bet she was a knockout in a bikini.
“You can have a seat in the waiting room until Napoleon is finished with Pookie,” she said. “I have a couple more patients to see yet.”
SKYE FELT AS GIDDY AS A CHILD at Christmas. She was sure that Mrs. Westmoreland thought she was nuts because of the way she kept smiling during the account of Puffy’s numerous hair balls. And certainly nothing was funny about George Bill’s parrot, who had picked out half his feathers, but she could barely keep her mind on her patients. She wanted to break out into song and dance around the examining tables.
Sam Outlaw was here, here in her office. She’d thought about him all week, wondering if she would ever see him again. Gabe had said that Sam wasn’t her type, but she had to disagree. Sam was exactly her type. No man that she’d met in years had made her chest tighten and her stomach do back-flips.
She wanted to kiss little Pookie for bringing him to her office. And she could hardly wait to see Sam in a bathing suit. He was sexy enough with all his clothes on. Bare-chested, she’d bet he was a serious stud-muffin.
She giggled as she hung up her smock. Where were all these thoughts and feelings coming from? It was as if all her pent-up desires were rattling their cages and clamoring to get out. She’d have to watch herself or she’d scare the poor man to death.
Holy smoke.
Chapter Three
When Sam pulled himself out of the pool, looked at her and grinned, Skye nearly melted into a little puddle. Even his teeth were perfect—as perfect as his abs. He could have been a model, except he probably thought models were sissies. And maybe they were. Sam was all man for sure, and she hadn’t been able to keep her eyes off him since they’d left her office. He was gorgeous, and sexuality oozed from him like honey from a comb. She wanted to run her tongue over his chest to see if he tasted sweet.
Suddenly embarrassed by her thoughts, she forced herself to look away and say something to Belle. But Belle was looking at Gabe as if he were an eclair on a doily and not paying the least bit of attention to Sam and her. Gabe was just as rapt with Belle.
Maybe that’s why Skye had gone so goofy over Sam. She was envious of her brother and Belle, and wanted the same thing they had. Boy, had she picked a doozy for her first foray into romance in years. Why couldn’t she be attracted to somebody sane and simple? Like John.
But no. John didn’t make her heart rev up like a race car.
“Come on in the water,” Sam said.
“I don’t want to get my hair wet.”
“It’ll dry. Come on in. Or can’t you swim?”
“Of course I can swim. I’ve got a box full of ribbons somewhere that says I can.”
Sam walked toward her, trailing water. “Guess I’ll just have to toss you in.” He grabbed her.
“No-o-o-o!” she screamed. “Don’t!”
He laughed, hauled her up and jumped into the pool with her in his arms.
Gus barked, Gabe yelled and she hit the water in a panic.
When she surfaced, Gus had Sam by the arm, and both Gabe and Belle were in the pool yelling and splashing. Pandemonium.
“Gus! Release!” Skye shouted.
Gus let go of Sam’s arm, but Gabe grabbed it. “What the hell are you doing?” He drew back his fist.
“Let go of my brother,” Belle yelled at Gabe. “What the hell are you doing?”
Gabe stepped back. “Sorry. Skye, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Gabe. I’m fine. Out, Gus. Sam, are you hurt?”
Sam looked down at his forearm. “I was expecting blood, but he didn’t even break the skin.”
“Thank, God,” Skye said. She heaved herself onto the pool apron and, knees still wobbly, went to talk to Gus, who sat by the chair she’d vacated, looking very pleased with himself. She wasn’t sure whether to praise him or scold him. She settled for ruffling his coat. “Sam’s a friend, Gus. Get that? A friend.”
Why was Gus so wary around Sam? It was as if he really thought Sam would hurt her.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Gabe said.
“I’m sure.” She wasn’t sure at all, but her brother looked so concerned that she didn’t want to make a big deal of it. She hadn’t felt comfortable in the water for years. Being in the pool made her feel vulnerable—a feeling she avoided in any way possible.
“Don’t be such a mother hen, Gabe,” Belle said.
Skye felt awful for more than Gus’s attack. She didn’t want to be the cause of an argument between her brother and someone she hoped would be her sister-in-law. She stood and pasted a big smile on her face. “Yeah, Gabe. Don’t be such a mother hen. Gus, stay.”
She forced herself to walk to the diving board, mount it and execute what she hoped was a perfect jackknife into the deep end of the pool. Slicing cleanly into the water felt wonderful. A ton of old memories flooded her, good ones, as she pushed up and broke the surface. She hadn’t forgotten how to dive.
