Remember Me (7 page)

Up until this point Malcolm had stood by silently, watching the two alpha males sizing each other up. No fool, he knew Raidon was insinuating his boss had perpetrated the cowardly attack on his wife. He also knew the private investigator had a deep seeded hatred for all abusers of women. This was because when he was a child, his father, an abusive alcoholic, had murdered his mother, and then committed suicide. This took place while he was hidden in a safe spot in the house, a hiding place his mother had placed him in, in order
to
protect him from his drunken father. He had heard the sounds of his mother being murdered, then the suicidal gunshot. Even at the age of eight he had felt responsible for not helping protect his mother, it didn’t matter he was only a terrified little boy. But luckily, he had found some stability with an adoptive African American family, but he had never healed, and kept most people at a distance. All this Malcolm knew because he and Raidon had served together in the army, as Airborne Rangers. Their acquaintance was what had gotten Raidon the job to begin with.
Walking over to the table where the pictures were, he picked them up and shook his head. “Raidon, Mr. Mortenson wouldn’t. …couldn’t do something this awful. Do you think I would protect him if I thought he was capable of something such as this? She’s in no danger from him, tell us where she is. Please.”
Knowing Malcolm as a man of honor, he nodded, then said, “Alright, I’ll take you, but there is one condition. My sister is a clinical psychologist, and luckily she works at Lonesome Pine Hospital right here in town. I want her to come with us, just in case Mrs. Mortenson suffers any…negative reaction after seeing you, or after what it is we’ll be telling her. I’ve already informed my sister of her condition, and she’s prepared to help.” Seeing Granger was less than thrilled with his proposal, he added, “This is the only way I’ll take you to her.”
Granger wanted to refuse, he had always went out of his way to keep his private life from the prying eyes of the public, but he would do whatever needed to be done in order to see his wife again. With a cool nod, he replied, “Alright, let’s do it.”

