He’d felt it. No doubt she’d seen it. Need.

Pure. Primal. Standing right there at the bathroom door. The idea of her taking off her clothes and stepping into the shower had abruptly consumed him. The desire to climb into that shower with her had been fierce.

Not once in years had he felt the compulsion for sex. Nor had he been attracted to any woman with whom he’d worked or encountered outside work. He’d assumed that component of his life was over. The part of his brain that reasoned using his formal training understood that it would take time for him to get over the tragic loss of his wife, physically and emotionally.

But his less rational side had opted not to allow that kind of pain again. The only way to avoid it was to avoid contact with another human on that level.

He’d been completely successful until now…until Sande Williams.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Patrick O’Brien – He’s working his first field assignment, but he has trust issues that may get in the way.

Sande Williams – She has no idea who she is or where she came from. The only thing she knows for sure is that anyone who might be able to help her keeps ending up dead.

Windy Millwood – Former marine captain, Windy is one of the Colby Agency’s best investigators.

Victoria Colby-Camp – The head of the Colby Agency.

Lucas Camp – A CIA legend and the man who owns Victoria’s heart.

Nancy Childers – A former co-worker of Sande’s. Or is she?

Alma Spears – She claims to know all about Sande.

Detective Lyons – The homicide detective following the bodies piling up in Sande’s wake.

Detective Cates – Lyons’s partner who has been left out of the loop.

Special Agent Wheeler – An enigma. Does he really exist or is he a part of Sande’s make-believe world?

Special Agent-in-Charge Young – Head of Chicago’s FBI field office.

Simon Ruhl and Ian Michaels – Victoria’s secondin-command.

Angela Tapley – Is she really working with the FBI? Or is she also make-believe?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debra Webb was born in Scottsboro, Alabama, to parents who taught her that anything is possible if you want it badly enough. She began writing at the age of nine. Eventually, she met and married the man of her dreams, and tried some other occupations, including selling vacuum cleaners, working in a factory, a daycare centre, a hospital and a department store. When her husband joined the military, they moved to Berlin, Germany, and Debra became a secretary in the commanding general’s office. By 1985 they were back in the States, and finally moved to Tennessee, to a small town where everyone knows everyone else. With the support of her husband and two beautiful daughters, Debra took up writing again, looking to mystery and movies for inspiration. In 1998, her dream of writing came true. You can write to Debra with your comments at PO Box 64, Huntland, Tennessee 37345, USA or visit her website at http://www.debrawebb.com to find out exciting news about her next book.

Identity Unknown

DEBRA WEBB

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

Sometimes we search high and low and can’t

seem to figure out who we are anymore or what

we want. Whether it’s a new phase in our lives

or just a rough patch, sometimes we question

ourselves and our destiny. This book is

dedicated to the two women who keep me

grounded. They never lose faith in me and

never let me forget who I am, what I want and

where I’m going in this life. To Donna Boyd

and Vicki Hinze. I love you both. Life would

be damned hard without you.

Chapter One

She shivered.

Goose bumps rushed over her flesh. God, she was so cold. She hugged the sheet more closely, then wrinkled her nose. Why was the sheet covering her face?

Her eyes opened.

The sheet was over her face!

She snatched it away. Gasped for air, as if the cotton were plastic, and had deprived her of much needed oxygen…

Okay, she was okay.

A frown furrowed her forehead. Where was she?

A hall or corridor. Glaring fluorescent lights hummed overhead. A nasty smell lingered in the air. Something pungent and unfamiliar.

She sat up and blinked, looked around and blinked again. Dingy white walls…long corridor. A white sheet draped her nude body.

Where were her clothes?

She stared at her breasts…at her flat belly.

What the…?

A gurney. She was sitting on a gurney. Like in a hospital.

Had she been in an accident?

She looked at her arms and hands, touched her face, ran her fingers through her hair… She didn’t feel different. She wasn’t in pain. There were no lumps or bumps. No wet sticky spots.

Where the hell was she?

She looked around again. Then she saw the door directly across from where her gurney stood.

A plaque on the door marked it as… She squinted. It was…the morgue.

Her heart missed a beat.

The morgue?

She stared down at herself once more. No blood. No bruises.

She jerked free of the sheet, stumbled off the gurney and staggered as if she hadn’t stood in a long time. Her legs felt weak and rubbery.

What was wrong with her?

Voices. Someone was coming.

She snatched the sheet from the gurney and wrapped it around her naked body. She had to hide.

If they found her… Her mind couldn’t grasp the concept of why the unfamiliar voices terrified her, but instinct warned that she should be afraid.

She had to run!

She half stumbled, half fell down the corridor, grabbed the knob of the first door she encountered and yanked it open.

Janitor’s closet.

She threw herself inside, closed the door soundlessly and struggled to catch her breath.

Just breathe. Deep breaths. Slow…steady.

You’re okay. You’re okay.

The stench of cleansers and damp mops assaulted her nostrils. She ignored it. She had to think!

What had happened to her?

Why would she be on a gurney in front of a door marked Morgue?

She wasn’t dead.

Was she?

She took a step back from the door and stared down at her foot. A white tag was attached to her big toe.

Panic closed her throat.

Don’t panic.

She crouched down and reached with trembling hands to remove the tag. Slowly straightening once more, she read the information written there. Sande Williams. Female. Twenty-eight years old. Sixty-four inches tall. One hundred ten pounds.

Why didn’t the name ring a bell?

There was no address or telephone number.

What did this mean?

She started to shake, and found she had to brace herself against the closed door in order to remain vertical.

What was wrong with her?

Could she be dead and not know it?

No, that wasn’t possible.

As if to deny her assertion, she touched her wrist and counted the beats.

