"What are they driving?" Linda asked and received an approving nod from Cameron.
"Silver Ford Taurus. Sadly he cheaped out and didn't get GPS, otherwise I could track his exact location easily."
"Shouldn't be that hard to acquire them. We know where they are and where they are likely going. Thank you, Jimmy."
He clicked off the phone and returned it to his pocket. He pointed to the glove compartment.
"I have a replacement weapon for you."
Linda opened the compartment and retrieved the weapon and silencer. She transferred them into her purse and let out another quiet sigh. It was obvious this was to be no pleasure trip.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Nathan had to admit that Newport, at least the portion he had seen today, was impressive. It was everything his Paige had said it was during their time together. He wished he could have relaxed and enjoyed it. He had kept a close eye on Paige as they had wandered through the shops in the Brick Market Place and the surrounding area. She seemed to swing back and forth between happy and sad, or perhaps confused. She helped him pick up several changes of clothing, which he had lugged around for the afternoon. They had considered dining at the hotel's restaurant, but in the end neither of them had much of an appetite.
Paige was standing by the window, looking out over the water. Her hands trembled a bit and she cursed her lack of control. She balled her hands into fists at her side. She realized she had been doing that an awful lot these last few days.
"I guess we can't put this off any longer, can we?" There was a hopeful tone to her voice, as if she expected that there might actually be a chance of him saying they could delay.
"Afraid not."
She turned away from the window and looked over at Nathan. He was sitting on the edge of the far bed. She nodded and walked over and sat on the edge of the bed opposite of him.
"Where do you want to start?" he asked.
She reached over and picked up his laptop bag that was leaning against the nightstand between the two beds. She unzipped it and pulled out the black journal, flipping it open to the last entry.
"Your questions. They were pretty much the same as mine, so I guess that is as good a place as any."
"Okay," he said, reaching out and taking the journal from her. "So is it possible that you are my Paige?"
She looked at the ground and said, "I don't think so."
"Neither do I."
She looked up, her eyes wide. She had not expected him to say that.
"As much as I would love for that to be true," he began. "And believe me, you've no idea how much that is. I just can't come up with a scenario where that is the truth. What am I supposed to think? Amnesia? Time travel? You look almost exactly like Paige did when I met her, but that was years ago. I can't say she looked that much older when...when I lost her, but she had definitely aged some."
He reached for the box of tissues on the night stand and wiped at the corners of his eyes. Admitting that she wasn't his Paige had been harder than he'd expected.
"I don't believe in time travel either. Amnesia though...well I don't think so and yet." She threw her hands up and shrugged.
"Because things aren't exactly like you remember them to be, right?"
Her eyes went wide again.
"I noticed. I watched you today. It was like you were on a roller coaster. Your face would light up with joy and relief when you saw something the way you remembered it and then drop into a frown and agitated frustration or confusion when you saw something that didn't seem right."
"You saw that?"
"It was impossible not to."
Paige pulled one of the pillows off the bed and hugged it to her body.
"I thought I was losing my mind. Hell, maybe I am. How is it possible that so much has changed? I haven't been gone that long and yet so many things seem different."
"How long do you think you've been gone?"
"Only a few weeks. After the fire I was a wreck. Linda wanted to come out and be with me, but she is still new to her job and she hadn't set up everything for me out there so she suggested I get away from everything. A solo vacation to clear my head and get ready for the first step in my new life after college. That was why I was in Miami."
"Did it work? How was Miami?"
Paige went quiet for a minute. She seemed to look beyond Nathan and said, "Miami was wonderful. I had a great time."
Nathan shuddered at the sound of her response and was instantly reminded of lunch the other day with Linda. He reached out and placed his hands on Paige's shoulders. She trembled a little and then oriented on his face.
"Wonderful? Can you tell me what you did?"
She was quiet and then repeated, "I had a great time."