          
********************************************************

Cassandra was glad she had decided to go for an afternoon walk. Breathing deeply, she savored the evening air that smelled of freshly mown grass, and enjoyed the sounds of laughter coming from neighborhood kids playing. She had found and purchased a novel Cynne’ had told her about, and on a whim, had decided to treat herself to a manicure and pedicure.
Sipping her vanilla mocha coffee, she waved and smiled at several people here and there, and stopped occasionally to make small talk with neighbors. Children were running up and down the street playing, while their mothers stood watching them, all the while gossiping about the other neighbors. Several senior citizens sat at the community garden, on picnic benches, regaling themselves with tales of yesteryear. It was what she loved the most about the area she lived in, it had a modern-day, Mayberry feel to it, laid back, unlike the rat race in a large city.
As she strolled down the street she noticed a black Hummer parked in front of her apartment building. It was rare to see such an expensive vehicle in the small, sensible, working class mountain town. As she got closer, she noticed several children looking over the vehicle, admiring the expensive rims. When she got within a few feet of the Hummer the front doors opened, and the children moved back as a man and woman got out and walked towards her.
“Ms. Washington?”
Freezing in place, she immediately recognized the tall, handsome Asian man, the one who had spoken to her at the street fair. Standing beside him was a tall African American woman, who smiled disarmingly. Still, it was unsettling to her that he knew her name.
How did he know my last name was Washington? I didn’t tell him my name when he approached me at the street fair!
She
thought, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she took two steps back.
The man stopped and held up his hands. “Wait…wait….we just want to speak with you, that‘s all.”
The rear doors of the hummer swung open, and two more men, one white, one black, stepped out, which further spooked her. Both of them were well over six feet tall, but it was the white man that really caught her attention. His gaze was riveted on her, there was no other word for it, and he had a commanding air about him, a massive, self-confident presence. He was dressed in an expensive tailored suit that softened his rugged good looks. He had a deadly look to him also, and his square jaw sported days-old stubble. His black, wavy hair gleamed in the sunlight, and fell a few inches above his crisp white collar.
When her own gaze met and locked onto his cold, cobalt eyes, she suddenly felt her knees grow weak.
Oh God, his eyes, he was the one who hurt me!
She
thought, wanting to scream it aloud. But she was paralyzed with fear, incapable of flight or words.
Advancing another step towards her, the man spoke in a hoarse voice. “Cassandra, don‘t you remember me?” he said as he reached out to her, almost tentatively.
With inner alarms going off, she finally found her legs and took two steps back fearfully.
“Wait, wait, don’t run, listen to me! My name is Granger, Granger Mortenson, and…I’m your husband
.”
Granger!
The
name rang in her mind. Then, almost as if someone was standing right beside her, whispering in her ear, a voice rang out in her mind.
He’ll kill you if he finds you! And he will make certain he finishes the job, this time!
The coffee she had only moments before been enjoying slipped from her suddenly nerveless hand, the hot liquid splashing all over her shoes.
Seeing the woman’s distress, Joy, Raidon’s adoptive sister, stepped forward and spoke in a warm, confidential tone. “Mrs. Mortenson, I’m Doctor Joy Bishop. Listen, I know you’re confused right now, but there’s something very important about your past that you need to know about, some things we need to tell you. If you would just allow us to talk to you somewhere else, somewhere where you’re more comfortable, it would make things easier on all of us. It can be anywhere you like, any place you feel safe. We just want to help you, I promise.”
Feeling a sudden, sharp pain wash from the bridge of her nose to the back of her head, her mind screamed,
Don’t trust them! Brett is the only one I can trust!
Shaking her head violently and refusing to listen, she slowly backed away, stammering, “I….I don’t know what you’re talking about, my…name isn‘t Cassandra, it‘s Karen. Just leave me alone.”
Seeing the look of terror and confusion on her face, Granger’s heart nearly broke.
Forgive me for ever believing you just walked away…
he thought. Looking around quickly, he noticed several neighbors watching them with obvious interest.
“Cassandra come with me.” he said in a calm, soothing voice. “
We can’t talk like this, not for everyone to see and
hear.”
Stepping closer towards his wife, he felt Joy’s hand grip his arm, but he pulled free and held his arms out in a pleading gesture.
Suddenly she turned and bolted, screaming at the top of her lungs.
The scream alerted several teenage boys on a basketball court across the street, and they immediately stopped playing. Turning around to look, their faces became grim. Theirs was a close-knit neighborhood where most people looked out for one another. Dropping the ball, they charged towards Granger’s group to protect their frightened neighbor.
As Granger took off after his terrified wife, several of the young men blocked his way.
“Hey man, leave her alone!” a tall white teenager shouted, while a young black male tried to shove him back.
Fueled by fear and adrenaline, Cassandra’s legs propelled her tirelessly, knowing there was a police station not far from her present location. Darting out into the street, she whimpered Brett’s name, and silently prayed she could get away.
Trying to force his way past the group of at least twelve young men blocking his way, Granger heard the shouts of Raidon and Malcolm, who were rushing to his aid.
When they arrived, Malcolm’s voice boomed amidst the confusion, testosterone, and adrenalin. “Let him past, it’s not what you think! We’re trying to help her, not hurt her
!”
he said as the three of them finally managed to plow their way through the young men like three angry bulls.
“Somebody call the police!” the tall young black male screamed.
Seeing his wife running helter skelter into the street, Granger‘s eyes grew wide. Sprinting for all he was worth, he screamed, “Cassandra stop! Look out!”
Glancing over her shoulder fearfully, she screamed as she saw the stranger bearing down on her, and never saw the car coming. In the blink of an eye she felt her body flying through the air, then felt the hard impact of the pavement as she landed, the wind knocked out of her. Then darkness.

********************************************************

Horrified, Granger felt as if his heart had been ripped from his breast. “Oh no, no, please God, this can’t be happening!” he wailed as he stumbled towards his wife’s
crumpled body.

“Call 911!” a panicked voice rang out nearby.
“He caused that poor child to get hurt!” shouted an older woman who had been watching the entire fiasco from her porch stoop.
“Why were they chasing that girl like that?” an older black man demanded angrily, waving his cane at Granger, Malcolm, and Raidon in turn.
“I couldn’t stop in time! She ran out in front of me!” the elderly driver of the vehicle cried as she stepped out of her car, visibly shaken and beginning to cry.
Fearing the old woman would have a heart attack, Raidon stepped forward quickly and supported her, assuring her it wasn’t her fault.
“Please, don’t let her die!” the woman wailed as sobs wracked her thin, frail body.
Kneeling down beside his wife, Granger called to her, pleading. “Cassandra, baby….please, open your eyes!” He reached for her but Doctor Joy Bishop pushed his hand away.
“Don’t touch her, you could make her injuries worse,” she said angrily as she checked for a pulse, praying that she was still alive.

