Heidi bent down and felt the floor. Still not totally dry. She’d hoped she could stay up here tonight, but she would have to wait until tomorrow.
A cold nose nudged her hand, and Heidi glanced down at Kip. “You back from visiting Eliza?”
The border collie barked.
“If only you could talk,” she said with a laugh, scratching the dog behind his ears.
“I don’t think we’d want to know what goes on in his mind. Remember he likes to find dead bodies.”
Heidi glanced over her shoulder at Lee mounting the last step to the third-floor landing. A tall woman with long red hair came up behind him. Another dog—a black Rottweiler with tan markings and a bobbed tail—accompanied the lady.
“This is officer Valerie Salgado. She and Lexi are members of the K-9 Unit. When I’m searching the Lost Woods the next several days, she’ll be staying with you. Kip’s talents are needed for the task.”
“So you really do think there are more dead bodies in the woods?”
“I certainly hope not, but we have to cover all bases.”
Valerie crossed to Heidi with her arm extended toward her. “I thought I would stop by and meet you before tomorrow morning.”
Heidi shook the officer’s hand. Valerie’s warm smile put Heidi at ease. While Kip and Lexi sniffed each other, Heidi said, “What’s Lexi’s specialty in the K-9 Unit?”
“Apprehension/protection. Which is perfect in your case.”
“How long have you been with the K-9 Unit?”
“I’m a rookie, but I come from a long line of cops. It’s in my genes. I know Molly is about ready to serve dinner so I’d better take off. I have to pick up Bethany from the babysitter.”
“Bethany? Your daughter?” Heidi asked.
“No, my niece, but I’m her legal guardian now.” Valerie started for the exit. “Just wanted you to know you’ll be in good hands when this guy isn’t here.” She tossed a look toward Lee.
There was something about Valerie that Heidi liked. Her whole face lit up when she grinned, giving Heidi the impression she smiled a lot.
As the rookie and Lexi descended the staircase, Lee came to Heidi’s side. “You all right?”
“Just wondering if I had any close friends in my other life.”
“Do you?”
“Don’t know.” She gave him a wry look. “Maybe I should record that and play it when someone asks me a question.”
“I thought I would ask and see if you answered without thinking about it.”
“You do believe me about not remembering, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he said with only a second’s hesitation.
That second bothered Heidi. “But you don’t trust me.”
“I don’t trust many people. Truth is...I don’t know you.”
“That makes two of us.” She sighed. “I don’t know myself, either.”
He put his hand at the small of her back. “Then you and I will get to know you together.”
“It should be an interesting journey.” She started down the stairs. “Now that you’ve enlisted Valerie to help you and Mark keep an eye on me, I get the feeling that you want a police officer here at all times. Why?”
“I’d rather be cautious than have something happen to you.”
“Because of last night and the guy who attacked you?”
“Yes...and the fact a listening device was planted in your hospital room. Not to mention Zoller attacked you and he isn’t saying a word about why or who else may be involved.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “And there’s no doubt in my mind that someone else is involved. He’s either too scared to talk or protecting someone.”
Heidi halted and swung around on the step. “How did you find a listening device?”
“Housekeeping discovered the bug, and Gail called me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me while we were working on the apartment earlier this afternoon?”
“I wanted to see what the tech guy said about it. Maybe see if it can be tracked.”
“Can it?”
“No.” His eyes softened. “I didn’t want you to worry any more than you already are.”
She put one fisted hand on her waist. “I don’t want to be kept in the dark. I feel my whole life is that right now. Don’t make it worse for me. I need to know everything.”
Lee sniffed the air. “Molly fixed her beef stew. We’ll start by seeing if you like beef stew and go from there.”
Heidi stepped into his path. “Promise me you’ll let me know what’s happening with my case.”
“If you’ll let me know when you remember something, even something seemingly unimportant.”
“Okay. Then I guess you should know I’m pretty sure I had a dog once.”
“How do you figure that?” Lee asked as they headed toward the kitchen on the first floor.
“Being with Kip feels so natural to me. Like I had a pet before...” She shrugged. “I don’t know... Before all of this.” Sweeping her arm across her body, she indicated her new surroundings.
“But you don’t know for sure?”
“No. I can’t say I know anything for sure. I have feelings. Like a sense it was something I’d done or liked. What if I have to piece my whole life back together using that method?”
“Those feelings come from somewhere. Give yourself time to heal. A lot has happened to you in a couple of weeks.”
“There’s so much I don’t know.” She started to enter the kitchen but stopped when Lee clasped her shoulder. Turning, she met his gaze, seeing worry in the depth of his eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“We matched some of the fingerprints in William Peterson’s car to yours. We got the results back earlier today.”
“You have my prints? When did you get them?”
“We took them while you were in a coma to help us ID you. They aren’t in any database.”
She didn’t know whether she should be angry they fingerprinted her without her knowledge, or relieved by the news no criminal database had a record of hers. “So I’m not a criminal,” she finally said, deciding that was good news.
