“No, not at all,” Karen said. “So perhaps now that you understand Judd has had some setbacks, you might let bygones be bygones and rehire him?”
Summers’ shoulders twitched and his face turned red. “Oh, yeah, sure, I would. It’s just, well, I only need one guy, and I promised my sister I’d give her boy the job. He’s nineteen, he needs somethin’ to do to keep him outta trouble. You know what I mean. He’s nowhere near as handy as you, Judd, he’s just starting out, but my sister wants him to learn a trade. I promised her, and I can’t afford two mechanics. You understand.”
“That’s all right,” Judd said, his posture wooden. “Don’t trouble yourself. I’m sure I can find work elsewhere.”
“Yeah, yeah. You were only part-time, anyway, and there’s a lot of garages in town might need a good mechanic. Hey, I’ll give you a reference, okay?”
“Fine.” Judd half turned, laid the manual he’d been holding on the tool bench. “While we’re here, you might as well tell me what happened Friday night. It might help.”
“Sure thing, let me think.” Howie rubbed a grimy knuckle along his forehead. “You left work at five, same as usual. Then you came back later, couple hours later, it must have been about seven. Yeah, I’m sure it was ‘cause the baseball game was just about to start on the radio and you kind of interrupted.”
“Why did I come back?”
“You wanted your pay. You always get paid the last day of the month, but you were all hot and bothered this time, wanted me to pay what I owed you for the first two weeks of the month, ‘stead of waiting. Well, my bookkeeping’s not set up to do that, and naturally, I said no. Then you got steamed, said I owed it to you. I didn’t like it, and I told you I’d give you the dough, but if you took it, you should never come back. I guess, in the back of my mind, I’m thinking about my sister and my nephew, you know.”
Judd nodded.
“So, did you give him the money?” Karen asked.
“Yeah. I figured it out rough, ‘cause he wanted it right then, in cash, and I got it out of the drawer. Then he took off in his car, and that’s the last I saw of him.”
“And that was about seven-fifteen, would you say?” Judd asked.
“Yeah, about that.”
Further questioning on Judd’s part elicited the few facts Howie Summers knew about his employee. Judd had moved to Silver Creek only two or three months ago, had once lived in Los Angeles and, Howie was fairly certain, was divorced. Howie had hired Judd on the strength of a successful pop quiz on car repairs and an impressive first day’s performance on the job. Since he never bothered to ask for a résumé or job application, he had no idea where Judd had worked before. As well as fixing cars, Judd had seemed to know a lot about older vehicles and collectible cars.
“SO YOU WERE ABLE to fix Howie’s computer problem?” Karen asked when they were back in the Festiva.
“Yeah. All it took was reading the manual. The nephew was trying to help him when I arrived, but he wasn’t listening.”
“Working for a relative can be difficult. If the boy doesn’t stay, you could approach Howie again about getting your job back—he was much friendlier today.”
“Yes, he treated me with the deference of a celebrity as soon as he realized I have a rare disease. You know, my story will probably be all over town by this afternoon.”
“Well, that’s a good thing, as long as he gets his facts straight. Chances are someone who knows you will hear and call you or come by and you’ll learn more about yourself.”
Judd didn’t respond, but he looked uncomfortable with the idea. “What are you worried about?” she asked.
“That part of Howie’s audience will be a bill collector or two.”
The twist of his lips was more sardonic than serious. She wished he would be less flip and more sympathetic toward himself and his problem. “You may not like being the talk of Silver Creek, but it can only help for the time being. In fact, I’d like to take your picture, if you’ll let me, and run it in the local and county papers—”
“Forget it.”
“But why?”
“I just don’t like the idea. Besides, it’s obvious I’m from out of town. I don’t have any family around here.”
Karen wanted to argue, but the stubborn clench of his jaw warned her not to. She concentrated on the road for a while. It was a gorgeous day, cooler than yesterday, thank goodness. What would Judd have been doing this morning if the robbery last Friday hadn’t interrupted his life? Fishing, maybe, since he only worked afternoons.
