Her Last Chance

by Terri Reed

  Clint’s mouth curved in a wry smile. “Thanks to FBI agent Sam Pierce. He put pressure on reporters to suppress the story.”

  “Jocelyn’s Sam?” Leah asked.

  “The same. He’s a straight shooter,” Clint assured her. “You don’t need to be afraid of him when he gets here.”

  Roman covered Leah’s fisted hand with his own. Warmth spread up her arm to encircle her heart.

  “Can you give us details about the attempted abduction of Sarah?” Roman asked.

  “A few weeks after you disappeared,” Clint addressed Leah, “a man lured Sarah away from the teachers at the preschool with a puppy. He tried to snatch her, but thankfully another little girl saw what was going on and started screaming. The man took off, leaving the puppy behind, which we now own. Sarah was shaken up but otherwise fine. Jocelyn has been working with Sarah ever since you left.”

  “Did they catch the guy?” Roman asked.

  “Yes. The FBI did. A man named Finch confessed to the kidnapping attempt. He claims some woman hired him over the phone to take Sarah.”

  Leah caught the glance Roman gave her. “It wasn’t me.”

  “I know,” he said, his expression softening. “But it might have been the person who abducted you.”

  “Well, actually, the FBI thinks a woman named Angelina Loring was the one who hired Finch,” Clint interjected.

  The woman’s name rang an alarm inside Leah’s head. “I have a vague recollection of arguing with her, but…that’s it.”

  Clint studied her for a moment. “They found her body floating in the swamp outside of town. The theory is Dylan Renault killed her.”

  “And then someone killed him,” Roman stated.

  “There’s been a lot of unexplained deaths in Loomis of late,” Clint said. “The FBI were convinced you were dead, as well.”

  “I would have been if not for Colleen.”

  “You have no idea why you left Sarah with me?” Clint asked, his dark eyes intense.

  She shook her head. If only she did. “What did I say when I dropped her off?”

  “That you had some business to take care of and wouldn’t be gone long. You said you were worried Sarah had seen something when Earl killed himself.” His tortured gaze touched hers. “I shouldn’t have let you go. I should have known something was wrong. I should have asked more questions.”

  Leah’s heart ached at the amount of guilt in his voice. “Don’t blame yourself.”

  “Did Leah say what Sarah had seen?” Roman asked.

  “No, but the FBI agents working the case had some theories. With Angelina and Dylan both dead, the truth will forever be silent.”

  “Unless I can remember,” Leah said, and sent up a silent prayer for her memory to return. She needed to know what had happened, even if the truth was that she’d killed her husband and had left her child to protect her.

  Clint moved closer and pulled her into his embrace. “I’m so glad to have you back.”

  It felt awkward to be held by someone she didn’t know. She tried not to stiffen but then tears sprang to her eyes and dissolved her defenses. She sagged against her brother and hated that she had no memory of him or of Sarah.

  The strong arms holding her made her feel safe. She breathed in the scent of her brother’s aftershave, a spicy, masculine smell. An image burst forth. She, as a little girl, was crawling into the lap of a dark-haired man with a mustache. He laughed, a deep baritone sound, as she tickled him under his chin.

  She pulled back and stared at her brother. “I remember a man with a mustache. He wore the same aftershave as you.”

  Clint’s face softened. “That would be our father. I wear the same cologne he did.”

  Happiness gripped her heart. She had a memory of her father. She turned her gaze to Roman. “I remembered my father.”

  “That’s good,” Roman commented. “Slowly, things are returning.”

  “Have you remembered other things?” Clint asked, and searched her face.

  Leah wasn’t ready to admit the one memory she wished she could put back into the abyss of her mind. “A few. I remembered being at the Renault Plantation and I remembered a fight with Earl.”

  Clint touched her cheek. “It will come back to you. We have to trust that God is in control and He’ll restore your memory in His time.”

  “The waiting is hard,” she replied, wishing God would hurry up and reveal everything, even though she knew enough about God’s character to know His timing was always perfect.

  “I can’t wait for you to meet Mandy,” Clint said, his dark eyes lighting up from within.

