A Trace of Memory, page 7
Travis chuckled as he drove. “I thought you were sick of answering questions.”
“Not the serious ones. The grilling we got in that store was dumb. They acted as if I had made up the whole story because I was trying to steal these jeans. I didn’t think they were going to even give me back my old shoes.”
Cleo patted her hand. “It’s all straightened out now. And we paid for everything, so don’t give it another thought. I’m sure they were just doing their jobs, trying to protect the store.”
“I wish they had done a better job of coming up with a picture of the guy who grabbed me.” She looked longingly at Travis. “Besides you, I mean.”
“That’s another reason we need to involve Harlan,” he said. “He’ll be able to request professional courtesy between Sharp and Fulton counties and get a look at the images on the security cameras. They won’t show inside the dressing rooms, but you should be able to spot your attacker before he cornered you.”
She brightened. “That’s right! And then we’ll have more to go on.”
The closer they got to Serenity, the more Emma relaxed. She was coming home, in more ways than one. The town square with the courthouse in the center gave the town a homespun feel, as did the quaint shops that lined the perimeter. The flower shop and some of the others, like the bakery, had been there when she was growing up. Others had changed since her youth, yet the area retained the look and feel of old times.
Cleo pointed. “I’ve got me a booth in the antique mall on the corner.” She grinned. “You’d be surprised to see what a flatlander will pay for genuine Ozark souvenirs. I got three whole dollars for some of those little red tobacco cans.”
“Good for you.”
Travis was slowing and parking on the south side of the square. “She’ll try selling just about anything old that isn’t nailed down. I have to watch that she doesn’t tie a ribbon to Bo and put a price on him.”
“Oh, hush,” his aunt said, making a face. “I’m not that bad and you know it.”
It delighted Emma to be included in the silly exchange. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed and felt this lighthearted.
Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she mentally thanked God for this place and these wonderful friends.
Then she opened the door, slid out of the truck and followed Travis into the sheriff’s office.
Adelaide Crowe was the only officer present. “Hello again, Emma, Travis,” she said cordially. “What’s up?”
“Another attack,” Emma said with a telling sigh. “I sure wish I knew why so many people are acting as though there’s a target pinned to my back.”
The slim, dark-haired deputy picked up a pencil. “You want to fill out a report?”
“Not necessary,” Travis told her. “This happened in Ash Flat so it’s out of your jurisdiction. I was hoping Harlan could get a copy of the surveillance tape from the store and let Emma take a look at it, though. She got the best look at the guy before he got away.”
“Did you see him, too?” Adelaide asked.
“Yes, but only for a second as he ran past me and knocked us down. I have mostly impressions of his size. He was hefty, not as big as your boss but nearly. And tall. I’m guessing at least six feet because he matched my height when he crashed into us.”
“Where was this?”
The deputy’s eyebrows arched higher as Travis and Emma told her the whole story, including its aftermath.
All Adelaide said in reply was, “Wow,” before swiveling her desk chair to face her computer screen and keyboard.
“The sheriff is out to lunch,” she told them. “I’ll text him for permission, then get on this request for you. Do you want to wait? It might take a while to get the video copies you asked for.”
Emma caught Travis’s eye and shook her head, then said, “Cleo needs to get home and I need to be there to help her. We’re... I mean, she’s having company for supper tonight.”
“Understood. Give me your cell number so I can let you know where we stand.”
Travis looked to Emma.
She shrugged. “Sorry. I don’t have a phone. I don’t even have proper ID, remember?”
“I’ll buy her one of those cellular units with prepaid minutes the next chance I get,” Travis said.
When he started to display a lopsided smile, Emma quickly realized why. “I suppose that will mean one of us will have to go back into that same store in Ash Flat.”
“Yup.” His grin widened. “I can hardly wait.”
She had to laugh. “Well, I for one am in no hurry to go through that again. From now on maybe I’ll do my shopping via computer.”
Sobering, Travis nodded. “And you can also look for your new buddy that way. If he was associated with your old band, the way I suspect, you may be able to locate his picture the same way we found Blake’s.”
“I’d hold off on that for a bit,” the deputy advised. “Wait till we get the store tapes. Otherwise, you may cloud your memory with unnecessary faces that will keep you from remembering clearly.”
“I will never forget the way that man leered at me,” Emma said softly. “But I’ll take your advice. We’ll probably be too busy fixing supper to have time, anyway.”
She sensed Travis moving closer to her, felt his light touch on her shoulders, leaned into him ever so slightly as he vowed, “I’ll be doing my own research into who this attacker is. And believe me, if I ever see him again, he’s not going to get away.”
If Emma had been alone with Travis she might have cheered and thrown her arms around his neck.
Since they had an audience, she merely said, “Thank you.”
The tightening of his arm was his only reply. That was enough for Emma.
* * *
Leaving the sheriff’s office, Travis insisted on stepping outside first, then hustled Emma to his truck and practically shoved her through the door on the driver’s side.
“Well?” Cleo asked.
