Known (23 page)

“People have no lives,” interjected Owen.

Nora agreed completely. “When Gianna was interviewed about the accident back then, what did she say?” She directed the question to Saul.

“She didn’t say anything until a few weeks after the accident. She’d been sedated a lot and the detectives at the time didn’t bother to question her. To them the event was clear: a car wrecked and a child survived. I talked to her after she was weaned off the strong medications, and she remembered being wet and her feet hurting. She’d lost her shoes and walked barefoot for several miles along the road. Under sedation in the hospital, she often cried about pain in her feet. The skin on the bottom was in shreds.”

They didn’t interview the lone witness?
“I’m shocked they didn’t talk to her. Her father’s missing body must have raised red flags at first.”

“It did. But all the doors to the car were open and the ocean is extremely powerful. They had suspicions but didn’t believe Gianna would be helpful. Once Richard’s body appeared, they considered the case closed.”

Nora had read the official reports, and Saul’s recollections agreed with them. “Did Gianna have any counseling after her injuries healed?”

Saul scowled. “No. I didn’t see the need for it. She adapted well to living with me. There were many nights when she cried for her parents but we got through it together. I lost my brother. She knew I was hurting, too.”

“You and your brother were close?”

“Very. We came from a poor background, but we were both determined to make something of ourselves. He was fascinated with computers and was one of the first to make headway in cordless computer hardware technology. He wanted to build a better mouse,” Saul said with a wry grin. “And he did. Several companies were exploring the option at that time and his company was one of them. If he’d lived, he would have seen the elements of a technology he’d created sold to an industry leader.”

Nora froze. “These elements were sold after he died?”

“Yes, Gianna got her share. Richard’s partner, Leo, knew full well that Richard was the engineering brain behind their success. He approached me first when he’d received an offer to buy the technology. Leo wanted Gianna to benefit.”

Nora frowned. “I read her father and Leo Berg had formed Berssina Tech, but the company dissolved after his death, correct?”

Saul shook his head. “No. Leo simply renamed it BergTech. They’re still a player in cordless innovations, and he continues to pay Gianna a portion of their profits.”

How did I miss that?
Nora penciled a note to herself to look into BergTech.
Could someone be tired of sharing profits?

“I didn’t know that either,” said Owen. “Gianna never told me about her income from them or from her father’s technology.”

“What is the relationship between you two?” Nora asked pointedly, looking from Saul to Owen. She had Saul pegged as an intelligent man, but Owen had yet to impress her. How had Owen stayed in Saul’s circle?

Saul looked surprised. “We’ve been golfing together for about ten years and have dinner occasionally when Owen is in town. I introduced Gianna to him years ago. I called him when I found out about Gianna’s accident. I knew he’d be concerned, and he was in LA on business.” He glanced at the younger man. “I thought Gianna would appreciate seeing supportive faces after her incident.”

Golf. A game Nora didn’t have the patience to try, but she knew it held a magic sway over a lot of men.

“You haven’t seen Gianna yet, correct?”

“That’s correct.” Saul’s expression indicated he was biting his tongue.

She glanced at her notes and decided to see if she could push his buttons. He’d answered her immediate questions, but now she felt like fishing. “I see you showed up on the doorstep of a friend of hers this morning.”

He stiffened the slightest bit. “I was concerned.”

“You tracked her daughter’s phone to locate them?” Nora gave him her best “what the fuck?” expression.

“Yes. And I’d do it again. My daughter had been through a harrowing experience, and I wanted to see her.”

Nora tilted her head a degree, holding his gaze, letting him know she was processing his answer. “Why didn’t you simply ask where they were when you talked to Gianna on the phone earlier?”

Annoyance flashed in his eyes. “I didn’t think of it.”

She reined it in, feeling guilty for enjoying his discomfort. “I understand wanting to make certain they were safe.”

He accepted her olive branch. “Yes,” he replied with a nod. “Is it possible to see a photo of the man they found in her cabin?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? What if it’s someone I know? Maybe I could solve your mystery in thirty seconds. It seems like a waste of time to not have me look.”

Owen perked up, clearly interested in a look at the dead man.

Nora seethed at his disrespect. “He’s been severely burned in the face. Recognizing him won’t be a simple task.”

“Do that reconstruction thing with a computer,” Owen offered with the wave of a hand. “Create a face for us.”

She stared at Owen. “This isn’t some movie. You think we have the resources for something like that? I don’t know if that even exists outside of books and TV. I’ll talk to the medical examiner and see what’s appropriate here, but unless you’re aware of some missing acquaintances, I think we’d both be wasting our time. Maybe you should make some calls and take a head count of your friends.” She gave him a toothy smile.

A quick glance at Saul revealed he hadn’t been impressed with Owen’s suggestion either. Saul met her gaze and raised one shoulder.

Nora knew she needed to meet with Gianna Trask again.

Gianna had thought long and hard before making the phone call, but she didn’t know where else to turn. She took a deep breath and heard Chris’s footsteps upstairs as he did a check of the house. She quickly dialed.

“You want me to do what?” Disbelief filled Lacey’s voice over the phone.

“Please, Lacey. I know it’s weird. But I don’t know who else I can ask,” Gianna pleaded quietly. “I left what you need in an envelope in my locker. It’s unlocked.”

“You need to talk to Dr. Rutledge,” Lacey Campbell stated. “He should know about this. I don’t think this is right.”

Gianna heard the uncertainty in the forensic odontologist’s tone. She and the dentist had hit it off when they worked together during Gianna’s visitation in the medical examiner’s office. She’d discovered a kindred spirit in the lively woman and they shared a point of view that only women shorter than five three could understand.

“I’ll tell him if anything comes out of it. I don’t want to make a big fuss if I’m wrong.”

