Christmas Amnesia

by Laura Scott

  The clock on the bedside table read eleven thirty in the morning. He’d slept for almost five hours, and while his brain felt clearer as a result of his nap, the muscles in his back had grown stiff from lying in one place for so long.

  Swallowing a groan, he awkwardly rolled into a sitting position. There were muffled sounds coming from Maddy’s room, indicating she was up, too.

  Sure enough, in less than a minute she knocked lightly on his side of the connecting door. “Noah?”

  “Come in,” he said, making an effort to hide the level of discomfort he was feeling.

  She entered his room, looking adorable in the navy blue sweatshirt he’d purchased for her. “How’s your back?”

  “Sore. How’s your memory?” He thought for sure it would have returned by now.

  “Still vacant, like a wide-open empty field.” Her gaze zeroed in on the Pietro file with the precision of a laser beam. “What are you doing? You can’t read that.” She came over, scooping up the papers and shoving them back into the file. “What were you thinking? You’re a key witness for the prosecution—reviewing my notes jeopardizes my case!”

  “I guess your legal memory is back,” he said. Her scowl deepened and he raised a hand in defense. “Relax, I don’t remember reading anything before I conked out. I haven’t compromised your case, I promise.”

  “You better not,” she warned, hugging the file close to her chest. “If—when my memory returns, I’ll have a lot of catching up to do.”

  He rose to his feet and crossed over to Maddy. “I had a thought about how to spur your memory to return.” He gestured toward the computer. “You might have photos of your family on there, but it’s password protected so I can’t get in.”

  She stared at the device. “I’m not sure I know my password, either,” she admitted softly.

  “It’s worth a try,” he said, injecting confidence in his tone. “Your memory about what you like to eat and about your job seems clear enough. Maybe you’ll instinctively remember.”

  “Maybe.” Her tone lacked certainty. She dropped into the chair next to the desk, set the Pietro file aside and turned on the computer. Resting her fingers on the keys, she appeared to wait for some deeply rooted instinct to kick in.

  After a few seconds, her hands dropped to her sides and she slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. I can’t remember!”

  He immediately regretted putting her on the spot. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s not important. I’ll call your brother Matt, okay? I’m sure when you see him, your memory will return.”

  “No!” She twisted in the chair to glare at him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t want to place my family in danger.”

  Her words were something that he could easily imagine her brothers saying. Being protective of their family was truly a Callahan trait. So different from what his family was like. “Maddy, listen.” He pulled up a second chair and sat beside her, taking her hands in his. “You need to trust me. Matt is a good cop. I won’t tell him where we are, but I’ll suggest a meeting place, somewhere public with a lot of people around. He’ll want to be there for you.”

  “But Jackson—You said yourself, whoever is after me knows who we are. They must have tapped Jackson’s phone. How else would they have known he was coming to help us?”

  There was nothing wrong with her ability to perform deductive reasoning, that was for sure. Noah was impressed that she’d made the connection.

  “And that means they know my family, too. I refuse to put any one of them in danger.”

  “Maddy, we need help. We can’t do this alone, especially since your memory hasn’t returned yet. We need disposable phones, additional clothing and a vehicle. I don’t have enough cash, and we can’t afford to leave an electronic trail.”

  “But...” Her voice trailed off and soon he could see resigned acceptance in her eyes. “I wish we could use a pay phone, instead of the one here at the motel.”

  “I didn’t see one at the convenience store, or the diner, either. But the best way to keep Matt safe is to provide a meeting place in a populated area. I doubt the gunman who followed Jackson to the Racine Marina would have taken so many shots if it had been daytime in a crowded place.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment. “You don’t know that for sure. If he was well hidden and had an escape route planned, he may have taken the chance.”

  Realizing there wasn’t anything he could say to ease her mind, he let it go. No point in making rash promises he might not be able to keep.

  “Go ahead and make the call.” She pulled her hands out of his, and rose to her feet, as if needing to put distance between them. Guilt, his familiar companion, rested heavy on his shoulders.

  What else could he do to ensure Matt’s safety?

  The woman at the front desk. He could offer some money to use her cell phone. It wasn’t foolproof, personal cell phones could still be traced, but it would take longer. Possibly giving them the head start they needed. “I’ll be right back,” he said, reaching for his coat.

  “Why? Where are you going?”

  He briefly explained his plan, then rushed back out in the cold air. The sun was up, but the temperature surely wasn’t. Ducking his head against the icy wind, he walked to the lobby.

  The woman behind the desk looked to be in her midfifties and he hoped she’d be sympathetic to his cause. The lobby was also empty, so there wouldn’t be anyone listening in.

  “Ma’am, would you be so kind as to allow me to borrow your personal cell phone?” He set his badge on the counter along with a ten-dollar bill. “I need to make a long-distance call and I can’t use the phone in my room.”

  She looked at him with suspicion, but then shrugged and scooped up the ten-dollar bill. “Why not?” She pulled the phone out of her purse and entered her pass code. “Stay where I can see you, sonny. No funny stuff.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Noah quickly entered Matthew’s phone number—thankfully he’d memorized it from their time together as partners—and listened to the ringing on the other end of the line.

