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

by T. E. Killian

  It was more than a little comforting to Kelly, who had no real friends. Her high school years had been filled with surgeries, therapy, and struggles to maintain her studies, leaving no time for a social life. By the time she attended college, she was so used to her isolation that she never really broke out of it. Instead, she spent all of her time studying, even going to summer school until she had finished her undergraduate and masters degrees both in less than five years. Since then, she had spent all of her time either at work or with her small, close knit family.

  Could Sarah, who was actually her step-mother, become the mother figure Kelly hadn’t had since she was twelve? She was beginning to think, no, hope that would be the case. But, first, Kelly had to help Sarah get through the rough times ahead of her. Maybe that would help cement their relationship even more.

  Chapter Nine

  On Wednesday morning, Kelly was having much more trouble than usual getting started. For two hours, she had been fighting to keep her mind on her work, but with little to show for her efforts. Nevertheless, she was determined to continue her struggle.

  She could not get all the events of yesterday off her mind. Poor Jane . . . no Sarah! She would have to try to remember to call her Sarah now.

  It must have been quite a shock for Sarah to sit there in the parlor and suddenly be faced with a sister, and a son she didn’t know she had. Then the fact that she also had a daughter was thrown in as well. And also to later have Leo give her that letter from Harry explaining why he had lied to her. Kelly couldn’t imagine how she would react to such staggering news.

  How was Sarah doing this morning? Kelly looked at the clock on the far wall. Ten o’clock. This should be a good time to call Sarah, just to see how she was doing. There wasn’t anything wrong with that . . . was there? She would do it!

  Kelly still didn’t know Sarah very well, but when she hung up the phone after having a short, somewhat awkward conversation with her, Kelly was now more concerned about Sarah than she had been before the phone call.

  Sarah just didn’t sound right. It seemed to Kelly that something was bothering her. And she thought that it had to be something other than all that had happened yesterday, although, it definitely could be something that was a result of all those things. That was probably a given.

  Then it hit her. Sarah had just mentioned her children and how she was afraid they wouldn’t be able to accept her after all these years, especially her daughter who had apparently refused to come to meet her. That was it! That was what was bothering Sarah! And why wouldn’t it? Kelly hadn’t really heard Grant say much to Sarah yesterday and the daughter had stayed away. Sybil, the sister, had overwhelmingly accepted Sarah as her sister. But she had done all the talking . . . all the touching. Grant had just sat there watching the two women.

  But, what could Kelly do? She wasn’t actually in the picture. Sure, she was technically their step-sister, but that didn’t seem real to her, and she was sure that neither Grant nor his sister had thought much about that fact either.

  Kelly forced her mind off Sarah and onto her work. She was somewhat successful for several hours. But then at two o’clock, Sarah’s plight began to invade her thoughts again.

  She leaned back in her chair and placed her left leg up on the specially designed leg rest under her desk. She focused on the irritating but familiar throbbing pain coming from her ankle. Focusing on that pain usually cleared her mind of whatever it was she didn’t want to think about. As usual, it worked . . . for another ninety minutes.

  It was now 3:30 and she just couldn’t keep Sarah off her mind any longer. Again, the thought struck her, what could she do? Maybe the more important question was should she do anything?

  She looked at the phone again. Should she? She certainly couldn’t call the daughter since she hadn’t even met her yet. Grant. She could always call the police station to get in touch with him. Then she remembered that he had given her his card as part of the investigation into the break in at her grandparents’ home.

  She opened the file drawer where she kept her purse then rummaged through it until she found Grant’s card. Should she or not?

  Before she could talk herself out of it, again, she picked up the phone and dialed his cell phone number.

  When he answered, she said, “Hello, this is Kelly Newcomb.”

  “Oh, hi Kelly, how are you doing today?”

  She tried and failed to detect anything from his voice. All she could sense was that he seemed happy that she had called. Could that be true?

  “I’m calling because I’m concerned about Sarah. I guess I should really say your mother.”

  She heard what sounded like a groan but forged ahead. “I think she needs some sort of reassurance from you and your sister that you don’t blame her for her being out of your lives for all those years.”

  There was silence on the other end. When he did speak, she could tell that he had been holding his breath and had just now let it out in a soft whoosh before he began talking.

  “Okay, I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t know what to do about it.” She heard the distant sound of a horn honking. “Look, Kelly, I’m in my car, and I’m only a few blocks from you. Why don’t I stop in there so we can talk about this better?”

  Kelly was so surprised that she couldn’t answer at first. When she was able to control her voice somewhat, she said, “Yes, I guess that would be fine. I’ll tell Darla to send you on back when you get here. You do remember your way back here, don’t you?”

  “Sure. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  This time when Kelly hung up the phone, she didn’t feel better as she had thought she would. She felt uncharacteristically nervous. Nervous? But why?

  It was no more than ten minutes later that Darla buzzed her to let her know that Grant was on his way back to her office.

  She stepped around her desk to meet him when he walked through her office door. They sat in the facing chairs again. She smoothed the wrinkles on her slacks and then looked up at him. His focus was on her left foot.