She had a pulse.

She pressed her palm against the center of her chest to feel the frantic pounding there.

She had a heartbeat.

She was alive.

But why didn’t she remember how she got here? Was she sick? What had happened to cause her to be in this place? There had to be something wrong with her.

Why didn’t the name on the tag feel like her name?

Sande Williams.

Fear snaked around her chest and squeezed, sending panic searing through her veins.

She couldn’t find any answers in this janitor’s closet.

She had to get out of here.

Had to find help.

But what if they wouldn’t let her go?

Didn’t they institutionalize people who couldn’t remember their names? Who woke up wearing toe tags for no apparent reason?

Breathe again. Deep. Hold it. Release.

Calm down. Just calm down.

She needed help.

She had to move.

Slowly, her palms sweating with the fear mounting inside her, she opened the door a crack. She peeked into the corridor. Still deserted. Still quiet.

Someone had taken off her clothes and placed her on that gurney, had put a toe tag on her. Someone thought she was dead.

How was that possible?

Hadn’t she seen a movie like that once?

Think!

She had to get out of here.

There was something wrong with this place. People who had heartbeats weren’t sent to the morgue. There had to be a mistake.

She couldn’t stay here.

She ran. Holding the sheet tightly around her, the toe tag clutched in one hand, she ran as fast as she could to escape.

Don’t take the elevator.

She would be trapped there.

Take the stairs.

Up was the only option. She rushed up the steps two at a time. Reached the first floor and burst out of the stairwell.

The lobby.

A massive lobby with a bubbling fountain and towering green plants. People…lots of people.

They stopped and stared at her.

The sheet.

She was naked save for the sheet. Naked and barefoot. What must they think?

A woman wearing a white uniform approached her.

“Ma’am, are you all right?”

The cap, the badge…a nurse.

Nurses helped people…but this one worked here.

“I…I’m fine,” she insisted. She had to get out of here. The way the nurse looked at her…she was concerned and suspicious.

She would call those people who had done this to her.

Still clutching the toe tag, she ran. She couldn’t risk having the nurse touch her and tell her she needed to go back to that gurney and lie down because she was dead.

She couldn’t be dead.

She was running, escaping the hospital.

Voices shouted behind her, but she just ran faster.

She was alive. She didn’t care what anyone said.

As she burst out onto the sidewalk, the wind slapped her in the face. The icy sting made her quivering lips stretch into a wobbly smile. The cold of the concrete beneath her feet reinforced the conclusion.

Yes, she was alive.

Two men dressed in dark uniforms rushed from the same door she had exited and headed toward her. They shouted for her to stop.

She ran—darted between the moving cars as horns blared. She ignored them.

She had to hurry, had to run faster.

If they caught her…it would be bad. She didn’t know why, but she sensed that her life depended upon her getting away from this place.

So she didn’t stop. Not for the cars. Not for the shouts behind her.

Not for anything.

SHE COULDN’T RUN anymore.

She had to stop.

Cutting to the right, she stumbled to a standstill in an alley. Sande leaned against the brick wall.

Should she call herself Sande?

She thought of the toe tag clutched in her right hand. Maybe.

The alley was deserted, as far as she could tell. She peered toward the end, with its pockets of darkness. Nothing moved. There was no sound, other than the street noises that filtered past the cars parked along the curb and the trees lining the sidewalk.

A Dumpster accompanied by a pile of boxes sat a few yards away. She could hide there for a little while…until she figured out what to do next. Until she wasn’t so tired anymore.

Was there someone to call? Would Sande Williams be listed with directory assistance? If she had an address she could start there.

According to the newspapers she’d seen in the newsstands she’d run past, she was in Chicago. If Chicago was home, wouldn’t some emotion or memory stir? Shouldn’t she feel a connection?

Shouldn’t she feel something?

Other than tired. She needed to sit down. Her feet were freezing. Her hands were cold. She shuddered. Her whole body was chilled.

The date on the newspaper had said October 29. Made sense, she supposed, that the temperature outside was cold. It was almost November. Thanksgiving was in November. Snow sometimes came in November. It was supposed to be cold.

How could she remember all those everyday details and not know the first thing about herself? Not her name, her age, her address.

Nothing.

Sande pushed away from the wall. The towering brick buildings on either side of the alley kept the sun at bay. The shadows deepened the farther into the alley she ventured.

She could climb into one of those larger boxes and curl up in a ball to stay warm. That would help. Maybe she’d even put one on top to create a sort of shelter the way homeless people did.

Anticipation trickled inside her.

Was she homeless? A kind of sadness filtered through her. Did Sande Williams have anyplace to go? Any family? Friends? Or was she completely alone?

She couldn’t worry about that right now. Staying warm took priority. Survival had to come first.

She reached for a box. It was just what she needed.

“Hey! That’s my box!”

Sande jerked her hand away. Lurched back a couple of steps. “I’m…I’m sorry.”

The stringy-haired lady who had scolded her stepped from the shadows beyond the pile of cardboard boxes. Her heavy coat made her look like an Eskimo. “I don’t mind sharing,” the Eskimo woman said as she swiped her hands against the ragged jeans she wore. “But you should always ask first.”

Sande nodded. “Sorry.” She hadn’t meant to invade anyone else’s territory. She was just so tired. Cold and lost. And she was scared. Terrified.

The woman’s eyes narrowed as she assessed Sande from forehead to feet. “Where’s your clothes, girl?”

Good question. Wearing a white bedsheet certainly didn’t count. “I’m not sure what happened.” Might as well tell the truth. “I woke up like this.”

The woman pursed her lips thoughtfully. She didn’t appear that old, just looked a little haphazard and world-weary. Her jeans and coat were old, worn-out.

