Stolen Memories

by Liz Johnson

  It was just…nice.

  Zach frowned at the man in cuffs, wrapping an arm around Julie’s waist. “Stay close.”

  Yep. That was nice.

  She nodded as they wound their way past the desk sergeant and into a bull pen of desks. Clumped in groups of twos and threes, the metal monstrosities took over the entire room, in some spots leaving barely enough space to squeeze between. Zach just pulled her in a little closer in the tight spots.

  When they reached a desk toward the back of the room, he pointed to a chair at its end, while sliding into his own seat. Flipping on the computer monitor, he pulled up a search engine. “This is the missing-persons database for all of Minnesota. Let’s see if Lonnie or Kay is listed.”

  He tapped on his keyboard until a results screen popped up.

  She leaned over the edge of the desk, nearly at his shoulder, searching for a picture or something that would jog her memory. Seeing a mom with her baby that morning had been like sticking her finger into a light socket—the memories jolting and jarring. And more than a little bit painful.

  More than the images, emotions filled her entire chest, wrapping around her lungs and squeezing her heart. It was like she was experiencing them for the first time, and she hadn’t been able to keep herself in check.

  “No one by those names is listed.” He let out a long sigh.

  “Maybe another spelling? Or maybe it was Kate instead of Kay. Maybe I misheard her. Maybe Kay is just a nickname.” She hated how desperate she sounded.

  He typed a bit more. Another screen popped up. Same result.

  Drumming his fingers on the desk, he stared at the ceiling for a long second. “Well, let’s search by her birthmark.”

  Oh, let that be a birthmark.

  “What?” His tone dropped.

  Had she spoken out loud? “Hmm?”

  With squinting eyes he assessed her. “Are you not sure about the birthmark on her cheek?”

  “No. I am.” Except for the knot in her stomach. She could see it in her mind’s eye. But could she believe that image? Her mind had had no trouble fabricating other stories. “It’s just, what if my memory is wrong? What if I’m misremembering?”

  Spinning his knees toward her, he leaned forward and cupped her folded hands inside his. “Listen to me carefully.” He waited until she glanced up to meet his stare, his eyes soft, his lips gently pursed. “You’re doing your best. I trust you. I trust that you’re giving me everything you can.” His grip around her hands tightened as he pressed his palms together, and she welcomed his strength, releasing a pent-up breath. “We’re going to check out everything you remember, as soon as you remember it. And when we find something, we’ll double-check.”

  “But what if we’re just wasting time?” Why couldn’t she just agree with him? Why couldn’t she just believe? What was wrong with her?

  “We’re just going to keep digging. It’s the only thing we can do.” His voice was soft and firm at the same time. Certain and steadfast. “We’re not going to sit back and hope something happens. We’re going to look for her. And that starts with finding more of your memories. We’ll find Kay and her mom, and we’ll find the man who did this to you.”

  By the time he finished speaking, his elbows were on his knees as he bent all the way over at the waist, and she mirrored his position. A few strands of hair fell across his forehead, and she freed one of her hands to brush it back into place. A warm scent of earthy aftershave followed her hand as she brought it to her throat.

  It had been a while since she’d been this close to such an attractive man. She didn’t need a distinct memory to be certain of that. She just knew.

  A smile played at the corners of his lips, his boyish dimple hollowing out his right cheek. “What are you thinking?”

  There were no words in her vocabulary to describe her thoughts—or, more accurately, her feelings. She wanted to be near him, to borrow some of his assurance and be swallowed in his strong embrace.

  She leaned even farther in toward him. His eyes followed her movement, drawing her closer until there was barely a foot between them.

  “Jones!”

  Zach jerked up, ramrod straight, and dropped her hands. Pushing with his feet, he pedaled his chair back until he bumped into another desk. “Ramirez!”

  Heat shot up her neck and curled around her ears. They’d been caught almost kissing. In the middle of a bustling police station.

  Could she be any more stupid? She’d nearly kissed a man she’d only just met.