  When he looked up at her, he said, “Do you mind if I ask what happened to your leg?”

  She didn’t flinch as she often did when someone asked about her injury. “Normally, I do mind.” She paused to collect her thoughts. “But, since we now realize that we are technically related by the fact that my father was married to your mother, you might as well know.”

  She kept her eyes on his in an attempt to judge his reaction to her declaration. She had the stray thought that he must be a good detective since she could sense no reaction at all.

  Kelly blew out a breath and jumped in. “I was in a car accident when I was twelve and my ankle was shattered so badly that even after many operations, the surgeons were only able to fuse some of the bones together leaving me with a stiff ankle which won’t bear weight without a great deal of pain.”

  She reached down and tapped the brace on her shoe and leg with a fingernail. “I don’t walk without this brace. I use crutches when I don’t have it on or the pain would be unbearable.”

  “You still have pain, even with the brace on, don’t you?”

  “Yes, if I’m up on it too much during the day.” She pointed to her desk. “I have a special leg rest there, under my desk and another one at home. They take the pressure off the ankle and allow it to rest which causes the pain to slowly decrease.”

  He was doing it again! He was staring into her eyes so intently that she had to catch herself to keep from squirming.

  “Somehow I get the feeling that you didn’t tell me the whole story behind the accident. Since you were only twelve, I doubt you were driving.”

  She knew where he was going and didn’t want to go there. She took a deep breath and answered. “Again, I would normally say it was none of your business, but since your mother is living in my grandparents’ home, we will undoubtedly see much of each other in the future.”

  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yes, my mother was
driving the car, and she was killed.” Even after sixteen years it still hurt to say it.

  “I’m sorry.” He ran his hand through his wavy brown hair. “Sorry that your mother died and sorry that I pushed you into telling me. I guess the cop in me is just used to pushing for all the facts.” He lifted his eyes from where his fisted hands were in his lap to her eyes again. “I’m glad you told me though. It helps me understand you a little better.”

  She was surprised, or was it pleasure she actually felt that he even wanted to understand her better. She shook her head. “I’m okay . . . really. Now, let’s get to the reason you’re here today.”

  He smiled at her. It was the first time she’d seen him actually break out into a full smile, and it shook her more than she wanted to admit.

  “The real reason I’m here is not just to ease my mother’s fears that Alison and I won’t accept her. I want to get to know you better, Kelly, and not just as my step-sister either.”

  At her surprised reaction, he said, “Yes, I’ve thought about that fact . . . a lot. In fact, I don’t even want to think of you as my step-sister.” There was that smile again. “That’s why I asked about your ankle.”

  Now, she was flustered! What was going on here? What was he trying to say? What was he thinking? For that matter, what was she supposed to think? What was she supposed to say? What could she say?

  “I don’t go out on dates.” Now, where did that inane comment come from? She could feel her throat and face heat in a blush. Thankfully, her dark complexion usually kept her blushes from showing too much.

  She expected his smile again and wasn’t disappointed. “That’s all right. I don’t think I’ve had an actual date in at least three years either.”

  “I mean ever!” What? Why did she say that? She was making a fool of herself now.

  This time, the smile turned into a grin. “Don’t you think it’s about time you started? I will tell you flat out, I am very attracted to you.”

  “But, my ankle?”

  “Your ankle has nothing to do with any of this. Kelly, I find you extremely attractive. Your ankle doesn’t change who you are, does it? Don’t you realize how attractive you really are?”

  “Boys . . . men always seem to avoid me when they see me limp. And I can understand that. No man wants half a woman.”

  “Half a woman?” He almost shouted. “Whoever put that idea into your head?” He shook his head disgustedly. “Only small minded insecure people point at an injury like yours and think less of you for it. Did you do anything to deserve that bad ankle? Did you do anything to cause it? Is there anything you can do to change it?”

  When she didn’t answer any of his rhetorical questions, he said, “No, you didn’t and you can’t change it. How can anyone hold that against you then?” He was looking directly into her eyes again. “I certainly don’t.”

  In spite of the warm feeling his comments were giving her, Kelly had to stop him before he went any further. She shook her head and said, “I still don’t date.”

  That didn’t seem to faze him at all. “Okay, would you call this a date?” He waved his arm around the room and motioned to her then back at him. “No? Well, why can’t we just have more non-dates like this until one of us either says ‘no more’ or we both say ‘more?’ Can you do that for me, Kelly?”

  She brought her hands to her cheeks and shuddered. “I can’t answer that right now.” She struggled with her emotions. Where did that sudden urge to cry come from? She never cried anymore. She had to get control of herself.

  She removed her hands from her face and looked him in the eye again. Then she remembered Harry’s letter.

  “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about Harry’s letter.” When he gave her a puzzled look, she continued. “Leo had a letter from Harry to Sarah that he was supposed to give her if Harry died.”

  She was pleased that he allowed her to collect her thoughts without interrupting.

