Lost Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 1)

by T. E. Killian

Wayne was bringing his hand up toward his face, but it stopped in midair, and he became very still. Then he blew out a huge breath and continued bringing his hand up to run it down his face. “You know me too well, sis.”

  Kelly scooted closer on the sofa and placed her arm around Wayne’s shoulders. “You and I have been through a lot together with Harry leaving and Mom dying. I was only six when Harry left, but it affected both of us a lot more than we realize.”

  He turned his face toward her, but she held up her other hand to stop him. “I was twelve when mom died. I went through a lot with all the operations and the terrible therapy that followed each one. But, you were there too through all of those things. You were always there for me.”

  He opened his mouth again, but just a slight shake of her head stopped him this time. “No, Wayne. Listen to me a little longer. It’s time I was there for you. Won’t you let me help you? This thing with Harry dying and his wife suddenly appearing in our lives is tough on me too, but I can’t even begin to imagine how bad it is for you. I remember the way he treated you before he left.”

  Wayne looked as if he was going to say something.

  She blushed slightly. “Yes, and I know how he treated me like I was his little princess, which is what he called me. I’m sorry for that, Wayne. It wasn’t fair, and I know it doesn’t help much, but I couldn’t help it.”

  Wayne gave her a questioning look, and when she nodded her head toward him, he spoke. “I know it’s been twenty-two years and I should be over it by now. After all, I’m not eight years old anymore. I’m thirty.”

  He stopped and shook his head. “I guess that’s part of what’s bothering me, and all of why Cassie and I have been fighting lately. I want to get married, and she doesn’t.”

  Kelly felt as if someone had hit her in the stomach. As well as she thought she knew her brother, that one surprised her completely. “You do?”

  He barked out a laugh without any humor in it. “I guess that’s a little surprising considering our parents couldn’t stay together.” He kept going before she could comment further. “I look around at the guys I was close to in college, and all three of them are married and have at least one kid each.”

  Kelly understood now. “And you want what they have?”

  When he nodded, she said, “And why does Cassie not want to get married?”

  He snorted. “She said that I’m fun to be with and she enjoys going out with me, but she doesn’t love me the way she wants to love the man she marries.”

  Kelly looked into his eyes, and knew that wasn’t all. “And . . .?”

  “He groaned at her perception. “She said, and I quote, ‘You just want to marry me because I look so much like your sister!’ Can you believe such garbage?”

  Suddenly it all became quite clear to Kelly. She nodded her head vigorously. “Yes, Harold Wayne Newcomb III, I do believe it.”

  He started to protest, but she stopped him. “No, let me finish. I believe it. Just step back and really take a look at Cassie. She is tall, has a dark completion, blue eyes, and long black hair.”

  She used her crutches to pull herself up to stand before him. “Now, look at me. What do you see?”

  Wayne blushed and ducked his head. Kelly couldn’t believe it. Her macho big brother was actually blushing!

  She sat back down and swung her legs around to face him. “I’m not finished, Wayne. I also believe it because I just realized that’s exactly what I’ve been doing too. I’ve been looking for someone like you.”

  While Wayne digested all of that, Kelly reached to the coffee table, picked up the fireplace remote and turned on flames without heat. They both sat there staring into the flames for a few minutes.

  Kelly was determined to wait him out this time. She had said enough. It was time for him to start thinking this through and talk out his frustrations.

  Wayne leaned his head back on the sofa and blew out another huge breath. “You’re right. I never realized it before. Cassie’s right, we could probably never be more than just friends.”

  Kelly waited, knowing he had more to say.

  “And, this thing with Harry’s wife.” He jumped to his feet and circled the living room to come back and stand before her. “I have to try to accept her or at least ignore her and go on. After all, she’s not the one who abandoned us.”

  Kelly only nodded but a good feeling spread throughout her body.

  After a few minutes of silence, he grabbed her hands and said, “Enough about all my problems. I think I just got a handle on most of them.” He paused and added. “With your help . . . as usual.”

  Kelly pulled him into a hug.

  When they both pulled back, Wayne changed the subject. “Well, as I just said, enough about me. How was your day? I didn’t see much of you after our little melodramatic meeting in Grandfather’s office.”

  She laughed at his description. “No, I was so busy that I hardly left my office the rest of the day. In fact, I asked Darla to bring me a sandwich back when she went to lunch so I could eat it at my desk.”

  He seemed genuinely to want to hear more, so she continued. “I had an interesting afternoon though with the Air Force people going through Harry and Jane’s things. But they didn’t find anything.”

  She stopped and thought for a moment. “I didn’t tell you about my afternoon at the mall yesterday with Jane.”

  That grabbed Wayne’s attention and he turned to look at her.

  “Yes, Grandmother assigned me to take Jane to the mall so she could supposedly shop for some things she needed.” She laughed. “When we got in the car, Jane told me that she didn’t really need anything, but Grandmother wanted to put us together so we could get to know each other better. Jane even said we didn’t have to go if I didn’t want to.”

  Wayne grunted, turned his eyes back to the fireplace, and said, “I wouldn’t have gone.”

