Killer Body

The D.A. moved closer. “Yes, and when you do, I want to talk to you. I—we need to know who else was in that alley with you and Tomas Rodriguez. It could mean all the difference in your defense.”

Her eyes widening, Liz stepped between the D.A. and Savvy. “Savvy didn’t kill that man. She wouldn’t do that.”

Could she really be tried for murder? Did they really think she’d killed a man? Savvy raised her hands. The most frightening question yet was could she have done it? Think, Savvy, think! She squeezed her eyes closed and pressed the bridge of her nose with her fingertips. The more she tried to remember, the more her head ached. When she opened her eyes, the two men stared at her. The D.A. hovering like a vulture ready to pounce on roadkill. Dawson with pity and concern written into the lines creasing his forehead. God, she didn’t want to think, and didn’t want anyone’s pity, especially from this man who claimed to be her bodyguard, albeit a reluctant bodyguard. Her chest ached and her eyes burned. Savvy didn’t want to cry, but couldn’t hold back much longer. She reached out and gripped Liz’s hand. “Please, make them go away.”

Through her tears, she could see the slight narrowing of Dawson’s eyes. He turned to the D.A. and took his arm, steering him toward the door. “Look, you said you didn’t think she did it. Give her some space. Maybe she’ll remember who did.”

Frank hesitated, “But I have more questions.”

“Questions she obviously can’t answer. Let the woman rest. She’s been through enough for one day.”

With that, Frank Young let the bodyguard herd him out of Savvy’s hospital room, the door swinging closed behind them.

“There, now.” Liz smoothed the hair out of Savvy’s face and smiled at her. “They’re gone. Is there anything I could do for you?”

“Yes.” Savvy gulped back the ready tears and scrubbed the end of the sheet across her cheeks. “You can tell me who I am.”

Liz squeezed her hand. “Well, now, I can tell you this … you showed up four months ago at the apartment complex, looking for a furnished apartment. I remember that day because you looked kind of sad and desperate. All you had with you was a small bag filled with clothes. You didn’t have a job and only carried enough money in your pocket to pay the first month’s rent. The apartment manager almost didn’t let you rent because you didn’t even have a driver’s license, credit card or any other form of identification on you.”

“None? But where did I come from? Why did I go there?”

“You said you’d driven until you’d run out of gas and very nearly ran out of money.” Liz’s lips twisted. “You never told me why. I think you were running away from something or someone.”

Savvy’s forehead crinkled, pulling at the bandage at her temple. The pain reminded her that she was awake, alive and not dreaming this horrible nightmare. Who am I?

“I hope you don’t mind, but after the ambulance carried you away to the hospital, I checked through your purse, hoping to find information about next of kin, but didn’t find a driver’s license, medical insurance or any other form of identification.” Liz shrugged. “I’m not sure if you have someone somewhere who could be getting worried about you. I’ve been your friend for four months, but I don’t know much about your past.”

Savvy shook her head, pulling her hand from Liz’s warm fingers. “It’s as if I don’t exist.” Her chest tightened, making it harder for her to breathe. The room seemed to shrink in size as she stared at the sterile white walls of the hospital room, her heartbeat increasing its pace until it pounded against her ribs. “I need to get out of here.”

Liz frowned. “Has the doctor released you? Are you cleared to leave?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I have to get out.” She pushed the sheets aside and slid her legs over the side of the mattress, ready to walk out, until she remembered her previous attempts and how weak she’d been. She hated being dependent on anyone, but knew she might end up reinjuring her head if she fell again. “Will you help me?”

“Of course, but should you be getting up?” Liz gripped Savvy’s elbow and helped her to her feet. “I mean, you’ve had a head injury.”

Determination to do this on her own filled Savvy and stiffened her legs. This time when her feet hit the floor, she remained standing. Whether she trembled from the effort or from the lingering effects of the drugs still wearing off, she didn’t care. “That’s good. I can do this.” Now what? She couldn’t waltz out of here in a hospital gown.

“I don’t know about this.” Liz held on to her arm, her gaze darting for the door as if hoping the two men would return and rescue her. “You should stay until the doctor says you’re good to go.”

“I can’t. I have to get back to familiar surroundings. Maybe that will help me to remember.”

Still holding her arm, Liz stepped in front of her. “You’re pushing it, Savvy. You need to take care of yourself.” She cupped her face with her hand. “Honey, you could have died.”

“I might as well have never lived. I don’t remember anything. Do you even have a clue how that feels? My mind is completely blank. Nothing. Nada.” Savvy threw her hand in the air and teetered.