“I probably got something you could wear.”

Sande almost refused her generosity. Clearly, the woman had very little in the way of assets. Sande hated to take anything from her. But at the moment, she was pretty much desperate. Beyond desperate, actually.

Why couldn’t she remember anything?

“I’d appreciate that,” she said, thankful for the assistance.

The woman motioned with her right arm. “Come on.”

She dug her way through the piles of boxes until she reached what might have been the center. Sande realized then that the boxes were stacked in such a way that they created a refuge.

She followed the woman into the cardboard sanctuary. “What’s your name?” her new friend asked.

The toe tag clutched in Sande’s hand came immediately to mind. Though she hesitated before giving that answer, nothing else occurred to her. “Sande Williams.”

“I’m Madge,” the older woman said, “but you don’t look like a Sande to me.”

Sande didn’t know what to say to that statement. The name didn’t set off even a flicker of recognition within her. And other than her height and weight, she didn’t know anything about how she looked. Fear surged inside her once more. How could she not know her own hair color? Or eye color?

She grasped a strand of her hair and pulled it in front of her face. Blond. She had blond hair.

“You from out of town?”

Sande shook off the disturbing questions churning in her brain and nodded, then, with resignation, wagged her head. “I really don’t know.”

Equal parts suspicion and sympathy stirred in the woman’s eyes. “Something wrong with you, girl?”

“Maybe.” Sande shrugged. “I’m not certain. I woke up in a—” she cleared her throat “—in a hospital.” She swallowed hard. “Dressed like this.”

“You don’t know how you got there?”

Another shake of her head answered that question.

Madge’s eyes narrowed with increasing suspicion. “You ain’t got no strange disease, do you?”

Sande bit her bottom lip. She hadn’t thought of that. The possibility took her anxiety to a whole new level. “I don’t think so.”

“Well.” Madge considered the situation a moment. “I tell you what.” She stooped down and dug through a large plastic shopping bag. The colorful words printed on the bag were partially worn off, as if its owner had lugged it around for quite some time. “You get these clothes on—” Madge offered Sande the items she had retrieved “—and we’ll go down to the church and have us some lunch. There’s a man who serves there on Thursdays who might be able to help you out.”

Did that mean today was Thursday? Didn’t really matter. Sande hastily tugged on the clothes. She didn’t care what they were or their condition, or even how they fit, as long as they covered her body and protected her from the cold that had settled deep into her bones.

The memory of those men chasing after her back at the hospital reignited her fear, which had lessened a fraction.

“Who is this man?” she asked, a little hesitant to speak to a stranger, considering recent circumstances. Whatever instincts she possessed were screaming at her to use extreme caution.

“His name is Lucas Camp.” Madge scrounged around in the bag once more until she came up with a pair of beat-up sneakers. “His wife runs some fancy private investigation agency.” She made a humming sound as she mulled over what she wanted to say next. “The Colby Agency.”

Colby Agency?

Didn’t ring any bells for Sande.

“Yep.” Madge fished a tattered jacket from her stockpile of personal goods. “They say the Colby Agency is the best of its kind. I bet you they’ll be able to figure out just what happened to you and where you come from. Seems like the best plan.”

Sande sure hoped so.

She couldn’t remember her name or where she lived…but she had a feeling. A very bad feeling that if she didn’t get help, something terrible was going to happen…

To her.

Chapter Two

Patrick O’Brien.

Dr. Patrick O’Brien.

No. Not anymore.

Patrick had given up his practice as a psychologist more than two years ago.

He wasn’t going back there.

Not ever.

Patrick surveyed his office. He liked working for the Colby Agency. Profiling clients and the subjects associated with cases had proved to be interesting work. The pay was outstanding and the benefits unmatched.

His work kept him busy. He didn’t have to think about the past…

Then what the hell was wrong with him today? He couldn’t keep his mind on the task in front of him. He felt restless. Out of sorts.

He knew the reason. Pretending wouldn’t make it otherwise.

It was the anniversary of his wife’s death. Three years ago today she had left their Oak Park home for a day of shopping with friends, but had never made it to the mall. Never even made it across town. A carjacking had left her dead on the street.

And that had only been the beginning of his life’s unraveling.

Patrick pushed away the memories, the images that instantly flooded his mind. He couldn’t live in the past, couldn’t keep looking back. Forcing his focus forward was the only way to survive.

Despite his determination not to dwell on the worst of his history, his thoughts appeared to have a will of their own. For the first few weeks after his wife’s murder he’d asked himself why it couldn’t have been him. Why her? An angel as surely as he lived and breathed. His angel. That was what she had been.

Or so he had thought. Slowly but surely, as the investigation into her death had played out, he had learned that he’d never really known his wife at all. She had led a double life. Beautiful, devoted wife to him, to all appearances; obsessive-compulsive adulteress when no one was watching.

That old familiar knot formed in his gut. How could he have studied and worked to heal the human mind when he hadn’t recognized for a moment that his own wife was a habitual liar and cheater? Not once had he suspected her extramarital activities, and yet there had been dozens of men during their five-year marriage. The wife of one had hired a thug to kill the woman who had lured her husband into temptation.

Nothing Patrick did or felt could change the facts. He couldn’t let those painful memories distract him from the present and drag him back into that pit of agony and depression he had slowly risen from two years ago. Wallowing in self-pity and doubt would accomplish nothing, then or now.

He had started over. He had a life here at the Colby Agency. Patrick liked his work. For the most part he kept to himself after hours. No family ties, no social obligations. He didn’t need anything else. Nor anyone else.

He trusted no one outside his colleagues at the agency. Even that fledgling bond was strictly in the professional sense. His personal life would remain his alone. If he didn’t venture into that trust territory, he wouldn’t have to worry about being deceived.