“Did you think you were?” The corners of his mouth twitched, and he pressed his lips together even tighter.
“What was I supposed to think? The police apprehended me running away from an area where a crime had gone down. Yeah, the thought had crossed my mind.”
“Maybe you’ve been so good that you haven’t been caught—until now.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Seriously? You think that?”
His laughter burst from him. “No. I don’t. I think you’re a victim in all this.”
He said it with conviction, which prompted her to ask, “Then where is William Peterson? Why was I in his car?”
“Two very good questions that I’ll look into just as soon as I find the person behind your attack. My first priority is to keep you safe.”
“My first priority is to remember who I am and why I was running in the woods.”
“Then we’ll work together. I think if you figure out those two things a lot will fall into place.”
The idea of them being a team sent a wave of calmness through her. A sense that he would keep her safe followed that peace. And for some reason she couldn’t shake the feeling she hadn’t felt safe in a long time.
Molly stepped into the doorway into the kitchen, drying her hands on her apron. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m hungry. C’mon, you can talk in here.”
After Heidi sat at the table, Molly stretched out her arm and took her hand, then did the same with Lee. “Let’s pray.”
Lee clasped Heidi’s other hand and bowed his head. “Father, please help Heidi to remember who she is and to keep her safe. Help the police solve what is going on in Sagebrush and bless this wonderful food Molly has prepared. Amen.”
When his fingers fell away from hers, Heidi missed his touch. There was an added comfort in it. Again, something she was sure she hadn’t experienced in a long
time. Did she want to remember a past that might be riddled with problems and tragedy? Maybe it was better she never did. A fresh start might be what she needed. Was that why she wasn’t remembering?
“Molly, I want to help you around the house since you won’t take any rent right now.”
The older woman with salt-and-pepper hair shook her head. “I can’t take money from you.”
“I have that four hundred dollars.”
“You need to keep that for emergencies. When all this is settled and you have your life back, we’ll talk about paying rent.”
“I need something to do. I can only sit around for so long.”
“You’ve been through a trauma. Give your body time to heal.” Lee spooned the carrots, potatoes and onions onto his plate, then passed the bowl to Heidi.
“I can’t answer what I did in my old life, but I know I didn’t lounge around. I worked and I enjoyed working. If I didn’t, I have a feeling I would go crazy. You would be doing me a favor, Molly.”
“I know what you can help me with. I’m making a quilt for a fund-raiser at church. Do you sew?”
“We’ll find out, and if I don’t, I’ll learn. But I also would like to help with the cooking. From what I’ve seen I think I can do some of it, that I might have enjoyed doing it in my old life.” The more she talked about herself, the more she felt her life was divided into two parts. Before the accident/trauma—she wasn’t even sure what to call what had happened to her—and after it.
“Sure. I usually provide a breakfast each morning and sometimes either a lunch or dinner depending on Mark and Lee’s schedules. Neither one likes to cook and I do.” The landlady smiled. “It’ll be fun to see what you can do. It might even help you to remember other things about your past.”
“Speaking of remembering—” Heidi swung her attention to Lee “—can I see William Peterson’s car? Maybe it will trigger some memory. Where did y’all find my fingerprints?”
“Driver’s door. Steering wheel. The stick-to-shift gears.”
“So I was driving it. Where are the keys to the car? Did I have any on me?”
Lee shook his head. “Four hundred dollars and nothing else. No purse or wallet. I’ll take you tomorrow afternoon to the car impound. The vehicle’s been processed, so it should be okay.”
“Keys are probably in the woods somewhere since that’s where you found the car.” Molly slid her fork into her mouth.
“While I’m there tomorrow, I’ll walk out from where the car was toward the place where you were first spotted and see if I can find them. I’ll use a metal detector.”
Heidi rolled William Peterson’s name around in her mind, trying to picture him other than from his driver’s license photo that Lee showed her. She couldn’t.
“What do you expect to find seeing the car tomorrow?” he asked.
“I don’t know what I’m looking for. Anything to help us figure out what happened. William Peterson lives in San Antonio. How did I end up here in his car? Where is he?”
“I have a call in to the police in San Antonio to check with his friends and his work, Boland Manufacturing. I should hear something pretty soon.”
“San Antonio is a few hours away. Why don’t you go check in person?” Molly halved her roll and buttered each part.
“I can’t until after I complete my search of the Lost Woods. Kip works best with me, and I need to be near to help protect Heidi.”
“What if we both went?” Heidi proposed. “Maybe I know this guy somehow. If that’s the case, seeing where he lives and works might help me. Is there anything in his car that might explain my presence in it?”
“We found a bloody cloth in the car tucked down between the seats. One of the blood types is yours. We’re running DNA because there were two blood types.”
She glared at him. “Is there anything else you’re not telling me?”
“I didn’t say anything because it might not be yours. You’re type O+, which is the most common blood type. The other blood type we found is B+.”
“And you didn’t want to worry me. Quit protecting me. I’m not that fragile. What if the wreck caused the cuts and before I got out...”
“Yes?” Lee cocked an eyebrow.
