Christmas Amnesia

by Laura Scott

  Before Noah had a chance to answer, his disposable phone rang. He lifted it to his ear. “Sinclair.”

  Maddy watched his face, trying to gauge his reaction.

  “Gretchen? Okay, hang on, she’s right here.” He handed her the phone. “It’s for you.”

  Maddy took the phone, her heart in her throat. “Gretchen? Are you okay?”

  “Maddy? What’s going on? What happened to our building?” Her roommate’s voice was full of fear.

  “I’m so glad you’re safe!” Tears of relief welled in her eyes. “I’ve been so worried about you. I’m glad you weren’t in the condo when the bomb went off.”

  “Me, too,” Gretchen agreed. “Your brother Mitch is here. He’s claiming you were the intended victim. Is that true? Was the explosion meant for you?”

  “It’s likely, but hasn’t been proved yet one way or the other.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Gretchen murmured. “What if you and I had been home? We would have been killed!”

  Maddy had a bad feeling her friend was about to lose it. “I’m sorry, Gretchen. I know this is difficult, but the trial will be over soon and everything will return to normal.”

  “Oh, yeah? You mean until your next trial, don’t you?” Her roommate’s tone was bitter. “No, thanks, Maddy. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll look for a new place to live. Your condo is beyond destroyed now anyway.”

  “Gretchen, wait...” Click. Maddy pulled the phone from her ear, staring at the blank screen.

  “That didn’t sound good,” Noah said, taking the phone from her fingers. “I’m sorry.”

  “Me, too.” Maddy couldn’t blame Gretchen for wanting to distance herself from the criminals Maddy worked to put behind bars.

  Losing Gretchen’s friendship was just one more casualty in her battle against Pietro. She dropped her head in her hand, trying to hold it together.

  “Come here.” Noah pulled her upright and into his arms, holding her close. “It’s okay. Give her some time. She might come around.”

  “I don’t think so,” she whispered.

  Noah stroked his hand over her hair, pressing her cheek against his chest. “I’m sorry, Maddy. You’ve been through a lot over these past few days.”

  “Yes, and so have you.” She wanted so badly to kiss him, but the last time she’d done that he’d pulled away. If he rejected her again, she wasn’t sure how she’d handle it.

  If only she could find a way to show him how much she liked being with him. Not just working together, but being close to him.

  Noah must have read her mind, because he pressed his mouth against her temple in a soft kiss. Then he moved to her cheek, the sweetness of his kiss making her heart race.

  She waited, practically holding her breath until he placed his finger beneath her chin, tipping her face up so he could cover her mouth with his.

  Clinging to his shoulders, she lost herself in his kiss. Noah’s embrace felt like coming home.

  FIFTEEN

  Noah knew he should have resisted the temptation to kiss her, but she’d looked so lost, so forlorn, he hadn’t been able to help himself.

  And now that he’d tasted her sweetness again, he didn’t want to stop.

  In some tiny corner of his mind, he reveled in the fact that beautiful, smart Maddy Callahan was holding on to him, kissing him back. He had no idea what he’d done to deserve such a precious gift, and he didn’t want to let her go.

  But the need to breathe eventually had him raising his head, burying his face against her hair, inhaling her cinnamon scent. His heart pounded erratically in his chest and it took a significant amount of effort to gather his scattered brain cells together long enough to form a coherent thought.

  He wondered again what had happened to her in the past, who had tried to hurt her, but before he could ask, his phone rang. The loudness had the same effect as having a bucket of ice water dumped on his head.

  “It may be related to the case,” Maddy said.

  “I know.” He didn’t completely let her go, but reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. “Sinclair,” he said, his voice rougher than normal.

  “We have ballistics back on the slugs recovered at the Racine Marina,” O’Grady said bluntly. “They came from a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 tactical rifle.”

  Instantly Noah’s brain cleared. “The same weapon the Milwaukee police department transitioned to last year.”

  “Yeah,” his boss agreed. “Anyone can buy one, but it’s interesting that it’s a known cop weapon. And many police departments have been using them.”

  Like Chicago? Noah intended to find out. “What about the blood sample I gave you? What’s taking so long to get a simple blood type?”

  Lieutenant O’Grady grunted. “I’ll see what I can do. Any new information from your end?”

  Noah quickly filled him in on the drive-by shooting death of Maddy’s witness Rachel Graber. “She was Pietro’s girlfriend,” he finished. “If we keep losing witnesses, there won’t be a trial.”

  “I need your expertise in following up on all these loose ends,” his boss said. “Can’t Callahan’s brothers keep an eye on her?”

  “She’s still in danger. One of her witnesses, Robby Stanford, attempted to stab her earlier today. There have been threats against her family, too, so two of her brothers, Matthew and Mike, are taking turns staying at her mother’s house. Mitch is investigating the fire at her condo.”

  “Miles and Marc are keeping an eye on their own families,” she added in a soft voice. “It wouldn’t be fair to put the children at risk.” Maddy gently pushed away from him. He reluctantly let her go.

