Lost Memories And New Beginnings (The Men 0f Fire Beach Book 2)

by Lorana Hoopes

  “I may not remember much, but I don’t think I would do that.” The thought of that sent such revulsion through her that Tia couldn’t believe it was true.

  “You don’t think....” Condescension dripped from Debra’s voice like venom. “Do you want to know where I found the purse that I returned to you yesterday?”

  Tia fought to remain calm. “You told me I left it on a table in your house.”

  Debra’s predatory smile widened, creating an effect much like The Joker’s signature smile on her face. “Yes. On the table in my bedroom. So, if you weren’t sleeping with my husband, how do you propose it got there?”

  “I have no idea, obviously.”

  “Well, then I guess my version is the only one that matters, but I’m done being the cheated-on wife.” From within the bag, she withdrew a gun, and with shaky hands, she pointed it at Tia.

  Tia pressed the call button hoping someone would see or hear it before Debra shot her. She had no idea if the woman was a good shot or if the obvious nervousness would allow her to miss, but Tia couldn’t move, so rescue was her only option.

  “Why did you say we were friends?” Tia asked hoping to buy a little time.

  “I needed an excuse to see what room you were in and check out the security at the hospital. I had planned to kill you yesterday, but then you had that busybody old woman in here, so I had to adjust my plan. We’d never officially met, so I didn’t think you would recognize me unless you paid attention to the pictures of me all over the house, but you were probably too busy with my husband to do that, weren’t you?”

  Another image flashed into Tia’s mind, and she saw herself picking up a picture of Debra and Rico. “You’re married? Why did you invite me up here if you were married?”

  “You never said it bothered you,” he said stepping closer to her.

  “Put the gun down, ma’am.” Dr. Cavanaugh’s voice brought both relief and frustration as the flashback she had been seeing vanished from her mind.

  Debra turned to look at him briefly before returning her attention to Tia. “No. She slept with my husband, and now she’s going to pay.”

  “I know how distressing that can be, but is it worth spending the rest of your life in prison?” Dr. Cavanaugh’s voice was calm, and he inched toward Debra slowly.

  “She deserves to die.”

  “If she did what you claim, then she deserves punishment, yes, but retribution is not ours to dole out.” Tia looked at him. She hoped he didn’t really believe Debra’s words; she couldn’t stand the thought of him thinking so poorly of her.

  “She did,” Debra screeched shrilly and the hand holding the gun began to shake. “I found her purse in my bedroom. I’ve known he was having an affair for a while. Always off on his ‘business meetings’ but I never knew who it was until I found her purse.”

  “Debra, is your husband’s name Rico?” Tia asked. She knew without asking the question that it was, but she hoped to draw Debra’s attention long enough for Dr. Cavanaugh to overpower her.

  “You know it is.” She glanced quickly at Tia before returning her gaze to Dr. Cavanaugh. “You see? She admits it.”

  “I don’t remember him,” Tia said though that was a tiny lie. She had remembered talking to him just now, but there was no need to share that, “and I definitely don’t recall sleeping with him, but I found a crumpled piece of paper in my purse with his name and a time on it.”

  Hesitation flickered in Debra’s eyes, but she didn’t lower the gun. “That proves it then. You were meeting with him.”

  “That only proves a meeting,” Dr. Cavanaugh said. “Perhaps they were meeting about something else.”

  “In my bedroom?” A hysterical edge colored her voice, and she took a deep breath. “No, she was sleeping with him, and if I don’t punish her, who will?” Her hand wavered as she turned to look at Tia again. It wasn’t long, but it was long enough for Dr. Cavanaugh to knock the gun out of her hands and tackle her to the ground.

  “What are you doing?” Debra screamed as she writhed on the ground. “She’s the criminal, not me.”

  A moment later, security rushed in and handcuffed Debra before leading her out of the room. Her screams carried down the hall and echoed in Tia’s ears long after she was gone.

  “Are you okay?” Dr. Cavanaugh asked coming to Tia’s side.