  “No? Well, I almost didn’t. But I went anyway, and I was surprised. I enjoyed it. We went to the mall after all, and I took her to the cafe court where we just sat with a cold drink and talked.

  “Then when we were leaving, the strangest thing happened. As we were getting into the car, this crazy woman came running at us yelling ‘Sarah, Sarah.’ It was weird.” She paused to think. “And what’s worse is that I’m sure she was yelling at Jane.”

  “She didn’t do anything to you did she?”

  “No, she just yelled. We were far enough away that she didn’t have time to reach us before Lawrence drove off.”

  “Well, like you said, probably just some crazy woman who shouldn’t be out on the streets.”

  Suddenly, Kelly could tell that Wayne had something else to say and seemed reluctant to say it. She waited him out and after an awkward moment he said, “I got a good look at that Thompson guy this morning.”

  Kelly waited him out again.

  “He was watching you the whole time we were in Grandfather’s office. I think the guy’s really hooked on you.” He laughed and waved off the denial she was about to throw at him. “I don’t like the idea of you and a cop, but he seems to be decent enough.”

  He crossed his arms and sighed. “Grandfather sure seems to like him. He told me that he even checked the guy out.”

  Kelly’s anger surfaced so quick she didn’t even see it coming. She placed her hands on her hips and said, “You talked to Grandfather about him?”

  Wayne laughed and held up both hands with the palms facing Kelly. “Hold on sis, Grandfather stopped by my office this afternoon and asked me what I thought about Thompson.”

  Her anger disappeared as quickly as it had come. She couldn’t be angry with her grandfather. She knew he loved her and wanted only the best for her.

  “I know. He told me all the information he’d gathered on Grant Thompson.”

  Wayne seemed content to leave that subject alone, at least for the time being.

  They both grew quiet for a while. Kelly was staring into the flames and she noticed that Wayne was doing the
same thing.

  They sat in that rather peaceful silence for about five minutes then Wayne stood and said, “I guess I’d better get out of here so you can get some sleep. I think I could probably sleep now too.”

  “Well, do me a favor and wait until you get home, okay?”

  He went out the door to the sounds of their laughter.

  * * *

  Grant and Stan were sitting in their unmarked car on a mountainside road near the intersection with Newcomb’s drive. They were providing off property surveillance tonight while Scott’s men were providing coverage on the property itself.

  So far, it had been a quiet, boring night. They had run out of things to talk about over an hour ago. There was no way Grant wanted to talk to Stan about Kelly yet. Stan would really pour it on about Grant never dating and now, all of a sudden, he wanted to date his step-sister. No way. He wasn’t going through that, at least not yet.

  Grant could feel himself getting sleepy, so he started the car. “I think I’ll drive around to the back of the Newcomb estate and see if anything’s going on back there.”

  Grant drove slowly with the headlights off. They didn’t want to give themselves away and spook anyone who might be approaching from that side.

  Just as they pulled to a stop to watch for a while, Stan let out a soft “Yes!” and pointed to a house bordering the Newcomb estate. “Look at that house to the south. There, in the upstairs window on the far left. See it? A flicker of a light.”

  Grant followed Stan’s directions and didn’t see anything at first. Then he saw just a flicker of light that looked as if it were coming from a small flashlight pointed toward the floor.

  “That’s it. We’ve got out man.”

  Grant eased the car toward the other house. They both jumped out of the car, leaving it blocking the gateway to the property. They worked their way up to the house as silently as they could. They didn’t call for backup because they’d already discussed this and decided that the headlights from the backup could give them all away.

  They reached the front of the house. After Grant checked the front door and found it bolted, they separated with Grant going to the left and Stan to the right. They met on a patio in the rear where the sliding door was standing open.

  Just as they were preparing to enter, a dark figure appeared in the doorway. They each grabbed an arm and took him down. They had cuffs on him before he could even think about struggling.

  Stan reached inside the house and turned on the inside and outside lights at the same time. Grant pulled the ski mask off and they were both extremely satisfied when they recognized their man, Carlos Sanchez.

  Stan laughed and said, “Well, Carlos, I don’t think your lawyer and all his contacts with the city will help you this time.”

  They walked him around to their car where Grant called it in on the radio as Stan put Sanchez in the backseat.

  After they had finished all the booking paperwork at the station, they watched with satisfaction as a black and white left for the county jail with Sanchez. That was when Sergeant Nordstrom walked in looking like it was 9am rather than 2am. She walked up to Stan and said, “Good work detectives. The chief said to tell you that he was glad you got this guy, and that he knew you were right all along, but couldn’t buck the city council.”

  Grant had been ignored long enough. He stepped between Stan and Sonia. “What did you think, Sergeant?” He placed heavy emphasis on the word ‘you.’

  She smiled, not too genuinely, and said, “What I thought is neither important nor relevant to this case, Detective.” She stepped aside and said, “Now.” She looked at each detective in turn. “As of right now, all of your time is going to be spent on this case with the Air Force. I expect the two of you to devote your full time and attention to it.”

  When Stan began to protest, she said, “You’re lucky you were in the right place at the right time tonight.”

