Page 12 of One Little Memory
Phoenix knew Lloyd Bondy and had no intention of volunteering to tell him anything. He was another of the town’s assholes as far as Phoenix was concerned. Mean and ornery. Not to mention a bad drunk. He got meaner when he drank, which was almost every night as far as Phoenix could determine. He’d had to haul Lloyd down to the police station for drunk and disorderly more times than he could count back when he was in uniform.
Phoenix pulled out his notebook and pen. “When was the last time you saw Gus?”
“Oh, I guess it was Thursday night maybe? I came by to see my brother, and Lloyd was here.” Arthur shuffled his feet.
“Anything unusual happen?”
Arthur shook his head and then stopped. “Well, now, come to think of it, the two of them had words.”
“Had words?” Phoenix probed.
“You know. They were having a slight disagreement about something. They clammed up when I came across the yard, but they’d been yelling at each other before that.”
“Was that out of the ordinary for them?” Phoenix was certain it was pretty normal. They both were so damned prickly.
Arthur rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t quite normal. They did seem really upset. They were yelling awful loudly.”
“What were they yelling about?”
“Something to do with someone being a cheat or not.”
Phoenix studied Arthur for a minute. It surprised him that Arthur felt Lloyd and Gus’s fight was unusual. He’d seen them go at it hard a few times himself. They must have really been screaming if it was out of the norm. “Do you have any more details on it?”
Arthur studied his feet, one hand cupped around his nape. “No. Like I said, they stopped when I arrived.”
That struck Phoenix as the most unusual aspect of Gus arguing with someone. Gus didn’t stop yelling for anything. “Okay, then I’ll check it out. Anyone else you can think of with a grudge against your brother?”
Arthur shook his head. “No. He was an ornery guy, but no one hated him enough to hurt him.”
Right.Just half the town as far as Phoenix was concerned. He closed his notebook. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss.”
Arthur nodded. Phoenix started to turn away but then swiveled back around to face the older man. “Arthur, I need to ask, where were you last night?”
Arthur blinked as if recalling, then, “Well, I was at the shop until seven. Not much going on since the big game was happening at the high school. I closed up and then went home and made myself dinner. Chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. And then I watched some TV until bedtime.”
“Arthur,” the mayor called. He gestured for Arthur to join him. Phoenix noticed a TV van parked down on the road. Time for the mayor’s fifteen minutes of fame.
Arthur asked him, “Is that everything?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do my best to find who killed your brother.” As much as Phoenix didn’t like Gus, Arthur was a nice man and didn’t deserve the hurt that murder caused.
He squeezed Phoenix’s arm and gave him a sad smile. “I know you will, son.”
He watched the elderly gentleman walk over to the mayor. Then he glanced over at the figure being loaded into a body bag. A lump formed in the pit of his stomach. Whatever this was all about, it wasn’t going to be good.
CHAPTER 5
“You’re letting me go?”she asked. Her stomach dropped. It was late morning on Saturday. She’d been hoping they’d at least keep her for the weekend. She couldn’t begin to think of where she might go.
Dr. Cahill smiled. “I know you probably still have a headache and some bruises, but other than that, there’s nothing physically wrong with you. Your memory will come back in time. There’s nothing I can do to speed it up. You just have to be patient.” He reached out and touched her arm. “I know that sounds patronizing, and I really do wish I could do something magical and make it all come back for you, but that’s just not possible. You should take it easy. That’s the best thing you can do for yourself at the moment. Your brain will heal in its own time.”
She swallowed. How the hell was she going to leave the hospital? Where was she supposed to go? She needed money, she needed clothes, she needed everything. And as far as she knew, she didn’t have any darn thing. Did Detective Halston or someone find her purse at the crash site? No one else had been by to see her, so she assumed the answer was a big, fat no. She sighed. “Thanks, Dr. Cahill.”
“I’ll sign your release forms, and we’ll get you going in the next half hour or so.” He left the room. She stared after him and bit her lip.Be practical.What would she need to survive outside of the hospital? Clothing was the first thing. She wasn’t going around in a hospital gown. Maybe her clothing from the accident wasn’t so bad. She could re-wear that.
A place to stay was another issue. She needed a place to take it easy, and since she had no clue who she was or where she was supposed to be, it left limited options as to where she could go. Plus, she had no money. Was she even allowed to leave town? She should call Halston. He would know how to proceed, and maybe he could help her procure some clothing and a place to stay.
She hit the call button, and a young nurse appeared. Her name tag proclaimed her H. Kincaid. “I’m sorry to bother you, but would there be a phone I could use?”