Or swim, she thought as she began a slow crawl down the length of the pool. When she got to Sam she stopped.
“I’m really sorry about Gus attacking you. When I screamed, he thought you were hurting me. Is your arm still okay?”
“Not a problem.” He smiled.
She returned his smile. “Good.” She shoved the heel of her hand through the water and splashed him with a face-full of water. Then she laughed and surfaced-dived, heading away from him.
He grabbed her foot. She kicked furiously at him and popped to the surface, anxiety almost overwhelming her. She fought the dreadful clawing in her chest, fought the urge to cry out.
“Please don’t grab me,” she said quietly. “I have a thing about being grabbed. It makes me go a little nuts.”
“Sorry,” Sam said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t know. But I understand. With me it’s being tickled. My brothers used to hold me down and do it. J.J. especially. I become a wild man when anybody tickles me in the ribs.”
“Tell you what,” Skye said. “I won’t tickle you if you won’t grab me.”
“It’s a deal. Sorry I upset you and got your hair wet.”
“It’s okay.” She flipped onto her back and sculled along, enjoying the feel of the water against her skin, and, surprisingly, feeling safe with Sam close by. Maybe it was because he was bigger than life or maybe it was because he was a Texas Ranger, but he exuded an aura of power and control that was extremely comforting as he paddled along beside her.
It was a lovely feeling.
For the first time in many years she felt free to relax and enjoy swimming, an activity that had once been an important part of her life. For that alone, she wanted to hug Sam.
But there were others reasons, too. She laughed.
“What’s funny?”
“Oh, nothing. Everything. Isn’t it a beautiful day?”
ONCE SHE GOT INTO THE WATER, Skye hated to get out, but she was turning into a prune, so she reluctantly dragged herself from the pool and everybody went inside to change. The guys were going to grill steaks and veggies while she and Belle made salad and dressing.
Maria, the cook, and her husband, Manuel, had the weekend off, and Suki and her husband, Ralph, had gone to visit her sister for the weekend. Only Flora and the two couples were around—except for the guards, who were always on the grounds.
When she came downstairs, Skye found her mother in the kitchen with Pookie and Tiger, her tiny Yorkshire terrier, dancing around her feet.
“I just put the icing on a chocolate sheath cake,” Flora said. “Maxine is picking me up any minute.”
“Aren’t you going to stay for dinner?” Skye asked.
“No, dear. Maxine and Bess and I are driving over to San Marcos for dinner. It’s Bess’s birthday. Didn’t I tell you?”
“It must have slipped my mind. The cake looks scrumptious.”
“Mmm,” said Belle as she joined them. “I adore chocolate.” She bent and scooped up Pookie, who had taken an immediate liking to Belle. “You are such a cutie pie, Pookie. I can’t believe you belong to Sam.”
“I’d be willing to part with her if you want her,” Sam said as he joined them.
“Sorry. Animals aren’t allowed in my townhouse.”
Gabe walked in. “Move back here, and you can have all the animals you want.”
Belle merely rolled her eyes at him.
The doorbell rang, and Flora said, “That must be Maxine. I’ll be going now. I should be back by nine.”
“I’ll walk you to the door and get the alarm,” Gabe said.
Skye kissed her mother’s cheek, and Sam followed suit. Flora looked extremely pleased by his gesture.
“Don’t you ladies get into any trouble now,” Sam said.
Flora laughed and patted his cheek. “I can’t make any promises, dear boy.”
Gabe and Belle walked out with Flora, leaving Skye and Sam alone in the kitchen with the dogs.
“My mother likes you,” Skye said.
“Good. I like her, too. And I like her daughter.”
For a moment Skye couldn’t make herself look up from the ears of corn she’d taken from the fridge. Then she told herself she was being as silly as a teenager. She smiled. “Do you?”
“Yes, ma’am, I do.” He touched her chin with his knuckle.
Gus growled.
Sam sighed and moved his hand. “Need any help with that corn?”
“Sure. We usually grill it in the shucks, but we have to remove the silks.”
Sam picked up an ear and skinned back the shuck. “Like that?”
“Exactly. But let me get some newspaper to catch the mess.”
“Wonder what happened to Gabe and Belle?”
Skye laughed. “Bet they’re making out in the entryway.”
“I wouldn’t cover that bet.”
By the time Gabe and Belle rejoined them, the corn was ready for the grill. The guys tended to the steaks while Belle and Skye handled the rest of the meal, including skewering an assortment of marinated vegetables for the barbecue.
