In the Arms of the Enemy

by Carol Ericson

  “He drank the poisoned water from the fridge later?”

  “Yes. He kept watching me for signs of the poison. If I had been smart I would’ve pretended to feel the effects, but then he started to feel the effects. He knew right away what I’d done, but it was too late. That’s when I got the bruise on my face and the head injury that would cause my amnesia.”

  “He attacked you?”

  “When he realized what I had done, he punched me and threw me across the room. I think he would’ve killed me with his bare hands if the poison hadn’t started doing a number on his system. I never saw the end of him, since I’d lost consciousness by the time he died.”

  Cole blew out a breath. “That’s quite a story, but a lot of questions remain. What were you doing with him in the first place and why was he trying to kill you?”

  “That I can’t tell you.” She took a sip of wine and relaxed into the warmth that spread through her body. Cole might not believe her yet, but she felt as if she’d just shrugged a hundred pounds of weight off her shoulders.

  “When I discovered Dr. Shipman’s body, all those memories from the motel room flooded my mind. The whole scene played out in my head like a movie.”

  He rubbed his chin. “Why would Diamond use poison to kill you? Why not strangle you like he did Hazel McTavish?”

  “The woman in the trunk.”

  “Maybe he was just trying to incapacitate you and not kill you.” Cole drew a pattern on the tabletop with his finger as if he were connecting dots. “But the dose he was planning for you killed him, and he was a big man. Unless...”

  “What?” She leaned forward, lips parted.

  “Unless he didn’t plan to allow you to drink all the water. If a few sips had knocked you out, he could’ve taken the bottle or knocked it over.”

  She nodded. “That could be. Anyway, when I woke up in that condition, I couldn’t remember any of that. When I found Hazel’s body in the trunk of her car, I knew I had to get away. I took the suitcase that was obviously mine and a little cash from the bag in the room, which I swear I’ll pay back, and took off for Timberline.”

  “Why Timberline?”

  She reached into her purse, hanging from the back of her chair, and withdrew the slip of paper. She smoothed it out on the table in front of Cole. “This was in my jacket pocket. I figured maybe I had people here, friends, someone who could help me out.”

  He pinched a corner of the paper between two fingers. “Probably not the smartest move, as Diamond’s associates could trace you to Timberline...and probably did.”

  “Why would they?” She pressed a hand against her pounding heart. “This paper was in my pocket, in my handwriting. I tested that. I always figured Johnny waylaid me on my way to Timberline.”

  “Caroline, didn’t you ever wonder how I tracked you to Timberline?”

  Heat splashed her cheeks. “I—I thought maybe because Johnny had connections to the area. I searched for the story of his murder when I got to town. That’s how I discovered his name. I thought that’s maybe why you were looking here first, and of course, I didn’t know you were DEA when we first met. How did you know to come to Timberline? And how did you know to look for a woman?”

  “Someone had entered Timberline in the GPS of Hazel’s car, and someone saw you leave the motel room that morning.”

  She sucked in a quick breath. “Who?”

  “A maid at the motel. But you disguised yourself well. All she could tell me was a petite woman with a dark beanie had been near the car that morning.”

  Caroline massaged the back of her neck. “I feel pretty stupid. I don’t know how I thought I could outwit the police or a bunch of drug dealers.”

  “You’ve done a good job of it so far. Linda was the key. When she spoke so glowingly of her cousin, it made me doubt I’d found my woman.”

  Heat crept up Caroline’s throat at his phrasing and she dropped her gaze to the table. “I’m glad you did find me, Cole. C-can you help me now? I’m afraid I’ve endangered Linda’s life, too. When she got sick the other night, she thought she might’ve been poisoned. I think I was the intended target, but I’m afraid for her,”

  She put her hand over her heart. “I swear to you, I didn’t kill Johnny. It happened just the way I told you. I’m afraid the man in the driveway the other night is one of Johnny’s guys, although I don’t know how they know I’m here or why they suspect I have any money.”

  Cole cleared his throat. “We let that slip out, Caroline. We have informants, moles in the drug community, and we let it be known that copious amounts of cash had been stolen from Diamond’s stash.”

  She covered her mouth. “They think I have it, but who am I? Why was I traveling with Johnny?”

  “Maybe once we confirm your identity, we’ll have the answer to that.”

  “I read in an online news story that Johnny carjacked and murdered Hazel McTavish from a parking lot at the Sea-Tac Airport to get her car. Who’s to say he didn’t do the same to me? Maybe I was just at that hotel or maybe I was riding in Hazel’s car.”

  Caroline raised her brows at Cole, hoping for confirmation, reassurance.

  Scratching his stubble, he said, “You had a piece of paper with Timberline written on it. Also, why would Johnny want to poison a complete stranger? As much as I want you and Johnny Diamond to be strangers, I just can’t see it.”

  She collapsed against the back of her chair. “I know we weren’t strangers.”

  “Did you remember something else?”

  “It’s not something I just remembered. It’s something I knew all along.” She smoothed her hands across her face. “Did you wonder why Johnny didn’t have a cell phone with him?”

