Forgotten Memories (SWAT: Top Cops Book 4) (6 page)

Don’t go there,
she told herself sternly. This entire interlude was just a blip in her routine existence. Soon, everything would be back to normal.

“I’m glad your stepfather is going to be okay,” Shane said as he pulled out of the parking structure.

“Me, too. Although, as I mentioned before, I don’t know how much help I’ll be when it comes to going through his office. You’d be better off waiting for him to wake up so he can tell you what, if anything, is missing.”

Shane nodded brusquely. “I don’t like the idea of waiting, but it’s going to take time for the crime scene techs to get through there anyway, so maybe the delay won’t matter.”

Gabby hoped they’d find something useful, too. She fell silent as Shane drove to the sheriff’s department headquarters, located just a few miles from the hospital.

She followed him inside, glancing around curiously. She’d never been inside a police station or sheriff’s department before.

Nate was there, waiting for them. He jerked his thumb behind him. “Griff is waiting for you in his office,” he said.

If Shane was worried about getting yelled at, he didn’t show it. “Gabby, Nate is going to take your statement, okay? I’ll come find you when I’m finished.”

She felt nervous but pushed the useless emotion aside since she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong. Nate took her into a sterile room that contained metal chairs and a long metal table. He set down a tape recorder and then took a seat across from her.

“I need to record this interview,” he said, turning on the machine.

Gabby scowled. “You need my permission,” she reminded him, well aware of the Wisconsin state law that protected citizens from being recorded without their consent.

Nate lifted a bow. “Why wouldn’t you agree, unless you have something to hide?”

She took another deep breath. “I don’t have anything to hide, but you still need to ask for my permission.”

Nate stared at her for a long minute. “Okay, do I have your permission to record this interview?”

“Yes.” Gabby knew she was being stubborn, but for some reason, Nate’s attitude toward her was anything but warm and fuzzy. She didn’t understand why he didn’t like her, not that it mattered. He was probably just following standard police protocol. And, for all she knew, the only reason Shane treated her better was because of the medical care she’d provided while he was undercover.

Nate’s questions started innocuously enough, basic facts about how long she’d lived here in Milwaukee, when she’d graduated from college and then medical school. But then his inquiries became pointed.

“When did you first meet Creighton?”

She stared at him for a long moment. “I’ve never met Creighton and I don’t know who he is.”

“You never borrowed any money from him, say, to attend medical school?” the deputy pressed.

That almost made her laugh. “I was given a full scholarship to attend college and took out loans for medical school. I’m still paying off the loans, and if you need proof, I’m happy to provide the paperwork.”

“So you did borrow money,” Nate said, leaning forward and pinning her with a look. “Maybe you found yourself in over your head and needed a way out? So you took money from Creighton and now he wants it back? Is that it?”

“No, that’s
not
it,” Gabby said firmly, although she twisted her fingers together at the clear disbelief in the lawman’s steely gaze.

She was shocked and horrified to realize that Nate didn’t trust in her innocence. He didn’t think she was a victim. He actually believed that she knew who Creighton was and what he wanted. And if Nate didn’t trust her, Shane probably didn’t, either.

Once again, she was on her own.

SIX

S
hane approached his boss, trying hard not to let his trepidation show. “Griff.”

“Hawk. Sit down.” The lieutenant waved a hand at his computer. “I’ve reviewed your report and I have a couple of follow-up questions.”

Shane nodded and took the empty chair. He’d written the report in the wee hours of the morning, could be he forgot a few things. “Okay. Like what?”

“You mentioned you saw Dr. Fielding walking away from the hospital toward the parking structure and you decided to follow her. Why?”

Shane mentally kicked himself for not covering up that detail better, but there was nothing to do now but to tell the truth. “I recognized her because she saved my life six months ago when I was wounded and undercover. I was trying to catch up to her so I could thank her.”

Griff scowled. “That’s my next question. Do you have a personal relationship with the doc?”

“No!” His instinctive denial came out stronger than he intended. He tried to scale it back. “Trust me, I’m not personally involved with Dr. Fielding. But I do think she’s in danger.”

“Yeah, I figured that out when she was kidnapped from the hospital parking garage,” Griff said in a droll tone.

“And after her house was broken into, and her stepfather was attacked,” Shane added. “His house was searched, too, but we don’t have any way of knowing if the intruder found what he was looking for.”

“So what’s your gut telling you?” That was part of the problem. Shane wasn’t willing to trust his gut instincts at the risk of being wrong and exposing Gabby to danger. But he’d told Griff he wasn’t personally involved with her, so he had to tell his boss something.

“There are two highly likely scenarios,” he said slowly. “One is that her stepfather was the real target all along and he’s the one involved, either having something Creighton wants or maybe because he’s involved in something illegal. The other theory is that the stepfather was just collateral damage and Dr. Fielding is still the intended target. And if that’s the case, she remains in danger.”

“And you don’t think she’s involved in something illegal?” Griff prodded. “Or that she knows what this Creighton guy wants?”