In no time, their meal was done, and they were sitting around the table enjoying the food they’d prepared.
“I can’t believe that you’re not eating a single piece of this rib eye,” Sam said. “It’s fantastic.”
“Ugh!” Skye said. “Looks gross to me. Sure you won’t have more grilled zucchini?”
“Point taken.”
Skye glanced at Gus and smiled. She caught Sam’s attention and motioned toward her dog. Pookie was cuddled up next to Gus, sleeping.
“Looks like Gus has a new admirer,” Gabe said.
“He’s been awfully patient with her nipping and tumbling over him,” Belle added.
“With Tiger around, he’s used to it,” Skye said. “Plus he’s around rambunctious animals all the time at the clinic.”
“Yes,” Sam said. “It’s only me he doesn’t like.”
“I’m really sorry about what happened at the pool today,” Skye said.
“No harm done.”
After dinner, everybody pitched in to clean up, then Gabe found an old Trivial Pursuit game, and they played until Flora came home.
“I need to get going,” Sam said, standing. “I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”
“Not much chance of that,” Gabe said.
“I don’t know,” Belle said. “He eats a lot.”
“Look who’s talking.”
Belle laughed. “I need to get going myself. A publisher’s job is never done, and I have paperwork that I’ve ignored too long.”
Sam scooped up Pookie, and everybody moved toward the front door except Skye. As was her custom, she hung back a bit. Sam hung back with her. “I’ve really enjoyed the day. Could we get together next weekend?”
“Sure,” Skye said, her anticipation almost palpable. “I’m almost always here or at the clinic.”
“I’ll give you a call.”
Skye wanted to touch him, to brush her fingers over the rough stubble beginning to show on his face, but she settled for stroking Pookie. “I enjoyed the day, too. Good night.”
ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, not too long after he arrived at work, Sam’s lieutenant, Heck Pruitt, called him into his office. He had a fat stack of files on his desk.
“Have a seat, Sam,” Heck said. “I wanted to talk to you about this case that’s been referred to us. Rather, it’s a series of cases. Didn’t I hear you say that you and Gabe Burrell over in Wimberley are friends?”
“That’s right. We’re fishing buddies, and he’s my insurance agent. I expect that he might become my brother-in-law one day soon.”
“Oh?” Heck raised his eyebrows. “Do you know his sister?”
“Skye? Sure do. She’s my…veterinarian. Why?”
“Do you know about what happened to her some years back?”
Puzzled, Sam said, “I guess not. Was she involved in a crime?”
“She was a victim, one of several victims of a kidnapper, but she was the only one who lived. Remember the coed kidnappings?”
“Oh, my God. The papers were full of it for months. That was Skye? Gabe’s never mentioned a word about it to me.”
“Take these files and read over them,” Heck said. “We have to decide if we can find any reason to reopen the case. It’s been stone cold for a long time. If we could get some help from Skye Walker, it could make all the difference.”
“Skye’s a really nice woman,” Sam said. “I’m sure she’ll be glad to help any way she can.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Read the files first, then we’ll talk some more.”
Chapter Four
Sam read through the files that covered a period beginning ten years before and became more concerned as he read. In each case, a young woman had been kidnapped from a university in Texas and her family contacted for ransom money. The money had been paid in every case but one, the third abduction, where a girl had been taken from Rice University in Houston. She’d been on scholarship, and her mother couldn’t afford to pay. Coeds, from freshmen to grad students, had been taken from seven major schools: SMU in Dallas, Rice in Houston, University of Texas in Austin, Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Baylor in Waco, North Texas in Denton and, finally, Texas A&M in College Station. All except Pamela Fairchild, the junior at Rice, were from well-to-do families. None were ever seen again. Except one.
Skye Walker. The seventh case.
According to the file, Skye had left that morning for a run with her dog. When she didn’t return, her roommate became concerned and went looking for her. She’d found the dog, a German shepherd, unconscious from a tranquilizer dart. She’d called the police. Later that day, Gabe had been contacted by phone and instructed to pay a ransom for Skye’s return. An FBI comparison determined that the calls and ransom procedures were the same as in the previous coed kidnappings. Gabe had paid the ransom, but Skye wasn’t returned as promised.
The next day her dog had somehow located her and attracted attention by digging and barking. Skye had been found in a plywood box in a shallow grave in a secluded area about a mile from where she’d been abducted.