The intercom on his desk buzzed, dragging him from the painful past. Mildred Ballard’s voice followed. “Patrick, could you come to Victoria’s office? She has a new case she’d like to discuss with you.”

“Thank you, Mildred, I’ll be right there.”

Work was the one thing he depended on now. He could trust his work. It never let him down.

The stroll to Victoria’s office was uninterrupted. Most of the investigators on staff were engrossed in cases, with no time for idle chatter. Admittedly, the entire staff operated more like a large family, but that atmosphere of camaraderie never got in the way of solving any case. Meeting or exceeding the client’s needs and expectations was paramount to Victoria Colby-Camp.

That was another thing he liked about the agency; no corners were cut, no underhanded business tactics were used. Top-notch investigative work was the order of the day. Patrick was surrounded by the best of the best in the field of private investigations. The Colby Agency’s reputation was unparalleled. No one lied. No one cheated.

“She’s waiting for you,” Mildred said as Patrick approached.

Mildred Ballard had been with Victoria for two decades. Through thick and thin, both would say. As the personal assistant to the woman in charge, Mildred ran a tight ship. She missed nothing and kept everyone in line. Mildred was outranked only by Ian Michaels and Simon Ruhl, Victoria’s seconds in command.

Patrick nodded in acknowledgment of Mildred’s broad smile and entered the private office of Victoria Colby-Camp. Lucas Camp, Victoria’s husband, rose from one of the chairs flanking the massive desk as Patrick crossed the room.

“Victoria.” Patrick looked from his boss to the man whose very presence still intimidated most, even him at times. “Lucas.” He extended his hand. “How was your trip?”

Lucas shook Patrick’s hand with the same confidence his bearing conveyed, despite the ever-present cane that assisted his less-than-perfect stride. “I accomplished my mission.”

And that was all he would be getting from the mysterious Lucas Camp. The man was a CIA legend, though his activities had been and still were cloaked in secrecy. Retirement had done little to slow him. He still worked in an advisory capacity for the government and spent every possible moment with his wife—the woman he had waited twenty years to call his own.

That Lucas Camp was present for this meeting carried a great deal of significance. Patrick was definitely intrigued.

“I wouldn’t have expected anything less,” he stated as both he and Lucas settled into the comfortable wingback chairs.

“Here’s Windy,” Victoria announced. “Now we can get started.”

Patrick glanced toward the door as Windy Millwood entered the room. He frowned momentarily, but he almost immediately schooled his expression. He was, after all, merely a profiler. He should have anticipated there would be an investigator sitting in. Disappointment niggled, but he pushed it away. When Victoria thought he was ready to get in the field and take on a case, she would say as much. She wasn’t one to mince words, nor was she indecisive.

“Sorry I’m late,” Windy said. “I was waiting for a fax.” Paper in hand, the tall brunette strode to the chair on the other side of Lucas and settled into it. The formal bearing of her military days had carried over to her civilian career.

Male investigators outnumbered females five to one at the Colby Agency, but not one, male or female, was more prepared and well trained than former Marine Captain Windy Millwood.

“Now that we’re all here,” Victoria began, “let’s bring Patrick up to speed.”

Lucas began. “Yesterday afternoon one of the regulars at the soup kitchen brought in a sort of Jane Doe.”

“Sort of?” Patrick inquired.

Lucas appeared to consider for a moment how to respond, before continuing. “She had a name, but no recall of who she was or where she came from.”

As Lucas explained the circumstances of the client’s only memories, Patrick found himself increasingly intrigued. He had to confess that waking up covered by a sheet and lying on a gurney outside a morgue door was not an everyday occurrence.

“Her driver’s license is a match. Social security number, too,” Windy confirmed as she passed the page to Lucas. “But that’s where it ends.”

Lucas handed the fax to Patrick. “What about the address on the license?”

As Windy explained that the residence recorded on the license was occupied by and belonged to someone else, Patrick considered the blond woman in the DMV photo. Sande Williams. Young. Twenty-eight, according to the birth date shown. Blue eyes. Petite in size.

“Did you visit the residence?” Patrick looked at Windy. “Perhaps Ms. Williams is a friend or relative of the occupant.”

“I thought we’d go together,” Windy suggested.

“Patrick,” Victoria interjected, drawing his attention to her, “you’ll be working this case with Windy. Considering the client’s apparent amnesia, I felt you would be an asset on this one. I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to get you into the field. I believe this is the perfect case.”

Anticipation fired in every neuron. “I agree.” Patrick had been awaiting this opportunity as well. That the client had special needs falling within the scope of his former profession was definitely a bonus.

“It might not be a bad idea to take Ms. Williams along on your visit to the residence,” Lucas suggested. That he made the statement to him rather than Windy surprised Patrick, since she was unquestionably senior. “If the client has ever lived at that address the encounter could trigger repressed memories.”

No doubt, but there could also be hazards related to such a bold move. “With all due respect, Lucas, I’d like to interview the client before taking that step. Just as a precaution.”

“Of course,” the older man replied. “The mind is your specialty.”

“The two of you can get started,” Victoria recommended, “and the research team will continue to dig for information on Ms. Williams.”

“I’ll have a colleague of mine check under a few rocks to see what he can come up with,” Lucas added. “That Ms. Williams woke up in a hospital smacks of a cover-up. I have contacts in the local medical field. I’ll sound those out…as well.”

Patrick would wager Lucas Camp had contacts in most fields, most places.

Windy stood. “Thank you, sir, ma’am,” she said to Lucas and Victoria.

Patrick assured Victoria that he and Windy would check in periodically, before following his newly assigned partner from the office.

