came to a stop next to the bed and held out his hand. “Stone Richardson. I’m a detective with the Grand Springs Police Department. I’m working on the Steele murder case.”
Tina waited for Tom to shake the detective’s hand, then stepped closer to the bed, sliding between him and the detective. “Your colleague was just here,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “He asked Mr. Flynt a number of questions, which he couldn’t answer. There’s no point in asking him again.”
Stone Richardson held up his hands. “Whoa, I’m not here to ask Mr. Flynt the same questions. And I’m sorry if Bob upset you. I know he can come on a little too strong sometimes. That’s just his style.” He hesitated, then said, “The nurses said you seem to have a case of complete amnesia—you can’t remember a thing. I wanted to talk to you to see if there was anything I could do to help.”
“That’s kind of you, Detective,” Tom said slowly. “But I’m not sure what you could do, unless you recognize me.”
Stone shook his head. “Never saw you before in my life. But your situation reminds me of a case I worked on in Grand Springs a few years ago. One of the witnesses in that case had amnesia, too.”
“Did he get his memory back?” Tom asked eagerly.
“Eventually.”
“But it would help you with this case if I got my memory back a lot more quickly than eventually.” Tom didn’t take his eyes off the detective.
“Yes, but I know you can’t push it. I just thought there might be something I could do.”
“Thank you, Detective,” Tom answered quietly, “but I’m not sure what that would be. I’ll let you know as soon as I remember anything.”
Stone nodded. “I’ll stop by regularly and let you know if we find any new information.” He turned to look at Tina. “And just for the record, I do believe he’s innocent unless and until I prove him guilty.”
He turned around and walked out the door before either of them could say anything. Finally Tom said, “Thank you, Ms. White.”
“For what?”
“For defending me to Detectives Richardson and Jones. You have no idea if I’m guilty or not.”
Her eyes flashed blue fire. “And neither do they. But Jones was assuming you were.”
“You have to admit, if I did what they’re saying I did, it looks pretty suspicious.”
“There could have been a number of reasons you ran out of the hotel,” Tina said hotly. “Maybe you’re a police officer. Maybe you were trying to catch the killer.”
“If I were a police officer here in Grand Springs, don’t you think Jones and Richardson would know it?”
She looked away. “All right, maybe you’re not a Grand Springs police officer. But that doesn’t mean you’re guilty of something.”
“Why are you defending me like this, Ms. White?” he asked, his heart suddenly pounding. “You don’t know me, either.”
“Someone has to defend you.” She looked at him again, and he could see the conviction in her eyes. “Until they find your family, there’s no one else to speak for you.”
“Thank you,” he said, moved by her words. “That’s very generous.”
“You don’t look like a criminal. And you don’t act like one, either.”
“What does a criminal look like?” Tom felt his mouth curving into a smile.
“Not like you,” Tina answered immediately.
“I want to know the truth,” he said. “Even if the truth is that I was involved in this crime. I want to know who I am, even if it means I’m a criminal.”
“That’s why I defended you.” Tina bent closer, staring into his eyes. “A criminal wouldn’t want that. A criminal would be trying to hide the truth. A criminal would be looking to shift the blame to someone else. Only a person with integrity would say that he wanted to know the truth, regardless of the circumstances.”
Lost in the deep blue of Tina’s eyes, Tom could almost believe she was speaking the truth. Almost. But he couldn’t allow himself to believe it.
“It doesn’t matter what the truth is. I want to know it,” he said. “And if there is anything I can do to speed up the return of my memory, I’ll do it.”
“Dr. Wilson ordered a neurological exam,” Tina said. “The neurologist will probably stop by this afternoon. We should know more after she looks at you.”
Tom shut his eyes, suddenly very tired. When he opened them a few moments later, Tina was still standing above him, watching him with a worried look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I shouldn’t have let those two detectives talk to you,” she said, a frown furrowing her forehead. “They tired you out.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “They have a job to do. And I want to find out who I am as quickly as possible.”
She nodded, but there was a militant look in her eyes. “They won’t bother you again today.”
“Are you going to stand guard at the door to my room?” he teased.
She gave him an answering grin. “I won’t have to. We took a class in nursing school about this kind of situation. It was called Withering Looks and Stern Frowns. Guaranteed to get rid of any unwanted visitors.”
“Sounds great.” The pain in his head and his side was pulling him down into a spiral of darkness. He forced himself to keep his eyes open for another moment. “I’ll count on you to keep the dragons away.”
She smoothed the sheet over his chest, then lightly touched his hand. “I’m working on this floor, so I’ll check on you frequently.”
He wanted to call her back, to ask her to touch him again. But the darkness was pulling too hard, tugging him into the void. Tom watched her walk out the door, noticing her long, slender body and the gentle sway of her hips. He held onto the image as he slid into sleep.
Tina stood at the desk in the hallway, checking on some patient records, when a blond woman stepped out of Tom’s room and slid her hands into the pockets of her white jacket. When she reached the desk, she said, “Can I have Tom Flynt’s chart?”
“What do you think, Dr. Mellon?” Tina asked.
“He definitely has amnesia,” the neurologist answered. “He seems to be completely blocked.”
“What’s his prognosis?”
“Good, I’d say. But I have no idea how long it will last. At least he doesn’t have any other neurological problems. His brain scan was normal and all the tests I gave him were normal.”
“Treatment?”
The
