Unraveling Jane Doe (Holding The Line Book 3)
Page 16
Rob sped home and changed out of his uniform into a pair of jeans, a dark T-shirt and running shoes.
He pointed to her light-colored capris, filmy blouse and sandals. “You might want to change. It’s a dirty, dusty place out there. Did you happen to buy a pair of sneakers when you went shopping the other day?”
“I did.” She kicked off her sandals and hooked her fingers around the straps, dangling them at her side. “Why? Am I gonna have to make a run for it?”
“You never know out there.”
She changed into clothes appropriate for a quick getaway, and Rob grabbed a backpack on their way out the door. He turned to her when they got to the truck and said, “We’re going out past the site of the wreck. Can you handle it?”
“Do you mean am I going to freak out and have memory flashes that take me back to the crash?” She climbed into the truck. “I hope so.”
Thirty minutes later, they passed the crash site without incident. Libby even tried to remember by squeezing her eyes closed and thinking the calming words Jennifer used to put her in a hypnotic state. Libby opened one eye and rolled it toward Rob. “Nothing.”
He took her hand and threaded his fingers with hers. “It’ll come, and this will all make sense.”
“And maybe you and I...?”
“Maybe we will.” He squeezed her hand.
She brought their clasped hands to her lips and kissed his knuckles. “It’s the only hope I can hold on to right now, Rob.”
When Rob turned off the main highway and the truck kicked up dust and dirt on an access road, Libby swallowed. “Where is this place?”
“Where nobody can find them. It’s like a commune. People go there to drop out and live off the grid.”
“I obviously know someone well enough there to drop off my phone.” She ran her hands down the denim covering her thighs. “I hope that person is there today.”
The desert undulated with one sandy hill resembling another, and the truck bounced and pitched as the road got rougher.
“Are you sure this is the right way?” Libby squinted out the windshield, and like a ragtag mirage, a collection of temporary and impromptu houses sprang up in the form of RVs, trailers and cars. “Those came up fast.”
“There’s a reason they chose this spot. Once someone comes over that rise like we just did, they can see ’em coming.”
Libby licked her dry lips. “They’re not going to charge us or anything, are they?”
“No.” Rob hunched over the steering wheel. “But it looks like they’re sending a welcoming committee.”
Libby picked out two motorcycles heading their way, a cloud of sand following them. “Do you want your gun?”
“I’ve got it on me. Don’t worry.” Rob powered down his window and eased off the gas pedal.
One motorcycle veered right and one veered left, and then they both swung around to come up alongside the truck.
Rob slowed to a crawl and stopped, calling out the window at the rider on his side, “Can we help you boys?”
The biker, a tattoo snaking up his neck, shouted over the sound of his rumbling engine. “What do you want here?”
“We’ve come to pick up a phone.” Rob jerked his thumb to the side toward Libby.
The guy ducked his head and nodded. He circled his finger in the air and gunned the bike’s engine, sending a shower of sand and dust into the truck.
The biker on Libby’s side got the message and shot forward, both of them cruising back to the campsite.
Libby coughed and waved a hand in front of her face. “That was easy. I thought we were going to have to take them out for a minute.”
“They recognized you.” Rob rubbed the back of his hand across his nose. “They’ve seen you here before and you must be welcome, or they would’ve tried to stop us.”
“That’s a good sign, right?”
“Excellent sign. We’re in.” Rob followed the hazy air in the path of the bikes to the makeshift campsite.
When they arrived, the two watchdogs had already gotten off their motorcycles and were retreating to some dilapidated RV. Rob parked the truck just outside the official entrance to the compound and cut the engine.
“Just walk in there like you own the place, like a boss.”
“I’ve never felt less like a boss.” Libby hitched her purse over her shoulder, but this time she waited for Rob to come around and open her door. She had no intention of waltzing into that squalid encampment demanding her phone.
Rob took her arm, even though he couldn’t possibly know her knees were knocking together. He whispered in her ear, “It’s okay. We got this.”
As they scuffed into the center of the camp, a woman with cropped gray hair and an armful of tattoos floated out to greet them. She put her arms around Libby and said, “I’m glad you’re safe, my sweet. I have your phone.”
Libby reared back from the woman’s embrace, tears stinging her eyes. “You know me?”
The woman’s gray brows arched over her eyes. “What does that mean? Of course I know you, Libby. Your mother was one of my dearest friends. What’s going on?”
“Ma’am.” Rob held out his hand. “My name is Rob Valdez. Libby ran into some trouble north of the border. Some men forced her off the road. Her car crashed and she lost her memory. We’ve been able to piece together some things, but she has huge holes in her memory—and she’s in danger.”
The woman’s light blue eyes grew larger and larger with every word from Rob’s lips. Then she clasped Libby to her breast again and cried out, “I knew I shouldn’t have let you go. Do you know you’re Libby James?”
“I do.” Libby inhaled the scent of this woman—herbs and earth and spice. Comfort. An overwhelming sense of calm seeped into Libby’s bones. She knew this woman. “Luna.”
Rob’s head jerked to the side. “You remember her?”
“That’s right, my sweet. I’m Luna.” Luna patted Libby’s back. “Do you remember me?”