              *****************************************************

Clicking on her right blinker, Cynne’ turned onto Cassandra’s usually quiet street, surprised and instantly alarmed to see emergency vehicles close to her friend’s apartment building. There were at least three dozen people milling around, and most of them looked very angry. They were talking amongst themselves and pointing in different directions, but mainly in the direction of a man who was talking to a group of police officers.
From the passenger seat, Jocelyn’s voice rose in surprise and alarm. “That’s my son-in-law, Granger.” she said, and pointed him out. Inner alarms going off, she thought,
Lord, please don’t let it be her! Don’t let me have waited this long, and came all this way, only for something bad to have happened to her!
Spotting a nearby parking space and pulling in, Cynne’ hadn’t even came to a complete stop before Jocelyn was out of the car. Turning off the ignition, she scrambled out and hastily followed the older woman, who was making a beeline for her son-in-law.
Still talking to the ranking police officer, Granger’s voice trailed off mid-sentence, astonished to see his mother-in-law come running up to where they stood. “Jocelyn, how did…how did you find out I was coming here?”
With a fearful, irritated wave of her hand, she dismissed the question and blurted, “Where’s my baby, where is she?”
Dread washed over him, knowing he would have to tell her. Turning to the police officer, he said, “Will that be all for now? I need to get to my wife.”
Glancing down at his notepad, the officer carefully double-checked, making certain he had all the information he needed to file his report. This man, and the other three people who had been with him, had told them a tale that had seemed unbelievable at first, but the private detective, Raidon Bishop, had been able to produce a file proving that they had all been searching for this missing woman, Cassandra Mortenson. Looking at the photos the private detective had, and then at the victim’s face and driver’s license that was found in her purse, there had been no doubt in his mind that a missing woman had been found. The entire debacle had been a tragic misunderstanding, a bizarre accident in which no one was at fault. As far as he was concerned, no charges would be filed against anyone. “Yes sir, we’re finished. I’m turning this over to a detective in our special victims unit, but that’s normal procedure, no charges will be filed against you or anyone else. Someone from that unit will see you at the hospital, just to tie up any loose ends, but that‘s about it.” That said, he tipped his hat and gave them all a courteous smile.
Watching the policemen turn and leave, he sighed and rubbed his aching neck, dreading the confrontation that would soon follow. Turning to Jocelyn reluctantly, he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, as you obviously know by now, the private detective I hired found her. She…she got upset and became very agitated when we approached her. She panicked, ran away, and was so frightened she ran right out in the middle of the street. She was hit by a car.”
“Oh my God…”
“The paramedics believe
it’s nothing life threatening..”
he quickly added. Turning to the young woman who was accompanying her, he asked,
“Miss
, could I possibly ride with you to the hospital? I’ve sent my aid ahead of me, to arrange for payment of her treatment. He had to be driven there by the private detective I hired. I’m without transportation.”
Cynne’s accusing gaze was riveted on him. Before they had left, she had done more reading up on him, and from what little she had gleaned about his personal life, he was a ruthless businessman who had a take no prisoners, no- nonsense attitude. But she didn’t give a lovely hot damn in July, if he was the one who had hurt
Cassandra;
she was just the chick to take him out
. If I have to kneecap the big fucker
,
I’ll do it
.
If he did it, he’ll never hurt my girl again..
She
thought grimly. Giving him her best Dirty Harry glare, she replied sharply, “The name is Cynne’ Barns. Yeah, you can ride with us, and along the way you can explain why my girl would be so freaked out over the sight of you that she would risk her life by running in front of a car, trying to get away from you.”
His mouth dropped open in astonishment as he looked down at the feisty little woman who had questioned him so. It was something he was completely unused to. Closing his eyes, he
took a deep breath, willing himself to remain calm. “Ms. Barnes, I don’t know why she panicked like that, but I assure you, I will find out why, and exactly what the hell is going on.” he said through clinched teeth.
“Look, we can piece all that together later.” Jocelyn said impatiently, worried sick. Taking his arm and blinking back tears, she looked up at him. “For now I just want to see my child. She’s alive, and that‘s the most important thing at the moment.”
Ignoring another glare from Cynne’, he patted Jocelyn’s hand and replied in a soft voice, “Of course.”