There was one other obvious way she could help him, and they were nearing the highway patrol office, so she couldn’t wait any longer to bring it up. “I have one more idea, and I hope you’ll consider it with an open mind.”
His arm was propped in the opened window, his expression inscrutable behind his shades.
“I have an uncle in town, Ed Thomas is his name, who worked as a private eye for years, and in the Los Angeles area, too. He still takes some jobs on the side, and I’m sure he’d do a little checking for you.” Before he could object, she added, “He’s very discreet.”
“No, thanks.”
“Oh, Judd, he’s a good guy! He’s my uncle.”
“It’s nothing personal, Karen. I just don’t like private detectives.”
“Why not? Do you know any?”
“I might,” he said archly, “and I don’t believe in them. Besides, he can’t tell me more than the police, and I’ve already talked to them at length.”
Karen gave it one last shot as she pulled into the parking lot. “My uncle lived in L.A. for twenty years. He’s got a lot of friends down there, a network. Remember, Howie said you once lived in that area. Sometimes you can learn more from contacts like my uncle’s than from police computers.”
Judd hesitated.
“Please say yes. Just talk to him.”
“All right. I’ll talk to him.” He waggled a finger in Karen’s face. “But the final decision whether to hire him is up to me, okay?”
“Fine, great.” She thought of telling him Uncle Ed would work for free, because Judd was her client, but decided it was better to save that as a clincher for after Judd and Ed met.
“Are you sure you don’t sell something on the side?” he asked. “Used cars maybe?” He massaged his shoulder as he rotated it. “My arm’s never been twisted so skillfully.”
Judd shook his head and made a mock scowl of pain as his social worker swallowed a giggle. Potentially dangerous, he thought, how this young woman’s happy glow seemed worth the discomfort her plan aroused in him. She was obviously ecstatic that he had agreed to her help, though her quivering facial muscles struggled to conceal it She seemed so young, so disarmingly feminine in her excitement He realized with a start that her innocence was drawing him to her, even as he felt she would be better off if she’d never met him.
Karen waited outside while Judd went in. As he stood in line to claim his car, he couldn’t decide if he should allow Karen to lead him to her uncle’s, or if he should tell her he’d changed his mind and send her back to her office in Granite City. True, she was being paid to play his guardian angel, but he doubted she got this wrapped up in all her clients. There were subtle signs that she felt something more for him than responsibility, possibly even more than straightforward friendship. And she wasn’t the only one becoming emotionally embroiled!
Damn. It was taking forever to make his way to the head of the line. For a moment, he allowed his constant vigilance to relax and closed his eyes in weariness. But the action immediately brought a picture of Karen’s face to his mind and made his pulse quicken. Karen’s skin, this morning when he’d touched her cheek, had been so warm and tender. He loved the way she’d responded to him, her eyes widening first in shock, then quickly darkening to reveal a hunger even fear couldn’t suppress. He’d understood her reaction to their brief physical contact, because it had closely mirrored his own. He wondered what it would be like to run his fingers thr
ough her rich, fox red hair, to slide his hands down her softly curving arms and around her waist, to feel the fullness of that beautiful bosom against his chest.
He cut off the fantasy, flicked open his eyes. The man in front of him had stepped to the desk and was arguing with the uniformed clerk about an accident report. Judd glanced about, listened to the conversation for a moment, then inexorably his thoughts slipped back to Karen and himself.
What if he already had a wife somewhere, children even, estranged perhaps, but still attached to him by ties of common experience and love? He didn’t feel like a father, but how could he tell for sure? Reason enough to squelch any burgeoning attraction between him and Karen. Who knew what unfinished business lay in his past, what tangled relationships that might end up hurting a sensitive, virtuous woman like Karen?
With regret he considered what might have been if there weren’t so many unanswered questions about his past. It would be so nice just to give in to his attraction to Karen, to enjoy being with her, to accept that his problems gave him an added reason to spend time with her. He would indulge her schemes, which were really very good ideas, like the one about the photos. Laughing with her and getting to know her would be a welcome relief from the stressful process of piecing together his memories.