“No, sir, I don’t.” Shane tried to think of a way to convince the lieutenant to believe in Gabby’s innocence. “I was there at the scene. She stabbed the gunman and ran into the woods. When I came up behind her, she was terrified. Afterward, she kept trying to tell us that she was kidnapped by mistake.”

“Is that so?” Griff leaned his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers in front of him. “Did you buy her story?”

Shane shook his head. “Obviously, that’s not the case since this guy searched her house. But she truly seemed perplexed as to why she was grabbed. I think we have to take a step back, looking at all possibilities.” He cleared his throat. “When I questioned her further about her past, she mentioned an old boyfriend that she broke up with and two residents who bitterly resented her intelligence and success. None of the three are named Creighton, but I’d like to do background checks on these guys, at least then we can rule them out as being involved.”

Griff stared at him for a long moment, to the point Shane grew restless. It was always hard to tell what his boss was thinking. Shane knew it was a stretch to think that one of these guys from Gabby’s past had hired someone named Creighton, who then in turn hired thugs to kidnap her. But he’d feel better if he covered every possibility.

Bottom line: He wasn’t going to make
any
assumptions when it came to her safety.

“Okay, fine,” Griff said gruffly. “I’ll let you do the background checks, but you’d better include the stepfather, too, just in case your first theory is correct. Sounds to me like the old man could be the ultimate target.”

Maybe, but he wasn’t ready to go there, because he needed to make sure Gabby was safe. And the wave of relief that Griff had given him the go-ahead to continue the investigation shouldn’t have been so overwhelming. “Thank you, sir.”

“By the way, we got a hit off the fingerprints from one of the three dead gunmen. The one who you identified as the driver is a guy by the name of Curt Wilkens. Did time about five years ago for armed robbery.” He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. “We don’t have much intel yet about what he was doing in the nine months that he’s been out on parole—or how Creighton found him—but so far, he’s the only solid lead we have.”

Shane nodded slowly. “I’ll see if Gab—er—Dr. Fielding recognizes that name.”

“Her memory should come in handy,
if
she’s telling the truth.”

Shane clenched his jaw but didn’t argue. “Interesting that we didn’t get a hit on the other two. Where do you think Creighton found them?”

“Good question for you to figure out.”

“Will do.”

Shane started to rise to his feet, but Griff pinned him with a narrow gaze. “Hawk, before you go, write up your statement about the sequence of events that occurred when you arrived at the stepfather’s house.”

“Of course. I’ll do that in my office.” Shane headed to his workspace, ignoring the urge to check in to see how Gabby was doing. Nate was likely making her write down her statement, too. He took a seat at his computer and booted up the machine.

The tiny circle on the screen seemed to spin forever before the system flashed on. He typed like a madman, getting all the information down as fast as he could. It wasn’t until he sent the report electronically and hit the print button that he realized why he was in such a rush.

He was driven by the need to return to Gabby.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly didn’t help make the urge to be near her go away. And even though he knew that he couldn’t afford to be personally invested in Gabby, he couldn’t deny that he was attracted to her.

An attraction he refused to act on. She was his responsibility, a woman he’d promised to protect. Nothing more.

And maybe if he told himself that over and over again, he’d find a way to pound that knowledge into his thick skull.

* * *

Nate Freemont’s intense stare was obviously intended to intimidate her but Gabby kept her emotional turmoil hidden behind a mask of indifference. She’d learned a long time ago to suppress her feelings, ever since the tender age of nine when she’d been thrust into the highly competitive environment at the Einstein School of Brilliance. As the youngest student in residence, she quickly realized that showing any kind of emotion was displaying a sign of weakness. A weakness that other pupils wouldn’t hesitate to use to their advantage. She also learned to become impervious to their jeers and insults, remaining strong in order to survive.

Attending medical school and working through her residency as a female surgeon in a male-dominated career hadn’t been much different. Even after Damon’s assault and the subsequent rumors he’d spread about her, she’d kept her emotions tightly under wraps.

“I’ll need you to write your statement,” Nate said, pushing a pad of paper and a pen toward her.

She could type faster than she could write but sensed Nate didn’t care to make things easy for her. She picked up the pen and began to detail the events that were clearly etched in her memory.

The grim-faced deputy didn’t say anything, waiting patiently for her to complete her report. Because her brain was wired to catalog every minute detail, the process took a long time.

The door behind her opened and the back of her neck prickled with awareness as she caught a whiff of Shane’s woodsy aftershave. She told herself to ignore him, but it wasn’t easy. She paused, momentarily distracted from what she’d been writing.

Seriously, she really needed to get her emotions back under control. Especially since she knew she couldn’t afford to trust Shane. Personally or professionally.

She focused on completing the account of what she remembered and shoved the pad of paper toward Nate. “There you go. Let me know if you have any questions.”

His eyebrows rose as he scanned the three pages she’d written. “Uh, no questions. I think this covers everything.”

“Great, then you don’t mind if I head over to the hospital?”

Shane cleared his throat. “Actually, Gabby, would you mind going back to your stepfather’s house with me first? The techs have found something interesting and I’d like your input.”

