by Pamela Fryer
He grinned as he entered the room, pulling a paper bag from behind his back as if it were a surprise. “You look a lot better.”
“I feel a lot better, thanks to the toothbrush you brought me yesterday.”
He set the bag down on the tray table. Stenciled in turquoise blue, a smiling mermaid sat on a rock encircled by the words “The Mirthful Mermaid.” The logo didn’t bring even a hint of recognition.
He shifted her unfinished meal tray to the small clothing cabinet and removed a paper to-go bowl from the bag, which he set on the utility tray jutting over the bed. “Boston clam chowder. I like the white better, too.”
The delicious scent of seasoned chowder and fresh sourdough bread rose around her, wiping away the stringent hospital odors. Her stomach rumbled with renewed hunger.
“You’re so nice to me.” She used her good arm to push herself up taller. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to sue you. Unless I find out my father is a lawyer.”
He froze, plastic spoon in hand.
“That was a joke.”
Geoffrey relaxed, chuckling. “You had me going there for a minute.”
“Really, you shouldn’t feel you have to spend so much time here. Your family must miss you.”
He shook his head. “It’s just me and Jocelyn up at the house. My father went back to Portland last week. Mike and Paige live up in Agate.”
“What about you?” she asked in a hesitant voice. “No wife?”
A somber shadow passed over his features. “My wife passed away last year.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She suddenly felt pathetic. She realized how much worse her situation could be, and understood she had a lot to be thankful for.
Geoffrey served up a spoonful of chowder. She closed her eyes and let him feed her, savoring the creamy broth on her tongue. “Wow, that’s good. I may not have my memory, but I’m pretty sure that’s the best I’ve ever had.”
“It’s my grandmother Millie’s secret recipe. She owns a restaurant. That’s where we were headed when...”
“That’s what Jocelyn said. Where is that, in Portland?”
“Yep.” He nodded as he spooned up another mouthful. “I drove all the way to Portland to get you clam chowder.”
“Don’t tease me,” she scolded. “I have no idea where I am. I’ll believe anything.”
He stopped and took on a humble expression. “I’m sorry. I keep forgetting. I can’t begin to imagine what you’re going through.”
“It helps to talk to people. Tell me more about your family. Are you originally from Oregon?” The question wasn’t so much to help jog her memory, but to learn more about her handsome visitor-protector.
“Actually, we’re from right here in Newport. The Mirthful Mermaid has been in our family for seventy years. My grandmother has run it for thirty-five.”
“It sounds like quite a landmark. I’ll have to go see it. Maybe it will help spark my memory.” She accepted another mouthful of chowder. “Mmmm. Anything to get another bowl of this.”
“Does that mean it’s okay for me to come back?”
“I’d like that. But I meant what I said. You have to stop blaming yourself.” She leaned back against the pillow. “Until I know why I was out there, the whole thing is just one strange mystery.”
Geoffrey set the spoon down and August could tell he was looking for the right words. When he looked up, his warm brown eyes were like melted chocolate. “Are you still worried someone tried to hurt you?”
The seriousness of his question slithered across her skin like the slow, oily traverse of a snake. “I don’t know. But I’m almost afraid of what your brother-in-law is going to find.” She forced a smile that felt thin. “You haven’t heard of any bank robberies in the news, have you?”
He laughed as he picked up the spoon again. “That’s another joke, right?”
“I honestly don’t know.” She swallowed another mouthful. The delicious chowder brought renewed strength with every spoonful. “I don’t feel like bank robber material.”
“It may seem hard to believe now, but sometimes people panic when they get caught in bad weather. Maybe your car broke down. You were probably just trying to get home and didn’t expect a car to be coming around the bend.” Geoffrey dropped the spoon in the empty container and bundled it all up in the paper bag. “Mike went to question the late season stragglers in the Chalets today. I’ll bet you’re traveling with a sweet old aunt who’s just frantic about you.”
It was too good to hope for. “You really think so?”
The second of hesitation before he opened his mouth to reply told her he didn’t.
“Don’t placate me.” She leaned back and frowned. “I’m not made of glass. I can handle the truth—I just wish I could remember it.”
“You will.”
“But until I do, I don’t know who I can trust.”
His expression changed then. She felt guilty for even implying as much after all he’d done, but in truth, she couldn’t rule anyone out.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t even know you. All I have is your story that I stepped in front of your car.”
“I understand.”
He took a step back. She’d insulted him.
“Wait, I’m sorry, Geoffrey. I don’t think you tried to hurt me.” She patted the mattress by her hip. “Please, come back and sit.”
He returned a half smile and sat at the edge of the bed. She met his eyes and held them, content to stare into their warm depths. She had nothing to fear from this man; she knew it in the deepest part of herself.
But someone had tried to hurt her, of that she was also certain.
“Something bad happened to me,” she finally said. It was hard to find her voice. “Maybe your brother-in-law should suspend the search until I remember exactly what happened that night.”