  No matter how kind his smile or gentle his eyes, she had no business thinking of Zach as anything other than the cop working her case. Seriously.

  All right, he was a generous cop, who’d given her a place to stay and new clothes. A cop who hadn’t hesitated to jump into a freezing lake to rescue her and his sister. A cop with a kind heart, who adopted stray dogs….

  Strays. Samantha had told her the truth. Zach rescued strays, and Julie was just another.

  She had nothing to offer any man—let alone a distinguished police officer with a family and a home and a life. Until she knew who she was, she had no business letting her mind even wander down those kinds of roads. And when she did remember, well, then she’d be headed back to her home. And to her family.

  There were people out there waiting for her, looking for her. She knew it. She just couldn’t name them.

  Until she found them, almost kissing the man who had given her a temporary home and his protection could only lead to more embarrassment.

  Covering her face with her hands, she peeked through her fingers at the officer who had interrupted them. Thank goodness he’d spoken or she’d have made an even bigger fool of herself.

  “You got a call from someone at McNulty’s Pub. Wendy.” Ramirez flipped his pad open, reading from his notes. “She said your girl Melinda called in. She’s definitely not going to be stateside until late this week.”

  Zach’s shoulders fell, and he squinted his eyes. “Perfect.”

  When he looked back at her, it took everything Julie had not to ask who Melinda and Wendy were.

  Apparently he could read the question on her face. “McNulty’s is near Webster Park, and Wendy thought there might have been a woman with a baby in there on the night you were attacked. I’m just waiting to hear back from the hostess, who is currently on her honeymoon.”

  “McNulty’s.” She let the word stroll over her tongue, whispering it several more times. “No. I don’t remember it.” Ramirez’s face fell, so she quickly added, “But that doesn’t mean anything. I don’t remember much yet.”

  “You will.” Zach shot her a smile, walking his chair back to the front of his desk and picking up his phone. “And until then let’s see if anything you remember might help the U.S. Marshals.”

  Why hadn’t she thought of that?

  He pulled a card from his desk drawer and punched the number into his phone. “Serena Summers? This is Detective Zach Jones with the—” Marshal Summers must have cut him off, as he stopped short. “Yes. Julie remembered that the baby she was carrying is named Kay and her mother is named Lonnie. Do those names mean anything to you?”

  Zach’s gaze settled on Julie, the weight tangible, but he didn’t say anything. “All right. Let me ask her.” Punching the hold button, he set the receiver back into its cradle without shifting his eyes. “They want to talk with you in person and show you a few more pictures.”

  “I don’t remember that guy Frank that they showed me last time.”

  “They know that, but a baby showed up in Denver around the time that Kay disappeared, and they want to know if she might be the same baby. What do you think?”

  The day’s emotions and breakthroughs rushed back through her, stealing her strength and depositing it somewhere out of reach. Sinking back against her chair, she offered the only response she could manage, a loose nod.

  Picking the phone back up and punching the button, he said, “When can you be here? Tomorrow morning. Good.
We’ll meet you at the police station at eight-thirty. See you then.”

  After hanging up, he spun back toward her. “They’re hopping a flight first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “Good.” She couldn’t muster anything more.

  He stood. She stared, unable to match his movements.

  “I was going to ask if you wanted to look through another group of mug shots, but you look beat.” Taking her hands, he lifted her from the chair until she was close enough to fall into his arms. If she wanted to. Which she did not. Much.

  Tilting his head toward the door, he said, “Why don’t we get you home to get some rest? Serena and Josh are going to check Lonnie and Kay’s names against the national missing-persons database.” Tucking her into his side, he moved through the maze. “You’ve had a pretty big day, huh?”

  A yawn caught her off guard as she leaned on his shoulder. Before she could blink, she was back in his car being whisked away to his home. The steady hum of the engine rocked her until she couldn’t think of anything but how silly she’d been. First to doubt that Zach was a good man. And then to nearly kiss him.

