Christmas Male(59)

Inside the room, Fiona pulled a chair up next to Amanda’s and sat down.



“AMANDA,” FIONA BEGAN, “General Eddinger and I are here to ask you if you remember anything about how you ended up in the hospital.”

Amanda shifted her gaze to Dr. Whitmore.

The doctor nodded. “Tell them what you told me.”

Amanda glanced back at Fiona. “I can’t remember anything before I woke up here. It’s a blank.”

Dr. Whitmore had already filled them in on that much. But Fiona had wanted to hear it from Amanda. Either the young woman was a very skilled actress, or she’d really lost her memory. And the sympathy Fiona felt for her wasn’t helping her to ascertain which. She succeeded in pushing her feelings away, but she couldn’t prevent herself from placing a hand over Amanda’s.

“I’ve explained to Ms. Hemmings that her amnesia is most probably temporary, and that with the proper time and rest, it should start to come back to her,” Dr. Whitmore added.

But time was running out. The media was already camped out in front of the hospital. If it hadn’t been for D.C.’s quick decision to go in through the emergency room entrance, she would have been peppered with questions about how soon an arrest would be made. And the answer to that, she was very much afraid, was soon.

“Amanda, I want to show you something to see if it stirs up a memory. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure.”

Fiona didn’t miss the hope that leaped into the young woman’s eyes.

“I’ll do anything if it will help me remember.”

Something in her voice brought back the memory of the first time Amanda had walked into her office—young and eager, so excited at the prospect of doing something for the families of the Walter Reed patients. And for the first time, Fiona didn’t blame herself for feeling sympathetic to Amanda’s situation. Her cop’s instinct was telling her that the young woman hadn’t been in on the theft.

Fiona reached into her purse, drew out the copy of the Rubinov necklace and held it up to the light.

“No.” Amanda’s eyes went wide with fright, and Fiona could have sworn that she was seeing something beyond the necklace.

“He’s in danger…” The anxiety in her tone sharpened. “Have to…do something…stop him.”

“Amanda.” Dr. Whitmore’s voice was soothing.

Fiona held up her free hand to stop her. “Amanda, what else do you remember?”

“Eliminate him…that’s what she said.”

“Who?” Fiona pressed.

Then she watched as Amanda’s eyes rolled back in her head and closed.

“That’s all.” Dr. Whitmore spoke in a clipped tone as she circled the bed. “I must ask you to leave, and I won’t allow any more questions today.”

Heart aching, Fiona tucked the necklace into her purse and followed General Eddinger out of the room.

“Good work, Lieutenant,” D.C. said as they moved toward the elevators. “You’ve opened a door. She’s starting to remember.”

“It was your idea to bring the necklace,” Fiona returned.

“Very good work by both of you, then,” Eddinger said. “That young woman isn’t a thief. Whatever her involvement, her goal wasn’t to steal the Rubinov.”

“I agree,” Fiona said. “But we don’t have enough to prove that yet. We need to know who he is and who she is. I’m favoring her cousin Billy Franks for the he. He and his pals are in on this somehow. But my boss is going to need more than what Amanda gave us to keep the commissioner from insisting on an arrest.”

“Then I’ll just have to have a chat with the commissioner.” General Eddinger led the way out of the elevator. “The two of you should leave through another exit. I’ll talk with the press a bit.”

They were just exiting the hospital when D.C. checked his phone. “Chance called,” he said as he punched in numbers. After a moment, he grinned at her. “We’ve got the go-ahead from the warden to visit Arthur Franks.”





13




THE WINDOWLESS ROOM the warden placed them in reminded D.C. of an army mess hall. Rows of tables and chairs filled the center of the room and vending machines lined one wall.

“This isn’t like the movies,” Fiona said. “I was thinking he’d be behind glass and we’d have to talk to him through a phone.”

“They’re not housing any violent criminals here,” D.C. said as he adjusted her glasses. “So they keep it more relaxed. Are you ready to play your part?”

“I don’t have much of a part to play.” She glanced down at the clothes that Chance had provided. “Seems to me all I have to do is look like a frump while you take the lead.”