by Curry, Edna
“Oh, no! Why would anyone want to hurt you, Cara?”
“I don’t know,” Jane/Cara said.
Mel put in, “If you can help Cara with some basic facts in the meantime, that would help us a lot.”
Jane nodded. “Like who you are, do I have other family, where do I live and what I do for a living.”
Mrs. Maddet looked shocked at those questions, then swallowed some coffee and set her cup down on the coffee table and said uncertainly, “Yes. Well, I’m your mother, Lydia Maddet. You usually call me, ‘Mama.’” Lydia’s mouth twisted wryly and she swallowed hard. “Your father died three years ago. You have a sister, Sharon, who is two years older than you, and a brother, Walter, two years younger. Walter left two years ago to go traveling.” Lydia looked away, her face showing pain and embarrassment.
She sighed and continued, “I don’t know where he is at the moment, but I’m sure he’ll call in when he feels like it.”
Jane/Cara stared at Lydia. “Why did he leave?”
Lydia’s mouth twisted. “We quarreled after your grandfather died and left you three grandchildren a large inheritance. I thought he should invest his share in starting his own business. He wanted to see the world and ‘find himself’. I don’t know where he comes up with some of these weird ideas.”
Cara gave her a tentative smile, trying to understand this wandering brother.
Lydia went on, “You teach high school math in Eden Prairie. You have a nice apartment there, too.”
Cara listened, and then asked cautiously, “Why haven’t you missed me or reported me missing?”
Lydia shrugged and sighed. “I’m so sorry I didn’t, now. But about three weeks ago, I got an email from you saying you were going to backpack around Europe with some friends for the summer. I thought it was odd that you didn’t call to talk about this before leaving, or stop by to say goodbye, you know? But your email said it came up suddenly and you’d gotten a great deal on airline tickets and had to leave right away.”
“Didn’t that seem odd?” Mel put in. It certainly seemed more than a little odd to him.
Lydia shrugged. “Not really.” She glanced at Cara. “You’ve always been a very self-sufficient woman, you know. And it wasn’t out of character for you to decide to do something like that on the spur of the moment, Cara. So, I believed that email.”
“I see.” Cara said doubtfully.
Lydia looked confused. “Who could have sent me that e-mail if you didn’t? It looked the same as your e-mails always did.”
Jane/Cara said ruefully, “I don’t know. In fact, I don’t even know whether I did send it.”
“Oh, dear. Cara, darling, I—I just don’t know what to say. Have you seen Sharon?”
Cara shook her head and drank her coffee. “No. We only found this address from the college yearbook. We had no idea whether it was even the right one. But you’re sure I’m your daughter?”
Lydia raised an eyebrow. “Of course, you are. I know my own child. Why would you doubt it?”
Cara shrugged. “I—I just don’t feel like Cara. I don’t remember you or this house. I guess I’ve gotten used to the name the sheriff gave me, Jane Doe. But I’ll try to get used to being Cara Maddet. It is still Maddet, isn’t it? I’m not married?”
“No, you’re not married, or even engaged, at least as far as I know.”
“Oh.” She tried again, trying to keep her voice even, “No steady boyfriend?”
Lydia shook her head, looking flustered. “Not that you mentioned. Though Sharon did say something about—” She stopped and flushed. “Why don’t I call your sister? I’m sure she could tell you more and I have a committee meeting and dinner I must attend.”
She looked apologetically at Mel. “I’m the chairman, or I could skip it. Sharon could take you to your apartment, Cara, to get some proper clothes,” she glanced at the slacks and blouse Cara was wearing, “and bring you back here. I think you’d better stay here until we can have a doctor check you out.”
“Stay here?” Cara murmured uncertainly.
Mel glanced at Cara. “It’s up to you how to proceed from here.” His heart felt heavy and cold at the idea of losing her. While he was pleased that they now knew her name and home, he also felt their time together was ending. He didn’t like it one bit.
He’d brought this on himself, hadn’t he? He was the one who’d suggested following up the clues in her dream. So it was his own fault if he lost her to her former life.
