“Nice to meet you, again.” Jamie smiled as she walked up to Carrie and shook her hand.
“Come on, come inside.” He put his arm around Jamie’s shoulders.
“You coming, Kat?” he asked over his shoulder.
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
***
Kat watched as they walked into the house, her heart full to bursting. Finn had arrived shortly after they did and had stood apart while they said their hellos. She turned to him now.
“Thank you, for everything.”
“Hey, I didn’t do much. It was a lucky break, you catching that news broadcast. You didn’t need me.” He smiled.
“You were there for me.” She smiled back. “That’s much more than I deserve. Look, I’ve got to go in, but we need to talk. It’s about time I gave you an explanation.”
He shook his head. “It was a long time ago. Let’s just leave it in the past and move on, okay? I’ve got to get back, too. I need to check in with my boss and fill him in. I gave him the basics on the phone but I need to give him a full report.” He turned to get back into his car. “Jamie will have to make a statement, but I’m sure it can wait a couple of days until she’s settled back in. I’ll give you a call.”
Kat watched as he drove off, then turned and walked into the house to join in the celebrations.
Thirty-Six
The next couple of days went by in a blur of photographs and news stories and it was all slightly overwhelming. She felt strangely at home in the company of these people, in this big house, even though she had no memory of it.
She had hoped that something would have struck a chord, unlocked that part of her mind that was keeping her life a secret from her, but there had been nothing. Not even a glimpse.
Jake and Kat couldn’t do enough for her, and barely let her out of their sight. It was heart warming, if slightly claustrophobic. But for some reason, she just couldn’t take to Carrie. There was something about her that made her uncomfortable and she’d found that she didn’t like being left in a room alone with her. She’d caught Carrie staring at her a couple of times but she’d immediately looked away when Jamie had met her eyes.
She was looking forward to getting out of the house, though, albeit to the police station. Finn had called earlier that morning and asked if she would come into town and make a statement about what she remembered. It was the first time she was going out since she’d been back and was nervous about going alone, so she’d asked Kat to accompany her.
“You all set?” Jamie hadn’t heard Kat come into the living room where she’d been sitting, enjoying the sunshine streaming through the windows.
“Yep, let’s go and get this over with.” She picked up her purse and followed Kat out to the car.
It only took them a few minutes to get to the police station and Finn was waiting for them outside when they pulled up.
“Hi, Jamie, how are you feeling?” He gave her a quick hug.
“I feel great. I just want to get this all put behind me now.” She smiled.
“Of course. It won’t take long. It’s just a formality, really, unless you’ve remembered anything else?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I wish I had.”
“Don’t push yourself. It’ll come when it’s ready. The receptionist will point you to the interview room. I just need a quick work with Kat, if that’s okay?”
“No problem. I’ll see you in there.”
***
“What’s up?” Kat asked curiously.
“Nothing. It’s just been a couple of days since I’ve seen you and I wanted to know how you’re getting along. Are you coping okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s not easy at the moment but it will get better. And she’s home, that’s the main thing.” She could tell that there was something else bothering him.
“Look, can I buy you dinner?”
Well, that was unexpected. She didn’t know what to say. She’d enjoyed their dinner together in Parkway and that was exactly why she didn’t think dinner together would be a good idea. “Do you mind if I take a raincheck?” she replied “It’s just with Jamie and everything, it’s just not a very good time right now.”
“Sure, whenever. No problem.” He climbed the steps. “I don’t think this will take long, but I’ll drop her home when it’s done. Save you hanging around.” He didn’t wait for her to reply and pushed open the police station doors and was gone.
Thirty-Seven
It had taken a couple of hours to give her statement about what she remembered and everything that had happened to her since she’d disappeared. It was exhausting going through it all again, but it meant that she was one step closer to getting her life back. Finn had been waiting for her when she’d walked out of the interview room, having promised Kat he would make sure she got home safely.
“Could I ask you a favor?” They were headed back to the house but there was a detour Jamie wanted to make on the way.
“You can ask. I can’t promise anything, though!” He took his eyes off the road and smiled at her.
“I want to go to the cemetery. I don’t want to ask Kat because I don’t want to upset her, but I need to see where my parents are, and Ted.” Tears filled her eyes. “It’s awful. I don’t remember them, my own parents and the man I was supposed to marry. I just feel like I need to go.”
“Are you really sure you’re up to it? You’ve only been back a few days. Why don’t you give it a bit longer?” he asked softly.
“No, I need to do this. Please.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
It only took them a few minutes to get there and, after telling her where she would find them, Finn stayed in the car, wanting to give her some privacy.
Picking her way across the grass, she visited her parents first. Kneeling in front of the headstones, she talked to them, telling them all about what she remembered and about how sorry she was that they weren’t there to see her come home. She stayed there for about twenty minutes before standing up and heading over to where Ted was buried.