“If I tried to stop the bleeding after the car went off the road, where did the other blood come from?”
“Exactly. You had a number of injuries all over you. Some the doctor said were caused by something like a wreck, others appeared more like from a beating.” Did she run into someone in the Lost Woods who beat her but somehow she got away? Or did William Peterson?
“What blood type is William Peterson?”
“Don’t know. Trying to find that out.”
A dull throb pulsated behind her eyes. “There are so many questions and no answers.” She massaged her temple. “Lee, please let me accompany you to San Antonio. I’ll be safe with you. If no one knows about the trip, then the person who wants me dead won’t know where I am.”
Lee nodded reluctantly. “I’ll have to run this by my captain. If he gives the all-clear, we’ll go after I complete the search of the woods.”
The prospects of actively doing something to find out what happened to her gave her hope she would recover her memory and regain her life. “Good. Until then I’ll help you, Molly.”
Lee’s cell phone rang. He dug it out of his jean pocket, looked at the caller and rose. “Hello,” he said as he strode from the kitchen.
“Probably the station,” Molly said gently. “He always does that when they call. He takes his job very seriously, you see. I think that’s why he’s so upset about what’s happening to you. He feels responsible for you, and that you were attacked in the hospital.”
“He had no idea someone was going to try and kill me,” Heidi protested.
“Still. He blames himself. If he’d been just a little earlier, you would have been fine.”
“We wouldn’t have known someone was after me if I hadn’t been attacked.”
The sound of footsteps returning wafted to Heidi as she picked up her sweetened iced tea. Molly placed her forefinger against her lips and looked toward the entrance.
“Why the frown, Lee?” the older woman asked.
“Gus Zoller was released on bail a while ago.”
SIX
The glass slipped from Heidi’s numb fingers and crashed to the tile floor, shards flying everywhere. Lee hurried to the table and began picking up the broken pieces.
“I’m so sorry, Molly,” Heidi said and bent over to help.
Molly snorted. “Accidents happen and believe me, I’d have done the same thing if I’d found out the man who tried to kill me was out of jail.” She got up and moved to the closet, withdrawing a broom and dustpan. “Y’all move before you cut your hand.”
Flashes of the assault yesterday zipped through Heidi’s mind. And the man responsible was walking around free. She rose and fled the kitchen.
She heard Molly say, “Go.”
The next thing Heidi realized, Lee was right behind her. “I’m not going to let him hurt you again. The DA was going to push to keep Zoller in jail without bail. But when the judge set a high bail amount, I thought that would be enough to keep him there.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “I should have realized how wrong that thinking was, especially since Walter Smithe’s services don’t come cheap.”
Her stomach roiling, Heidi glanced over her shoulder. “You don’t have to follow me. I’m not leaving. I’m going upstairs to my apartment.”
“You can’t. The floor isn’t dry.”
Heidi halted with one foot on the first stair. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot.”
“C’mon back to the kitchen,” he said softly. “Molly told me she made her one-of-a-kind pecan pie. She has won cooking contests with this recipe. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and—”
“I’d be five pounds heavier,” Heidi said with a laugh.
“I like hearing you laugh. You should do it more often.”
; “It’s sad it doesn’t feel natural to me, as if I don’t laugh a lot.” She released a long sigh. “I don’t think I want to remember what my life was like. I know you need me to for your case but—”
He put two fingers over her lips and said, “Shh. I want what is best for you, and ultimately I think knowing about your past is important to you moving on.” He inched closer. “But only when you’re ready to deal with it.”
Right now her past was unimportant—not when she peered into the kindness in his dark chocolate eyes. “I’m not sure what I’d do without you. I feel lost.”
His fingers combed through her hair, his hands framing her face. His gaze smoldered as it skimmed over her features, lingering on her mouth, her lips parted slightly as she drew in stabilizing breaths. But she couldn’t get enough. His look robbed her of rational thought.
She swallowed several times, trying to drag her attention away from him. In the short time she’d come out of her coma, he’d been here for her. Made her feel safe. What would happen when her real life intruded? Who was the man in her nightmare? Why was he trying to kill her?
Lee lowered his head toward hers and all she could focus on was his mouth inches away from her. The feel of his breath teasing her lips open, the rough texture of his palm against her cheeks, the scent of him—a hint of Kip mingling with the fading aroma of the beef stew all converged to overwhelm her senses to let down her guard totally.
The sound of paws clicking against the hardwood floor invaded the quiet of the foyer. The next thing Heidi felt was a cold nose against her hand at her side, urging her to pet Kip. When she didn’t move fast enough to pay the dog some attention, he barked once.
She laughed. “He’s most persistent.”
“He’s learned not to give up when he’s on the trail of something,” Lee whispered close to her mouth, then sighed and pulled back.
“Is that how his partner is?”
“Afraid so.” His lips quirked into a half smile. “Molly must have let him in. When he’s ready to come in, he’s persistent there, too, until someone obliges.”
Detection Mission (Texas K-9 Unit) Page 7