“My God!” Buried alive. Sam rubbed his hand over his face and swung his chair to face the window. She must have died a thousand deaths in that box. No wonder the security around her was so tight. And they’d never caught the bastard. He was still out there somewhere. Sam wondered if he’d moved to another part of the country to keep up his abductions. Of course he’d netted a fair amount of money. Maybe he’d just retired to Mexico.
He turned around and went back to his reading.
Skye had been dehydrated, severely traumatized and hoarse from screaming when they’d found her. Her fingers had been bloody from trying to escape. And she hadn’t been able to remember a thing about her abductor. She’d had total amnesia for the incident, but had worked with psychologists and hypnotists trying to remember.
Nothing.
Of course her abductor hadn’t known that she couldn’t remember. Sam figured that when had news hit about Skye’s recovery, the perp had made tracks.
Bastard. Sorry bastard.
Without information from her, the cases had gone nowhere. He gathered up the files and went into Heck’s office.
“Well, what do you think?” his lieutenant asked.
“I think the chances of ever finding the guy who did this are pretty slim unless Skye gives us something to go on. Looks like every lead at the time was exhausted.”
“I agree. I’d like for you to talk to Skye Walker again and see if you can come up with anything that would warrant us reopening these cases. She and her brother were cooperative at first, but they later pulled back, and he’s been very protective of her.”
“I’m not surprised,” Sam said. “If it had happened to my sister, I’d do the same. Sure, I’ll talk to her. But I’ll check with Gabe first. I’ll call him now.”
Sam caught Gabe at his office.
Gabe was guarded when Sam brought up the subject of the coed kidnappings and his unit’s interest in reopening the case.
“Sam, Skye can’t remember the man. The last thing she remembers is leaving her apartment that morning. She was in therapy for years afterward, and she’s still traumatized over what happened to her. Her life is workable now, and I don’t want to rock the boat. You can’t imagine what it was like.”
“I’ve just read the case files. It blew me away that she managed to live through it. Seems to me it might help her if we could reopen the case and nab this guy. Do you mind if I ask her?”
“Let me talk to her first,” Gabe said. “I’ll get back to you tonight.”
SKYE’S FIRST REACTION WAS SHOCK, then anger. Was this the reason that Sam had been so interested in her? Was she simply an interesting bug under a microscope and a means for him to become big dog by solving an unsolvable old crime? “So much for my sex appeal,” she muttered.
“Whoa,” Gabe said as they sat alone in his study after dinner. “I hope you’re not thinking that Sam’s only interest in you is because you were a victim.”
“Sure sounds that way.”
“Skye, he didn’t even know about your abduction until this morning.”
“And you believe that?”
“Of course I believe it. Sam’s an honorable man. And, from the looks of him last Saturday, one who’s interested in getting to know you better in lots of ways. If you don’t want to talk to him, just say the word, and I’ll tell him. He’ll respect that. But I should warn you, if it’s not Sam, it may be another ranger from his unit. I gather that the team has been asked to review the series of abductions for further investigation. It’s what they do—reinvestigate cold cases. Need some time to think about it?”
Skye didn’t answer right away. She looked down at her hands, fingers laced and gripped in her lap. Tension sent every muscle in her body into its knotted mode. Was this any way to live? Locked in, a bodyguard at her side, jumping at the least little thing? For the longest time, all she wanted to be was safe. All she wanted to do was forget. But she couldn’t completely forget. She had a feeling that the nightmares she’d been having were repressed memories trying to surface.
And they scared her.
Terrified her.
But living the rest of her life in limbo was just as terrifying. And knowing that Gabe deserved to be out from under the responsibility of keeping her safe weighed heavily on her thoughts. She was a drag on his happiness, his and Belle’s. She knew that. Security had become a prison of her own making.
A prison? Maybe so. But was she ready to leave its safety? She didn’t know. But she knew that talking with Sam could be the beginning of a monumental change in her life. He would want to drag it all out. Every last bit. Even the parts she had buried so deeply that not even she knew what terrible things were there. No psychologist, no hypnotist had been able to reach it. It must be horrible.
Skye took a deep breath and looked up at her brother. “Tell him that I’ll talk to him tomorrow afternoon. Does he know that I have amnesia for the…event?”
Gabe nodded. “He knows.”
She left, went to her room and threw up.
SKYE DIDN’T SLEEP MUCH THAT night. Gabe had to come into her room twice to awaken her from a nightmare. An intercom connected her bedroom to his, and her screaming or Gus’s barking always brought him to soothe her back to sleep.