She’d been shocked when Kat had explained that he had been killed, presumed murdered, and that his killer had never been caught. Coming so soon as it did before her own disappearance, she’d questioned whether the two incidents were related but Kat had assured her that they’d found no connection, that it was just a tragic coincidence.
Resting her hand on his headstone, she said goodbye. She was just turning away when she was suddenly struck by a sharp, stabbing pain behind her left eye. It was so severe that it made her gasp out loud and she had to hold on to the headstone to stop herself falling to her knees. Making herself take deep breaths, she held her hand over her eye until the pain eventually receded enough for her to make her way back to the car where Finn was waiting.
He must have known something was wrong, because as soon as he saw her coming he leapt out of the car and came towards her.
“Are you okay? You look as pale as a ghost!” he asked, taking her by the elbow and guiding her to the passenger seat.
“I’m fine. I don’t know what happened but I got a sudden pain. It’s nearly gone now, though.” Relieved to be sitting down, she rested her head back against the headrest. “I’ve probably just overdone it a bit today. I’ll be okay when I’ve had a rest.”
“Okay. Well, let’s get you home and then Kat can decide whether or not we need to call the doctor.”
“Honestly, there’s no need. I’m fine now,” she protested.
“We’ll see. You’ve been through a lot. She’ll probably just want to get you checked out.”
She didn’t bother arguing, knowing that she probably wouldn’t win, so simply agreed. “Okay.”
***
On the drive back home, she kept her eyes closed and her head rested back and by the time they pulled up outside the pain had almost completely dissipated. Finn had called ahead from the car and Kat was waiting anxiously for them on the front steps.
“Are you okay? W
hat’s wrong?” she said as she helped her out of the car.
“Please stop fussing, both of you! I’m fine, it was just a bit of a headache.” She smiled. “Though it is lovely to have you both looking after me.”
“I think I should call the doctor.” Kat frowned, not looking convinced.
“Please don’t. I promise you, if I thought I needed one I would, but I don’t. I’m just going to go and lie down for an hour and rest. You’ll see, it will be gone by the time I wake up.”
“Well, if you’re sure. I was going to head into the office and go over some things with Jake, but I’ll stay here with you.”
“Don’t you dare. Is Carrie here?” Kat nodded. “Then you go. I won’t be on my own and if I need anything, I’ll ask her.”
Thirty-Eight
She’d been wrong. The headache hadn’t gone; if anything it had gotten worse. She’d fallen asleep shortly after lying down, setting her alarm so she didn’t sleep for too long. She’d realized as soon as she’d moved to turn it off after it started buzzing that she hadn’t gotten any better, sharp shards of pain stabbing at her head. It felt like a razorblade was ricocheting around in her skull.
Lying her head back down, keeping her eyes closed, she waited for it to pass. It didn’t. Instead, images started to appear behind her eyelids. They were hard to make out at first, coming slowly. Gradually, though, they started coming faster and then faster still. The images were no longer just images now, though. Snippets of memories were coming into her head, a jumble of pieces that made no sense, sending her senses spiraling. It felt like a wave of information was suddenly been dumped in her brain, so much of it that it was overwhelming.
And then it stopped. As if someone had flicked a switch, all the pieces suddenly fell into place. She remembered everything.
The pain was gone completely, now. Opening her eyes, it took her a moment to get her bearings before sitting up on the bed. The emotion of the memories she had lost washed over her, and the full force of the grief from the loss of her parents suddenly hit, her heart ripping in two. She didn’t have time to dwell, though, as more memories were assaulting her, coming thick and fast.
She remembered that night, remembered going to Carrie’s place. Remembered leaving, remembered what she’d told her about Ted. More importantly, she now remembered who had attacked her.
Thirty-Nine
Her memory would come back one day, she was sure of it. The fact that it hadn’t yet gave her a bit of time, a bit of breathing space to decide where to go from here. She was not leaving without money in her pocket, though, no way. She would not go back to her shitty life, scrambling around to make ends meet.
The question was, where did she go from here? She’d given it some serious thought. For the first couple of days after Jamie’s return, she’d kept a low profile, staying out of the way. She hadn’t wanted to do anything that would likely trigger a memory. But she was showing absolutely no sign of remembering anything so she was more relaxed about it now. But knew it could change at any minute.
Now that she was back though, the trust could be dissolved and all the inheritance released. And this was what she was waiting for. As soon as Jake got his share of the money, she was out of here, taking a big chunk of it with her.
That was going to take some time, though. So, for now, she just had to bide her time and keep her fingers crossed.
A creak in the ceiling told her that Jamie was up. They wouldn’t have been so quick to leave her to look after her if they’d known the truth. It was quite hysterical, really.
Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she called out, “Are you feeling better? Can I get you anything?” Confused when there was no reply, she left the kitchen and walked into the hallway. Jamie was halfway down the stairs and she had to admit, she did look sick. She was as white as a sheet and she could see that she was trembling. “Are you okay?”