  He gave those details to O’Grady. “Look, I’d like your permission to stay close to Maddy for now. I’ll check in as often as I can, okay?”

  “Fine.” His boss wasn’t happy, but stopped arguing. “See that you do.”

  Maddy frowned. “I don’t like interfering with your ability to do your job,” she said when he hung up the phone. “I can talk to my brothers, maybe there’s a way to make it all work out.”

  “No,” Noah said with more force than he intended, every cell in his body rejecting that idea. “I’m not leaving you, Maddy. Besides, it won’t be much longer, the trial is just a few days away.”

  “As of tomorrow morning it will be four days away, that’s longer than a few,” she countered, but her tone lacked conviction. She stayed close and he couldn’t deny liking the fact that she liked being with him.

  Was he crazy to think there was something more than friendship growing between them? The kisses they’d shared couldn’t be ignored. But what if her feelings toward him changed once the danger was over?

  Wait a minute. Maybe Maddy had come to depend on him for protection, but he was still the same man who’d let down his sister and his former girlfriend.

  Besides, if things didn’t work out between him and Maddy, her brothers would come after him and rightly so. Hurting her would be far worse than hurting himself.

  He took a slight step backward, forcing himself to think about the case. What had he been working on? Oh, yeah, the two warehouses owned by people who lived in Chicago.

  “I think we should take a drive past those two warehouses,” he said.

  Maddy wrinkled her nose. “It’s dark and both of them happen to be in a rough part of town. We should wait until morning.”

  He didn’t want to wait until morning, but driving by once wasn’t really going to help. He suddenly snapped his fingers. “Cameras,” he said. “That’s what we need, small trail cameras pointed at the warehouse entrances. That way we can run video and see who’s going in and out.”

  She hesitated. “We wouldn’t be able to use a secret surveillance video in court.”

  “We could if the camera is posted on
public property,” he argued. “There is no expectation of privacy on a public street.”

  “That’s true,” she agreed, although her expression held skepticism. “If we can find some public property to use. Other buildings in the area or across the street are likely private property.”

  He wasn’t about to give up the idea. “There’s bound to be a lamppost or telephone pole nearby. But we need to buy the cameras before the stores close. Ready?”

  She glanced down at her notes for a moment, then shrugged. “Why not?”

  It didn’t take them long to drag on their winter coats to head back outside. The snow was falling now in soft gentle flakes, pretty yet covering the road enough to cause hazardous driving conditions.

  Remembering how his squad car had been rammed into Lake Michigan made him grateful that Matt had provided them with a four-wheel-drive truck. Not that he had any intention of getting too close to the lakeshore.

  The sporting-goods store was busy with Christmas shoppers. He and Maddy blended in, edging through the crowd to find the trail cameras. They were pricey, especially the ones with motion sensors that turned on the video streaming when there was activity nearby.

  Reading a box, he frowned when he realized that there were only thirty-six hours of video available. Good for hunters in the woods, but not so good when using them in the city when there would be a lot more people and traffic. But it was better than nothing, so he purchased four devices, hoping to install two of them at each warehouse. They needed to be mounted, so he added black electrical tape and zip ties, as well.

  He didn’t want to drag Maddy along with him to get these installed, yet he didn’t want to leave her alone, either. He inwardly debated the pros and cons as they stood in a long line of customers for almost twenty minutes. Finally he paid the bill and carried the supplies out to the truck.

  “I guess we should wait until later to install these, right?” Maddy asked once they were back on the road.

  “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.” He didn’t add the part where once Maddy fell asleep, he’d call her brother to come stay at the motel for a bit while he mounted the cameras.

  She swiveled toward him. “Don’t even think of going without me.”

  How had she known what he was thinking? Was his face really that transparent?

  “I know how you think,” Maddy went on as if he’d spoken out loud. “But it’s best if there are two of us—one to do the work and one to keep watch.”

  Since she had a point, he grudgingly nodded. “Okay. In the meantime, let’s get something to eat.”

  “I could eat. However, we should also find these warehouses, see what we’re up against. We may need additional supplies.”

  He’d tried to plan ahead with the zip ties and electrical tape, but she was right. They might need something more. The first warehouse was located south of the area where they’d taken down Pietro, so he drove there first.

  Houses grew more and more dilapidated until they disappeared altogether, leaving nothing but old structures, many with broken windows and bars across the doors. The warehouse he was looking for, owned by George Lamb from Chicago, was the last building on a dead-end street.

  Noah felt a bit as if their truck had a bull’s-eye painted on it as he quickly turned around. Maddy kept her gaze focused on her passenger-side window, looking for anything out of place. And for spots where they could legally mount their cameras.

  “I saw an old, abandoned telephone pole,” Maddy said once they’d left the area. “But the fact that it’s on a dead end adds a new element. We’ll have to park a few blocks away and go in on foot.”

  “I’ll manage, not a problem,” he assured her. “Let’s check out the other site.”

  Maddy nodded, settling back in her seat. The second location was owned by Moving and Storage, Inc. No name was listed, just a Chicago address.

  Moving and Storage, Inc. happened to be in even a worse part of the area. As Noah turned onto 3rd Street, a large truck was backing away from the warehouse in question.

