by Curry, Edna
Why wasn’t there a cash cushion? And it looked like basic expenses like the mortgage on this building and the electric bill were all overdue as well.
Where was that profit margin going? Their employee payroll was well within the standard percentage of sales. In fact, it was too low, confirming his earlier observation of too few people on the sales floor and poor maintenance of the premises. Was someone siphoning off cash? If so, who, and how were they doing it?
Only unpaid invoices seemed to be in his office files. He pressed the intercom button for Rosie. “Where are the paid invoices?” he asked.
“I file them all here as soon as you return them to me, Ken.”
“Can you bring me all of the ones from the past six months?”
“Sure.” Her voice sounded puzzled, but he didn’t stop to explain why he wanted them.
When she brought the armload of files to him a few minutes later, she had a curious look on her face. “Do you want me to help you with anything?”
“No, thanks,” he said taking the files. He couldn’t meet her eyes. “I can handle it.”
She shrugged and left, closing the door with a definite slap. She looked unhappy with his refusal of her offer to help him. He sighed. The delightful floral scent of her perfume lingered, adding to the regret he felt at her displeasure.
He wished he could ask Rosie for help, but what if she was involved in whatever was going on here? He didn’t want to tell her what he suspected.
He compared past invoices to the record of his checks, but many were missing or didn’t match the amounts of the checks. Their bank only furnished the check number and the amount, not the returned check itself.
He called the bank and demanded photo copies of all the checks written in the past three month period.
“Do you want them mailed to you?”
“No. I’d like them immediately. Fax them to me as soon as you have them. “He gave her the number of his fax machine.
“There will be a charge for that, Sir.”
“I’m aware of that,” he said, grinding his teeth in frustration. Did the woman think he didn’t know anything?
“All right, Mr. Latham.”
Hours later, Rosie poked her head in his door. “Ready to leave, Ken?” At least she was smiling and no longer seemed unhappy with him.
“Is it that late already?” He sighed and put aside the invoices.
“You remember my brother Lee, the police officer you saw in the hospital?”
“Yes?”
“He called me earlier. They found your car out at the cabin.”
“Good. Wheels at last! Can we go get it?”
She nodded. “Let’s get some food, first, okay? I’m starved.”
~ * ~
After a quick meal at a nearby restaurant, Rosie drove them to the cabin. On the way, she commented, “I didn’t tell you how they found your car.”
She sent him a wary look. “A neighbor saw your boat capsized. He thought you’d had an accident and drowned, so he called the police.”
Kirk frowned. “I had a boat at this cabin?”
“Yes, a small one you mainly used for fishing. You own the cabin jointly with your brother and parents, I think.”
He grinned at her. “But you’re not sure?”
“No,” she said tartly. “Even though we were engaged, you didn’t tell me much about yourself.”
His grin faded. “We weren’t close?”
Rosie shrugged. “I really don’t know very much about you.”
“I don’t know much about you, either. But I’d like to.”
She glanced at him to see if he was serious. He seemed so different since the mugging; she felt as if she barely knew him anymore. “There’s not much to tell,” she said. “My mother died a few weeks ago after a short battle with cancer.”
“I’m sorry. “He sounded as though he really was, she thought, surprised. That was more sympathy than he’d shown her throughout her mother’s illness and even at her funeral.
“Thank you,” she managed, swallowing tears. “You met my brother, Lee, the policeman. Other than distant cousins, that’s all the family I have.”
“Do you have your own apartment or a house? Or…” he left it hanging.
“I have a small house on Oak Street. But I stayed with my mother when she became very ill, to take care of her.”
“She wasn’t hospitalized?”
“Only for the last couple of weeks,” she said. She hated thinking of how rapidly her mother had grown worse then. “It was almost as though she gave up after she went into the hospital.”
She turned onto a short graveled lane lined with dark green spruce trees, then parked in back of a lovely log cabin. “Yes, there’s your car,” she said pointing to a fairly new white Cadillac that was parked off to one side.
“Do you have a key for the cabin or car?” he asked. “I guess I wasn’t thinking about those.”
“Not the car,” she said frowning as she stepped out.
He walked over to the car and tried the door. “It’s unlocked.” He lifted the floor mat and triumphantly held up the ignition keys.
She smiled. “Did you remember where you left them?”
“No, but that’s a pretty common place for people to hide a set of keys,” he said with a shrug. He pocketed the keys and walked with her down to the dock where a small boat was tied. Waves lapped the shore and a soft breeze brought the smell of a campfire and hot dogs cooking from somewhere nearby.
“It looks like someone towed your boat back here. Lee said it was found capsized out on the lake.”
“It looks okay, now.”
“Yes. Luckily, it’s one that’s made to float if it overturns. Anything loose in it probably went to the bottom of the lake, though.”
“I suppose.”
She eyed him. He didn’t seem very concerned about any equipment he might have lost. “It’s really peaceful out here, isn’t it?”