“It’ll take time, sweetie. You might not get your memory back in a day.” Liz stared at the door. “You’re not ready to go out there. It’s crazy.”

“I’m spinning my wheels here in the hospital, getting nowhere. Nothing here triggers a single memory. Nothing. I need familiar territory. I want to go to my apartment to see if anything comes back.” Savvy’s hand raised to Liz’s still cupping her face. “If you’re really my friend you’ll help me.”

For a long moment, Liz stared into Savvy’s eyes, then she glanced at the bandage swathing her head and finally she sighed. “Do you need help getting dressed?”

“No, I think I can manage.” Relief flooded Savvy. Tightrope-like tension followed immediately. She let go of Liz and took several tentative steps toward the bathroom. Although wobbly, she managed on her own. At the bathroom door, she grabbed for the handle.

“Hey, you’ll need these.” Liz eased past her and set the bag of clothes on the floor inside the bathroom. “Don’t be a hero. I can help. All you have to do is ask.”

Savvy gave her a shy smile. “Thanks. I will.” She closed the door between them and leaned on the bathroom sink. Taking a deep breath, she raised her head and stared into the mirror, hoping that seeing her own face would trigger her missing memories.

Hope died when she gazed at the woman in the reflection. A white bandage covered her left temple, held in place by a strip of gauze wrapped around her head. Strawberry-blond hair, matted with specks of blood fell over her shoulders and down her back. Deep green eyes looked back at her … eyes of a stranger. Nothing in the mirror made her remember this woman, or her past.

A sob rose up her throat and she choked it down. She couldn’t cry over her loss—she wouldn’t. If she wanted to recover her memory, she had to go to familiar places, touch her things, live the life she’d been living to get it back, memories and all.

Since her face didn’t jog her memory, she’d have to go to the places she’d lived and worked. If they didn’t find evidence of another suspect, she’d be arrested and charged with the murder of Tomas Rodriguez. The sooner she remembered, the sooner she could clear her name, before the authorities decided to toss her in jail.

A sense of urgency filled her as she dug into the gym bag Liz had brought. She found clean jeans, a blue Dallas Cowboys T-shirt, panties, bra and white tennis shoes, a hairbrush and toothbrush.

Careful not to disturb her wound, she washed her face, dressed, stopping now and again when her head swam with the effort. Clothed and feeling a bit steadier on her feet, she tackled the gauze circling her head, peeling it off, round by round. When she pulled the bandage away, a two-inch square, white gauze bandage peeked out of the edge of her hairline near her temple.

Using a clean washcloth, she dabbed at the dried blood and residual orange-colored disinfectant used around the bandage. Gently working the brush through her hair, she restored it to some semblance of order, draping the hair over the wound as best she could, hiding most of it. Pale and shaky, she stepped from the bathroom, having accomplished the tasks in less than five minutes. “I’m ready. Can you give me a lift?”

Liz held out her arm. “If you insist. I’m still not sure this is a good idea.”

“I have to do it. Someone has to be trying to frame me. Until I remember what happened, I’m the prime suspect. My memory is the only thing standing between me and jail.”

“Savvy, you may or may not get your memory back.” Liz smiled sadly. “What then?”

“I’m taking this one bite at a time.” Savvy pushed through the door to her room and out into the hallway, walking right into Dawson’s chest.

Oh yeah, she had to convince her court-appointed bodyguard to let her leave the hospital.

Chapter Four

Dawson gripped Savvy’s arms and steadied her. “Why are you out of bed?”

She straightened and pushed away from him. “I’m going home.” When she tried to pull free of his hands, his grip tightened.

“Not until the doc releases you, you aren’t.”

She stared up at him, her mouth thinning, tears awash in her eyes. “I have to. Don’t you see? I can’t remember anything here. I have to be around my own things.”

“You can wait until tomorrow.”

“No.” She reached up to pry his hands loose, her weakened state making her attempt ineffectual. “I can’t wait until tomorrow. Not knowing is driving me crazy. Let me go.” A single tear tipped over the edge of her eyelid and slid down her cheek. “Please.”

He could have resisted if she’d yelled and screamed at him, but the one tear and her anguished plea jerked at his heart, reawakening the dormant organ. How could he resist those eyes staring up at him as if he held her world in his hands? For a moment, he wavered. “No, it’s not safe out there.”

Savvy’s lips twisted in a half grin, her eyes shimmering. “And it’s safe here?”

She had a point. The attack that morning had almost ended his assignment before it had begun. “It’s easier to protect you inside a building than out in the open. The avenues for attack multiply exponentially once you step out the hospital doors.”