She turned to glance at him in surprise. “What did they find?”

“They found some documents in Richard’s study.” He avoided her gaze in a way that put her instincts on red alert. “It’s hard to explain—I’d rather show you.”

Gabby knew that she should return to the hospital to check on her stepfather, but at the same time, she needed to see what had been found in his office. She hadn’t known that Richard was in financial trouble, although frankly, she wasn’t surprised. Richard was all about looking and acting wealthy even when he wasn’t.

“All right,” she conceded warily. “I’ll go with you to his place.”

“Great.” Shane turned toward Nate. “You’re the computer whiz, will you start on the background checks? And did you hear that we got an ID on one of the dead men?”

Nate grimaced and nodded. “I heard, although we don’t know much about what Wilkens was up to.”

“So you’ll do the background checks?” Shane persisted.

“Sure, why not?”

“Thanks.” Shane bent over and scribbled the names she’d given him on the pad of paper. “I’ll be in touch.”

She followed Shane back outside to his vehicle. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask about his meeting with Griff, but she held back, reminding herself that Shane didn’t need her interfering with his job.

Once they were seated and ready to go, Shane glanced at her. “How did things go with Nate?”

“Fine, considering he doesn’t trust me.”

Shane’s brows pulled together in a deep frown. “What do you mean, he doesn’t trust you?”

Was Shane being sincere? Or trying to trap her into saying something to implicate herself? “He thinks that I know Creighton and that I took money from him to pay for my outstanding loans that Creighton now wants back.”

“Oh, brother,” Shane muttered. He sent her a sidelong glance. “Gabby, did you borrow money from Creighton?”

“No. But I do have medical school loans that I’m paying off. The details of which I’m sure Nate will investigate,” she said bluntly. Better that she tell Shane everything, before he found out for himself. “He’ll find that my entire salary goes toward paying living expenses for myself, my student loans and Richard’s mortgage.”

“I’m sure everything is in order,” Shane said mildly. “Don’t be too hard on Nate—all cops tend to be suspicious by nature.”

“Including you?”

He nodded. “Yes. But I like to deal in facts and so far none of the facts point to you directly.”

His statement caught her off guard. Did this mean that Shane
did
trust her?

Or was that wishful thinking on her part?

Turning away to stare out the window, she blew out an indignant breath. Why did she care so much about what Shane thought of her?

Ten minutes later, he pulled up in front of Richard’s house. The driveway was still blocked with vehicles belonging to the crime scene techs, so she followed Shane as he cut across the front lawn to reach the front door.

After they walked inside the house, she noticed a crime scene tech waiting for them, holding a batch of papers in his gloved hand. “Hey, Hawk,” he said by way of greeting.

“Hey, Matt. Thanks for calling. No prints on those?” Shane asked.

Matt shrugged. “Time will tell, although I suspect the ones we found so far belong to the home owner. We have what we need off this, and I thought the information here might be pertinent to your investigation.”

Gabby’s stomach clenched as she sat down on the sofa beside Shane. She had no reason to be nervous; whatever trouble her stepfather was in didn’t have anything to do with her.

“This is odd,” Shane murmured. He glanced over at her and then handed her a smudged marriage certificate. “Says here that your mother’s last name was Bennett prior to her marriage to your stepfather.”

The tension increased, causing her head to throb painfully. She kept her hands in her lap, refusing to take or even look at her mother’s marriage certificate. “Yes, that’s correct.”

“So where does your last name of Fielding come from?” Shane prodded.

The pain in her temples increased to the point she pressed her fingers against her scalp in an effort to ease the ache. “My father’s last name was Fielding. My
real
father,” she clarified weakly as nausea rose in her throat. “I’m sorry, but I think I’m going to be sick...”

She leaped off the sofa and bolted down the hall to the bathroom, splaying the palm of her hand against her stomach as if she could keep the contents in place by sheer will alone. She hung her head over the sink, closing her eyes against the stabbing pain in her head and breathing deep to combat the queasiness.

It had been years since she’d suffered such terrible migraines. They’d plagued her as a child, but over time, they’d occurred less and less.

But remembering her father, and the way she and her mother had been forced to leave Las Vegas over twenty years ago, brought the crippling headache back with a vengeance.

Despite her eidetic memory, she honestly didn’t remember much about that time. Her clearest memory was being instructed by two men in official uniforms to keep the circumstances of their leaving Las Vegas a deep dark secret. And she hadn’t breathed a word to anyone in the ensuing years.

Until now. Because she knew Shane wouldn’t rest until she’d told him everything.

* * *

Perplexed, Shane stared after Gabby’s departing figure, wondering what had made her suddenly feel ill. Was it possible that everything had caught up with her all at once? A delayed reaction from being kidnapped at gunpoint?

He looked back down at the marriage certificate Gabby had brushed against when she’d jumped up from the couch. Gabby had turned pale when he’d mentioned her mother’s last name of Bennett. It seemed obvious that if her father’s last name was Fielding, that her mother must have been married to someone before Richard Strawn.