“This is crazy.”

Gianna exhaled, knowing that was Lacey’s way of agreeing. “They’ll do it quickly?”

“I think so. Usually they ask for two days, but I have a favor to call in at this particular lab, so maybe I can get it sooner. I’ll warn you, the cost is pretty steep.”

“I don’t care. I need to find out, and I’m not doing anything illegal.”

“It’s not illegal, but I think you’re pushing ethical boundaries,” Lacey said. “Dr. Rutledge isn’t going to be happy. You understand you’re risking your job?”

“I do, and I’ll make sure no one finds out you helped me.”

“I can plead ignorance if it comes back to me.”

“It won’t. I promise,” swore Gianna. Her mind spun as she hung up the phone.
What have I just done?

Gianna stood in the kitchen of her home, her words about not knowing if she could ever sleep in the house again echoing in her head. She was starting to feel back in control of her life. She had a cell phone and a rental car, and the police had released her home. Detective Sanchez had apologized for the black dust but hadn’t offered to send anyone to clean it up.

If there was a chance she was being targeted, she couldn’t stay under Michael’s roof. She wouldn’t lead a killer to his doorstep.

So I lead him to my own house? Where is the safest place for Violet?

Chris had neatly countered her arguments about removing Violet from under his brother’s wing. If what he claimed about his brother’s skills was true, then Violet was in good hands. But Gianna ached to be the one to protect her daughter. Being separated from Violet had increased her anxiety. She’d bitten the nails on her left hand down to the quick.

Questions bombarded her brain like birds attacking prey. Where could she find a safe place to sleep? A jail cell?

“Do you want to visit your uncle next?” Chris asked as he entered the kitchen. He’d insisted on following her home even though she had a vehicle, and she’d been grateful. She hadn’t wanted to enter her home alone. Her nerves had been on high alert since they’d left lunch with the detectives.

The thought of dealing with her uncle instantly exhausted her. She loved the man, but he was intense. She had enough on her mind. “Not yet.”

Chris was silent for a few seconds. “He’s not easy, is he?”

She exhaled. “Exactly. I love him, but sometimes he’s best in small doses. He means well, but he has a tendency to take over a situation when it’s not necessary. I feel like I lose a bit of myself every time he swoops in. He started it when I was a child, and I allowed it to continue as I became an adult. You could say I enabled him.”

“He loves you. He’s probably being the best parent he knows how to be.”

“I know. Which is why I let it go on for so long.”

“It must have been a shock for him when your parents died and he suddenly inherited a child.”

Gianna gave a sad smile. “I wish I’d been more aware back then. I really don’t remember much of a transition. By the time I was healed and functioning, he was in full parenting mode and determined to do it right. He’s not one to back down from a challenge.”

“What do you remember from the accident?” Chris asked softly.

She looked at him. In his eyes she saw curiosity, but she also saw someone who cared. She’d grown very comfortable with Chris since he’d led her and Violet back to his cabin. She’d become accustomed to turning and discovering his face close by. His scars had faded from her notice; now she simply saw
him
. “I’m not sure which are memories and which are dreams,” she admitted. Over the decades the images had jumbled in her mind, and she didn’t share them with others because she was uncertain of their reliability. Even when Violet asked, she put her daughter off, saying she couldn’t recall.

It’d become her mantra:
I don’t remember anything.

But at night her mind raced with bits and pieces of memories. Or were they creations of a young girl’s imagination?

“I remember seeing a shocked man wearing a brown sweater standing in a doorway. This was at the house where I knocked on the door after the accident. He told everyone that I didn’t say a word but just stood there bleeding on his doorstep, looking like I was about to collapse. I had gashes all over my legs and a deep cut on my forehead. I remember wiping at the blood several times as it ran down my face.”

“He lived miles from the accident site,” Chris stated. His eyes were cautious, and she knew that he of all people would understand the blurs between facts and a child’s memory. “Do you remember walking there?”

She did. She remembered the pain in her feet and the dark trees against the darker sky. But she also remembered someone holding her hand. “I don’t think I was alone,” she said slowly. She’d never said it out loud before. The distinct feeling of someone gripping her hand had always been strong, but when she’d recovered enough to ask about it, she’d already been told a dozen times how she made the long trek alone. She’d doubted her memory and kept her mouth shut, choosing not to contradict the admirers of her survival skills.

His gaze narrowed and his head turned the slightest bit as if to hear her better. “Someone found you? Before you made it to the house? Did they give you a ride in a car?”

“I don’t know.” She took a deep breath and looked away. “This is where I don’t know which part is true. I’ve had so many dreams about that night, I can’t determine what is fantasy and what actually happened.”

“Tell me what frequents your dreams the most.”

She let her mind wander, allowing the most prominent recollection to pop up. “A voice telling me not to give up. A hand pulling me up the embankment. Someone carrying me at times.”

Chris was silent a long moment. “Male or female?”

“Usually male. Sometimes female. When I try to see their face, it’s one of my parents. Or my uncle Saul.”

He nodded.

Of course a child would imagine her dead parents helping in a time of need. Some people believed the souls of loved ones were always near, and who would love a child more than a parent? Her face heated. She sounded like one of the crackpots on TV reality shows who talked to spirits.

But part of her always wondered. Had the soul of a parent helped her survive?

“You’re not crazy,” he said firmly. “You don’t need to shape your memories to please other people or mold them into satisfactory explanations.
Weird shit happens every day.
Accept what you remember. There’s nothing unusual about conflicting memories. You had a head injury, you were in a traumatic situation, and you were a
child
. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but I don’t think you need to hide your memories behind ‘I don’t recall.’ Violet would probably love to hear your mixed-up images. I think you need to embrace them, not fight to straighten them out.”