I shook my head. “These people were real. I’m sure of it. Once I remembered them, I remembered everything about them. Except, of course, their names, but I don’t think I ever knew them.”
“Surely the doctors and nurses at the hospital called them by name.”
“I don’t know. I don’t recall.”
“Mrs. Steel, trust me. The doctors and nurses called these patients by name. They did not call them paperboy and deli owner’s daughter. How do you know this girl’s father owned a deli, anyway?”
“I’m not sure.”
“There must be some reason you remember her as being associated with a deli.”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Did you ever go to a deli?”
“Yeah, when I lived at home with my parents. There was this great New York–style deli a few miles from our house. We went there a lot for lunch on weekends. I used to love to watch the workers slice the meats to put on sandwiches.”
Dr. Pelletier nodded and made some notes.
“How can I prove to you that this memory is real?” I asked.
“Nothing can be proven without factual corroboration.” He continued writing.
“Then let’s get the factual corroboration.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because records of other patients are strictly confidential. I can’t access them unless I’m a treating physician on the case. This is especially true where minors are involved.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip.
“But let’s go on the assumption that these memories are real,” he said. “Why do you think you’re remembering them now?”
“That’s kind of why I’m here,” I said. “Dr. Payne told me my memories might come back, and when they did, there would probably be a reason.”
“There can be,” he said. “What’s been going on in your life lately?”
I sighed. There was no easy answer to that question. What hadn’t been going on?
“I have a week-old baby whose life has been threatened twice. A good friend of mine is missing. Another friend died at my wedding eight months ago, and we don’t know why or who was behind it. My husband is always working. Oh…my mother attempted suicide after I told her I was pregnant and getting married.”
Dr. Pelletier stopped writing and met my gaze. “I see we have a lot to talk about, Mrs. Steel.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Brad
My flight to Arizona was uneventful. My PI had located Larry and his girlfriend, Greta, in a bed-and-breakfast in Sedona. And yeah, I walked in on them while they were doing it.
Not a sight I ever wanted to see again.
“Steel! What the fuck?” Larry rolled off Greta and wrapped a sheet around himself, leaving her totally exposed. What a gentleman.
I averted my eyes. “Get dressed, both of you. I need to talk to Larry alone.”
“We’re kind of in the middle of something here,” Larry said.
“Believe me, I can’t unsee that. This is important. You have two minutes.”
“Now listen here—”
“Larry, you listen here. I’m not just a friend anymore. I’m your brother-in-law, and I need your help. I’ll make it worth your while.”
That got him. I could almost see the dollar signs in his eyeballs.
“All right. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
I closed the door and waited in the hallway.
True to his word, Larry came out dressed in jeans and a Queen T-shirt, his feet bare.
“Get some shoes on,” I said.
“What for?”
“We’re going for a walk.”
Larry rolled his eyes but went back in the room, returning a few seconds later wearing Chuck Taylors. “Let’s go, then.”
Sedona was a beautiful city with its perfect red rock formations. I wanted to bring Daphne and little Joe here. They were both so beautiful. They belonged in a place like this.
“Can we stop for a bite?” Larry asked. “I need to carbo-load.”
“Too much information, man,” I said. “But sure.”
We found a small sandwich shop, ordered, and got a table.
“What the hell was so important that you needed to interrupt me fucking my fiancée?”
I widened my eyes. “Fiancée?”
“Yeah. I proposed last night. Greta accepted.”
“Congratulations, man.”
“Thanks. She’s coming to Phoenix with me when I start law school in the fall.”
“Cool. So you’ll be a kept man like Simpson?”
“Nah. I’m not going to make Greta work when I’ve got seven figures in the bank.”
“You’re a better man than he is, then.”
“Yeah, you don’t have to go too far for that.” Larry sipped his Coke.
I lifted one eyebrow. “Oh? What makes you say that?”
“Come on, Steel,” Larry said. “You’re not blind.”
No, I wasn’t. Perhaps I hadn’t given Larry enough credit. I’d always considered him the least intelligent of our little group. Of course least intelligent among the Future Lawmakers was still damned smart. He’d gotten into law school.
“Anything you want to tell me, Lar?” I asked.
“Nothing you don’t already know.”
I nodded. “We’ll get to that. For now, I have a simple question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Did you pay for Daphne’s hospitalization?”
His brows nearly flew off his forehead. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“Hell, no. My dad has insurance.”
“His insurance is pure indemnity, not one of those newfangled HMOs. It only paid eighty percent, and his share amounted to over a hundred grand.”