She just nodded. “I’m fine. I just need to go out for a minute.”
“I’m supposed to be watching you and you don’t look fine. I think you should stay here until Kat and Jake get home. Where do you need to go, anyway?”
Jamie wouldn’t meet her eyes as she replied, “I just need to get some air.”
Something was wrong here. Carrie took a step towards her and she visibly drew back, flinching. The smile fell from her face and all pretence at concern was lost.
“You’ve remembered.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. It was clear to see that she was terrified of her.
“I haven’t remembered anything. I just don’t feel very well and need a bit of air. I won’t be long,” she said, taking a step down the stairs.
Did she think she was stupid? Crossing the hall in a few steps, Carrie stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up at her. “Don’t play with me, Jamie.”
She could tell the moment she decided to stop pretending, and she raised her head and looked her directly in the eye.
“Why?”
“Why? You were on your way to tell your parents about me and Ted. They hated me already. If you’d told them that, it would have ruined everything.”
“Ruined everything? What are you talking about? You didn’t need their permission to get married!”
“No, but they would have certainly cut Jake out of their will if we’d gotten married without it. What would have been the point in that?” she snarled at her.
Jamie looked shocked. “All this has been about the money? That’s why you married him?”
She laughed. “Don’t look so surprised. It’s all right for people like you. When have you ever wanted for anything? I don’t suppose you went to bed hungry more often than not when you were a kid, did you?” She shook her head. “I didn’t want to hurt you, really, but I was this close.” She held up her forefinger and thumb. “This close to getting what I wanted and I wasn’t about to let you ruin it.”
“Does Jake know?”
“No, he doesn’t have a clue. He’s not that smart.”
“So what are you going to do now? Kill me and run?”
“If I was going to run, I would have gone when we first got the phone call to say you’d been found. No, I’m not going anywhere without my money.”
“You’re nuts. They’ll be home soon and when they walk through that door I’m telling them everything and you can go to hell.”
“And take your brother with me.” She smiled triumphantly at the confused look on Jamie’s face.
“I thought you said he didn’t know?”
“He doesn’t. But you see, your darling brother is far from innocent himself. Unfortunately for him, he made the mistake of trusting me with his secret and if I go down, he’s coming right along with me.”
“What on earth are you talking about? What secret?”
She laughed, enjoying herself immensely. “Who do you think killed Ted?”
“You’re lying!”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not. Oh, he didn’t mean to, it wasn’t murder or anything, just a terrible accident. But after all this time, who’s going to believe that? And if you tell anyone about me, well, you’ll be sending your own brother to prison, too.”
She watched as what she said hit home and Jamie lowered herself to sit on the stairs.
“I don’t think you want to do that, do you?”
***
She felt sick. It was too much. Her own brother had killed Ted? Why? Why would he do that to her? And more importantly, what did she do now?
Carrie stood at the bottom of the stairs grinning, knowing she’d won.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to keep your mouth shut. I just want the money, that’s it, and I’ll be gone. Once the will is settled, I’ll siphon off a chunk and then I’ll be gone and you can go back to your sad little life with your pathetic brother and you’ll never have to see me again.”
What choice did she have? She didn’t know what had happened with Ted, but Jake was her brother, he was all she had left. She couldn’t be
responsible for sending him to prison.
“Okay. You win.”
“Of course I do, I’ve got all the cards. Now, go back upstairs like a good girl and practice acting like you’ve lost your memory. No one can find out that it’s come back or they’ll start asking questions and you know what happens then, don’t you?”
Jamie knew exactly what she was saying and did as she was told, turning and walking back up the stairs.
Forty
The Pontiac’s magic wasn’t working today. He’d finished his shift and headed straight home, looking forward to shutting the world out. Unfortunately, it wasn’t happening. He’d been in the garage for nearly two hours and had gotten very little done to show for it. Most of it had been spent lying on a dolly underneath it, staring into space.
He’d been telling the truth when he’d told Kat that very little had any meaning after she’d left. Yes, they’d only been kids, but even then he had known that this was the woman he wanted to spend his life with. He’d had no desire to be like all the other guys who were running around on their girlfriends; it just hadn’t interested him. He’d had everything he wanted in Kat.
He would never forget the day he’d found out she’d gone. Her father had told him in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t be coming back and to get over it. He’d tortured himself for months, replaying every conversation, trying to see if there was any sign that it had been coming. He’d been convinced that somehow it had been his fault, something he’d done.
Eventually he’d gotten past it, but it had taken a long time and there was still a part of his heart that was permanently scarred. It was getting harder and harder to pretend that he didn’t care about it, though. All this time spent in her company had just made him remember how good they’d been together and he knew that he needed answers now. He needed to know what had made her leave.
Pushing himself out from underneath the car, he was just pulling himself to his feet when the door to the kitchen opened. Damn, he’d forgotten Carla was coming over!
True Deceit (Blindsided Book 1) Page 27