His first case.

He took a deep breath. He was ready to make this leap.

No more looking back.

Downtown Women’s Shelter

PATRICK AND HIS PARTNER emerged from his sedan. He considered the neighborhood. Residential. Quiet. The trilevel house that served as a home for those who had no place to go looked like any other nearby. There were no posted signs or other indications that the address was any different from the rest that lined the immaculately maintained street.

But there was a major difference. This home protected the women who stayed there. A pass code was required for admittance. No official ID would serve the purpose. Your name was either on the entrance list and you possessed the necessary information or you didn’t get in.

Period.

Abused and otherwise devastated women from all walks of life sought temporary refuge here. Their troubles would never find them here, nor would their abusers, whether friend or relative. This shelter was the most successful in all of Chicago at protecting its residents. Not one had been tracked down to this location.

Precisely why Lucas Camp had brought Sande Williams here.

Patrick stayed two steps behind Windy as they approached the house. The gate wasn’t locked, but there would be an armed guard just inside the closed and secured door. There would be no getting past him without the proper authorization.

Windy knocked, then recited the necessary pass code. A couple of seconds later, no doubt after the guard had studied both Patrick and her through the cameras positioned on either end of the porch, the door opened for their admittance.

“Windy Millwood.” The guard turned his attention to Patrick. “Patrick O’Brien.”

Windy displayed her Colby Agency ID, as did Patrick.

“Welcome.” The guard stepped back and allowed them to enter.

Inside, the long, narrow entrance hall was deserted. Before Patrick could assess the setting, a middle-aged woman stepped from the first door on the left.

“Your client is waiting in the conference room,” she said before thrusting out her hand. “I’m Carlene Mitchell, the administrator.”

“Windy Millwood.” She shook the woman’s hand. “And this is my colleague, Patrick O’Brien.”

Patrick had from his first day at the Colby Agency insisted that the title of doctor be dropped. He offered his hand to their host. “We understand our presence here is an inconvenience. We appreciate your hospitality.”

Carlene nodded, but her smile was noticeably restrained. “This way.”

The administrator led the way to what had likely once been a grand dining room. Sande Williams waited there. She looked even younger than her photo and, quite frankly, scared to death. Her arms were crossed around her middle, and her shoulders shook, though she visibly struggled to control the outward display of weakness. Fear ultimately won the battle.

When the introductions had been made and Carlene had left them to their work, Windy began the interview. “Ms. Williams, why don’t you start from the beginning and tell us what happened yesterday.”

Seated across from her at the well-used dining table, Patrick analyzed the woman as she spoke. She repeated the story of waking outside the morgue and running for her life, for reasons she didn’t understand. Sande Williams, although clearly nervous, stoically went over the details of her only memories. Anything beyond the past twenty-four hours was lost to her, a very rare phenomenon, but not completely unheard of. Patrick decided to reserve conclusions until after he’d spoken with her at length.

“Ms. Williams,” he said when she’d finished her story, to the point where a kind man, Lucas Camp, had delivered her here, “putting the facts aside, how do you feel?”

She blinked, those wide blue eyes connecting fully with his for the first time. “What do you mean?”

He leaned back in his chair to further set a tone of relaxation. “You’re nervous, I’m sure. That’s to be expected. Any headaches? Dizziness? Anger or other feelings of emotion?”

Sande moved her head from side to side. “No. Well, I’m scared, but mostly I feel…disjointed. As if I’ve lost something that I don’t know how to get back. Does that make sense?”

“Yes. It makes perfect sense.” Classic disorientation response. “Do you feel apprehensive in our presence?” It was very important for her to trust those who were handling her case. They would get nowhere until she felt at ease in his and Windy’s company.

“A little,” she admitted. She moistened her lips and let go a big, shaky breath. “But I know I have to trust someone to help me. I can’t do this alone.”

That was a start. “Do you have any physical injuries?” Patrick saw no visible signs, but there could be bruises, lumps, bumps or scratches beneath her clothing.

She hesitated, as if pondering his question at length. “None that I’ve discovered.”

“What about dreams?” He studied his client’s face for those reactions she wouldn’t put into words. “Did you have any dreams last night that you recall?”

Again, she shook her head. “None that I remember.”

“You understand that Windy and I want to help you learn what happened to you prior to yesterday? We’ll do everything we can to that end.”

She gave a resolute nod. “Yes.”

Now for the first big hurdle. “Then you won’t mind accompanying us to the residence listed on your driver’s license, in an attempt to prompt your memory.”

Not a question.

She hesitated a beat, then two. “No…except I worry that they’ll be watching.”

“They?”

“Whoever…the people who did this to me.” She wet her lips again. His gaze followed the movement despite his best intentions.

“That’s an understandable fear,” Windy assured her when he didn’t immediately do so.

“It’s our job to protect you from this moment forward. You understand that we’ll do all within our power to that end?” Patrick watched for the slightest change in her expression, in her eyes.

“Yes.” She drew in a deep, steadying breath. “Mr. Camp said that the people from the Colby Agency would do whatever necessary to ensure my safety while investigating my case.”

“We will,” Windy reiterated. “Whenever you’re with Patrick or myself you’ll have no reason to fear anyone. We’re both highly trained and very good at what we do. You leave the worrying to us.”

“What if I don’t remember anything?” Sande looked from Patrick to Windy and back. “I mean, I don’t know if Sande Williams is even my name.” She shrugged. “The picture on the driver’s license is definitely me. But it doesn’t feel like me.”

There was the possibility that this woman simply no longer wanted to be who she was. But that conclusion did not explain her waking up at a morgue with a sheet over her nude body and a toe tag attached to her foot. That part indicated foul play, without doubt.

