B.J. Daniels - Into Dust

He hadn’t thought of that. “What would you suggest?”

She shrugged. “My sisters used to call me Beany.”

“Beany?”

“They had this silly little rhyme that went with it.” She looked embarrassed. “It was cute at the time.”

“Beany it is.”

Cassidy smiled that big, breathtaking smile of hers and he felt his heart do a few loop-de-loops before he told it to knock it off. He needed to keep both feet on the ground given that he was risking not only his own life, but also hers.

“You don’t have to worry about me tonight,” she said as if sensing his hesitation. “I won’t get in the way. I might even be of some help.”

Jack doubted that. He wasn’t even sure exactly what he was looking for. His father had paid Ed in cash, met him in an out-of-the-way place where there would be no random video camera footage of their exchange and even set up his own alibi, putting him in another state. So why would he leave any evidence of this transaction in his office?

No reason at all.

Still, Jack had to look. He’d always thought his father was a workaholic. Now he realized he could be a criminal. The thought turned his stomach. What would he do if he found out that it was true?

His chest ached, heart racing with dread. What were they about to find out? He thought of that locked drawer that he’d been curious about for a very long time.

* * *

SARAH STARED AT the tiny dark blue velvet bag as Dr. Venable opened it and turned the contents out on the table. A small gold pendulum plinked down followed by a thin coil of gold chain.

She felt her stomach turn at the sight of it and tried to still her trepidation at the thought of what might be hidden in her memory. Since Dr. Venable had shown up at her door, he’d kept promising that he would help her remember. But he’d put her off time and time again, saying they had to take this slowly. Today he’d promised that he would provide her with what she needed before Buck got home—only because she’d dug her heels in.

She had to know why she’d tried to kill herself all those years ago. She had to know the truth. Bracing herself, she would face whatever memories were locked away. She couldn’t keep putting Buck off. Just as she couldn’t let Dr. Venable keep giving her the runaround.

“I have some photographs I’d like you to look at first,” Dr. Venable said as he motioned Sarah into a chair at the table. He sat across from her and waited.

As she took a chair, he pushed half a dozen snapshots across the table to her. “Is this necessary?” she demanded. The last thing she wanted to do was look at the photographs he’d shown her once before—right after he’d shown up at her door.

Her patience had run out. He still hadn’t helped her remember her past. And yet she’d kept him a secret just as he’d asked—because of his promise to help her.

More and more she thought about exposing the man. She couldn’t tell Buck, but there was one person she trusted to help her whom she would call if the doctor didn’t do what he’d promised. And soon. She would call the man who’d found her when she’d literally been dumped off near an isolated road outside of town—retired rancher Russell Murdock.

Over the months she’d been home, she’d grown to not just trust Russell, but also to love him. That was why she’d agreed to marry him when it looked as if Buck would never be free. With the death of Buck’s wife, though, she’d had to break her engagement, telling herself she belonged with Buck, the father of her children.

Looking up now, she saw that Dr. Venable was studying her intently. “I promise that today you will have answers,” he said as if reading her mind—or accepting that she wasn’t going to wait much longer.

“Now, please,” he said. “Look at these.”

Sarah took the photographs he handed her and thumbed through them. “I don’t know any of these people. I told you that before.” She started to hand them back.

“Look at them again.”

She did, more slowly this time. There was one woman in the photographs and half a dozen men. None of them looked familiar. They all looked young and eager and maybe a little too bright eyed. She had no idea who they were, but something about them gave her an uneasy feeling.

“Does the woman look familiar?” he asked.

Sarah looked at the redhead in one of the shots. “She has a slight resemblance to me, is that what you mean?” Her hair was dyed an awful red color. With a small jolt of memory, she realized that she’d seen a photo similar to this some time ago, but couldn’t remember when or who had shown it to her. How odd that she couldn’t remember something that had to have happened since she’d returned.

She frowned, the beginning of one of her headaches starting. Pushing the photos away, she rubbed her temples. “You’re giving me a headache.”

He nodded. “Let me take care of it.” He removed the tie he’d been wearing and tossed it aside as he picked up the small golden pendulum on the slim gold chain. She felt her eyes widen, a sliver of fear piercing her skin, making her shiver as if she had reason to be fearful.

“It’s all right, Sarah. You want answers. I can give them to you. Trust me.”

She wanted answers, but she didn’t think she should trust this man. All her instincts told her that once he gave her back her memory, she needed to get as far away from him as possible.

“I want you to relax. I can make you feel better.” He began to move the pendulum back and forth, back and forth. The shine of the gold caught the light. His voice was low and soothing. Within moments, she was transfixed. Somewhere in her subconscious, she knew this was not the first time Dr. Venable had hypnotized her.

“Listen to my voice, Sarah. I am going to help you remember everything. You do want to remember the past, don’t you? You want to go back to where it all began. You want to remember that strong, intelligent, capable woman who could conquer the world. You are that woman. There isn’t anything you can’t do. You are a leader. Within you are all of the answers. Within you is a bright, beautiful tomorrow. I’m going to take you back. Back to another time. Back when you went by the name Red.”

* * *

“YOU’RE PUTTING THE ranch up for sale?” Destry Grant West sounded as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Dad, why? I know you haven’t been happy since...”

Russell Murdock could see that his daughter didn’t even want to say Sarah’s name. “Since Sarah broke our engagement?”

Destry let out a breath of obvious frustration. “I’m sorry that you’re hurt, but, Dad, she was all wrong for you. Surely, you realize that now.”

He didn’t want to get into this with his daughter. Destry had forgotten no doubt what it was like to be so in love with one person that no one else would ever do.

“You understand then why I want to sell the ranch and move away,” he said. “Not too far. I have to be able to see my grandchildren.”

She nodded, her smile sad. It was clear that she worried about him. Her fear, though, was that Sarah wouldn’t remarry Buckmaster Hamilton. His was just the opposite.

He hoped that someday Destry would understand that Sarah was in danger as long as she was around Buckmaster. It was why he had to get her away from him for good. Why he still couldn’t leave her. It was all too complicated to explain to his daughter, but still he tried.

“I know how you feel about Sarah, but a quack doctor stole her memories, replacing them with ones that terrify her.”

“Dad, you don’t really believe—”

“I know it for a fact. At first I was as skeptical as you that a brain could be wiped clean of memories or that false ones could be planted, but it’s true. It’s modern science. I believe that Sarah’s husband did something so horrible that he had this doctor remove the memories and take her away from the past twenty-two years.”