The woman looked up at the knock. A man in blue jeans and a leather jacket and a younger woman in a button-down shirt stood in the doorway of her room.
“Pardon me, ma’am, but I’m Detective Graves and this is Detective Parker. Do you think we could ask you a few questions?”
The woman lifted her hand a few inches and motioned them inside. “You can try, but I don’t remember much – not even my name. The doctor already asked.”
A small smile pulled at the male detective’s lips. “Well, no offense to Dr. Cavanaugh, but he’s not a detective, so he might not have asked the right questions.” He held out a broken phone. “Do you recognize this?”
The woman looked at it and an image flashed in her mind. She closed her eyes against the fear that accompanied the vision. “That’s my phone, isn’t it?”
“We pulled it from your car, so we believe it was your phone.”
“I was going to use it, but it was on the passenger seat and I couldn’t reach it, but I can’t remember why I was going to use it.”
“Unfortunately, it’s destroyed and there was no purse or wallet inside the car that we could find. Do you know why you might have been driving without your license?”
She opened her mouth to reply but then paused. Driving without a license was illegal. Somehow, she knew that, so was he trying to trick her? “Am I in trouble, officers?”
He stared at her for a second before chuckling softly. “For driving without a license? No. You should always carry it and you can be fined for not having it, but we’re not here to issue you a ticket. We’re more concerned with the accident. Our witness says the black truck hit you, but we aren’t sure if the accident was on purpose or not. Do you remember anything?”
Just the fear. “I don’t think it was an accident. I can’t remember why, but I think someone was after me. Did the witness help at all?”
The female detective stepped forward, “He wasn’t able to supply us with much unfortunately, so we were hoping this phone might jog some memories.”
“I wish it did, but I have nothing more.”
“That’s okay, it will probably come back,” Detective Graves said before the ringing of his phone interrupted him. He pulled it out and turned away. “Detective Graves. Yes, sir, we are here now. Tia Sweetchild?” He glanced back at her. “Yes sir.” He hung up the phone and returned to the side of her bed. “Does the name Tia Sweetchild ring a bell for you?”
“Is that me? Am I Tia?” she asked.
“The car you were driving was rented to a Tia Sweetchild so yes, we believe so. However, the address listed on the rental agreement is in California, so we’re not sure what you would be doing here in Illinois.”
She rolled the name around in her head. It didn’t feel wrong, but she wished it zinged or something, so she could feel certain. Still, it was better than having no name. “I have no idea what I was doing here, but now that we know my name, we should be able to find out some more about me, right?”
“We’ll certainly do our best,” Detective Parker said. “If you remember anything else, please call us.” She handed Tia a white business card.
“We’ll be in touch as soon as we have more information,” Detective Graves said.
When they exited, Tia picked up the broken phone the detectives had left. She turned it over in her hands and noticed her nails. Long and acrylic. A sign she took care of her appearance, but the phone gave her nothing more. With a sigh, she set it beside her and turned on the television. The news came on and the story caught her attention.
“Last night the opening of the new local restaurant Fire Dreams was overshadowed by a terrible hit and run accident. The driver of this vehicle survived but remains in intensive care.” Tia sucked in her breath as the camera showed the car she was in. The other vehicle must have hit the passenger side which was lucky because her car was a crushed disaster. Had she been in the passenger side, she would not have lived. “The police believe the other driver was in a black Ford truck. If you saw the accident or have any information, you are being asked to call the Fire Beach Police Department.”
A red sports car? That must say something about her. She either had money or wanted to appear that she did. What had she been wearing? Tia glanced around the room, but saw no clothes. Had the hospital taken them? She would have to ask when a nurse came in.
Her gaze wandered back to the TV. Would anyone call the number? She hoped they did because right now all she had was a name and an uneasy feeling that someone was out to get her.
Brody stared down at the burger and fries he had ordered and sighed. Around him, the restaurant hummed with conversation but he heard none of it. He had hoped leaving the hospital and grabbing some dinner would lift his mood, but it didn’t appear to be working so far.
Nick folded himself into the booth across from him and grabbed one of Brody’s fries. “Long day?” he asked before shoving the fry in his mouth.
Brody shrugged. “The usual, I guess. I just can’t get that woman off my mind.”
“The one from the car wreck?” Nick asked when his mouth was clear of food.