“That’s our job,” Windy declared. “We’ll find out who you are and why this has happened to you. We won’t stop until we do.”

Relief was evident in their new client’s eyes, but the worry remained. “I don’t understand how this could have happened.”

“There could,” Patrick offered, “be psychological reasons for your amnesia.” He turned his palms up. “There could be drugs involved. Many times when there is no physical trauma or psychological explanation, the cause of amnesia is drug related.”

Her eyebrows knitted in confusion. “Drugs? You think I might have been involved with drugs?”

“Not the kind you think,” he hastened to explain. “I’m referring to mind-altering drugs that might have been administered without your consent or your knowledge. Perhaps you agreed to partake in some sort of drug trial and are suffering a rare side effect. Our first stop today will be a private clinic. Our associate there will take the necessary samples and determine if you’ve recently been exposed to drugs.”

Sande nodded. “And if we find something, what then?”

Windy picked up from there. “The hospital where you awoke insists you were never a patient in their facility. They have no record at all of you, they claim. But based on your story, you were a patient there, however briefly. Their denial gives us reason to suspect there’s a cover-up of some sort going on.”

“I don’t remember how I got there or anything that happened before I woke up on that gurney.” Sande closed her eyes for a long moment. “I don’t understand how this could be happening.” When her eyes opened, her gaze locked with Patrick’s. “How could a person just lose all they were? It seems crazy.”

He wouldn’t say so just now, but there were a number of mental illnesses that presented with amnesia. Most often because the patient simply did not want to remember who she or he was. That diagnosis would take time, time spent with the patient.

“We’ll operate under the assumption that you’re a victim,” Windy assured her. “Your safety will be our top priority during our investigation.”

Sande Williams bit her bottom lip as the fingers of her right hand twisted and twirled a lock of her long blond hair. “But there is the possibility that I’m just plain crazy.”

“Not crazy,” Patrick corrected. “You may have suffered a psychotic break. Stress. Any number of triggers could have set off the episode. But that doesn’t explain the hospital’s denial of your presence in their facility. These are the questions we have to consider and find explanations for.”

She contemplated his words before she spoke again. Looking directly at him, she asked, “But you’ll fix whatever it is, right?”

Patrick infused all the reassurance he could into his gaze. “You have our word we will find the problem—” he leaned forward slightly for emphasis “—and will do whatever it takes to rectify that problem, or get you to the people who can.”

Relief filled her eyes. “Thank you.”

What he suddenly felt contradicted all that he had just stated to this woman. For the first time since he’d entered Victoria’s office and learned of this assignment, Patrick had second thoughts.

Sande Williams was a complete mystery. A woman in serious trouble. Whatever demons, real or imagined, haunted her, he had promised that he would take care of her and the situation.

How the hell could he make that kind of assurance when he hadn’t even really known his own wife? He had lived with her for years and hadn’t experienced the slightest inkling that all was not as it should be. He’d failed her and he’d failed himself.

As if Windy sensed his mental retreat, she took the reins. “Ms. Williams, this is what we do at the Colby Agency, and we’re very, very good at what we do. We will find the truth and take whatever steps are necessary to resolve your dilemma. You’re in good hands.”

On cue, Patrick felt a tremor.

Maybe he wasn’t as ready for a field assignment as he’d thought.

This wasn’t a mere compilation of facts and data to be passed along to an investigator for follow through. This involved dealing directly with the people of interest in the case.

This was the real thing.

Chapter Three

2422 Johnson Lane Chicago Suburb

“Here’s how we’re going to play this.” The first part of the job would be no hardship for Patrick. He knew how to read people. “We approach—”

“Wait.” Sande looked from him to the house across the street and back. “I’m not sure about this. What if I do or say the wrong thing?”

Fifteen minutes ago she had been fully prepared to participate in this phase of the investigation. No hesitation. The plan was simple. They would approach the residence listed on her driver’s license and see if she recognized the place or anyone residing there. At the same time, he would be analyzing any occupants for recognition of his client. In and out in a matter of minutes. No big deal.

“Windy checked out the lady living here,” he offered again, in hopes of calming Sande’s fear. “She’s a CPA. Single. And she has no criminal record, not even a parking ticket. She’s lived here for three years. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

Sande cast another furtive glance at the house. “But what if she somehow knows the people who did this to me? What if she’s involved?”

Her teeth tortured her bottom lip. He’d noticed she did that when she was nervous or uncertain. The need to protect stirred in him. Not unusual in this situation. She was vulnerable, he was not. Basic human compassion dictated that primal response. He’d tried to ignore going down that path for a few years now. But compassion was a necessary element of his interaction with the client. There was no discounting it now.

Patrick gazed at the ranch-style brick home across the street from where he’d parked along the curb. “Determining whether or not the lady of the house is involved is part of what we’ll hopefully learn on this visit. Remember, we have the element of surprise on our side. She has no idea we’re coming. She won’t be prepared to cause trouble or set any sort of trap.”

He wasn’t sure he’d convinced Sande, but she hadn’t flat out refused to go inside as of yet. He wondered if she would be more willing if a woman had been here. His associate was running Sande’s fingerprints and doing additional research on the hospital where she had awakened on that gurney.

Patrick didn’t need Windy for this step. He could handle an interview without his associate’s guidance. This was his specialty. All he needed was the client’s cooperation.

“Okay.” Sande took a deep breath. “Let’s do it.”

He breathed a little easier with that decision out of the way.

They crossed the street side by side. His client’s trepidation was palpable despite her determination to go through with this step. They had been watching the house for more than half an hour when the owner had come home. Since the woman had parked in the garage before emerging from her car, neither he nor Sande had been able to get a good look at her.

