Trespassers: a science-fiction novel (35 page)

“
What do you mean,
convince her to let go of them
?
”
Mindy asked.

“
You can
’
t restore her memory without her permission,
”
Lyntic said from the driver
’
s seat.

“
Yeah, she has to be involved in the process, and there
’
s no way to do it against her will,
”
Web explained. This time Tobi was the one nodding along.

“
So what happens if she doesn
’
t want to do it?
”
Mindy asked.

“
We convince her,
”
Lyntic replied, sounding already annoyed by the possibility.

“
But why wouldn
’
t someone want to have their memory restored?
”
Mindy said, suddenly feeling she was the only one in the car who didn
’
t understand.

“
When her memory is restored, there
’
s a strong possibility that all the memories she has collected in the last eight months
—
since the blocking
—
will be destroyed,
”
Tobi said.

“
So, she gains her whole life but loses the last eight months?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
That doesn
’
t sound like a tough choice?
”
Mindy said.

“
Unless she has made any new memories that she really wants to hold on to,
”
Web interjected.

Lambert parked the SUV along the curb in front of Nathan's Hardware, with the Ford Edge pulling in just behind it. Stewart and Dexim entered the store and located Mr. Nathan behind the counter.

“
What can I do for you?
”
Mr. Nathan asked.

Stewart flashed his credentials.
“
I
’
m Stewart Faulkner from the Limestone Deposit Survey Group, and I
’
d like to speak with Miss Sara Baker. Is she available?
”

“
No, I
’
m afraid she
’
s not here.
”

“
Do you know where I could find her?
”
Stewart asked.

“
No .
.
.
Limestone Deposits
did you say?
”

“
Yes, we have a crew working in the area. We
’
re taking radio measurements of shell densities and transposing them against densities recorded from past years
’
measurements to analyze any significant historical shifts in calcification patterns that indicate a density trend
—”

“
Uh, I think she might be out with a boy named Jeremy Borden,
”
Mr. Nathan interjected, falling victim to the power of limestone boredom.
“
I think I have his father
’
s number. Why don
’
t I just give him a call and see if I can find out where she is.
”

“
That won
’
t be necessary,
”
Stewart said, sliding his card across the counter.
“
Just have her give me a call when she returns. And, it was
Jeremy Borden
, did you say?
”

“
That
’
s right.
”

Mr. Nathan studied the card as Stewart and Dexim exited.
“
And that
’
s how it
’
s done,
”
Stewart said, as they stepped onto the sidewalk.

Lambert appeared from the alley and gave a thumbs-up.
“
I put a box.
”

“
Good,
”
Stewart said. Lambert was referring to a
flow box
, which he had just installed. Its purpose was to intercept all incoming calls for Nathan's Hardware and redirect them to Mindy
’
s cell phone. If the Limestone Group tried to perform its own telephone feeler search, Nathan
’
s Hardware would prove to be a dead end.

Web ran a search on Jeremy Borden, finding a home address and a cell phone.

“
Where
’
s the cell phone?
”
Stewart asked.

A quick trace showed the phone to be at Jeremy
’
s home address.

“
Let
’
s go get him and see what he knows,
”
Stewart said.
“
With any luck, she
’
ll be right there waiting for us.
”

“
Were you really that small?
”
Sara asked, as she sat Indian-style on Jeremy
’
s bed, with his laptop in her lap. She was flipping through his childhood photos
—
pictures his mother had saved in a digital photo album. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning against Jeremy in such a way that if he were to move, she would tumble onto the floor.

“
I was younger
—
I was only like twelve,
”
he said, as he rubbed her back.

“
Yeah, but you were still small for twelve.
”

“
That was before my growth spurt.
”

Sara broke into laughter as she came to a picture of him dressed as a pirate.

“
That was Halloween,
”
he countered.
“
Haven
’
t you ever dressed up for Hal
—”
An awkward pause hung in the air.