“Yeah, she woke up today but has no memory of who she is or what happened to her. I know she’s just a patient and she’s a little abrasive, but there’s something about her. I just feel this need to protect her.”
Nick’s brow shot up. “Is the self-proclaimed done-with-love Dr. Brody Cavanaugh contemplating giving love another shot?”
Brody rolled his eyes at the name. He had never claimed he was done with love. He had simply not dated since his wife died. Though his friends had tried to get him back out there, no woman had held his interest enough to attempt going out with her. “No, I don’t think so. I told you my heart died with Rachel, but something bothers me about this. The accident, her memory loss, the fact that she had no ID with her. Why would someone drive without ID?”
Nick shrugged and grabbed another fry. “Maybe she was just going out for a quick drive and forgot it. I’ve done that so many times.” Brody had no doubt he did. Nick was the epitome of a laid-back surfer dude with his chin length blond hair and blue eyes. His attire consisted mainly of cargo pants, sandals, and chambray shirts, and Brody had never seen him angry. Ever.
“Maybe.” But that didn’t feel right to Brody. Even when he went out for a quick drive, he always brought his wallet. Sure, there had been the few times he’d forgotten it and maybe that was what had happened to her, but he didn’t think so. She’d been dressed for a meeting or a date with her high heeled shoes and designer outfit - not the kind of thing one wore when just out for a drive. Plus, the no ID coupled with the hit and run just seemed too coincidental. “Plus, she also thinks someone was after her.”
“Why?”
Brody shook his head. “I don’t know. She said she remembered bright lights and being afraid. I was going to call psych to come evaluate her, but then Jordan showed up and said they weren’t sure it was an accident. No brake marks on the road. But if it wasn’t an accident, then it means someone tried to kill her, and if they come looking to finish the job, we have no idea who we are looking for. Her story was on the news today I heard.”
“We have security guards,” Nick said with a shrug.
“Yeah, but not enough and they’ve never been tested.” In fact, the security guards were staffed by an outside company, and Brody had never seen them do anything except sit at a desk by the exit.
Nick paused his devouring of Brody’s fries and cocked his head. “Are you sure you aren’t developing feelings for this woman?”
“No,” Brody said with a firm shake of his head. “But she does remind me of Rachel. I wasn’t able to help her once the cancer took hold, and now I feel the same way about this woman. I mean I can monitor her injuries, but I can’t get her memory back. I became a doctor to help people, Nick.”
Nick held his hands up in surrender. “All right, I hear you, man.” He leaned back and folded his toned tan arms across his broad chest. “So, what do you want to do?”
Finally. Now, he was getting through to his friend. Brody splayed his hands on the table top as he leaned forward. “I want to find out everything we can about this woman. When I made my final check on her, she told me the detectives found out her name was Tia Sweetchild from the vehicle rental agreement.”
“Tia Sweetchild?” Nick rubbed his chin as he said the words thoughtfully. “Why does that name seem familiar to me?” He pulled out his cell phone and began tapping the screen.
“I have no idea.” Brody took a sip of his drink. Why hadn’t he thought to do that? He could have googled the woman just as easily, but the truth was he rarely used his phone. Nick was about the only person he called anymore. “A previous patient?” His eyes raked over the dinner. He’d box the food up for later. His appetite had suddenly disappeared as his curiosity had taken over.
“Nope.” Nick smiled and his eyes held a triumphant gleam. He turned his phone so Brody could see it. “Try romance author.”
Brody grabbed the phone and stared closer at the picture. The woman in the hospital was beat up, but the resemblance was there. He looked back at Nick. “You read romance novels?”
Nick scoffed and shook his head. “No way, man, but Erica, that nurse I was trying to date a few months ago, does. She was always reading on her break. I only remember the name because it was different, you know? I thought maybe it was a made-up name. You know like a pen name.”
Clearly it wasn’t a pen name unless she took it to the point of creating an address in a fake name, but that didn’t answer the immediate question. “Why would anyone want to hurt a romance writer?” Brody asked returning his focus to the screen to learn more about Tia.
“My guess is if you find that out, you’ll find out who’s after her. If someone’s after her.” Nick took another French fry, and Brody pushed the plate toward him. He could eat at home later. Right now, he needed to find out everything he could about Tia Sweetchild.