“They’re working on it,” Travis said. He backed up and drove away as rapidly as the speed limit would allow. “In the meantime, Emma reminded me that we have company coming and you need to get home.”
Cleo snorted. “I’d clean forgotten about Samantha. Good thing I used a slow oven. That roast will cook itself just fine.”
Tuning out the ensuing female conversation about the rest of the meal, Travis went over the new revelations in his mind. There were clearly at least two criminal types involved. Blake Browning, they knew. The other man they had only seen once. Travis didn’t think he’d met him in the past—at least that was the impression he’d gotten in the few seconds their glances had met.
The additional feeling he’d gotten in those brief moments was one of malice and anger, both so strong that they radiated from the man’s face as if he could kill with a look—or wished he could. There was no doubt he was very dangerous. And undoubtedly determined.
Pulling into the yard, Travis noted how quiet it was. Where were Bo and the other dogs? Why hadn’t they gathered to greet his familiar truck?
He braked to a stop and held out his arm to restrain his passengers. “Wait. Don’t get out yet. Something’s wrong.”
“I’ll say,” Cleo replied. “I know I locked that door and it’s standin’ wide open.”
Travis slammed the driver’s door and leaned in the open window. “Emma, do you remember how to drive?”
“Sure.”
“Then slide over behind the wheel and get ready to floor it if trouble starts.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Yes, you are. You’ll need to get Cleo to safety.”
“Oh, posh,” the older woman grumbled. “To listen to you, a person would think I was too ancient to defend myself. Or my family.”
“I just want to check the house before anybody else goes in.”
Cleo apparently had other ideas because she went right as Emma slid left and was halfway to the kitchen door before Travis caught up with her and grabbed her arm.
“Get back in the truck.”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll be a lot safer once I get my hands on my scattergun and you know it.” She twisted free and stomped up the porch steps.
As she reached into the out-of-the-way corner where she’d propped the .12 gauge, Travis put his hand on the pistol he kept above the cabinets. Thankfully, it was still loaded and ready.
“All right,” he said with chagrin. “We’re both armed. How about you staying here to keep an eye on Emma while I search the house?”
“Fair enough,” Cleo said. She tucked the long gun into the crook of her arm to carry it safely and started back outside.
Travis heard her curdling yowl as loudly as if she’d been standing beside him with her mouth to his ear.
“Traaaaa-vis!”
He hit the porch at a run. One look told him what was wrong. The truck was just where they’d left it.
Emma was not.
* * *
Contrary to the way Travis had been acting, Emma did not have a death wish. Hands clamped tightly to the steering wheel, she had waited, as instructed. After Cleo had left the truck and she was alone, however, the reason he’d given her for staying put was no longer valid.
A shiver had shot up her spine and prickled at the roots of her long hair. She’d held her breath and strained to listen. The sound wasn’t loud; nor was it familiar. It was the plaintiveness of it that had wrenched her emotions and made her slide out of the truck.
Whimpering was coming from the closed barn. She’d paused, considered making a run for the house to get help, then had decided against raising another alarm when her companions were busy searching for intruders.
It was the dogs she was hearing. They must have been shut in the barn. And since they weren’t barking wildly there was probably no menace nearby, Emma had reasoned.
The closest access was mere steps away. She’d reached for the door latch. Heard it click to release.
Without a backward glance, Emma had slipped into the barn.
Travis’s dogs were lying on the floor as if asleep. Only old Bo managed to raise his mottled gray-and-black head when he saw her.
She fell to her knees beside him and gently stroked his fur. “Oh, baby, what happened?”
His tail thumped weakly against the packed-dirt floor.
Emma continued to pet him as she assessed the other animals. They were breathing! Praise God!
“What did they do to you, Bo?” Her initial fear was that the friendly animals had been poisoned but then she remembered seeing a neighbor’s dog get deathly ill after accidentally eating poisoned rat bait and realized that these dogs were acting differently. Their respirations were slow and steady, not rapid as if they were struggling to breathe.
Bo, who had been relaxing under her tender touch, suddenly tried to get to his feet.
Still on her knees, Emma steadied him.
He whined. Tried to walk and faltered.
That was when she heard the shouting. Someone was calling her name.
“In here!” she screamed. “In the barn! Hurry!”
* * *
The sight that greeted Travis when he burst through the door was one of pathos. There were tears in Emma’s eyes as she cradled and supported his old hound. Scattered around them were the bodies of his other dogs. It took him a moment to realize they were still alive.
Braced for battle, Travis scanned the darkened corners of the cavernous structure. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Emma said. “I heard whimpering so I came to investigate.”
“You were supposed to stay in the truck.”
“Yes, and your dogs were supposed to be on guard. When I figured they’d been shut up in here I decided to let them out. Under normal circumstances that would have been a smart move.”
“What’s the matter with them?” he demanded.
“How should I know? I just got here a minute ago myself.” She lowered her voice. “And stop shouting. You’re scaring poor Bo.”