She’d been distracted at yoga class with Belle and at lunch later with Belle and Gabe.
“You don’t have to do this,” Gabe said as they drove home from town.
“Yes, I do. It’s time.”
She’d gone up to her sitting room to read, but she was still on the same page a half hour later when there was a knock on her door.
Startled, her heart pounding, she said, “Yes?”
“Skye, it’s me. Sam.”
Rising quickly, her book fell from her lap, knocking over a vase of gerbera daisies on the coffee table. Water went everywhere. “Oh, damn!”
Another knock came.
“Just a minute!” she yelled and ran for a towel from the bathroom.
Unsettled, Gus ran with her, barking.
Sam knocked again. “Skye, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she called. “Just a minute. Gus, sit!”
Gus sat, but he obviously didn’t like it and snarled at the door while she mopped up water from the table and tried to blot it up from the floor. “Oh, double damn!” She stuck the flowers back into the narrow-necked vase and tried to replace it on the table, but without the water to balance the weight, it kept listing, and she’d have to grab it to keep it from falling over.
Finally, holding the vase, she stomped to the door and swung it open.
Sam grinned and glanced at the flowers. “For me?”
“I—I had an accident. Let me put some water in these. Have a seat.” She gestured to the couch and chairs in her sitting room. “I’ll be right back.”
By the time she’d returned with the vase, Sam was sitting on the couch, his white hat in his hand. Gus still sat where she’d ordered, but he made low rumblings in his throat as he eyed Sam. Sam stood, and Gus’s ears went back.
“Gus, down. Stay. Quiet.”
Gus followed her commands, but he kept an eye on Sam. What was it with that dog and Sam?
“Sorry that Gus is being rude, Sam. I got upset over this blasted vase of flowers, and I suppose that he associated my agitation with you.”
“No problem.” Sam laid his hat on the coffee table. “Skye—”
“May I get you some coffee? Or a Coke?”
“No, thanks. Skye—”
“I’ll bet that there’s some juice in the fridge if you’d rather have that.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
She jumped to her feet. “I think I’ll have something.” She hurried to the mini-fridge disguised as a small chest and opened it. Grabbing a bottle of orange juice, she said, “Sure you don’t want something?”
“I’m sure.”
She opened the bottle and took a couple of swigs. Her hands shook, and she dribbled juice down the front of her blouse. “Triple damn! Excuse me.” She hurried to the bathroom again and blotted at the juice stains. They still showed on her white shirt. Quickly she changed her shirt and left the juice in the bathroom.
“Sorry,” she said when she returned. “I’m such a klutz sometimes.”
“I think you’re nervous.”
She took a deep breath. “I think you’re right.”
“I won’t bite. I promise.” He grinned.
How could she resist that expression? It was the epitome of the term boyish grin. She smiled. “I know you won’t.”
“Do you mind if I take notes and record our conversation?”
“No, but you won’t have much. I don’t remember anything.”
“Nothing?”
She shook her head.
Sam set a small tape recorder on the table and took a pad and pen from his pocket. “What was the date?”
“May 8. Six years ago.”
“See. You remembered that.”
She made herself take deep breaths and unlace her cramped fingers. “The last clear memory that I have is waving to my neighbor as Kaiser and I began our run.”
“What was the neighbor’s name?”
“Mrs. Howard, I think. I’m sure it’s in the police report. She said she was baking some gingerbread and that I should stop by for some after my run. I love gingerbread, and I can remember the smell of it.”
“So you can’t remember the man who grabbed you?”
She shook her head. “Not really. Sometimes I think I see his face in my dreams, but when I wake up, it’s gone.”
“Do you remember any of your time…before you were rescued?”
“I have vague memories of fear and panic, that terrible fear of being trapped and unable to escape. It’s not clear. Nothing is clear except the feelings. They’ve never left me. If I could remember anything helpful, Sam, I’d tell you. God knows, I’d like to know that the man responsible is locked away behind bars. He needs to pay for all the horror he inflicted on the other women he abducted. The ones who didn’t escape. If it hadn’t been for Kaiser…”
“Kaiser?”
“Kaiser was Gus’s sire. Somehow he managed to track me. I remember hearing him bark, and I screamed and screamed. And I can remember suddenly seeing the sky. Then nothing until later in my hospital room. Gabe and Mother were there. Big blocks of time are gone. The doctors say it’s not uncommon and that I may never remember.”