According to Windy’s research, the owner was Nancy Childers. Other than her occupation, the fact that she had no criminal record and that she had moved to Chicago from Detroit, they knew nothing else. She appeared to be a loner and had no listed next of kin.

The instant Patrick and Sande reached the front door of the house, she turned to him, her eyes wide with worry again. “I don’t say anything, right?”

“Exactly.” They’d been over this already. “Study the woman. The house. If you’ve been here before you may experience déjà vu or some emotional tug.”

Sande took another of those deep, bolstering breaths as she nodded.

“Try to stay relaxed and just feel.”

“I can do that.”

Her voice sounded strong despite the uncertainty in her eyes. Patrick rapped on the door and waited. A second knock was required before it opened.

A female matching Nancy Childers’s physical description looked expectantly from Patrick to Sande. “Can I help you?”

“Ms. Childers?”

The expected suspicion flashed in the woman’s eyes. “Yes.”

“My name is Patrick O’Brien, and this is my colleague, Sande Williams. We’re canvassing the area regarding a problem with burglaries. Do you have five minutes to discuss the recent rash of incidents in your neighborhood?”

When looking for a cover story, he’d read about the outbreak of robberies in the area. Any criminal activity in the community was likely to prompt immediate cooperation from residents. And if Ms. Childers reacted as expected, she would automatically assume he represented the local authorities in one capacity or another.

Nancy Childers hesitated only half a second. “Sure.” The suspicion vanished and she managed a polite smile. “Come in.” The door opened wider in invitation as she stepped back, allowing them entrance.

“We can talk in the living room.” She led the way.

When they were seated, Patrick explained briefly what he’d learned about the rash of robberies before asking, “Have you considered that someone in your neighborhood might be the perpetrator?”

Nancy frowned. “No.” She shook her head. “I discussed the problem with one of my neighbors just yesterday and we’re shocked. This isn’t the norm for this area. I guess I’m lucky my home wasn’t hit, since I’m rarely here.”

“So you haven’t noticed any suspicious activities? No strange automobiles or people loitering about?”

“No. Not at all.”

“May I use your restroom?” Sande interjected.

No one was more surprised by the question than Patrick. He glanced from Sande, who’d asked, to their host.

Nancy’s brow creased with another frown, this one laced with renewed suspicion. “Sure.” She hesitated a second or two, then waved her hand in the direction of the hall. “Second door on the right.”

When Sande had left the room, Patrick drew the woman’s attention back to the conversation. “Are any of the residents in the neighborhood new arrivals? Or is there anyone who perhaps keeps a particularly low profile? You’d be surprised how important small, seemingly insignificant details like that can be to an investigation.”

Nancy pondered his question. “It’s difficult for me to say, since I travel so frequently. In fact, I only just returned from several weeks in Dallas.”

“Your work keeps you away for extended periods?” She’d mentioned that, but he wanted details.

“Most of the time.” She shifted to a more relaxed position, but the tightening of her jaw gave away her continued uneasiness. “I help analyze and organize accounting departments for major corporations.”

So far he’d learned nothing he didn’t already know. Once he and Sande were gone, the woman’s actions would tell the rest of the story—if there was anything else to tell.

Noting Sande’s approach from the hall, Patrick stood. “We certainly appreciate your cooperation, Ms. Childers. If you think of anything at all out of the ordinary that you might have forgotten to mention, please give me a call.” He provided her with a card that included his name and cell-phone number. “One of us will be in touch if we think of any additional questions.”

Sande resumed her position at his side, her expression as neutral as it had been when they first entered the house. She shook Nancy’s hand and thanked her for her cooperation. Patrick studied the interaction between the two women. Nothing. Not a flicker of recognition.

Nancy Childers was either an accomplished actress or a dead end.

Patrick didn’t question his client until the door was closed behind them and they were nearing the street. “Nothing, huh?”

Sande shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Sande!”

Patrick’s attention jerked left, toward the source of the greeting. An older woman, seventy or seventy-five, waved from the yard next door to Nancy Childers’s home. As he watched, she leaned her rake against the fence, tugged off her gloves and started in their direction.

“I thought that was you!” The spry woman hurried to the sidewalk to meet them. “I’ve missed our garden chats. Where in the world have you been?” She scrutinized Sande for longer than was comfortable. “You don’t look well. Have you been ill?”

Sande’s expression left no question as to her utter surprise as well as total confusion. “I…uh, yes. I’ve been in the hospital.”

The older lady shook her head. “I wish you’d called me. I didn’t know what in the world happened. Then those men came around this morning looking for you, and I didn’t know what to say. They wouldn’t tell me a thing, just kept asking questions.” She wrung her hands. “Frankly, I was worried you’d…” She looked left then right, as if expecting trouble from somewhere on the street. “There are so many murders these days.” She heaved out a big breath. “You never know when someone just disappears like that. I sure wish you’d called.”

“I’m sorry.” Patrick offered his hand, diverting her attention to him. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Patrick O’Brien.”

“Alma Spears.” She grasped his hand with surprising strength. “I keep a watch on Nancy’s house when she’s away. Usually.” Her gaze shifted back to Sande. “But this time she hired herself a house sitter while she was away. I was going to ask her about that, but every time I drop by she’s on her way out or tied up on the phone.” Alma glanced back at the house. “Maybe she thinks I’m getting too old for the job.” Alma smiled. “In the end I made myself a new friend in Sande here.” Her smile dimmed. “I’m so glad to see you’re all right.”

Sande stared at the woman who called herself Alma Spears. She’d said one thing that had settled like a massive stone in her stomach. “Men came looking for me?” The idea that it may have been those men from the hospital who’d come here terrified her.