  She wasn’t anything special to him, but she was most certainly safe with him.

  At least in that moment.

  NINE

  Zach stared at the face of the clock on the wall as Serena and Josh settled into seats at the table opposite Julie and him. Eight twenty-nine. Right on time. Nodding at each of the marshals, he folded his hands on the table. Either that or he might try to put his arm around Julie again. And that didn’t exactly convey professionalism.

  “Thank you for meeting with us again.” Josh directed his comment to Julie, but offered Zach a nod of greeting.

  “Whatever I can do to help find Kay.” Julie leaned forward, her eyes bright. Apparently she hadn’t been plagued by a sleepless night that had very little to do with a case filled with dead ends and far too much to do with wondering what would have happened in the bull pen if Ramirez hadn’t interrupted them.

  He scooted his chair another inch away from the woman to his right. More space meant more cognizant thought.

  Of course, anything would be an improvement over nearly kissing her the day before. What had he been thinking? Well, he hadn’t been thinking. That was the problem. She’d just been so pretty with those big eyes and quivering lip. He’d wanted to comfort her.

  And, to some extent, himself.

  But this wasn’t the time or the place for a romantic attachment. She was a case. And she would leave as soon as it was solved. Not to mention, she had plenty on her plate at the moment. Finding Kay. Unearthing lost memories. Running from a guy trying to kill her.

  He had no business working her case and kissing her. She needed his protection. And getting emotionally involved would keep him from giving her his very best.

  Glancing at the spot where her hands held on to the edge of the table, Julie took a deep breath. “If I was the last person to see her—to hold her—I’ll do whatever I can.”

  Pulling a small digital recorder from his pocket, Josh set it on the table. “Mind if I record our conversation?”

  “Go ahead.”

  He pressed a button, and a tiny red light cast its shadow across the glossy wooden tabletop.

  Serena opened a file, pulling out several large pictures. “We appreciate that. Can you identify any of these people as Lonnie or baby Kay? Let’s start with the women.”

  “Sure.” With the tips of her fingers, Julie pulled the pictures across the table, staring into first one face, then another and another. She stretched her neck for a closer look at the fourth image, finally shaking her head. “I don’t think so.” Shutting her eyes, she took several beats in silence, and Zach wanted nothing more than to hold on to her hand as she ventured back into the veiled recesses of her mind.

  “Lonnie’s hair was tucked into a hat, and it was dark, but her face was thinner—her cheeks kind of hollow, her eyes scared. And she was just a kid. So young.”

  “What’s your best guess at her age?” Serena poised her pen on the file, ready to take the note.

  “Maybe eighteen. Maybe not quite.”

  After scribbling with her pen, Serena collected the images and tucked them back into place. “Do you have any other memories of her? Do you know where you met or where she went?”

  “I don’t know. Like I said, it was dark.”

  Zach bit his tongue to keep from reminding them that the video had a time stamp that set the ordeal somewhere in the neighborhood of ten at night. Maybe it was dark because it was night. But that wasn’t worth breaking the flow of Julie’s interview.

  Trouble filtered across her face, like a light through partially open blinds. “I don’t remember anything else about her, but something in here—” she pressed a hand to the blue T-shirt covering her stomach “—tells me that she didn’t come back for Kay.”

  “Do you think this could be the baby you were carrying? Kay?” Josh pushed a single piece of picture paper across the table, and Julie held it at arm’s length. It was a small child with fair hair, round cheeks and a toothless grin.

  With a slow shake of the head, she said, “It’s not her.” As she offered it back, she continued, “Kay had dark hair and a birthmark—I think—on her cheek.”

  Both marshals instantly sat a little taller, a little straighter. Josh’s jaw hung slack for a second. “Are you sure it was a birthmark?”

  “Well, I mean, it could have been a bruise, but it was more square than that. It was a strawberry mark that had almost right angle corners. Bruises usually have a tapering off—a softer edge where the color begins to fade.” She brought a bent knuckle to her cheek under her once swollen eye. Even beneath the makeup, the outline of her injury was visible, and the marshals nodded in understanding.