“I—I remember your smell. Your name came to me from your scent.”
“They do say smell is the most powerful sense and can evoke all kinds of memories.” Luna smoothed her hand over Libby’s face. “Were you physically injured?”
“Just a gash on my head. Otherwise, I’m fine.”
Luna’s gaze darted around the campsite. “Come to my home. We’re attracting attention out here, and I don’t want anyone knowing our business.”
With her arm curled around Libby’s waist, Luna led them to her RV, one of the nicest in the collection, a colorful blue-and-white awning fanning out over some chairs and a small pit for a campfire.
Luna patted a canvas chair. “Sit here, Libby. I’m going to try to help you. I don’t know why you were on the run from Rocky Point. You wouldn’t tell me that, but I can help you with the rest. I can’t imagine the fear of having a black hole for a memory.”
Libby sank to the chair, crossed one leg over the other and promptly started kicking her leg. “It’s been crazy, made worse because of the danger and made better because of...Rob.”
“Call me old-fashioned, but I think everything’s better with a partner by your side.” Luna winked at Rob and waved him into a chair.
Libby blinked. “And you have a partner. He lives here with you.”
“That’s right.” Luna nodded, a broad smile displaying her white teeth. “Zeke, who’s scavenging in the desert right now. I’d say he’s pretty unforgettable. See? You’re remembering already. It must help to be with people you know. No offense, Rob.”
“None taken.”
“Luna—” Libby’s blood bubbled in her veins “—you mentioned you were friends with my mother. Where is she? Is she in the States? Back in Rocky Point? Is she worried?”
The creases in Luna’s lined face softened. “I’m sorry, Libby. Your mother is dead.”
“It was just a few months ago.” Luna clasped her hands around one knee. “Tandy was murdered, Libby.”
Tandy? Rob sucked in a breath and choked out, “Oh, my God. Libby’s mother was Tandy Richards?”
Chapter Sixteen
Libby stared at him, her eyes wide in her pale face. “Where have I heard that name before, Rob? I’ve heard the name.”
“I guess I mentioned the name once, or you overheard me.” Rob clenched his teeth. Libby didn’t have to remember those details, and if she couldn’t recall the conversation, he wasn’t going to refresh her memory.
Then she wailed and doubled over, her forehead touching her knees. “She was beheaded. My mother was one of the mules who was murdered in the tunnel.”
Luna stroked Libby’s hair and glared at Rob over the top of Libby’s head.
He’d gone from hero to zero with one stupid statement.
Luna murmured, “I’m sure that’s just a rumor, Libby. There are all kinds of gruesome tales circulating around the border.”
Libby straightened up, sweeping her hands across her wet cheeks. “No, you don’t understand. Rob is a Border Patrol agent. He mentioned something about the two women, the two mules, who were decapitated at the border. He said their names, Tandy Richards and Elena something.”
Luna pressed her lips into a straight, thin line. “You’re Border Patrol?”
Rob lunged out of his chair and knelt before Libby, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her lap. “I’m sorry, Libby. I never in a million years would’ve connected you to Tandy Richards. I should’ve never mentioned that case to you.”
Her fingers slipped into his hair. “My mother was a mule for the cartels?”
Luna said, “Your mother was a troubled woman, Libby, but she loved you and had the biggest heart.”
“My father?”
Rob sat back on his heels and held her hands. He’d rather she have a husband in the wings than this.
Luna sighed. “Not in the picture. Your mother moved to Mexico with you when you were a child. She got mixed up with the wrong people.”
Libby clenched her hands in her lap. “That’s why I agreed to help Troy.”
“Who’s Troy?” Luna cocked her head, looking like a bird on alert.
“Never mind, Luna. Knowing my mother died at the hands of the cartels, as painful as it is, clears up a lot.” Libby reached for Rob and touched his chin. “It’s not your fault. This is the fear I have of remembering everything. I must have already grieved for my mother and it’s hit me like a sledgehammer all over again.”
Luna pressed a hand to her heart. “Please tell me you didn’t decide to go after the cartels on your own to avenge Tandy’s death.”
“Not on my own, anyway. It’s complicated, Luna.”
Rob stayed crouched by Libby’s side, his hand caressing her calf. “Do you have Libby’s phone, Luna? We’re hoping that’s going to tell us even more.”
“It’s in the RV. I left it turned off, like you asked, Libby. It might need charging.” Luna rose to her feet and climbed the two steps to the aluminum door to her home. She banged around inside and then called out through the window. “I’m charging it now. Give it some time.”
Libby cupped his face with her hands. “I’m all right. I always felt there was something I didn’t want to remember, and it didn’t have to do with the dead body.”
“If it makes you feel better, Tandy Richards did not come up on our radar as having any connections to the cartels or any drug dealers.”
“She was a user, Libby.” Luna picked her way down the steps, holding two cups of steaming liquid, the scent of peppermint wafting through the air. She handed one cup to Libby. “Do you want some tea, Rob? It’s jade citrus peppermint. It’ll relax Libby.”
“I’ll pass, thanks.” He placed a kiss on the inside of Libby’s wrist and backed up to his own chair. “What do you mean she was a user? Drugs or people?”