  As she walked away, she flung over her shoulder, “Am I clear on both points, Detectives?”

  Both of them muttered “Yes, Sergeant,” at the same time.

  They stood side by side watching her walk down the long hallway and through the outside door into the compound.

  Stan shook his head and blew out his breath. “That is one mean spirited woman.”

  Grant slapped him on the back. “I don’t think so Stan. Instead, I just think she’s one scared woman.”

  Stan laughed loudly this time. “Scared? What’s she scared of?”

  Grant looked Stan in the eyes and said, “Herself, mostly. I almost feel sorry for her.” When Stan turned an incredulous look on him he explained. “She’s so insecure that she sees all of us as a threat, not only to her stripes but to her job. No, not just you and me, everyone here.”

  Stan thought about that for a moment. “Yeah, I guess I can see that. When I think back to before she made sergeant, she was a good cop, and I don’t remember any of this stuff that we’ve been seeing since she made rank.”

  Grant ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going home to try to get a few hours sleep before we start full time on that case with the Feds.”

  On the way home, Grant’s mind kept wandering. His thoughts went from the new case to his mother to Kelly. And if he were honest with himself, he spent more time thinking about Kelly than anything else.

  The more he was around Kelly, the more he liked what he saw. She wasn’t like rich girls he’d known in college. She dressed very well, and she drove a fancy little sports car, but other than that, you would never know she came from the wealthiest family in town. She was real. And he liked her.

  He did think about Jane though. He wanted to hate her, but was finding it difficult. He was sure that there was no way that his name meant anything to her. She couldn’t be that good of an actress. How could that be?

  When he walked into his apartment, he simply went straight into the bedroom pulling his clothes off as he went and fell into the bed when he reached it. He was asleep almost immediately.

  Chapter Six

  Kelly hadn’t slept well and was in what Wayne would call one of her crabby moods. She didn’t like that word, but that was what her brother had always called it when she was feeling grouchy and didn’t want to be around anyone. It wasn’t always due to her ankle hurting, and it certainly wasn’t this morning.

  It was Saturday morning, and she didn’t want to leave her nice and comfortably cool condo all day. After all, the forecast called for a high of 105. She just wanted to curl up in front of her fake fireplace with a good book.

  But, no, she couldn’t do that today. Today was her father’s funeral. Her father! No! Harry! Ever since she was six years old and he quit coming around anymore, she had always heard all the adults in her life call him Harry. So, to her, he had always been Harry, the one who never came back. He was never daddy, dad, or even father. That was partly why none of the past week had seemed real to her, especially when she’d seen him in that hospital bed with all those tubes hooked up to him. That had been a stranger in that bed. She never knew that man. Well, she must have known him somewhat when she was little, but she couldn’t remember anything from that time in her life.

  Now, she had to get up, get dressed, in black to make matters worse, and go to their church where the big service was to be held. She hated black. With her long black hair, she looked like Elvira in black. At least her dark complexion helped some, but she didn’t think it helped enough.

  It was more than just having to wear black clothes. She just didn’t want to go. As Wayne had reminded her at least a dozen times this week, the man had deserted them, all of the family in fact. He hadn’t been there all those times when she’d needed him even before the accident. But she had especially needed him after the accident. However, he’d never been there for her, not even once.

  She had to stop this line of thought. She couldn’t hate a man who was dead, especially one she’d never known. She knew that wasn’t right. And besides, this
was turning into a pity party. And she’d learned quickly as a teenager that pity parties only made things worse.

  She was glad that Wayne was picking her up this morning. She didn’t feel much like driving. Ha! She didn’t feel much like doing anything. She could get in and out of the passenger side of a car much better since she could use her good right leg for leverage. That was especially true with her long black dress that reached to her shoe tops.

  She dreaded the short drive to their grandparents’ home though. Wayne could be a bear to be around at times, especially when he was being forced to do something he didn’t want to do. And today was certainly one of those times. Grandfather had emphatically ordered her brother to attend the service, and Wayne hadn’t been happy about that. Kelly suspected that was probably partly why their grandfather had insisted that she and Wayne go to the estate so the whole family could ride in the company limo together to the church and cemetery.

  Kelly was rather pleasantly surprised when Wayne picked her up and he seemed to be in a decent mood. In fact, he seemed to be in a better mood than she herself was in. She maneuvered into his Mercedes SLK350 Roadster and tried to smile at her brother. It was usually easy to smile when she thought of him and his toy. Wayne’s having his toy made it easier for her. That way he didn’t dare tease her about her red Mustang which cost half as much.

  They were all quiet in the limo on the ride to the church. Kelly had been watching Jane. Now, there was one woman who looked good in black. With Jane’s blond hair and light complexion, the black made just the right kind of contrast.

  As she continued to scrutinize Jane, she was surprised to notice that the older woman didn’t look like Kelly had expected her to look. What bothered Kelly was that Jane didn’t look as if she were grieving that much today. She’d have to see if she could find out more about that later.

  An even bigger surprise had been Leo in his dress uniform. With his cap covering his shaved head, he looked like a totally different man. The big surprise was when Kelly realized that he was rather attractive, in a big sort of way, of course.