  “You say that like I haven’t met her before.”

  Clint shook his head. “You haven’t. She’s the nanny I hired to care for Sarah. And, well…we’ve become involved.”

  Happy that he seemed so happy, Leah managed a smile.

  “Do you think this Mandy could be involved in Leah’s disappearance? Maybe she wanted Sarah as her own?” Roman asked, his eyes hard and full of suspicion.

  Leah’s smile died.

  Clint chuckled. “No, Roman. She came to Loomis months after Leah disappeared and with her own baggage. I trust Mandy implicitly,” Clint said. “I couldn’t have made it these past months without her.”

  Reassured, Leah touched her brother’s arm. Compassion and regret scored her deeply. “I’m so sorry you had to go through this, and I can’t thank you enough for caring for my baby.”

  “That’s what family’s for,” Clint replied, his expression tender. “I just thank God you’re alive.”

  “Me, too,” she said, and gave him a hug as a tear crested on her lashes. “I want so badly to see Sarah.”

  “No,” Roman interjected. “Not a good idea. You wouldn’t want to subject her to more trauma.”

  “But seeing her might jog loose some more memories,” Leah insisted, her voice breaking.

  “And could place her in more danger. Remember that a killer is still out there,” Roman said in a harsh voice.

  Leah sucked in a sharp breath of pain and guilt. Everyone close to her had suffered because of her. Roman was right not to put Sarah in danger or add to her trauma. No, Leah didn’t deserve to see her daughter. Not yet.

  Not until she knew for sure she wasn’t a murderer.

  EIGHT

  “I agree with Roman,” Clint stated. “We can’t place Sarah in danger.”

  “I know,” Leah said, trying to keep her disappointment from showing. “And I have to believe that’s why I left her with you in the first place. To keep her safe.”

  “She is safe and cared for,” Clint said.

  The concern and compassion in Clint’s expression eased some of Leah’s pain.

  Clint turned to Roman. “How soon until this lawyer of yours gets here?”

  “A matter of hours.”

  “What then?”

  Roman shrugged. “Legally? I don’t know. But in the meantime, Leah should stay out of sight.”

  “No,” she said. “I want to know the truth. I have to find the truth. And the only way to do that is to unlock my memory.” She glanced around the park, her gaze snagging on the stately gazebo in the center. “I want to go over there.”

  Roman’s gaze followed her pointed finger. “Why?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.” She faced him. “Remember the other night when I told you I had a flash of memory about that Loring woman? That gazebo was in the memory.”

  “Okay, then.”

  Leah put her hand on her brother’s arm. “I need you to be with Sarah. People are going to start talking about me, and she shouldn’t hear I’m back from a stranger.” Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision. “Please tell her I love her and that I’m working real hard to get back to her.”

  Clint covered her hand with his. “Of course. You do what you need to. Just let me know if I can help.”

  “You are helping by taking care of my daughter.”

  Clint smiled and leaned in to kiss L
eah on the cheek. “Be safe.” To Roman, he said, “Keep me in the loop.”

  “We will,” Roman assured him. “And you’ll ask around about Chuck?”

  “Yes, I’ll stop by and talk to Reverend Harmond on the way home.”

  “Who’s Chuck?” Leah asked as Clint walked away.

  “The town drunk and hopefully our witness.”

  “Right.” That poor soul who’d seemed so frightened the other night.

  With Roman at her side, Leah strode through the park, dodging a Frisbee and circling around a soccer game. Once they reached the gazebo, Roman halted Leah with a staying hand.

  At first glance, the lattice-covered structure looked picture perfect in the setting, surrounded by lush lawns, live oak trees and fragrant azaleas blooming in bright clusters, but on closer inspection she could see the paint was peeling and some of the slats were broken.

  “Looks like someone’s been living in here,” Roman stated as he stepped inside.

  Leah joined him on the threshold of the round interior. It did indeed look as if someone had been using the gazebo as a sort of barracks. A tattered blanket lay puddled on the bench, debris from several meals lay scattered on the floor and a book lay open, as if the reader would return any second to pick up where he’d left off.