  The air nearly crackled with unspoken questions. Everyone wanted to ask if Julie could remember more, but she just kept shaking her head.

  “I wish I had something else. Something that would really help.”

  “Oh, this has been a huge help.” Serena pointed to the recorder. “We need to talk with Bud and Burke—”

  “Bud and Burke?” The names meant nothing to Zach except that maybe their case was bigger than he’d guessed. He knew about the baby picked up in the Denver airport—probably the kid in the picture. And now Kay. Josh and Serena had mentioned multiple babies and other marshals on their last visit. At least two more men looking for missing children with who knew how many in the background. Just how big of a case had he stumbled upon?

  “Bud Hollingsworth and Burke Trier.” Josh pulled the recorder back to his side of the table before flipping it off. “They’re with the marshals office and working with us on some cases that we think might be related.”

  The corner of Julie’s eyes crinkled, her lips pursing. She pointed to the picture that Serena tucked into the front pocket of her folder. “To my case?” When they said nothing, she came to her own conclusion. “That baby is missing, too, isn’t she?”

  Apparently common sense and deductive reasoning weren’t housed in the same area of the brain as long-term memory. Julie seemed to have no trouble unlocking those skills.

  “Something like that.” The marshals glanced at each other, their eyes locking for longer than necessary, and when Serena finally looked away, Josh’s gaze hovered on her for a moment longer. It wasn’t openly affectionate, nor was it emotionless. His eyes flickered with something like professional admiration.

  The entire moment lasted less than a second before Josh turned back to his recorder. “We better get back on the road. But we’d like to hear if you remember anything else related to Kay or her mother.”

  “Of course.” Julie eyed him like she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to trust him. Probably, like Zach, they couldn’t talk about ongoing investigations, but that didn’t mean Julie had to like it. She bestowed a genuine smile on Serena, and the room lit up, like the sky during a spring thunderstorm.

  Zach jumped to his feet
and gestured toward the door with a flat hand. “I’ll walk you out.” He didn’t know when he’d become afraid of lightning, but he had to get out of there and get his head on straight before spending any more time with Julie and her smile.

  The marshals gathered their things and moved toward the door. Zach turned the knob and pulled it open at the same moment that Serena spun back to Julie. “Would you look at one more picture for me?”

  Julie’s gaze sought him out—not exactly asking for permission, more for assurance. He gave her a quick nod, even though he had no idea what else Serena could be looking for. He had to trust this team or risk losing any help they might be able to offer. And risk missing out on finding Kay. That wasn’t a gamble he could afford to take.

  Serena pulled open her leather file one more time, flourishing the same five-by-seven that she had shown Julie less than a week before. “Are you sure you don’t know this guy?”

  Face turning red and eyes squinting hard, Julie focused on the face before her. “Frank Adams.” She spoke the name in a hushed tone, running a finger over the placard at his chest. Her eyes seemed to caress his every line from the red slash across his chin to the angle of his dark hair. To Zach’s left Josh held his breath while Serena leaned forward on her tiptoes.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know him.”

  The sharp click of their heels as the marshals marched through the bull pen to the station’s front door marked the rhythm of his new mantra. Find. Out. Who. Frank. Is.

  They hadn’t asked Julie to take a second look for her health. They’d wanted to see Julie’s reaction to him because they thought Frank Adams was somehow involved. And if he was tied to their case, then there was a chance that he was tied to Julie’s case.

  It was past time to track the guy down.

  Josh pushed open the glass door, ushering Serena through with a hand at the small of her back.

  It wasn’t just the sunlight that made him squint. Something was going on with these two.

  “So how long have you been together?”

  Serena’s eyes popped open wider than they’d been. “Oh, we’re not together,” she said while Josh glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before scraping his toe across the asphalt drive in front of the station.