Luna shrugged as she sipped her tea. “A little of both. I think someone convinced her to carry for the cartels, or maybe she just went along with the other girl to give her some protection. That’s something she’d do.”
Libby inhaled the smell of her tea before taking a sip. “Were we in touch? Estranged? Did we live together?”
“Drink some more of your tea.” Luna poked a stick at the firepit. “Gets a little chillier out here at night than in the city. A fire’s nice. Rob, you wanna get one started? My man Zeke set it up before he left today.”
Luna tossed a box of matches at him, and Rob caught them with one hand. As he shoved the kindling beneath the logs, Luna’s low, soothing voice floated over him.
“Do you remember your mother, Libby? Pretty woman, like you, but she never had your strength. Always got by on her looks, Tandy did, and when those started to fade she panicked a little. Always enjoyed the company and flattery of men. Do you remember, Libby?”
Libby’s eyes had drifted closed, as she drank more tea from her cup. “She was small, petite like a fairy, and she had a laugh that bubbled like champagne. I adored her, but as I grew up, I knew she couldn’t protect me.”
Rob glanced up from his Boy Scout activity, jerking his head toward Luna, who put a gnarled finger to her lips.
Luna’s monotone voice continued. “She did secure the gallery for you, though, and a few wealthy investors. Do you remember?”
The smooth skin between Libby’s eyebrows puckered. “We argued about it. She got money from her boyfriend, her rich, married boyfriend, and I told her that’s the only way she ever got by in life—using men. I didn’t want to accept the gallery, but she cried and said it was the only thing she had ever given me. I felt sad. I accepted the gallery.”
“And made a success out of it.”
“I wanted Mom to stay with me, but I told her she had to get off the drugs and booze. She wouldn’t. We were estranged at the end. She wouldn’t change, couldn’t change.” Libby’s eyes flew open, and she pinned Rob with her gaze. “She knew that man in the palatial house. Somehow she knew him.”
Rob struck a match and lit the kindling in several places with a slightly trembling hand. As the smoke curled up, he looked at Libby through the haze. “Do you remember now? Everything?”
Waving her hand in front of her face to dissipate the smoke, she shook her head. “Not everything. Not clearly. I can picture my mother. I know she talked to me about the man on the cliff and his interest in art. After she was murdered and Troy approached me, I knew I could get into the compound because my mother knew someone there. He sent her to her death, didn’t he? El Gringo Viejo?”
“No, not directly, Libby. It was a small-time drug dealer working for the Las Moscas cartel who wanted to strike out on his own. He’s the one responsible for your mother’s death—and he paid with his own life.” Rob stepped back from the crackling fire. “I wonder if EGV knew what happened to your mother. I wonder if you were in danger from the moment you stepped through the gates of his home.”
“That’s still a blank, Rob. I don’t remember the man at the house. I don’t remember the man who died.”
“Someone else died?” Luna tossed the dregs of her tea into the fire, which snapped and danced. “You never told me any of this, Libby.”
Libby held up her cup. “What’s in this tea? I felt like I did when I was under hypnosis at the therapist’s office.”
“Hypnosis is just a state of deep relaxation. That’s all I did.” She pinged her fingernail against her cup. “I put you in a state of deep relaxation and gave you a few suggestions.”
“It worked.”
Luna asked, “Who’s El Gringo Viejo?”
“You don’t need to know.” Rob circled around the fire and squeezed Li
bby’s shoulders. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I feel like the pieces are falling into place for me.”
“Your phone is probably sufficiently charged to go through it.” He held out his hand toward Luna. “Do you want me to take your cup? Is it okay if I go inside?”
“Take the cup, go inside, don’t disturb the cat.” She handed him her cup. “The phone’s by the sink, not that our place is all that big.”
As he turned toward the steps, Libby grabbed his hand and said, “One more thing, Luna. I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but I’m not married, am I? Have any boyfriends lurking around?”
Luna chuckled. “You’re one hundred percent single. Your mother was lamenting that fact the last time I saw her.”
Rob swooped down and planted a kiss on Libby’s mouth. “Thanks for asking.”
He tromped up the two steps and yanked open the door to the RV. His nostrils flared at the smell of that tea in here. Luna must burn the stuff, too.
Spotting the charging phone on the small counter next to the stainless-steel sink, Rob took one step and reached for it. He could probably stand in the center of the RV and reach practically everything.
The gray tabby glared at him from his one good eye, and Rob yanked the charger out of the socket along with the phone before the cat got any ideas.
The battery meter in the corner of the display read half-full, so he held his thumb down on the power button. He stepped out of the RV as the phone came to life and tripped on the bottom step when he saw the familiar keypad for the log-in.
He held up the phone. “Good news and bad news. The phone is powered up and working, but you have a passcode.”
“Let me have it.” Libby snapped her fingers and opened her palm.
He placed the phone in her hand and hovered over her shoulder.
She hesitated for a split second, and then her thumb darted over the keypad and the screen woke up. Cranking her head over her shoulder, she said, “I remembered, or my fingers remembered.”
“Bring up your texts.”
Luna half rose from her chair. “Should I leave you?”