  After ten long rings, Matt’s voice mail came on. Noah turned a bit so that his back was to the woman at the desk, and spoke in a low, urgent tone. “Matt, it’s Noah. Maddy is in extreme danger related to a case she’s working on, and we really need your help. It’s vitally important that you meet us this afternoon at four o’clock at the Rosemont bowling alley. Please finish up whatever you’re doing to meet us there. We’ll be waiting for you.”

  He disconnected from the line and then deleted Matthew’s number from the phone’s memory so the woman couldn’t see what number he’d called before handing the device back to her. “Thank you very much.”

  She checked the phone, seemingly disconcerted by the lack of evidence related to the call. “You’re welcome, officer.”

  Should he try Miles Callahan? He didn’t know Matt’s older brother very well and didn’t know his personal phone number, either. He could try to get the information from dispatch but there was no guarantee they’d give it to him. Since Maddy was closest to her twin, he decided to leave it alone. If for some reason Matt didn’t show, then he’d have no choice but to move on to plan B.

  As he returned to the motel room, he hoped and prayed he and Maddy wouldn’t need a plan B. Noah had purposefully used four o’clock in the afternoon, not just because that was when darkness began to fall, but also to give Matt plenty of time to finish up whatever he was doing to meet them. He couldn’t imagine Matt not rushing to his twin sister’s aid.

  Unless he was physically hurt, or worse. A remote possibility he had no intention of relaying to Maddy.

  She’d suffered enough already.

  * * *

  Maddy shoved the computer out of the way to make room for the Pietro file. Her lack of memory was starting to make her mad, and i
t occurred to her that reviewing the details of the high-profile case she must have lived and breathed for weeks on end might help.

  To her dismay, the notes didn’t feel at all familiar. Panic tightened her chest and she forced herself to slow her breathing. In and out. In and out.

  She focused on reading the entire report she’d included in the file. The names didn’t help spur any recognition, but she pushed on.

  The door opened, bringing a rush of cold air as Noah returned. She glanced over. “Did you talk to my brother?”

  He grimaced and shook his head. “No, but I left a message. I’m sure he’ll meet up with us at four o’clock this afternoon at the Rosemont bowling alley.”

  The place didn’t sound familiar, either. “Noah, maybe you should take me to my office. I’m sure someone there will restore my memory.”

  “I’m not sure about that. Besides, returning to your office is too dangerous. Not just related to your personal safety, but what if your memory doesn’t return? People will greet you and expect you to know who they are. No, the risk of your amnesia leaking to the press is too great.”

  He had a good point. She gestured to the file. “There’s nothing in here about Pietro’s known associates. I must have that information on my computer.”

  Noah shrugged off his jacket, then came over to sit beside her, his woodsy scent a soothing balm on her ragged nerves. She thought again how fortunate she was to have him there, protecting her.

  “Let’s try to figure out your password,” Noah said. “You’re closest to your brother Matt, so try a combination of your names.”

  She tried MadMatt and a few other variations without success. “Wait, what’s my birthday?”

  “April 4,” Noah said. “Same as Matt’s, you’re twins. Matt was born a full three minutes before you.”

  Twins? No wonder they were close. Maddy tried more variations of their names along with their date of birth. Then she typed in Twins44ever and instantly the computer screen opened, revealing a beautiful landscape of fall leaves in full color.

  “Autumn is your favorite season,” Noah said.

  She smiled weakly. Once again, Noah knew more about her than she did. Clicking on the file explorer, she was stunned to discover she had several documents listed under the name of Alexander Pietro.

  “Wow. This must include everything I have related to the case,” she said, overwhelmed by the amount of information she possessed. She was about to open one of the files, but then hesitated, glancing at Noah. “Maybe you should let me look through this on my own first.”

  “Maddy, if your memory doesn’t return, there may not be a trial,” he said with clear exasperation. “I think finding the man who’s trying to kill you takes priority over your worry about me seeing something I shouldn’t.”

  She minimized the screen, but remembered the date in the lower right-hand corner. “Today is Tuesday, right? It’s only been a little over fourteen hours since I lost my memory. If I can get it back later today or tomorrow morning, then there’s still a chance I can bring the case to trial. Putting Pietro behind bars for the rest of his life is my top priority. Finding the accomplices working for him has to be secondary.”

  “Not if they find you first,” he argued.

  She swallowed against a lump of fear. It was unacceptable to allow Pietro to scare her away. She lightly grasped Noah’s arm. “Please, Noah. Just give me a little time alone to review the files.”

  His dark brown eyes clung to hers, then dropped to her hand, pale against the tanned skin of his forearm where he’d shoved the sweatshirt sleeves out of the way. His arm was warm and strong.

  “Fine.” Noah abruptly shot to his feet and she let him go, feeling the anger radiating off him. “But I don’t think keeping me out of the investigation is the best way to get this case to trial.”