  “Get down, but help me get the license plate number,” he said, making a quick turn into the driveway of a two-story home that looked as if a strong wind could blow it over. Dousing the lights and turning off the engine, he slid down in the seat, hoping the driver of the truck wouldn’t notice them sitting there.

  Maddy slouched down, too, her eyes wide in the darkness. When the truck lumbered past, she quickly turned and stared at the license plate.

  “55-TFRU,” she said. “Although the F could be an E. I can’t say for sure.”

  He repeated the number and letter sequence until he had it memorized, then quickly dialed the MPD dispatch in his district. “This is Officer Sinclair. I need the name registered to 55-TFRU.”

  The clacking of keys could be heard in the background, then the dispatcher said, “Peter Durango is listed as the owner.”

  The name meant nothing. Maddy touched his arm. “Try 55-TERU.”

  He repeated his request with the new license plate number and this time the dispatcher responded quicker. “Owner is listed as a corporation, Moving and Storage, Inc.”

  “Thanks.” Noah hung up and turned to Maddy. “We need your computer. I want to know who exactly owns the company.”

  “Let’s grab a pizza on the way back,” Maddy agreed.

  He liked the way she thought, and restarted the truck. “First I need to see the layout around the warehouse.” He twisted the key, bringing the engine to life, then slowly backed out of the driveway. A light pole was located a good block away from the building, yet well within line of sight of the warehouse.

  Perfect.

  Satisfied they had a good plan, he drove around the block, then headed for the interstate. They picked up a pizza from a place not far from their motel, half veggie for her, the works for him.

  Inside, he set the pizza down, then went straight to the computer. He searched again for the owner of Moving and Storage, Inc., digging deeper this time, wishing he’d done that before getting the cameras.

  The enticing aroma of pizza caused his stomach to growl, nearly derailing him from his mission. Then he found it, the name on the screen hitting him hard.

  “What is it?” Maddy asked, coming to lean over his shoulder. She sucked in a harsh breath and he nodded, knowing this was exactly the link they needed.

  “Lance Arvani.” He turned to look up at her. “Do you think this is enough to get a search warrant?”

  She grimaced. “Not yet. What do we have other than seeing your partner’s truck outside his cabin?”

  He knew she was right. He didn’t like it, but the law was there to protect the rights of the innocent.

  “Once we get the blood test results back, we may have enough for a warrant,” she added.

  Noah nodded. The results should be back by tomorrow. One more day couldn’t hurt. Especially since he still planned on mounting the cameras.

  He’d find the proof he needed to put Arvani and anyone else working for Pietro away for good.

  * * *

  Maddy dropped into the seat beside Noah, her thoughts tumbling around in her brain. Should she try to get a search warrant? There wasn’t any hard evidence, but maybe it was worth a shot.

  Then again, disturbing a judge this late in the evening would likely get her head bitten off. No, they needed something more. The truck belonging to a dead cop wasn’t enough.

  Noah surprised her by clasping her hand in his and bowing his head. “Dear Lord, we thank You for this food we are about to eat and we ask for Your help in keeping us safe in Your care. Amen.”

  She smiled and gently squeezed his hand. “Amen.”

  “Dig in,” Noah said lightly. For a moment she flashed back to when her father was alive, sitting at the head of the table. It bothered her that the police had n
ever been able to find the person who’d shot him. Or even a true motive as to why he’d been murdered. She knew both Miles and Matt had tried to get answers, but to no avail. She’d dug a bit into the mystery, too, going through some of the court cases in which her father had played a role in the indictment.

  But she hadn’t found anything yet. Mostly because her real job had taken over her life, especially this particular case. But maybe once the Pietro trial was over, she could go back to spending her free time digging into her father’s case. Especially since she didn’t have much of a personal life.

  She glanced at Noah beneath her lashes, remembering every second of their last kiss. She liked Noah, more than she should.

  He was the first man in months whose touch hadn’t made her jerk away in fear. Odd how her amnesia had actually helped her get over that fear of men. Since that night, she’d been with Noah nonstop.

  Her cheeks heated as she recalled just how much she’d enjoyed Noah’s touch. His kiss. Being held in his arms.

  Stop it! This wasn’t the time to be thinking about romance. She was being terrorized by a murderer who was not just threatening her family but trying to systematically kill off her key witnesses.

  Focus, she told herself. They had important things to do. Kissing Noah again wasn’t one of them.

  “Maddy? Are you all right?”

  She snapped her head up, meeting his concerned gaze. He was already on his second slice of pizza, whereas she hadn’t touched her first. “Yes, of course.” She lifted a slice and took a healthy bite. “It’s great.”

  “I think we should mount the cameras at the warehouse owned by Moving and Storage, Inc., first. That’s our more likely target.”

  “Agreed. Although we shouldn’t ignore the other warehouse, either. We might get something from that one, as well.” The idea of shutting down more of the heroin and gun trade gave her a sense of satisfaction.

  “I think we should wait until about midnight, then head out,” Noah said thoughtfully.