  “You took it?”

  “I was afraid he might have my name, number or picture on it. Since I didn’t know my name, I wouldn’t have been able to tell.”

  “What did you do with the phone?”

  “Took out the battery and the SIM card, destroyed the phone and dumped it on the side of the highway—but not before I read an incoming text.”

  “What did it say?”

  “It said ‘Did you get the girl? Rocky’s...’ and then it had a little devil emoticon.”

  Cole’s eyebrows collided over his nose. “Rocky?”

  “Rocky. Timberline. What are the odds?” She tossed back the rest of her wine. “Not only am I connected to Johnny Diamond in some way, I’m also connected to Rocky Whitecotton, a man who kidnapped and probably murdered three children.”

  “This is a great clue, Caroline. I’m gonna phone it in to my partner, see if he can look up some connection between Johnny Diamond and Rocky Whitecotton.”

  “I’m glad I could do something to help, since all I’ve been doing is putting up roadblocks for you and the DEA.”

  Cole ran a hand across his mouth. “I know I’m stating the obvious here, but you need to find out who you are.”

  Her pulse quickened and a flash of joy shot through her body. “Does that mean you believe me?”

  “I may be crazy or just blinded by...my feelings, but that’s a wild story for anyone to concoct. Not to mention, if you were working with Johnny Diamond and Rocky Whitecotton, you wouldn’t be in Timberline fraternizing with the DEA.”

  “Is that what this is?” She picked up her wineglass and swirled the drop of golden liquid in the bottom. “Fraternizing?”

  Cole grunted and signaled to the waitress for another round. “Of course, there’s always the possibility that you are in league with those two and you just don’t remember. Have you remembered anything since coming to Timberline?”

  “It’s not exactly a memory, but I can understand and speak Spanish. I discovered that while stumbling across a Spanish language TV show.”

  “God, it’s so strange how the mind wor
ks. What did you recall during that first session with Dr. Shipman?”

  Caroline raised a hand to her throat as memories of Dr. Shipman’s body and the lurid gash leaking her blood onto the floor slammed into her full force. “She hypnotized me. I remembered being part of a large family somewhere in the desert, but I was desperate to leave.”

  “Maybe you did leave and Diamond was sent to bring you back.”

  “To whom? To what? What kind of family sends drug traffickers to retrieve their family members?”

  “A crazy one—plenty of those out there.” Cole smiled at the waitress as she brought their drinks, and as soon as she turned her back, his face resumed its serious expression. “You started to remember with Dr. Shipman and you may have continued your progress today, but someone made sure that didn’t happen by taking out Shipman.”

  “I thought of that.” Caroline curled up the edge of her cocktail napkin with fidgeting fingers.

  “That means whoever is watching you, whether it’s the guy with the knife or someone else, suspects you’ve lost your memory and knows you’ve been seeing Dr. Shipman to get it back.”

  “How could he know I was seeing Dr. Shipman? How would he know I had an appointment today? Because I don’t think it’s a coincidence I’m the one who found her.”

  Cole froze. Then he closed his eyes and cursed. “If they’re watching you, they know you’ve been with me. I’m the one with the car.”

  “You mean they’ve been following you? Following us?”

  “Worse. I probably would’ve picked up a tail...but not a bug.”

  “A bug, like a tracking device?”

  He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “They probably know we’re sitting in this restaurant right now.”

  A sudden chill claimed her body and she dropped her hand from her wineglass to her lap. “They’ve been tracking our movements?”

  “My guess is Linda’s car also has a bug.”

  “I think I might know who it is.”

  “But you didn’t even see the man with the knife in the driveway.”

  “Not him, although he’s probably part of the team. A man came into Timberline Treasures the other day, and I got a weird vibe from him. I’ve seen him a few times since.” Caroline lifted her shoulders. “I even did a little sleuthing myself.”

  “You followed him?”

  “I saw him talking to a local Realtor in Sutter’s, and I paid a visit to her—Rebecca Geist. I couldn’t get much out of her. I pretended he looked familiar to me, but she was closemouthed about him.”

  “What does he look like?”

  “Medium height, shaved head, around thirty. Nice-looking guy. Looks more like a software engineer for Evergreen than a drug dealer.”

  “You never know. I’ve seen all kinds. I’ll have a look at him. First—” he rapped his knuckles on the table, making the wine in her glass dance “—we need to find out who you are. The fastest way is to bring you by the Port Angeles Police Station tomorrow and get you fingerprinted.”

  “I’m scared.” She stuffed her hands beneath her thighs. “What if I’m someone...bad?”

  “We’ll deal with it, Caroline. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it. You need to be protected one way or the other.”

  One side of her mouth quirked up. “I thought that’s what you were doing.”

  “I can do it a lot better if I know who you are and what your role is in all this.”

  Her gaze dropped to the full glass of wine the waitress had put before her. “And if it turns out I’m one of the bad guys? Will you arrest me?”

  “We’re a long way from that right now.” Cole wedged a finger beneath her chin and tilted up her head. “Do you trust me?”