  She hated to admit he might be right. Still, the need to keep the integrity of her case intact overrode all else. Noah crossed over and turned the TV on to a local news station and she took her computer back to her room, doing her best to ignore him.

  She clicked on a document labeled “Pietro’s known associates.” When the file opened, she noted that she’d neatly listed names followed by whatever information she’d uncovered about them.

  Unfortunately, the names didn’t mean anything to her. She could have been reading a recipe for cabbage soup, instead of identifying someone who might have come after them.

  Not just once, but several times; killing Jackson, and shooting Noah in the back.

  Remembering the slug she’d found in his vest made her shiver. Noah had placed his life on the line for her, over and over again. She stared at the list of names.

  It was no use. She needed Noah’s help with this. He’d been a part of the team who’d arrested Pietro, so it was possible that he knew many of these known associates already.

  “Noah? Would you mind taking a look at this?”

  The television went silent and he came through the connecting doorway to lean over her shoulder, peering at the screen. He whistled softly between his teeth. “That’s some list you have there.”

  “Does anything jump out at you?” she pressed. “I’m sure you know some of them, but you may not know them all. I need to know if anyone from this list jogs your memory.”

  He was so close she could feel the warmth of his breath against her hair. The woodsy scent was stronger now, and she had an insane urge to throw herself into his arms.

  “This one,” he said, reaching around her to tap gently on the screen. “Lance Arvani.”

  Her pulse quickened and not just because of Noah’s nearness. “What about him?”

  “He was in my class at the police academy. We graduated together, seven years ago. Are you sure he’s a known associate of Pietro? Last I heard, he was working for the Chicago Police Department.”

  No, at the moment she wasn’t sure about anything. She stared at the name, wondering how or why she’d connected Arvani to Pietro. Why hadn’t she left additional notes?

  Was it possible that this was the link they were looking for? Noah thought it was likely the shooter at the marina had ties to the police, but this? A cop who was still active on the force?

  She tightened her fingers into fists, battling a wave of helplessness.

  Why couldn’t she remember?

  SIX

  Noah stared at Lance Arvani’s name, trying not to be distracted by Maddy’s nearness. He hadn’t liked Arvani much; the guy had come across as arrogant and in-your-face.

  But not liking a guy was a far cry from accusing him of being involved with a known drug trafficker like Pietro.

  “You don’t remember seeing him at all during the drug bust?” Maddy asked.

  He straightened and shook his head. “No, and I’m sure I would have recognized him if he was around.” He gestured to the computer. “Do you mind if I do a little searching for information on him?”

  She didn’t hesitate to turn the computer so he could access the keyboard from the chair beside her. “I’d love to see a picture of him.”

  “That part is easy.” He found their academy graduation picture. Lance was on the opposite side of where he’d stood, and the image of his own serious yet youthful face made him wince. His father hadn’t come to the ceremony, and neither had any of his siblings. Noah remembered standing there, thinking about how he was going to work hard to make the city a safer place, so that kids like his sister Rose wouldn’t have such easy access to drugs.

  He’d been naive, really, to think that one person could have much of an impact.

  “Oh, look how handsome you are!” Maddy tapped her finger on his picture. “I bet your parents were so proud.”

  “My mom passed away just before Thanksgiving my first year of college, and my dad, well, he wasn’t impressed with my
career choice.” Noah didn’t like talking about his family, so he quickly changed the subject. “This guy standing on the end here is Lance Arvani.”

  Maddy leaned closer to get a better look. “He doesn’t look familiar,” she said. “Of course, no one looks familiar at this point, right?”

  He felt bad for her. Not having a memory, good or bad, had to be difficult. “Speaking of which, did you look in the pictures folder to see if you have any of your family on here?”

  “No, I didn’t think of that. I was focused on Pietro.”

  Clicking on the photos folder revealed it was empty. He frowned. “That’s weird. You’re very close to your family. It seems odd you don’t have pictures of them on here.”

  “Maybe it’s a work computer.”

  He glanced over at her. “Yeah, probably. At least you’ll see your brother later today. I’m sure seeing your twin will restore your memory.”

  “I hope so,” she agreed. “Back to Arvani, what else can we find out about him?”

  Noah took control of the keyboard, searching on Arvani’s name. “His last known address is in a suburb north of Chicago.”

  “That doesn’t help much,” she groused.

  He tried several other searches using different key phrases, but still nothing came up. He sat back in his seat. “I wonder if Arvani’s working undercover.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  He glanced at Maddy. “Consider the theory that Arvani was working as an undercover narcotics officer. Maybe he got greedy and turned dirty. Or maybe that’s just his cover, a way to get close to working with Pietro.”

  She pursed her lips, considering the angle. “I thought undercover cops didn’t use their real names? If he was known to be a cop, why would anyone from Pietro’s organization trust him?”

  “Good point,” he conceded. “Going undercover usually involves a new name and cover story. But there’s always the possibility that Arvani did something, or got caught with product owned by Pietro, so the organization is using that information to blackmail him.”

  She turned to face him, her knees pressing against his. “You want him to be a good guy, huh?”