  Leah moved closer and realized the book was a Bible, opened to Proverbs. A profound sadness filled her heart. Someone with faith was living like this. Surely the town, the church, had a program to help the homeless.

  “How come this place is so decrepit?” she asked as she turned her attention away from the Bible and gazed out at the beauty of the park. From this vantage point, she could see the whole park.

  “This was the scene of a murder,” Roman responded.

  Leah gasped. “Which one?”

  “An old one. If I remember the story right, twenty-five years ago a young mother, Mary Sampson, was killed in this very place just days after Amelia Gilmore disappeared. Amelia left behind her young child, Jodie.” His gaze met hers. “Jodie Gilmore went to Loomis High. I think she was a year behind you in school.”

  “The name doesn’t sound familiar.”

  “People were talking about the town being cursed and such. This is the South, and it’s Louisiana—with all the superstitions that come with it.” He gave a humorless laugh. “Not good for the town growth. The town officials started their annual Mother’s Day Festival and Mother of the Year Pageant to counteract the nastiness of the rumor mill,” Roman said as he picked up the blanket for inspection.

  “That’s awful,” Leah said with a shiver. “Loomis sure has had its share of darkness.”

  “Sure has.” Roman dropped the blanket. “I’m thinking this is Chuck’s hangout.”

  “Seems like a pretty good hiding place,” Leah commented. But that wasn’t why they were there.

  Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, she tried to calm her mind as Jocelyn had showed her. She closed her eyes and tried to capture the memory she’d had the other day.

  In her mind the day had been cold. She and Angelina were both wearing coats, their breath puffing in the frigid air. Angelina’s beautiful face was twisted in anger as she spewed hatred at Leah.

  Just because Earl’s dead doesn’t mean I’m going to let you make a play for Dylan. He’s mine. And no whore of a woman and her brat of a kid are going to stand in the way of me marrying Dylan, even if your kid is his.

  Leah jerked and her eyelids flew open. “Angelina knew that Sarah was Dylan’s. She planned to marry him and was warning me not to get in the way.”

  “Well, someone got in the way,” Roman remarked ironically.

  “It wasn’t me.”

  When he didn’t respond, Leah’s shoulders sagged. Who was she kidding? She had no idea if she did or didn’t kill Earl and Dylan. Or Angelina, for that matter.

  “I’d like to go see Colleen now,” she said, and walked out of the gazebo.

  Silence reigned as Roman drove them back to the Peel house. As soon as the truck came to a halt, Colleen had the front door opened and was waiting for Leah. Leah sailed into the older woman’s arms, finding comfort from the doubts and accusations that seemed to be constantly chasing her.

  “Come along, child. You need to rest and regroup,” Colleen murmured soothingly.

  Rest and regroup. That sounded like a plan. But an hour and a half later, after answering all of Colleen’s questions, the lawyer, Clive Gerade, arrived. Mort had driven to the airport to pick him up, and Leah wasn’t sure resting and regrouping would be happening anytime soon as the grueling process of updating the tall, stately gentleman lawyer began.

  “So what do you think?” Roman asked Clive when Leah was finished filling the lawyer in on the state of the situation. She’d done a good job of retelling the story of her life since awakening in the ditch. Roman was proud of her.

  Clive’s expression turned thoughtful. “It’s good you’ve made contact with a mental-health professional. That will go a long way with the jury if this should ever go to trial, which I hope to avoid. From the sound of it, any evidence is circumstantial, but I’ll have a better idea once I know exactly what the police have.”

  He put his notepad into his briefcase and snapped the case shut. “I would suggest, Mrs. Farley, you make another appointment with Dr. Pierce as soon as possible. The quicker you regain your memory, the better.”

  Leah rose from the kitchen chair. “I’ll call Jocelyn right now.”

  Roman watched her leave the room. He turned to Clive. “What about the witness, Chuck?”

  Clive stroked his chin with two fingers. “He could be a help or not. I’ll speak with the sheriff about finding the man.”