“Yes. Two of ’em.” Alma dabbed at her forehead with the back of her hand. “If you’re not in a hurry, why don’t you come on in and we’ll visit over some tea?” She made eye contact with Mr. O’Brien. “Or coffee.”

Two men. More of that paralyzing fear prickled Sande’s skin. Wait. Focus. The woman had asked her a question. Tea. She wanted to visit. Maybe that was a good idea. How was it that this Alma Spears could know Sande? And she felt no sense of recognition? No connection whatsoever?

“Coffee would be great,” O’Brien agreed cordially.

Sande had to pay attention. She’d completely ignored the invitation. Pull it together, girl. O’Brien had told her to pay attention. To relax and just feel.

Alma Spears led the way through her backyard, past a lush garden. Lots of pansies and deep-green ferns set against the darkening red of dwarf nandinas.

Once inside, she said, “You two make yourselves at home and I’ll get the refreshments.”

As soon as Alma was out of earshot, O’Brien turned to Sande. “You’re certain nothing in the house next door stirred even the slightest reaction?”

She shook her head. “I explored a bit when I asked to use the restroom. Nothing felt familiar.” That was the absolute worst feeling. To know you had a history, maybe family, and not be able to access those memories. It was like some part of her—the part that mattered the most—was missing.

“What about this lady?” he prodded. “Anything?”

Sande turned her palms up. “Nothing yet.”

His next question was preempted by Alma’s return. The tray she carried was laden with a floral porcelain coffeepot and three dainty cups and saucers. “I was hoping we’d get to say a proper goodbye before you left for your next assignment.” She passed Sande a cup prepared with tea, then filled the remaining two with coffee before passing one to O’Brien. “After four days I was certain you weren’t coming back.” She cradled her own cup and sighed. “Like I said before, I feared the worst.”

“Did the men who came looking for Ms. Williams identify themselves?” O’Brien sipped his coffee as nonchalantly as if he’d just asked if there might be rain in the forecast.

Alma gestured to a small plate of cookies on the tray, but both Sande and O’Brien declined. “I guess I should’ve asked for ID,” the woman admitted, “but they seemed so official. I was worried that something had happened and they just weren’t telling me one way or the other. I got a little snippy toward the end of their visit.”

Sande stared at her, stunned. Four days? She had been missing for four days? This was unbelievable.

“Did either one of the men who visited you mention the recent rash of burglaries in your neighborhood?” O’Brien asked, keeping up the pretense, or just making conversation so as not to arouse suspicion, Sande supposed.

The exchange continued on benignly about what a great neighborhood Alma lived in, how she had known everyone on the street for ages. Sande sat stone still, utterly dumbfounded, while she then chatted on and on about her garden, and the relationship the two of them had seemingly developed.

“You’re sure it was only two months ago that Sande moved in next door?” O’Brien looked to Sande. “I was thinking three?”

Before Sande could decide what he wanted her to say, Alma shook her head with complete confidence. “Absolutely not. It was Labor Day weekend. You said you didn’t know a soul in the neighborhood and that Nancy wouldn’t be back for several more weeks.”

“Wait. Yes,” O’Brien allowed, “I think you’re right. Nancy had to go to Dallas.”

Alma’s forehead furrowed. “Dallas? I thought she was in San Diego?” She turned to Sande then, a mix of confusion and suspicion in her eyes. “You took her place at the firm here while she did your work out in San Diego. I’m sure that’s what you told me.” Her head wagged again. “I’ll never understand this whole life-swap thing. People don’t like to take risks anymore. They want to try everything out before they make a commitment.”

Total numbness had overtaken Sande. Life swapping? What was she talking about?

Alma studied her for a long moment. “You act like you don’t even recall staying here. Are you sure you’re all right?”

Sande froze. How did she respond to that?

“Sande was quite ill,” O’Brien interjected quickly. “The medication has made the past few days a little hazy.”

The older woman nodded in understanding, but her expression indicated she was less than convinced of their story.

Fear snaked its way up Sande’s spine. What if the woman called those men back and told them she had been here? Had they given Alma Spears a card? She hadn’t mentioned that, but maybe she’d been asked not to say anything. Confusion and fear had wrapped around Sande in so many layers she couldn’t draw a breath. Her heart thumped hard against her sternum.

After a few minutes more casual back and forth, they had obviously extracted all they were going to get from Alma Spears. They had learned that Sande supposedly filled in for Nancy at Peyton and Wyatt, an accounting firm in Chicago where Nancy was employed. Maybe someone at the firm would recognize Sande. Would know where she’d lived before coming to Chicago. Would remember if she had any family or friends.

“Thank you, Alma.” Sande produced a shaky smile as she used the woman’s first name in hopes of not rousing more suspicion. She suddenly couldn’t wait to get out of the woman’s house. Being there felt strange…disconcerting. The more the woman said the less real any of it felt to her. She needed air.

Once back on the sidewalk, she drew in a deep, ragged breath. She felt dazed and even more confused than when they had arrived. “This is impossible. Her story can’t be true.”

O’Brien escorted her to his car. “First thing we do is find out where Nancy Childers has really been the past two months. And if you actually filled in for her at Peyton and Wyatt.”

“We’re going to talk to her again?” Sande wished she felt something, even the slightest flicker of recognition, where Nancy Childers was concerned. But there was nothing. Not a single thing about Alma Spears felt familiar, either. If Sande had ever met one or the other, she had absolutely no recall.

“Not yet.” O’Brien opened the front passenger door of his sedan. “But we will talk to both those ladies again, count on it.”

One thing kept Sande hanging on at this point. Lucas Camp had said the Colby Agency was the very best in the business.

She had to believe that.

She had to believe in something.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.