  Tia ignored his question - he could see that she hadn’t been physically injured - and posed her own in return. “What’s going to happen to her?”

  “I don’t know. They’ll take her to the police, and I’m sure Detective Graves will see if she owns a black Ford truck or knows someone who does. It certainly sounds as if she had a vendetta for you.”

  Her eyes found his, and she stared into the depths that had once held kindness and now held questions. “Do you think I really did that? What she said?” She needed him not to believe it. Tia still didn’t feel that behavior was like her, but the purse was hers and the crumpled paper proved she’d scheduled a meeting with the woman’s husband. Plus, there had been that tidbit she’d remembered. She thought she’d sounded angry and confused at finding out he was married, but she couldn’t explain why her purse would have been in the woman’s bedroom if something illicit wasn’t going on.

  “I… don’t know. It’s not my place to judge anyway.” The question clearly made Dr. Cavanaugh uncomfortable, and he steered his gaze away from her face. “Did she say anything else to you?”

  Tia closed her eyes and tried to remember the words. “Just that she came yesterday to see what the security in the hospital was like and to see if I would recognize her name. She planned to kill me yesterday, but Edith was in here.” Tia couldn’t keep the intense sadness and disgust out of her voice. “What kind of a person was I?”

  Dr. Cavanaugh cleared his throat and ran the back of his fingers down his cheek. “Maybe it’s not what it seems. You said you had a paper with meeting details?”

  “Yeah, his name, address, and a time.”

  “Well, I’m no expert, but I don’t know many people who schedule trysts like that, so maybe he was an associate or something.”

  He was guessing, making up options to make her feel better, but Tia appreciated the effort. “Even if he was an associate, I don’t know why I’d be in his bedroom which is where she claimed she found my purse.”

  Dr. Cavanaugh opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

  “It’s okay,” Tia continued. “You should get back to your other patients. I’m fine now.”

  “Of course. Call if you need anything.” Though they were the same words he often said before leaving, they sounded different this time and Tia couldn’t help feeling saddened by the fact she had disappointed him.

  * * *

  Brody stood outside the police station gathering his courage to go in. He didn’t even know why he was here especially if Debra’s words were true, but the need to help Tia still burned strong within him. Rachel had often accused him of having a ‘knight in shining armor complex’ and perhaps she had been right because here he was trying to defend a woman who might have been in an affair. He supposed she could have had a different personality before the accident – it certainly happened with traumatic brain injuries - but he just didn’t believe the woman in his hospital could have done what Debra claimed.

  Before he could grasp the handle, the door swung open and Jordan stared at him from the other side. “Brody? What are you doing here?”

  “I was hoping I could talk to you about Tia and the woman from the hospital earlier.”

  Jordan looked over his shoulder and then back at Brody. “Not here. I’m headed over to Fire Dreams. Meet me there and I’ll tell you what I know, but it isn’t much.”

  Brody nodded and returned to his car. Not much was better than what he knew now which consisted of more questions than answers.

  Ten minutes later he sat in a booth with Jordan, a glass of water in front of each of them and a basket of chips in the middle. The place was
hopping, having recovered nicely from the spoiled opening a few days before, and Jordan kept glancing around as if realizing he should be helping rather than sitting and talking.

  “So, the lady from the hospital is indeed Debra Rearden. If you or Tia had told us about her yesterday, we could have looked into her sooner. She’s clean, but her husband, Rico, has a few questionable connections.”

  “What kind of questionable connections?” Brody asked.

  “On paper, he’s the head of a publishing company which might explain the connection to Tia, but we’ve found some unusual activity with some known drug dealers. Nothing that points to him being directly involved, and Narcotics has never been able to pin anything on him, but we’re widening our search to be sure.”

  Brody nodded and snagged a chip. “Drugs? Really?” This image just didn’t jive with the woman he’d gotten to know the last few days. “Tia said she had a meeting with Rico, but she doesn’t seem like the type to be into drug deals.”