“
I
’
m sure I have,
”
she finally said.
“
And I
’
m sure I looked almost as funny as you.
”

“
What
’
s funny about me?
”

“
Pirates don
’
t wear sneakers,
”
she said.

“
Oh, big deal.
”

“
Or digital watches.
”
She pointed at the screen.

“
Next picture.
”

Somewhere in the middle of the Niagara Falls photos, Sara mentioned that he could give her a much better back massage without the awkward bra strap in the way.

“
You can unhook it, if you want,
”
she said.

A quarter of a second later, the bra strap fell loose inside her shirt.

“
Wow,
”
she said,
“
that was fast.
”

“
Yes, I
’
m an expert with bras,
”
he said, making her laugh,
“
not the kind with girls in them, though
—
the kind on mannequins.
”

“
You date a lot of mannequins?
”

“
No, but I undress them. My Aunt owns a
ladies
’
clothing shop
in Canton. So I have plenty of experience changing out the displays. I could have you undressed in twelve seconds.
”

“
Really?
”

“
Absolutely.
”

“
Do you have a stopwatch I could borrow?
”
she asked. She put all her weight against him now, and if he knew what was good for him, he would lean down and kiss her. This was finally a signal he picked up. He slid his hand up the back of her neck and combed his fingers into her hair. But just as he leaned down
—

Ding-dong
. The doorbell rang. He straightened back up and took hold of her shoulders so she wouldn
’
t tump onto the floor. Jeremy made his way down the hall, and Sara followed, hooking her bra back as she walked. Peering out the thin window beside the front door, Jeremy saw Mindy standing alone
—
the picture of innocence.

“
It
’
s some lady,
”
he said.

“
You don
’
t know her?
”

“
No.
”
Jeremy cracked open the door, and before he could even get a word out
—

“
Hi, I
’
m Mindy Craddock, from the Limestone Deposit Survey Group.
”
She flashed her credential.
“
I
’
d like to speak with you and Sara about getting her memory back.
”

Jeremy was caught off guard. He felt Sara squeeze his arm behind the door.

“
We can help her,
”
Mindy said.
“
I trust she has confided in you about her condition.
”

“
Yeah.
”
Jeremy nodded.

Stewart smiled as he listened from the edge of the woods overlooking the side of the house. He saw what Mindy had done with that last statement. She gave the kid an opportunity to feel special, and he took it. Mindy was a natural at this.

“
Would it be okay if I talked with both of you about what
’
s going on?
”
Mindy asked, giving him plenty of space so he didn
’
t feel pressured.

“
Can you hold on one minute?
”
Jeremy asked, holding up a finger.

“
Sure.
”
Mindy flashed a warm smile and Jeremy disappeared behind the door, where Mindy could hear whispering.

The other seven members of the team had the house surrounded as they listened to the conversation in their earpieces.

Jeremy popped back around the door and asked Mindy to come in. The team heard Mindy sit down at the kitchen table, followed by introductions that included Sara Baker.

“
Yours is a very complicated story. And I
’
m afraid I
’
m not the most qualified to tell it.
”
Mindy
’
s voice broadcasted through seven different earpieces.

“
But you know about me?
”
Sara asked.

“
Yes, but just the broad strokes. My purpose for coming here is to make sure that you would be comfortable speaking with some people who can fill you in on all the details of who you are and what you
’
re going through.
”

As Stewart listened, he was quite impressed. He had gone out on a limb allowing Mindy to handle this first contact, but his instinct had told him she was up to the challenge. And apparently she was.

“
Who are these people you
’
re talking about?
”
Sara asked.

“
Some are with our government, and some are with another government. None of them were involved in what happened to you, but they have experience with this type of situation, and they
’
ll be able to help you get your memory back.
”

“
Which other government?
”
Jeremy asked.

“
A friendly government who developed the technology that was used to block Sara
’
s memory,
”
Mindy said.

“
And who blocked her memory?
”
Jeremy asked.