* * *
Geoffrey saw Dr. Carlson as he signed the visitor’s roster Friday morning. “How is she this morning, Doc?”
“No better, no worse,” the doctor said. “But it’s only been four days. I don’t expect a miraculous recovery, and neither should you.”
“She can’t stay here indefinitely. What’s going to happen to her tomorrow when you check her out?”
Dr. Carlson slipped his pen into his pocket and made his way over. “Any number of things. There’s a women’s shelter in Corvallis where she can stay without charge for seven days. If she needs a place longer than that, they’ll put her in a temporary job or she can do administrative work to earn her stay. August seems like a pretty smart cookie. I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
There was no chance Geoffrey was going to let her stay in some shabby women’s shelter. Not if someone might be after her.
“You can’t just kick her out onto the street,” he told his longtime friend.
If someone did want to bring August harm, turning her out on her own would be turning her into a sitting duck. She wasn’t safe until she remembered what had happened to her, and if someone had indeed tried to hurt her, who that person was.
“I’m sorry, Geoffrey, once she’s healthy enough to leave, we can’t make her stay.”
“So you’re just going to turn her loose tomorrow.”
“If her family were here, I’d discharge her today.” The doctor’s brows inched up his forehead. “Care to share your thoughts?”
“What if I take her to the summer house? Would you release her into my care today?” Even as he asked the question, Geoffrey knew August would refuse. She didn’t know him, and would probably see the gesture as pathetic and desperate.
“Are you sure you want to get involved in this? You’ve already done all you’re expected to in paying her bill.”
“Why not? Everyone’s gone back to Portland. It’ll just be me, Jocelyn, and Leah when she returns next Tuesday. It’s no imposition, and it’s better than some shelter full of strangers.”
Dr. Carlson considered him for a minute. “Well, if she agrees, I can’t see why
not. She can continue her appointments with Dr. Lohman if she stays nearby.”
A rush of triumph cooled the hot tension that had wound Geoffrey up tight these past few days. Somehow, he believed protecting August would make up for his failing Christina. He knew that was irrational, but at the same time he couldn’t live with himself if something happened to August simply because he didn’t lend his help.
The sliding doors opened and Officer Mike walked through, hat in his hand. “Good morning.”
Geoffrey’s heart gave a strong kick against his ribs. His brother-in-law would only be here if he had found something. Maybe August wouldn’t need his hospitality, after all. A tiny, selfish part of him hoped that wasn’t the case.
I’m scum.
“Good morning, Mike,” Dr. Carlson greeted him. “Have you learned anything about our mysterious guest?”
“I’d like to see her, if I may.”
“We were just headed there now.”
August emerged from the bathroom as they entered the room. Her platinum hair spilled over the royal blue robe. Freshly washed, it shimmered in the morning sun. Renewed vitality colored her cheeks. Dr. Carlson had replaced the bandage at her head with a smaller one which was nearly obscured by her wispy bangs.
“This looks official.” Her expression grew somber as her gaze found and held Mike. “Is something wrong?”
“Not at all,” Mike assured her. “I came by to tell you we were unable to identify you by your thumbprint. I wanted to relay the news in person.”
Her shoulders dropped. Geoffrey relaxed with a sigh of relief. At least they hadn’t found she was a criminal on the run. He doubted she was, but it would be just his luck to have a woman like August literally dropped in front of him—only to find out she was a fugitive.
“I had a feeling that scar on the pad of your thumb would be a problem.”
Eyes downcast, August climbed back onto her bed. She rubbed her thumb against her first two fingers.
“It’s a fairly new scar, at least it looks to me.” Mike glanced at Dr. Carlson. “The doc can say for sure. What that tells me is you’re probably not yet twenty-six. In Oregon, you’re required to renew your driver’s license in person at the DMV, at which time you would have updated your fingerprint. Of course, if you live in California or Washington, that theory flies out the window because you’d be able to renew online if your driving record is clean.”
She glanced at her thumb.
“But you don’t look much older than twenty-six to me.” Mike cleared his throat. “One of my officers questioned the remaining renters in the cottages near where you were found. No one is missing anybody.”
“So I just fell out of the sky.”
An uncomfortable silence stretched.
“How about some good news?” Dr. Carlson cut in, trying to sound cheerful. “Geoffrey has offered the guest room at his house. If you accept, I can release you today.”
She glanced up with a wary expression. “That’s very generous, but you’ve already done too much for me.”
Geoffrey shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, embarrassed by being rejected in front of an audience.
“The other alternative is the woman’s shelter in Corvallis,” Dr. Carlson went on. “But in that case you’ll be released into your own care, and I can’t authorize that until tomorrow.”
August’s blue eyes were as pale as the sky as she watched the doctor, chewing her lower lip.
“It’s just me and Jocelyn rattling around in that big house,” Geoffrey told her. “I’m sure she would love to have you if you change your mind.”