  Jordan took a sip of his water. “Maybe she isn’t, but I did a little more research on her today. It appears she stayed under the radar. At least recently. Evidently a few months ago, she kind of lost it after trying to damage the reputation of a fellow romance author, Ava McDermott. She sent photos to tabloids and appeared on a few talk shows claiming the relationship Ava was in was a fake one. I don’t know why anyone would fake a relationship, but maybe if you are a public figure, it’s more important.”

  “What?” Brody knew he didn’t know Tia well, and she could have been awful before the accident, but he couldn’t fathom the sweet Texas girl doing such a thing. Oh dear, did he just call her sweet? Maybe he was becoming attached to her.

  Jordan shrugged. “Well, maybe the head injury changed her or maybe she changed after the incident. She failed to do much except soil her own reputation. Regardless, it’s clear Tia did know Rico. There’s no other reason Debra would have come after her. Perhaps she was talking to him about new publishing opportunities. We just don’t know any more than that.”

  “Is there a chance she was having an affair with him as his wife claimed?” Brody asked before taking a drink of his water. He didn’t want this to be true. He knew Tia was just a patient. And she lived in California. And he shouldn’t care about her personal life, but he did.

  “That I can’t speak to. Yet. But we’ll be looking into Rico more.” Jordan shook some salt on a chip before stuffing it into his mouth.

  “And what about the black truck. Did it belong to Debra?”

  Jordan shook his head as he finished chewing. “No, neither she nor her husband appear to own one.”

  “So, someone might still be after Tia.”

  “It’s possible or it could just be that the accident was just that. An accident.”

  “But you don’t believe that, do you?” Brody asked.

  “No, I don’t. It’s just a gut feeling, but I don’t. I’ve talked with the hospital about posting a security guard outside her door as well.” Jordan looked around again and waved at someone across the room. “I have to help out here, but I promise to keep you in the loop of what we find.”

  “Thank you.” Brody stayed and ate a late dinner alone, but his thoughts weren’t on the food. They were on the blonde woman whose present didn’t seem to match her past.

  Chapter 7

  “You know he’s not interested in you romantically, right?”

  Tia glanced over at Valerie who held a vase of flowers in her hand. “I’m sorry, what?”

  She set the vase down, plucked the card, and handed it to Tia before leaning back and folding her arms across her chest. “Dr. Cavanaugh. He’s not interested in you. He doesn’t date. Not since his wife died, and he certainly doesn’t get involved with patients.”

  “I never said he was,” Tia said. She picked up the card wondering who the flowers were from and why Valerie was bringing this up. The woman had never been overly friendly, but she’d always been professional. This wasn’t.

  “Maybe not, but you have the look in your eye. That moony starry-eyed look when you talk about him or when you look to the doorway. I’m just warning you those feelings will only end in heartbreak.”

  Ah, now it made sense. Somehow Dr. Cavanaugh had broken her heart. Had they dated? Or had Valerie simply wished they had? Was it before his wife? Or had he gone on a few dates after her death? “Well, thank you for the information, but Dr. Cavanaugh is my doctor. Nothing more.” Though Tia could not deny she imagined something more. She had imagined what it would feel like to touch his face, to run her fingers through his hair, to kiss his lips.

  “Mmmhmm.” Valerie said nothing more as she ran the thermometer over Tia’s forehead and wrote the information down, but her eyes spoke volumes. “I’ll send Sophie in later to do another sponge bath.”

  Relief that Valerie would not be doing her sponge bath filled Tia along with the sudden urge to request another nurse. She was the patient here, and she didn’t need a nurse casting a critical eye on her. Tia had enough on her plate trying to remember who she was and why someone might want to hurt her. She opened the card and stared at the writing inside. Or perhaps the lack of writing inside because all that was on the card was the picture of a face with its eyes and mouth stitched shut.

  “Good morning. How about we try to get you moving some today?” Dr. Cavanaugh asked as he entered Tia’s room. At the sight of her face, his smile faltered and concern filled his voice. “What’s the matter?”

  Tia held the card out to him. “This came on the flowers Valerie brought in this morning.”