  “I have to. You’re all I have.”

  He pulled some cash from his pocket. “Are you going to finish that wine?”

  “No.”

  “Then let’s get out of here and take care of that bug.”

  When they got to the parking lot, she stood aside and watched as Cole slid beneath his rental car with his legs sticking out.

  Several minutes later, he emerged with a broad smile on his face and a black object in his greasy palm. “Got the little son of a bitch.”

  Seeing the bug in his hand gave her a shock, even though Cole had been confident it was there. Despite what the man with the knife and Dr. Shipman’s murder indicated, the tracking device was solid proof someone in Timberline had her in his sights.

  Could she put her faith in Cole or would it better to run? She could put everyone and everything behind her and continue with her plan of melting into a big city until she knew for sure who she was and if she’d committed any crimes.

  Of course, she was a day away from the fingerprints that would tell her all she needed to know.

  Cole obliterated the bug beneath the heel of his boot and then swept the pieces into the water. “I’ll do the same to the one on Linda’s car. Let’s get out of here.”

  Caroline took a step away from the vehicle, twisting her fingers in front of her. “Where are we going? A-are you going to turn me in?”

  “Turn you in? You don’t trust me, do you?” He opened the passenger door and made a sweeping motion with his hand. “I’m not going to turn you in, Caroline. I’m not even officially on duty. We’ll see what happens with the fingerprints tomorrow, but you have to promise me you won’t bolt.”

  Had he read her mind? “What happens if the fingerprints tell you I’m a wanted criminal? A drug dealer?”

  “I doubt that’s going to happen. If it does, I can at least remand you to psychiatric care. Nobody’s going to toss you into prison.”

  Psychiatric care? She didn’t much like the sound of that, either, but what choice did she have unless she planned to make a run for it tonight?

  And that was not out of the realm of possibility.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Neither of them had been able to eat a thing at the restaurant in Port Angeles, so by the time they reached Timberline, they were both starving.

  As Cole drove up to the duplex, Caroline asked, “Should I tell Linda what happened?”

  “She probably heard it on the news by now, anyway.”

  “But the police won’t release my name, will they?”

  “They’re not releasing your name. I asked them not to, and the press wasn’t there yet when we left.”

  “Thank you.” She touched his forearm, tense and corded. “Thanks for protecting me. I know if you hadn’t been there or hadn’t vouched for me, the cops would’ve taken me in.”

  He rolled into the driveway and parked. “Don’t be too grateful. I didn’t want to turn you over to the system just yet. We’ll want first crack at you.”

  “Well, thanks, anyway.” She popped open the door. “I’ll deal with Linda. Should I tell her the jig is up?”

  “Tell her what you like, but you’re not doing it alone.” He turned off the engine. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  Her stomach knotted and she tried to swallow against her tight throat. Even if she wanted to bolt, Cole wouldn’t let her.

  She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  She slammed the car door and stalked up to Linda’s porch with Cole literally on her tail.

  He grabbed her arm. “Hold on. Shine your phone light beneath Linda’s car for me, so I can search for that bug.”

  She obliged, and just like in the parking lot of the restaurant in Port Angeles, Cole emerged with the same type of device he’d found on his car. He destroyed it and pocketed the evidence.

  “We’re not telling Linda about that.” She stepped onto the porch and knocked once. “Linda? It’s Caroline...and Cole.”

  There was no answer above the murmur of the TV, and Caroline’s already frazzle
d nerves unraveled a little more. “Linda?”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Relief flooded Caroline’s body, so fast and strong she had to brace a hand against the doorjamb to steady herself.

  A minute later, Linda opened the door. “Are you all right? I heard about the murder of Dr. Shipman, and I’ve been worried sick about you.”

  “It was terrible.” Caroline gave the older woman a quick hug. “The police were at her office when we got there.”

  “Oh, such a shame, and when you were late coming back...” Linda pressed a hand over her heart.

  “Caroline needed a drink after the news—we both did.”

  “I’m glad Cole was with you.” Linda clung to Caroline’s arm. “Do the police have any idea who did it? A current patient?”

  “They didn’t tell us anything, and of course, I’d seen her only once.”

  Linda clicked her tongue. “Such horrible news and too close for comfort.”

  “Are you feeling better, Linda?” Caroline glanced around the tidy living room. “Did your friends drop by?”

  “I’m fine. Everyone made such a fuss, but they did bring goodies and they cleaned up everything before they left. I’m going to get into bed early and read.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. We’ll be right next door if you need anything.”

  “You and Cole?” Linda’s eyes kindled with that matchmaking light.

  “Neither one of us had dinner, so we’ll probably order in some pizza.”

  “I wish I had some leftovers to give you, but we ate all our pizza. Would you like to take some brownies for dessert?” Linda bustled to the kitchen with that familiar spring to her step. “Karen made a double batch of her famous brownies and then had the nerve to leave them all here.”

  “Homemade brownies sound like the cure for everything right now.” Cole joined her in the kitchen, and she handed him an oblong plastic container. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay, Linda?”