He nodded and stared off across the lake where the sunset glowed red against the dark spruce trees and the blue water. The earthy odors of soil, lake and pine trees were intermingled in a familiar tangle. He breathed them in and they brought with them such a wonderful feeling of home and belonging it made his throat choke up.
“The sunset is gorgeous tonight, isn’t it?” she said.
He swallowed. “It often is, out here.”
Rosie eyed him. “Can you remember being here before?”
“Yes, I can,” he said. “But it was a long time ago. I remember swimming here with friends, and playing with a beach ball in the water. I think we were having a birthday party.”
“Any memories coming back to you are a good thing, aren’t they?” she asked. She’d been here several times with Ken, but he’d never ever noticed the sunset before. They’d usually spent most of the time indoors, in front of the fireplace.
“I suppose. Let’s see if we can get into the cabin.”
“You always keep a key in a box outside the back door. I know the code,” she said, moving back along the dock.
She told him the numbers as she punched in the code, then slid the box open and took out the key. After unlocking the door, she put the key back and spun the dial to relock the key box.
When they went inside, he looked around, a soft smile lighting up his face. “It looks almost the same as it did when I was a kid.”
She frowned. The cabin was plainly, but expensively furnished in a country style. The floors were polished hardwood with a few braided rugs in shades of brown, green and gold colors. The chairs and sofa were done in brown leather. The kitchen walls and cupboards were done in knotty pine and red-checked gingham curtains hung at the windows.
She supposed the style could date back twenty years or more, but it was classically simple. The faint odor of a pine-scented cleaner lingered, suggesting their cleaning lady had recently been here. Everything was clean and well-kept, as befitted Ken’s perfectionist personality. At least, that used to be his pers
onality.
She sighed, eyeing him. He was wearing the suit he’d worn to the office, but had pulled off his jacket and necktie, unbuttoned his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. She couldn’t remember ever seeing Ken do that before his amnesia.
And why was he remembering stuff from when he was a kid and couldn’t remember what happened last week? “I’ve only known you two years, so I don’t know what happened before that. But you haven’t come out here often lately,” Rosie said. “I mean, you do come out to fish, but seldom use the cabin. So I guess that’s why you didn’t see the need to change much inside.”
He moved to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “Hm, there’s even milk and sandwich meat in here. Look at the dates on it.”
Rosie came up behind him to look inside. “You’re right.”
He opened the freezer door and said, “And a cooked chicken, it looks like.”
“You always did like those ready-to-eat smoked chickens. You must have special ordered it and bought that other stuff the day you came up to fish.”
“Then why didn’t I eat it or bring it back to my apartment? Why leave food out here that would spoil? And why put the chicken in the freezer?”
Rosie shrugged. “I have no idea, Ken. Another mystery, I guess, to be solved when your memory returns. “She moved back to the living room.
“Who takes care of this place now?” he asked, running a finger along the dust free mantle over the fireplace.
“You have a cleaning service both here and for your apartment,” she said, not wanting to mention that he was usually fanatical about neatness and cleanliness.
He glanced at her, then away. “I see. A bit extravagant, isn’t that?”
“Extravagant?”
He looked up to see Rosie staring at him as though he’d accused her of thievery or something. He remembered he hadn’t told her about his empty bank accounts and maxed out credit cards. She probably still considered him rich.
“I mean, can I afford all that help?” he asked, trying to cover his goof.
He moved to the picture window that overlooked the lake. Had she thought she was marrying a wealthy man? She was better off without him, from the look of things.
“Latham pays you very well, Ken. You can easily afford a cleaning service,” she assured him. She came to stand beside him and put a hand on his arm. “Don’t worry, Ken. You’ll get your memory back and then everything will be okay.”
“Maybe,” he said, though he really couldn’t see how that could possibly be true. He shrugged and said no more. Better to wait until he figured out what was going on. Besides, since they were no longer engaged, his financial problems were none of her business. When he figured out where he stood, he’d cut expenses where he needed to.
Still, she looked so sympathetic he had a hard time believing she was a gold digger. She was probably putting down his questions to his memory loss. And that was the problem, wasn’t it? Or was he as lousy a financial manager as his personal financial records seemed to imply?
What had he been thinking to ask her to marry him? He couldn’t afford to pay his monthly bills, let alone support a wife! Thank goodness the wedding was cancelled.
But she was a lovely woman. He could see how he’d been attracted. Her long blonde hair looked like silk. He ached to run his fingers through it. And those luscious red lips looked so kissable. He remembered how they’d felt when she had leaned over and kissed him that first night in the hospital. And he loved the soft floral scent she wore all the time. He’d dreamed about holding her in his arms last night.
He caught his breath. He’d been staring at her and she looked like she expected him to kiss her right now! His feet carried him toward her. Maybe just one taste.
He leaned forward and touched her lips with his and his arms moved to enfold her. She melted into them as if they’d kissed many times before.
Her soft floral scent wrapped around him and he deepened the kiss. She opened to him and their tongues tasted each other. God, but he wanted her! He trailed kisses over her eyelids, then down her jaw-line to the long line of her throat.