Judd ground the heel of his boot into the floor, leaving a dark smear on the linoleum. To hell with all that! Karen and he must not spend time together, must not get attached. The edginess that never left his gut told him that very clearly. Because he was sure that his past held something for him and charming, innocent Karen to be truly, terrifyingly afraid of.
WHILE JUDD RETRIEVED his car, Karen called her uncle Ed from a pay phone to make sure he was in. She found him at home, rather than in his little downtown office, and took a few minutes to fill him in on Judd’s case. He was immediately intrigued, and told her to come ahead with her client.
Karen led the way down the little country road on the outskirts of town, Judd following in his big Chevrolet sedan. She understood now why the men who had robbed Judd hadn’t bothered to steal the car: the slate blue Impala was old enough to be a gas guzzler but not stylish enough to be a head-turning classic. It wasn’t the kind of vehicle she’d expect a vintage car enthusiast to own, much less a man who brushed his teeth with boar bristles.
Karen parked in her uncle’s driveway next to Ed’s bottle green minivan. Judd parked up the road and walked back. The single-story brick and log homes here were widely spaced on large lots. Weathered fences lined many of the properties. A gunshot echoed in the mountain stillness, and a horse whinnied somewhere nearby.
Judd started at the sound, and Karen touched his elbow. “It’s just my uncle doing some target practice. He told me he’d be out back.”
She led the way around the small brick home to an unpaved, barren backyard where the dried-up weeds and grasses had been closely mowed. A stand of Douglas firs grew at the back of the property; a black-and-white paper target in the shape of a man’s figure was tacked to a post in front of the trees.
“Uncle Ed,” Karen called.
A burly man in his late sixties turned at her second call, raised his left hand in greeting and lowered the revolver he’d been aiming. He walked toward them, drawing the camouflage visor from his grizzled head. “Hello.” He laid the gun carefully on a small table that held a box of ammunition. “How are you, honey?” He hugged Karen and kissed her cheek, then extended a beefy hand to Judd. “I’m Ed Thomas, glad to meet you.”
“Judd Maxwell.”
Judd’s mouth was tight, forming creases in his beard, and it worried Karen. He’d acted strange when he came out of the patrol office, and only grunted when she asked about his car. Her uncle had his head cocked just a bit; she knew from experience he was sizing up her companion, but in a polite way that wasn’t meant to be obvious or offensive.
“Karen didn’t tell me much over the phone,” Ed said, “but I understand you’ve had quite an experience, Mr. Maxwell. I’ve never talked to anyone with amnesia.”
“I’d say you’re in the majority,” Judd responded dryly.
“We can have some coffee, if you’d like to go inside.”
Judd’s head moved just a fraction, taking in the secluded yard. A pair of blue jays squabbled in the trees. “No, thank you.”
Ed turned and picked up his gun, busied himself with leisurely checking the chambers and reloading it. “I was just getting in a little target practice. In all my years on the job, I only had to brandish the gun once, at an irate fellow who was claiming he’d been completely disabled by a back injury at work. The insurance company hired me to follow him, and I’d just taken a video of him doing a hundred push-ups in his living room.” Ed glanced up and gave his audience a wink. “When his dog started barking at me through the fence, he realized what I was up to and grabbed a baseball bat. He caught me just as I reached my car. I always kept a piece in the glove compartment, just in case.” He chuckled. “I was darn glad I had it that day, too.”
He faced Judd. “You do any shooting, Mr. Maxwell?”
“I’m—” Judd hesitated, then shook his head.
“You sure?” Ed said kindly. “You might not remember.” He held the gun out. “Why don’t you take a try. Go ahead.”