  Roman sneered. “Sheriff Reed didn’t seem much interested in finding a witness. He has his mind set on Leah as the murderer.”

  Clive’s thin lips curved. “We’ll see about that. I did some checking on my way here, and it seems the mayor is quite fond of Mrs. Farley. I doubt he would take kindly to the sheriff obstructing her defense.”

  Roman nodded, relieved and gratified to know he’d made the right choice in contacting Clive. In Baton Rouge, Clive was well known for his tenacity in defending his clients. “What can I do to help Leah?”

  Clive rose and placed his hand on Roman’s shoulder. “You’ve done what you can. Leave the rest to me.” The older gentleman then pulled on his suit coat. “Can you take me into town? I would like to speak with Sheriff Reed.”

  “Sure. Let me see if Leah was able to reach the doctor.”

  Roman found Leah just hanging up. “Can she see you?”

  “Yes. She’s available now.”

  “Good. I’ll take you and Clive into town.”

  “I want to come, too,” Colleen stated from where she sat on the couch.

  Mort came through the front door. “Where are we going?”

  “We’re taking the ladies and Clive downtown,” Roman answered.

  Roman helped Colleen into the back and then moved aside so Leah could slip in next to her. As Leah passed, the fresh scent of the apple shampoo she used teased his senses, momentarily lifting the smell of the bayou that constantly permeated the humid air. Intense longing to hold her jolted through his system.

  She was becoming a part of his life in a way he wasn’t sure he liked. Thinking of her in any terms beyond the scope of this current situation wouldn’t be a good idea. He had a life to get back to, a score to settle. She didn’t fit into the equation.

  Once everyone was seated, Mort drove them to the main section of Loomis and dropped off Clive at the sheriff’s station. Then Mort pulled the truck in front of Dr. Pierce’s office. Roman helped the ladies out of the vehicle.

  “I’ll just go to the bakery. They’ve got the best pecan pie,” Mort said with a grin before driving away.

  Roman escorted the women into the waiting room. Colleen sank into a chair while Leah moved to stand near the toy box. Roman’s heart squeezed at the sad expression on Leah’s face.

&nb
sp; “Well, hello, everyone,” Doctor Pierce said as she came out of her office.

  She was tall, pretty, with dark blond hair and striking blue eyes that regarded Leah with kindness. For that, Roman was grateful.

  Leah stepped over to Colleen and laid a hand on the older woman’s shoulder. “Jocelyn, this is Colleen.”

  Jocelyn held on to Colleen’s hand. “Leah told me of your kindness to her. I can’t thank you enough for taking such good care of my friend.”

  The older woman’s eyes misted. “I’ve come to love her like a granddaughter.”

  The doctor nodded and then shifted her attention to Roman.

  Her gaze, though kind, had a speculative gleam as she regarded him. “Mr. Black. You’ve also been very kind, and I thank you. I understand you were friends with Clint in high school.”

  “Yes, we were,” he replied, feeling a bit like a bug under a microscope.

  “Did you also know Ava and Dylan Renault? Max Pershing?”

  “I knew of them but had no real personal contact with them. We didn’t run in the same crowds,” Roman responded. Talk about an understatement.

  The Renaults and Pershings were the upper crust of Loomis, while he’d barely been the underbelly. Especially after his mother died. He’d been nothing but trouble then. Not someone the esteemed folks of Loomis cared to rub elbows with.

  “My husband, Sam, will be here soon. Until then, let’s get to work on your memory, shall we, Leah?” Doctor Pierce drew Leah into the inner office and shut the door, leaving Roman and Colleen to wait.

  “Is there anything I can get for you while we’re in town?” Roman asked the older woman, who now had her nose buried in another magazine.

  She lifted her gaze to meet his. “More magazines. I declare, I’ve become addicted to the tabloid gossip.”

  “Sounds like you’ll fit right in with the Loomis townsfolk,” he quipped. “I know Mort got your medicines and all, but would you like another walker?”

  She beamed. “Why, young man, you are a dear. That would be lovely. No wonder Leah is so taken with you.”

  Roman arched his eyebrows. “Taken with me?”