Page 29 of One Little Memory
Chief Bowers stuck his head out of his office and motioned for Phoenix to come see him. Normally, he wasn’t here on a Sunday, but with the murder investigation, it was all hands ondeck. As soon as Phoenix was seated in the chair across the desk from his boss, he asked, “How’s the investigation going?”
“Which one?”
Bowers nodded. “Busy time. It never rains but pours. Why don’t you start with our mystery woman?”
“Jo. At least, that’s what we’re calling her. She’s starting to get her memories back.”
Bowers leaned back in his chair. “That’s a good thing.”
“Yes and no.” He went on to tell his boss the whole thing. The fact that he was sure the two cases were related and there was solid evidence that Jo had hit Gus Marchand with her car.
“That’s…unexpected.”
“Agreed.”
“Be very careful with this. We don’t want to screw up this case and be accused of God knows what when it comes to our mystery woman out there.”
“I know, sir.”
“Maybe it’s better if you move her somewhere else. I’m not sure she should be in your backyard if she’s a suspect.”
A low growl started in Phoenix’s stomach. He understood what the chief was saying, but there was no way in hell he’d let Jo out of his sight. It was too dangerous for her. Besides, where would he put her? “Sir, there’s more.” He went on to explain his theory that Jo was in danger. “So, I’m not sure where we can put her that she’s going to be safe and not a danger to anyone else. We don’t have enough to arrest her at the moment. The proof is down at the bottom of the embankment.”
“Shit,” the chief mumbled as he looked at his watch. It was already after two. “We’re going to need forensics out there. I can put a request in, but the state forensic guys will take a while to get there.”
“At least, if she stays where she is I can keep an eye on her. Besides, she hasn’t said she remembers anything about hitting Marchand yet.”
“Do you think she’ll tell you?”
That was the million-dollar question. “I think so. I think she’s just really unsure of everything at the moment, and now it’s got to be obvious to her that someone wanted her dead. I don’t know if I would say much either.”
“Okay. She can stay with you, but only until we get the evidence off the car. Then you have to bring her in.”
Phoenix stood up. “Chief,” he said and nodded. Then he walked out of the office. How in the hell was he going to arrest Jo? He glanced over at her. There was just no way she killed Marchand. There had to be more to the story. He just had to figure out what that was. He needed her to trust him so he could help her. Without that, her future looked bleak.
They grabbeda late lunch at the diner and were headed home when his cell buzzed. “Jagger,” he said. “What’s up?”
“Sorry to call on a Sunday, but I figured you were working.”
“Yeah. No problem.”
“I wanted you to know that Gus Marchand’s death had nothing to do with that other thing.”
Phoenix wanted to curse. He’d been hoping he could investigate all leads before they arrested Jo. He was going to call Jagger and ask if he could fill in Chief Bowers. It was a long shot, but he was getting desperate. He did not want Jo to go to jail. He just couldn’t believe that she killed Marchand. “What happened? How do you know?”
“I can’t get into that.” He paused. “Let’s just say a conversation was overheard, and it confirmed that, although that group hated him, they had no part in his death.”
So, Jagger had a wiretap on someone. Phoenix hated to think about who could be involved in whatever Jagger was investigating. “I appreciate you telling me, Jagger.” And he did. He truly appreciated his former teammate reaching out and keeping him in the loop. Jagger didn’t have to do it, but he chose to. It spoke volumes about the man himself.
“I just didn’t want you chasing your tail. Plus, now you owe me one. Talk to you later,” he said and hung up.
“Good or bad?” Jo asked.
Phoenix glanced over at her. “I guess that depends on how you look at it.”
She frowned.
“It just tied up a loose end in an investigation. Always good to do that.”
