“Hey,” he said, trying to start a conversation for the eighth time. “Thanks again for doing this.”
“Thank me if it works.” It won't work. But what if it did?
In my purse, my phone buzzed. It was loud enough in the silence that Roose glanced at me. “You gonna get that?”
On impulse, I dug inside and peeked at the phone. It had been a text.
Silver: I need to see you.
Clutching the phone, as if the warmth from it was connected to the man himself, I shivered. If I respond, what do I say?
Roose coughed politely. “Something come up?”
Nervously, I zipped my purse up. “No no, everything is fine.”
“Well, good. Because we're here.”
I tasted bile in my mouth. Old Stone Bank was as big as I remembered it. It hadn't changed at all in five years, not that I could see. The pale structure reached for the sky, leaving our car in shadow.
Pain rippled up my forearm; I was crushing my seat unconsciously. Letting it go, I flexed my hand and glanced at Roose. “It's weird,” I admitted. “I never planned to come back here.”
Leaning in the car door, he watched me with interest. “I wouldn't have asked you to do this if I thought there was another way. You might not believe this, but I don't normally like making girls pissed at me.”
I cracked a smile. “That is hard to believe.”
Warmth entered his eyes. “Listen, Miss Willow... I promise, if it gets to be too much for you, I'll get you out of there.”
His sudden kindness threw me for a loop.
He said, “I'm really just trying to put a dangerous man behind bars. ”
Dangerous. If I shut my eyes and dug down, I could vaguely recall that the man who'd held me hostage had put a gun to my head. Roose had confirmed that last week, too. It was strange that I'd forget such a detail, but I'd done my best to avoid talking or reading about the crime for so long. All of it was a big foggy mess.
Visiting the bank might actually jostle things into place and allow me to remember the past clearly. The idea gave me a sense of dread more than anything.
“Miss Willow?”
Blinking, I said, “Just call me Alexis.”
“Alright, Alexis. You can call me Vermont.”
Smiling weakly, I nodded. “Okay.” I had no plans to call him by his first name.
He smiled back. The moment stretched awkwardly. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Are you going to get out of the car?”
I scurried onto the sidewalk and slammed the door behind me. “Uh, sorry. My mind is all over the place.”
He led the way up the large stone steps. I noticed that the closer we got to those giant doors, the closer I stood to the detective. Fear was rustling in my guts, stinging me like a nest of wasps.
Inside, the floors and walls were a rich granite. There were several security guards on the perimeter, and the one nearest to us gave a quick nod. The lack of reaction made me think they recognized the detective.
Stepping to one side, he faced me. “Alright, here we are.”
Crossing my arms so hard I was bear-hugging myself, I asked, “Now what?”
His face fell. “Is nothing coming back to you?”
“I guess I remember coming here that day.”
“That's it?”
Biting my tongue, I gave him a sour look. Spreading his hands in the air, he said, “Sorry, sorry. I just expected it to all come rushing back to you. Maybe you could try to focus harder,” he suggested gingerly. “Walk around. Do you remember where it happened?”
My eyes tracked the room, sliding over the customers, the bank tellers, the shining floors and the velvet ropes. “Not really.”
“Let me try and remind you, maybe we have to jump start your memory a bit. It was there.” He pointed a thin finger at a spot across the way.
When I looked, I wavered on my feet unsteadily. “I... I guess it was over there.” The long wall of faces behind computers was giving me vertigo.
Nodding, he motioned for me to follow him. Hesitantly, I did, my knees creaking like old wooden boards in a house. “That's good. Okay. So you were over here when the robber grabbed you?”
His question was funny. I didn't remember being grabbed at all, so why would I know if it had happened here or... My thoughts trailed away as I looked down at the floor. There was a spot there where the light was hitting just right.
“I remember that,” I whispered.
“What?” he asked excitedly.
Ignoring him, I knelt down and touched the hard surface. The light bounced into my eyes, causing me to wrinkle my nose. Too bright, I thought. Just like back then. Across from me, the walls reflected my image like a mirror. I remembered that, too—how I'd been standing here, watching myself and thinking... What was I thinking?