But the worst part was that they still had no idea who had pushed her into the river. So, until she got her memory back, and could help put that person behind bars, she was in danger.
Who was that person? Was he still waiting to find out if he’d finished her off? Why had he tried to kill her? Would he try again?
Mel’s heart pounded in frustration. Cara looked like she’d had too many things thrown at her in the last twenty minutes already. She didn’t seem to like her mother’s plans for her.
He couldn’t go home and leave Cara here if she was still in danger. How was he going to protect her? He watched Lydia talk on the phone to Sharon, then hang up and turn back to them.
“Sharon will be here in a few minutes. I do apologize for having to leave now, Cara. Please take your old room for now.”
“My old room?”
Lydia flushed and sighed in frustration. “Martha will show you which one it is. Just make yourself at home for a few minutes until Sharon gets here. I’ll see you later tonight.” Tossing them another apologetic smile, Lydia left.
“So, now what do I do?” Cara said. She got up and paced around the room. She stopped at the fireplace and toyed with the family pictures on the mantle. She picked up a couple and stared at them curiously, then put them back.
Mel shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She turned to look at him. “I’ve enjoyed working at your accounting office.”
“And I’ve enjoyed having you. You’ve been a big help. You’re certainly welcome to continue doing that, if you’d like to.”
Hope curled in his stomach as he watched her face light up at his suggestion.
“May I? I apparently have no job here until school starts. In fact, I forgot to ask if I signed another contract for next year.” Panic replaced the pleasure on her face. “Mel, I can’t go back to teaching. I don’t remember how to teach!”
He got up and put his arms around her and held her close. “Let’s not borrow trouble, okay?”
Her body trembled in his arms. She turned her face up to stare at him, her eyes wide with panic. “But what’ll I do?”
He hugged her close, and ran a comforting hand up and down her back. “Don’t worry. Let’s take things one day at a time. Fall is still weeks away. You might get your memory back by then.”
“But what if I don’t?”
“If not, I’m sure there’s some clause in that contract covering unforeseen circumstances, such as illness. Your amnesia is definitely an illness.”
She relaxed visibly with a long sigh. “Oh, of course, there must be.”
The door burst open and an attractive young woman hurried in. “Cara! I’m so glad to see you!” She ran to Cara and hugged her.
Jane allowed herself to be enveloped in a tight hug from the woman she assumed was her sister, Sharon. Sharon’s hug felt familiar and right, and her face resembled the one Jane was getting used to seeing in the mirror. Was she remembering, or just recognizing their resemblance? Rather than love, she only felt frustration at not knowing what was expected of her, or how to react. What was her relationship with Sharon? Were they close? “You’re Sharon?”
With tears in her eyes, Sharon leaned back and looked into her face. “Yes, of course, I’m Sharon. Are you okay, Sis? Mama said you can’t remember stuff?”
Cara nodded. “I have amnesia, the doctor said. Though he said I should get my memory back.”
“I hope so. So what happened? Where have you been? We haven’t heard boo from you for weeks. Usuall
y you call home once in a while when you’re off traveling.”
“Well—,” Jane stammered, glancing at Mel.
“It’s a long story,” Mel said.
Sharon stared at him. “I’ve got time. Come sit down and tell me.”
They moved to the sofa and Mel sat next to Jane, He repeated the thumbnail version of the past few weeks for Sharon that he’d given to her mother earlier.
“You mean you’ve only been a couple hours away all this time? We haven’t heard anything from you since Mama got an email saying you were going to backpack around Europe for the summer. I thought it was really strange that you hadn’t said anything about it to me. Usually you tell me about things like that.”
“You were close, then?” Mel asked cautiously.
Sharon flushed. “Yes, we ARE,” she said, emphasizing the present tense. “Aren’t we, Cara?”