  Dr. Cavanaugh took the card and opened it. His face paled and his eyes widened as he took in the image. “Where are the flowers?”

  Tia pointed over to the table where Valerie had set them. He picked them up, sniffed them, and poked through them as if looking for any other clues. “I’m going to call Detective Graves. He needs to know about this.” He pulled a phone from his pocket. “I’ll have Valerie come in and take you for a walk.”

  “No, please not Valerie. Anyone but Valerie.” Not only was panic coursing through her veins at the note, but she didn’t think she could handle any more time with Valerie.

  He paused and caught her eye. “What’s wrong with Valerie?”

  “She abrasive and she just…” Tia paused. She wasn’t sure she wanted to tell Brody what Valerie had said.

  “She just what?”

  “She just rubbed me the wrong way. In fact, I was going to ask if I could get a new nurse.” She didn’t know why she didn’t tell him the whole truth. Except that she was afraid her attraction would be evident in her words. And she wasn’t sure she could take it if he didn’t feel the same.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. I know Valerie can be brusque at times, but she is an efficient nurse.”

  Tia watched his face as he spoke. Did he care about Valerie? Or was he just being professional? Before she could ponder the issue much longer, he stepped toward her.

  “I’ll tell you what. Let me call Jordan, and then I’ll take you for a quick walk today, and we’ll figure tomorrow out when it comes.”

  “Can you do that?” He normally only entered her room twice during the day – once in the morning and once in the evening.

  “I’m your doctor. I can take you for a walk if I desire.” His jaw tightened and she wondered if there was more to it. Was he worried about her safety as well? “Just give me a second.”

  He stepped back and then punched numbers into his cell phone, turning slightly away from her as he put it to his ear. “Jordan? It’s Brody. Tia received some flowers this morning, and I think you need to come and see the card.” He glanced back at her. “Yes, I’m going to take her for a short walk, and then we’ll be back…. Got it.” He pocketed the phone and then smiled at her. “Ready to go then?”

  Though Tia was excited to get out of the bed and move a little, she also worried about her safety and her appearance. She hadn’t showered in days though Sophie had given her a sponge b
ath yesterday. Still, her hair was a greasy mess, and she probably smelled. Sponge baths were like trying to clean an entire house with one wet wipe. “I must look a fright.”

  “You look…. fine.” He paused, and she glanced at him. Did he feel an attraction to her? Though Valerie claimed he wasn’t interested, there had been many moments like these. Moments where she caught his eyes and unsaid words passed between them. “Especially for someone who had to be rescued with the Jaws of Life,” he continued.

  Though not entirely a compliment, Tia decided to take it as one. “What about my leg though? Can I walk on it?”

  “Uh no.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Today we are just going to try getting you into a wheelchair and out of this room. Then we’ll talk about crutches.”

  “But I don’t see a wheelchair,” Tia said, and she wondered how she was supposed to get into it without exposing herself with her open-backed gown.

  Dr. Cavanaugh flashed her a charming smile. “Ah, just you wait. I have one on order.” He walked over to the cabinet in the room and pulled out a robe. “And I think this one is just your size.”

  She realized he was giving it to her as a way to cover up her bare back, and relief flooded her.

  “Let me help you sit up, and then we’ll get this robe on you. It will pull on your IV a little, so please tell me if it bothers you. Your transportation should arrive about the time we’re finished.”

  Tia couldn’t help the smile that crossed her lips, but it was short lived as Dr. Cavanaugh pulled her to a sitting position. Her hand squeezed his arm, her fingers digging into his flesh, as the room began to spin from lying down for too long and the injury to her head.

  “It’s okay. We’ll go slow,” he said. His mouth was close to her ear, and his breath sent a shudder down her back that she hoped he interpreted as her being cold.

  She nodded and when the room stayed still, she continued the process of sitting up. Tia was sure she had done this a thousand times in her life, but today it took all of her energy and concentration. When she was fully upright, he helped guide her arms into the robe, and she saw for the first time the damage she had received to them. Cuts and bruises discolored her right arm, and again she briefly wondered if she would have scars.