Page 16 of One Little Memory (Cherry Valley Novella)

“You’re sure?” Phoenix asked in a quiet voice. His stomach was knotted, and he felt slightly ill.

Aiden nodded. “I’m sorry, man. There was blood and threads on the grill. I took pictures, like you asked.

“Okay, send them to me.” So, he’d been right. Jo had hit Gus Marchand. Now the question was, did she kill him?

“Anything else?”

Aiden stowed his gear on the fire truck. “I also took a picture of the VIN number. I’ll send you that as well. At least you can track down the rental agency with it.”

He nodded. Somehow, that did not make him feel better. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Aiden squeezed Phoenix’s shoulder and then went to put the rest of his gear away. Phoenix made his way over to his police SUV. It was what he’d suspected from the beginning. Jo’s accident and Gus Marchand’s murder were connected.

The question was, how?

He climbed into the SUV. “How are you doing?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’m glad the memories are coming back, even if it’s just in flashes, but they just don’t make sense. Why would someone take the license plate?”

He stared at her. He had a feeling she knew the reason.

She was smart, and she would have figured it out, but maybe she was asking because she wanted confirmation.

On the other hand, maybe she killed Gus Marchand.

Maybe she had an accomplice that left her for dead and wanted a head start to get away, so he took anything that could identify her.

Whatever the reasons were, it was obvious now that Jo was in a whole world of trouble.

“Aiden got the VIN number for the car. I want to go to the office and see if I can track it down. I can drop you at the garage apartment if you want.”

“I’d rather come with you. I need to be doing something. Sitting there, waiting for more of my memory to come back, is too frustrating.”

He thought about it for a minute and then nodded. At least if she was with him, then he knew she was safe. He could also keep an eye on her. Friend or foe, he didn’t know yet, but she was up to her eyeballs in this mess.

As soon as they walked into the station, Phoenix offered her a cup of tea.

“Just water, thanks,” she said.

He found her a desk to sit at and set her up with a computer to look at mug shots. Was it her partner or a stranger that left her for dead? Either way, it was a long shot, but maybe she’d recognize the man. He might already be in the system.

While Jo started flipping through pages, Phoenix immediately ran the VIN. It came back to a small rental car company just outside Philadelphia. Unfortunately, they were closed on Sunday, so he tried their emergency number. It went straight to voicemail. It would have to wait until tomorrow.

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 on deck.

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 grabbed a 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.”

“I guess.”

They pulled in the driveway and parked. “I’ll check the garage apartment and make sure you’re safe, but then I’ve got to do some work in the house.

You have the cell. Call or text me if you need anything.

” He needed to put some distance between them.

He was probably going to have to arrest her later.

“Okay.” She hopped out of the SUV.

He followed suit, and ten minutes later, he was sitting behind his desk in his home office.

If Gus Marchand, or whoever the hell he was, wasn’t killed by the doomsday preppers, or whatever the group was, that didn’t leave many options.

Jo had hit him with her car, but did she get out and shoot him, too?

He could’ve run a gunshot residue test on her hands, but at this point, the results would be inconclusive no matter what they showed.

Too much time had passed, and anything could have happened.

The results would be discredited. But it might’ve given him peace of mind.

Or not.

He just couldn’t picture Jo getting out and shooting Marchand.

Where the hell was the gun? She could have thrown it anywhere along the route.

He tried to picture the road from Marchand’s place to where he found her, but he just couldn’t bring it up in his mind.

He stood and grabbed his keys. He was going to drive it and see for himself.

He didn’t think he’d find the gun, or at least he hoped he wouldn’t, but he couldn’t leave any stone unturned.

The investigation had to be flawless. Of course, with Jo staying in his guest house, that ship might have sailed.