  “Sarah asked me to read it to her. In it Harry said that he hadn’t wanted any ties with his family because of the arguments he and Grandfather always got into about his career choice. So, when Sarah had amnesia, and since she was from here, he decided to cut her off from her family so he wouldn’t have to deal with his.”

  She watched Grant’s face turn red and he seemed to be gritting his teeth.

  “So, you see, Sarah had absolutely nothing to do with her staying away from you and your sister. She really did not ever know about you.”

  Grant was also clenching his fists by the time he spoke. “Kelly, I know he was your father, but if he were here right now, I would have a tough time keeping my hands off of him.”

  Kelly reached out and touched his clasped fists. “I don’t’ blame you at all Grant. I think I would have a difficult time being civil to him after he abandoned my brother and me too.”

  They were quiet for a few minutes. Kelly could see that Grant was struggling with his emotions so she waited for him to speak again.

  When he did, it wasn’t anything she might have expected him to say.

  “Okay, I’m good. What do you want me to do?”

  She was so startled that she couldn’t speak at first. “Could you come with me to see Sarah so you can reassure her that you will indeed accept her back into your life?”

  He groaned. “I don’t know. I can’t promise all of that right now.” When she started to protest, he said, “I will go with you though. If nothing else, just to be with you. And I will give her a chance. How’s that?”

  “Okay.” Kelly decided she would have to take what he offered . . . for now.

  Then she remembered something else she wanted to ask Grant.

  “Grant, could I ask you a somewhat professional question?”

  He looked a little wary, but said, “Sure, you can ask me anything.”

  “Okay. You are apparently in on the investigation of Harry’s death. Do you think he was murdered?”

  Grant frowned and said, “I can only tell you that it is possible that someone intentionally shot him. We won’t know for sure until we complete our investigation. But I need to ask you not to tell anyone else what I just told you, okay?”

  Kelly sighed, “No, I won’t do that.”

  With that, they stood to leave for the estate.

  * * *

  Grant’s mind was in a whirl as he followed Kelly’s red Mustang up the side of the mountain to the Newcomb estate. He couldn’t believe he’d been so bold. Him? The one who never had dates because he was too shy to talk to a woman, much less ask her out on a date. Well, he hadn’t actually asked her out on a date. She had assumed correctly that he wanted to and headed him off before he actually got there. But now he was determined to arrange something with her before he left this place today.

  Kelly drove through the gate and past the circle drive where he and Stan had parked before. She pulled up in front of what looked like an oversized one-car garage. Planning to park in front like before, he was surprised when the garage door opened, and he saw a large open area beyond, not a garage as he had assumed. Then he noticed that she had an arm out her window motioning for him to follow her through the opening.

  Once inside, he was surprised to see a paved parking area that could accommodate possibly twenty cars if they were parked properly. He pulled up beside her, jumped out of his car, ran around the rear of his car, and was there in time to hold her door. He offered her an arm to lean on as she climbed out of her car but she ignored it.

  He realized that since her left ankle was the damaged one that made it much more difficult for her to climb out of the driver’s side of any vehicle. He had to admire the way she had seemingly adapted though. She grasped the door frame above her to pull herself around so she could place her right foot on the ground then she used the door to pull herself to her feet. He knew she was deliberately doing it herself and not allowing him to help her so he stepped back and didn’t say anything while trying to hide a smile. When she finished her task, he closed the door beh
ind her and silently followed her toward the large house.

  He could tell that she was trying desperately not to limp. He was sure that had to be next to impossible this late in the day.

  He caught up with her at a door that opened into a large covered patio extending the width of the big house. He was somewhat surprised that she allowed him to open it for her. His gaze wandered to the large landscaped lawn which contained a huge pool complex complete with cabanas on this side and a tennis court behind it.

  She caught him looking at the tennis court. “Yes, I used to play tennis . . . before my injury, and I might add that I was rather good for a twelve year old girl. Since then, though, I’ve only been able to make use of the pool. In fact, the water has always been quite therapeutic for my ankle.”

  When he didn’t comment, she said, “I called Sarah on the way over here, and she should be waiting for us just inside.”

  Grant touched her arm to stop her. “I noticed that you’ve stopped calling her Jane and are now calling her Sarah.”

  She turned to face him and said, “Yes, she has asked all of us to call her Sarah now.”

  Grant filed that little bit of information away to be dealt with later, as Kelly continued to lead him across the patio, through a set of sliding doors into what appeared to be a family room where Sarah was standing in the middle of a sunken seating area. They stepped down and joined her there with each of them taking a seat on a different sofa.

  Grant watched Kelly as she looked first at Sarah then at him and smiled, before saying, “Why don’t we start with each of you telling the other some things about yourself?”

  Grant shook his head. “We already did that yesterday, after you and the others left.

  Sarah spoke for the first time. “You talked about yourself and Sybil talked about me before the accident.” She gave him a feeble smile. “Why don’t I tell you a little about myself since the accident?”

  When Grant didn’t respond, Kelly said, “That would be great.”