She moaned, tipping her head back to allow him to kiss her cleavage. Her skin was smooth and silky under his exploring lips. He felt himself harden and strain against his zipper. His hand slipped under her blouse, and cupped the full, soft mound in her lacey bra. The nipple pebbled under his exploring fingers and she arched to give him better access.
She tasted delicious as he trailed kisses along her throat and dipped lower to taste her breast. Heat flowed along his veins and made his blood pound.
He’d like to take her right here on the floor. The braided rug in front of the fireplace looked inviting, but he forced his thoughts away. Though she felt wonderful, he doubted they’d ever made love here before.
Getting control of himself, he groaned and pulled away. “Rosie, this is not a good idea,” he said. They had to get out of here before he really lost it. Here he was about to make love to her. And he’d just broken off their engagement a few days ago. What was he thinking?
She looked disappointed, but stepped back and nodded, straightening her clothes self-consciously.
“We’d better start back,” he said, his voice coming out hoarse.
“Of course,” she agreed, looking flustered.
They locked the cabin and walked out to their cars.
She asked, “Are you sure you remember how to drive?”
He nodded. “It’s just like riding a bicycle. You don’t forget,” he assured her. He got behind the wheel of the Cadillac and eyed the controls.
She watched him, looking nervous.
“Just checking where everything is,” he said, he said, glancing at her. “I don’t think I remember all the roads, though, so you’d better lead the way. I’ll follow you back into town.”
~ * ~
Rosie nodded and got into her own car.
Wow, she thought, pulling out onto the highway and watching him follow her in her rear-view mirror. What was that all about back there? When had he started kissing like that? He hadn’t shown her that much heat in all the time they’d been engaged.
Now, he wants her after he dumped her?
She was still trembling with need. She couldn’t remember ever reacting to him like that before, either. She should be ashamed of herself for wanting a man who didn’t want her. Or did he? Maybe he subconsciously did remember that he loved her?
But…what if he returned to the old, critical Ken when he got his memory back? She almost hoped he didn’t get it back. She liked the more casual, laid back person he was now much better than “Mr. Perfect.”
But that wasn’t very nice of her. She should want him to get well again.
She kept his white Cadillac in her sight as they returned to town. Finally she turned onto the street where his apartment house was. She was about to wave goodbye to him and head to her own house, when she noticed smoke and fire trucks ahead. Could that be in the block where Ken lived?
Curious, she kept going. The fire was in his building!
She pulled into a side street as close as she could get and saw Ken was right behind her. Exchanging alarmed glances, they both ran toward his building.
As they got close, firemen yelled at them to stay back.
“I live there,” Kirk said, trying to push through.
“No one goes in now. The roof’s about to cave in,” the man returned, shoving him back.
“Is anyone inside?” Kirk asked, putting an arm around Rosie as she huddled in shock beside him.
“We think everyone got out okay. But the building’s gonna be a total loss,” the man replied.
They watched in horror as his prediction came true. Sparks and flames shot high into the sky as a large section of the roof crashed down. Firemen shot streams of water into the windows and onto the collapsed roof where steam and smoke merged upward.
“Oh, Ken! All your things are gone,” Rosie said.
“They’re only things,” Kirk r
eplied, noticing that she was trembling.
He put his arm around her and they watched in silence for a while. “There’s nothing much we can do here. I guess I’ll have to go to a hotel for awhile until I find another place to live. Any suggestions?”
“There’s a reasonable motel about a mile from my house,” Rosie said. “It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean and comfortable. My cousins and some friends stayed there a few times when Mom was so ill.”
“That sounds like just the thing. Lead the way. I’ll check on my insurance tomorrow. “He glanced at her. “I do have renter’s insurance, I hope?”
“I have no idea. Let’s worry about that tomorrow.”
“Yeah. If I had any receipts or papers, they’re gone now. But I suppose I can look at my bank accounts on line to see which insurance companies I made payments to, if any, and call them. I can figure it out that way.”
They checked him into the motel which luckily had a vacancy.
Rosie turned to leave, and then happened to think of something. “Ken, you don’t even have a razor or a change of clothes!”
“Yes, I just realized that. I’d better go pick up a few things. I’m almost out of gas, too.”
“I’ll go with you. Let’s take my car. You can get gas for your car on your way to work in the morning.”
They went to a nearby mall and he bought toiletries and several changes of clothes. Rosie noticed he picked out expensive, but washable, practical and casual clothing in blues and tans. His tastes had certainly changed. The old Ken preferred dry clean suits and button down collars.
They stopped for a late snack at a coffee shop and then, out of curiosity, drove past his apartment building. The fire trucks were still there, though the building was now reduced to a smoking, blackened hull and a large pile of debris.
She shivered at the sight and drove him back to his motel. As she pulled in next to his Cadillac, he swore.
Turning to stare at him, she saw he was looking at his car. All four tires were flattened and there was an envelope tucked under the windshield wiper.