Certain they were safe, Travis holstered the pistol just in time for Cleo’s arrival. “You can put the shotgun down,” he told his aunt. “Whoever did this is long gone.”
She gasped and stared. “Are they all right?”
“We think so,” he answered. “I’ll give the vet a call just in case, but since Bo is coming around I suspect the others will, too. They’re smaller than he is, so an equal dose of sedative would knock them out for longer.”
Lifting the old dog in his arms, Travis straightened. “Let’s take Bo into the kitchen first. I’ll come back for the others as soon as we’ve checked the whole house.”
He nodded to Emma. “You, too. And this time, follow orders.”
It was clear from her closed expression that she didn’t appreciate being told what to do. Travis huffed. He didn’t know what her problem was. He was only trying to protect her, yet time after time she had done as she’d pleased in spite of his good intentions and sensible advice.
Cleo held the door open so the others could pass, then joined Emma with her shotgun at the ready once again.
The older woman’s grit made Travis smile. Cleo was one of a kind, a true country farmwife, just like the pioneers had been.
Watching the two women precede him up the porch steps, he was struck by how similar they were—and he didn’t like admitting it. Cleo was resourceful, brave, intelligent...and stubborn as a mule. No wonder she and Emma had hit it off so well. Their personalities were mirror images.
He laid Bo on a blanket in the corner by the stove before pulling out his cell phone and handing it to Emma. “Call the sheriff first and tell him we’ve had a break-in. Then let Cleo call our vet and fill him in, just in case we have to take the dogs in after hours.”
“Do you really think they’ll be all right?” Emma asked.
Her heartrending tone and somber expression reminded Travis how much she’d always loved animals. “Yes. Bo already looks better. I’ll bring the others inside as soon as I’ve finished checking upstairs.” He smiled slightly. “Judging by the look on your face, they’re going to be spoiled rotten tonight.”
Emma turned to Cleo. “Can they stay in? I mean, I know you’re having company for supper but I feel so responsible.”
“Yes,” Cleo said as she propped the shotgun in an out-of-the-way corner and began to wash her hands at the sink. “We’ll pen ’em up in the laundry room. In the meantime, you’d best make that call and then get busy. You have green beans to snap while I fry the bacon for seasoning.”
Travis paused just long enough to give his faithful old hound a pat on its grizzled head and listen to Emma begin her explanation to the sheriff.
Then, he drew his pistol and started upstairs.
The last thing he heard from the direction of the kitchen was Emma saying, “Yes. I was scared to death.”
EIGHT
Travis finished his evening chores, then spruced himself up for supper and rejoined the women in the kitchen just as their guest arrived.
With a knock on the back door and a cheery “Hello,” Samantha Rochard-Waltham poked her head in. “Hope I’m not late.”
“Not at all,” Travis said, pulling the door open the rest of the way and gesturing. “Come on in.”
“Mmm, smells like meals Mama used to make,” the nurse said. “Thanks for inviting me. On the nights when John works I usually grab a pizza and eat alone.”
“I’m glad you could make it. Did Cleo explain why we asked you over tonight?”
“She did.” Grinning, Samantha slipped off her coat and handed it to Travis before proceeding to the table, where Emma was putting out silverware. “Now that I see Emma again, I remember her.”
“I wish I could say the same,” Emma told her. “Although you do look familiar.”
“There’s no rush. Sometimes it’s best to just take things as they come. The more you struggle to remember, the harder it may be.”
“Well,” Cleo chimed in, “supper’s as ready as it’s gonna get. Let’s sit down and dig in, shall we?”
Travis helped carry the food to the table, then held chairs for the three women before seating himself. To her credit, their guest had casually joined Emma and was chatting away as if there was nothing wrong.
That’s a false impression, his mind countered. Be careful you don’t fall into the trap of assuming Emma is her old self. She isn’t.
Taking such wise advice was harder than it should have been—at least that was how it seemed to him.
Emma cleared her throat. She raised her gaze to meet Cleo’s, then Travis’s, before looking to Samantha. “How much have you been told about me?”
“Why don’t you just start from the beginning and tell your story in your own words. That way I’ll be sure to get it right.”
Huffing, Emma put down her fork, blotted her lips with a napkin and shook her head slowly, contemplatively. “Everything is pretty jumbled. I remember running away and being very frightened. I hitched a ride to Serenity in a semi and got out when I spotted Travis’s truck at the sale barn. He brought me here, to Cleo. That’s when the real trouble started.”
“Let’s stick to you and your memories for now,” Samantha suggested gently. “Have you recalled anything about the reason you were on the run or who was after you?”
“We think there are at least two men,” Emma said.
Travis agreed. “We have an internet image of one of them and the second tried to grab Emma when we were shopping in Ash Flat. Harlan is working on getting copies of the store’s security footage so we can point the guy out for him.”
He noted the subtle raising of the nurse’s hand and realized he’d interrupted Emma’s recital so he fell silent again. It was hard to watch her struggle, yet he understood the need for her to express herself without interference.