Jane shifted uncomfortably, eyeing Sharon. “I—I don’t know,” she whispered. If she was close to this lovely lady who resembled her, why couldn’t she remember her? Everything about her seemed familiar, but in a vague sort of way. Not really a memory, but with the feeling of rightness. They had the same body build and coloring. Their hair was even almost the same shade of auburn, so it was obviously Sharon’s natural shade, too. “I wish I could remember you and Mama. But it’s almost like I’m meeting you for the first time and need to find out about you all over again.”
“But—that’s awful.” Sharon eyed Cara with sympathy in her expression. Then, she seemed to resolve something and her expression cleared. “How can I help?” Sharon’s voice was uncertain, the defiance suddenly gone with Cara’s lack of agreement.
“I have to tell you about this, Cara. You remember the police detective I dated last year?”
“No.” Cara looked at her with a confused look on her face.
Sharon winced and went on, “Well, never mind. It doesn’t matter. Anyway, when we hadn’t gotten any calls or emails from you since you’d left, I called this officer, Kenny Barnes. Mama didn’t want to file a missing persons’ report. You know how paranoid she gets about adverse publicity. I hope you don’t mind.”
Cara shook her head.
“Anyway, I asked Kenny to see what he could find out on the QT. I knew he could investigate a little at least without an official report.”
Cara smiled. “When the sheriff in Canton said he couldn’t find any missing persons reports on me, I thought no one cared.”
“Oh, honey, we care! I just couldn’t convince Mama it was necessary. After Mama called today, I called Kenny again and told him you were here. He wants to talk to you if you don’t mind.”
“All right.”
Mel put in, “Remember, we still don’t know who tried to kill Cara. She may still be in danger.”
Sharon paled. “What can I do to help?”
“I need to know some of the details of my life,” Cara said. “I’ve been Jane Doe for weeks, so it even feels wrong to be called Cara. I don’t have any ID, or even know where I live.” Her voice cracked a bit over the last sentence and Mel put his hand over hers in a comforting gesture.
“The doctor thought some familiar sights might help trigger memories,” he said.
“So has it? Did coming here and seeing Mama bring any memories back?”
Cara shook her head. “Not much, so far, but I did remember our being at the kidnappers’ house when we were little.”
“Well, that’s something. Maybe we should start by going to your apartment,” Sharon said. “That might help.”
“All right.” Cara rose and they all went outside.
“Do you want to ride with me?” Sharon asked.
Cara stood close to Mel clasping his hand. She looked imploringly at Mel, obviously preferring the familiar to the strange. “No,” Mel decided. “We’ll follow you.”
They got in Mel’s car. He leaned forward and kissed Cara. “Are you okay?”
“I guess,” she said wanly. “It’s all so confusing.”
“But we’re getting to know about your former life, now, anyway. So we have answers to a lot of our questions.”
“I guess so.”
He gave her a reassuring hug and kiss. “Let’s take it one day at a time, okay?”
She nodded and buckled her seat belt. “Okay.”
They rode the few blocks to her apartment building and parked next to Sharon and got out of the car. Cara stood on the sidewalk and stared at the modern apartment building, trying to find something familiar. It all seemed like she was seeing it for the first time. The building looked like a hundred others, all brick and windows. There was nothing distinctive about it.
“How about we go inside?” Sharon said.
“What about a key?” Cara asked. “I don’t have one, remember?”
Sharon took her arm. “I do, Cara. We all have keys to each other’s homes in our family.”
Cara stared at her. “We do? We trusted each other that much?”
“Yes, Cara. We trust each other that much. Present tense.” Tears filled Sharon’s eyes. She gave Mel a helpless look, chewing her lip. Then she pulled Cara forward and started into the building. “Come on.”
Sharon opened the main door with her key and moved to the bank of mailboxes in the carpeted lobby. “No one’s picked up your mail for awhile,” she said. “We usually check each other’s apartments when we’re away, so I’ve been doing that, even though you didn’t ask this time.”
“Didn’t you think it odd that I didn’t ask you to, if I usually do?” Cara asked. She took the bundle of letters Sharon handed her and flipped through them curiously. They seemed to be mostly bills or advertisements.