Judd wrinkled his nose at the revolver as though he’d rather handle a snake. Karen thought he might even step back as her uncle gently pushed the butt of the Smith & Wesson toward him. Karen herself didn’t like guns; it had been unsettling to her the first time she witnessed her uncle practicing his favorite sport She didn’t blame Judd for not wanting to take the black grip.
“Most men around here are hunters, rifle users,” Ed explained. “I can never find anyone for some friendly competition with a handgun.”
As Judd continued to hesitate, Karen felt an impulse to wrap her arm around him and protect him. She realized Ed was just trying to break the ice, to get Judd focused on something other than his amnesia in order to relax him, but she wished he’d chosen a different method.
Ed made an urging motion, an encouraging smile on his face. Judd frowned in resignation and slowly reached out, took the butt of the revolver. Ed scurried to affix a new paper target before the trees, then ushered his guest to a mark in the grass before moving back to stand with his niece.
The late morning sun was high in the sky, and it was hot. Judd’s shirt clung to the middle of his back as he spread his legs slightly, clasped both hands around the grip and pointed straight at the target. It had gone very still in the yard; the jays had flown away. The sensation of someone walking over her grave shivered Karen’s spine as she watched the dark-haired, powerfully muscled man take careful aim. She wanted to turn her head but couldn’t. She braced for the explosion.
Judd’s first shot missed the target completely, lodging in one of the tightly packed firs beyond it. Karen exhaled, grateful to learn he had no affinity with firearms.
Ed cleared his throat. “Ah, good try, son. To the right and a little high. Try again.”
Judd obediently took two more shots; the third one just nicked the edge of the target.
Judd dropped his arms, walked to the table and laid the gun down. He pulled a bandanna handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Thank you for the hospitality, Mr. Thomas. I’ve had a dull headache all morning, and the sun seems to have made it worse. Why don’t you give me your card, and I’ll call you if I need your services.”
Ed pulled out his wallet, and with a nod, handed Judd his business card.
Karen looked into Judd’s face in concern. “Are you okay? You should call Dr. Bergman if you’re not feeling well. I’ve got his number.”
“No, I just need to lie down for a bit, Karen. Thanks for the ride this morning.”
Karen was loath to let him go, but whether he genuinely had a headache, or was using it as an excuse to avoid discussing his problem with her uncle, she could tell it would be useless to argue with him.
“Call me
if you need anything,” she said, and added, “I’ll be in touch.”
Ed watched Judd as the younger man retreated around the side of the house. “An interesting performance.” He put his arm around his niece’s shoulders. “Come on, pumpkin, let’s get some coffee. I think you’d better tell me everything you know about this fellow.”
They entered the house and passed through the living room with its single recliner and wide-screen TV. Ed had never married, and he’d rarely visited his hometown after his younger brother, Karen’s father, died when Karen was a baby. Three years ago, when her mother had passed away, Ed had accepted Karen’s invitation to stay at her house for the funeral and, to Karen’s surprise, had extended his visit for several weeks. It had naturally been a wrenching time for Karen, but she and her uncle had gotten along well from the start. When he abruptly announced he’d decided to retire and move to Silver Creek, Karen had been delighted. He seemed to be enjoying the relaxed summers and coping with the snowy winters and had never once complained to her about his decision.
“I’m trying to figure out our friend Maxwell,” Ed said as he poured them coffee at the breakfast table.
“Everyone is, including himself, I’m sure.”
Ed harrumphed. “He may know more about himself than he lets on. I’m almost sure he’s experienced with a gun.”
Karen laughed. “But surely, it was obvious he couldn’t hit the side of a barn.”
“Did you see the way he held the gun, straight in front, both hands? I’ve done instructing at rifle ranges over the years, as a sideline. Ninety-five percent of novices want to hold the gun in their right hand, straight out, like they do in Western movies.”
Something stirred in Karen’s stomach. “So, maybe he doesn’t watch Westerns.”
Ed was gazing into the distance. “He was very smooth. He could have put the bullet in the ground, but he was off just enough each time to make it look like he was trying. He may have been attempting to deceive me.”
Only A Memory Away Page 5