“You’ve been absolutely wonderful to me, Geoffrey.” She hesitated. “But I can’t go home with a strange man I don’t know. You could be an axe murderer or something.”
Dr. Carlson chuckled, then fell silent when he realized no one else was laughing. Geoffrey thought back to their private conversation yesterday when she’d gently accused him of sinister involvement in her accident.
“I can vouch for him,” Officer Mike said with a playful punch to his shoulder. “His axe collection is purely for display.”
August wouldn’t meet his eyes. She didn’t like being pressured, Geoffrey could tell. “She said ‘no,’ guys. Let’s not make her feel uncomfortable about it.”
“All right, then.” Dr. Carlson pushed his glasses up his nose. “I’ll make arrangements with the shelter to expect you tomorrow. It’s called New Start Foundation.” He turned to go.
“Wait.” August sighed. “Can you vouch for him, too?”
“My wife delivered all six of the Barthlow children, and Jocelyn.” The doctor hesitated in the doorway and gave her a wink. “But I’ve never seen the axe collection, so I can’t say for sure what he does with it.”
Hope lodged in Geoffrey’s throat as a long second ticked by.
“Hold off on that call,” August said slowly. “I’ll take Geoffrey up on his offer. Hopefully my memory will come back within a few days and I’ll be out of his hair quickly.”
Geoffrey’s mood soared, even as he called himself a fool for it. Still, it would be nice having her pretty smile in his world for a few more days, and he would take any opportunity to make up for turning her life upside down.
Dr. Carlson scribbled on his clipboard. “One call, held off. I’ll send up a nurse to discharge you.”
When the doctor left them alone, Mike went to the cubby where her clothes were neatly folded. “Is this what you were wearing the night of the accident?” He picked up her sweater.
She nodded.
Mike brought the bundle over and set it on the bed. He picked up one of her white canvas Keds. “Any of this look familiar?”
“None of it.”
He thumbed through the layers. “They washed everything?”
She nodded again. “Why?”
“Brilliant.” He scowled. “There may have been DNA evidence on them, or at least something that might indicate where you’d been that night. Like salt water, for instance. Geoffrey did find you on the beach road.”
“I thought we’d already established that I didn’t fall overboard.”
Mike shook his head. “Not necessarily. For all we know, you went out in a boat alone without telling anybody.”
“Doubtful. Any good sailor knows not to do that.”
He regarded her curiously. “Do they?”
August glanced from Mike to him, and back. Geoffrey saw the confusion in her expression.
“It’s common knowledge,” she contended. “Just because I know that doesn’t mean I’m a sailor. Even if I was, how would that help find out who I am?” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and picked up the clothes.
Mike sat in the leather chair beside the bed. “We’d have to do some investigating, but it might be a lead.”
August stiffened. “What kind of investigating?”
Before Mike could answer, Geoffrey stepped in. “Maybe it would be best if you didn’t.”
His brother-in-law’s expression hardened. “All right you two, what is it you’re not telling me?”
August glanced at Geoffrey. He nodded. “It’s okay. You can trust him.”
She set her clothes down and turned, but her gaze fell. “What are my rights, Officer Gaffney?”
“First of all, call me Mike. If you’re going to be a guest of my brother-in-law, I’m not only officially investigating your case, but I’m here as a favor to my family.”
Immense gratitude swelled inside Geoffrey.
“Thank you, Mike,” she said in a tiny voice.
His brow furrowed slightly. “And as your new friend, I’m wondering why you’d ask a question like that.”
“Does there have to be an investigation at all? Can’t I decide to stay missing?”
Mike’s frown deepened into what Geoffrey recognized as his suspicious policeman’s stare. “Why would you want to?”
“August and I were talking yesterday,” he cut in. “She’s afraid, because she
can’t remember what happened to her. Wouldn’t you be?”
“I can’t answer that. I’m sorry, August. I can’t even begin to fathom what you’re going through.” Mike’s frown melted away. “I know my family would be worried to death if I disappeared. I’d move heaven and earth to find them again.”
“But what if you found yourself injured and you didn’t remember how it happened? Wouldn’t you suspect, even a tiny bit, that someone might have tried to hurt you?”
“Well now, I suppose maybe I would.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Is there a reason you think someone did this to you on purpose?”
August sighed and paced away. “The truth is I have a bad feeling, but the harder I try to get a hold of it, the farther away it goes. But I can’t escape it, either.” When she turned back, her expression held defeat. “I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, and that alone tells me there’s something to it.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“I wish I could. But there is this—” She moved close to Mike and used her right hand to lift her broken arm. She gingerly splayed the fingers of her left hand. “I have a tan line on my wedding ring finger, but no ring.”
Mike looked at her hand, and then glanced at him. The wariness Geoffrey found in his brother-in-law’s eyes turned his blood to ice.
“Maybe I was running away, maybe I wasn’t—I don’t know,” August said in a deadly serious voice. “But I do know that before I let anyone find me, I need to be sure I want to be found.”