Sharon shrugged. “Yes, I did. But you’d been acting a little secretive lately. But I suppose you don’t remember that, either.”
Cara shook her head as they got on the elevator and Sharon punched the button for her floor. She still couldn’t believe that she had this nice sister and mother and they hadn’t reported her missing. No one had doubted she’d just go off to Europe without even saying goodbye. What kind of family did she belong to, anyway?
The whole situation seemed odder than finding herself in the river without knowing how she’d gotten there.
The elevator stopped and they moved down the hall to her apartment.
Once again, Sharon pulled out a key to let them inside. Sharon struggled with getting the key to work. “Darn it,” she muttered. “I never can get this key to work without trying three times.”
Cara advised, “Turn it over. The caretaker installed the lock in upside dow—” She clapped her hand to her mouth.
Sharon and Mel turned and stared at her. “What did you say?”
“I remembered!” Cara whispered in awe. “I remembered about the lock being installed wrong!”
“Oh, Cara, that’s wonderful.” Sharon put her arm around her and gave her a hug. “I hope everything comes back to you soon.”
They stepped inside the living room of the luxurious apartment. It was decorated in soft shades of cream and blue. An upholstered sofa and chairs formed a conversation nook at one end. The other side was a dining area with a walnut dining table and matching padded chairs.
Cara dropped the handful of mail on a table and looked around the room curiously.
A china cupboard was crowded with a wide variety of cups and saucers. Cara moved to it and stood staring at them for a moment and then turned to say happily, “It’s my cup collection! Yes, this is my apartment! I know it is.”
She wandered around the apartment, trying to reacquaint herself with things. But though she had remembered the lock and the cup collection, and felt some familiarity with the rooms, her past still seemed a blank.
Sharon asked cautiously, “Do you remember your cat? Her Majesty?”
Cara looked at her and frowned. “I have a cat?”
Sharon nodded. “I checked at the vet where you usually board her when you go on vacation. But she wasn’t there.”
“O
h, dear. I hope she’s all right, wherever she is.” Cara wandered around the room, then said, “Excuse me,” and walked directly to a door down the hall, pushed it open and walked inside, then closed the door behind her.
Mel looked at Sharon.
“Well, I guess she remembered where the bathroom was,” Sharon said wryly.
“Evidently,” Mel agreed with a laugh.
Sharon sighed. “I wish she’d remember me.”
“The doctor said her memory might return in bits and pieces. I gather it’s pretty unpredictable. But I think it’s a really good sign that she’s remembered some things, like the kidnapping when you were young, and the tornado while she was going to college.”
“Yes, I suppose that means the rest will come back, too. At least I hope so. It must be pretty frustrating for her, too.”
Cara returned and moved to a desk in the corner of the room. She sat down, opened a laptop and turned it on.
Sharon moved to stand behind her, reading over her shoulder. “I came here several times and checked the apartment. I watered your plants and downloaded your email. I guess I kept hoping there’d be some message from you, or some clue as to where you were. I even loaned your computer to Kenny so he could try to find any clues to where you were. I hope you don’t mind.”
Cara nodded. Mel moved to stand behind her as she opened the mail program and checked the sent mail. The last message sent was the one to her mother.
Mel leaned in to look at it.
“Cara,” he said. “That message was sent hours AFTER you went into the river!”
Chapter 13
Cara turned to him. “Are you sure, Mel?”
“Positive. I remember because Sheriff Ben pinpointed the time I called him to report you’d fallen in.”
“Then I couldn’t have been here to send that message. So who did?”
“Somebody who wanted to give your family a reason not to hear from you, so they wouldn’t report you missing. Like the person who pushed you into the river,” Mel said grimly. “Do you have any way of telling who that could have been?”
Cara closed her eyes against the pain of remembering the battle for her life in the water. Then she opened them and began scrolling through her email messages. “No, but maybe somewhere in this computer is his name. Maybe I emailed him or something. I apparently knew him very well.”
