Bright red hair? Do I? She put her hands in her hair. But that doesnt feel right.
Dont upset yourself by trying to force the memories of your lost past, the doctor said soothingly. Not yet. Give it some time. He turned back to address the sheriff. Jericho, I want you to take things slow. Pushing her to remember will only make it worse.
Oh, and I dont believe Red is the least bit feminine, the doctor continued. It doesnt fit this beautiful young woman and it doesnt sound respectful to me. Cant we come up with something else?
Still with her hands in her hair, she worried that more seemed wrong with it than just the wrong hair color. Though God only knew what she meant by that.
Okay, Doc, the sheriff conceded. How about Rosie? Thats in the same color type.
Rosies okay with me, she agreed quickly. The name didnt nauseate her nearly as much as the wrong feeling about her hair.
Okay, Rosie, the sheriff said with a deliberate drawl and a tight smile. You can call me Jericho. Now tell me what you do remember.
She wasnt sure she could do this. Every time she thought of how terrifying those men had been, her whole body started trembling. Looking up at Sheriff Jericho for support, she was surprised to find an odd softness in his eyes as he waited for her to speak.
Shed thought he had looked so tough. Scary-tough, with all his hard angles and rough edges, when hed first walked into Dr. ONeals office. Now, it seemed that at least his eyes held some empathy toward her, and the idea made her relax a little.
Theumfirst thing I remember clearly is two men pushing me around. One was pointing a gun at me while the other kept shaking me by the shoulders, hard. I felt as though Id just woken up from a deep sleep. But now Im not sure that was the case.
And these two men didnt look familiar?
Not at all.
Where was this? What do you remember of your surroundings?
After a few minutes, I decided it had to be a cheap motel room. But Inever found out whose.
Okay, the sheriff said as he rubbed a thumb across his neat mustache. Dont strain for answers. Lets just take this nice and easy.
She mustve been wearing a frown as shed tried to bring the images to the front of her mind because that tender look had returned to Jerichos eyes. Can you tell me what the men said to you? he asked gently.
Oh, yeah. They wanted to know where some special thing was. At his curious expression, she shrugged her shoulders. I never found out what the thing was they were looking for. But they said I had stolen it and their boss wanted it back.
You believe what they were saying was the truth? Like perhaps you had stolen something?
Yeah, God help her, it kinda did. But with that strange thought, she began shuddering again. A lone tear leaked from the corner of her eye. I dont know.
Sheriff The doctor cautioned him with his tone.
Jericho scowled briefly then nodded. Sorry, Doc. I wont push.
Okay, Rosie, what did the men say or do after you couldnt give them what they wanted?
She sniffed once and wiped her hand across her face. They beat me up a little. You know, like slapping me and punching me in the arms and shoulders. And the whole time they kept demanding that I talk. I was so scared they were going to kill me that what they were doing hardly even hurt.
The doctor cleared his throat. The sheriff fisted his hands on his knees.
What did they say then? Jericho asked in a rough voice.
Finally, they looked at their watches and said I was going to go with them to see
the boss. That he would make me tell where it was. Then they pushed me outside and into the backseat of their car.
Did anything outside look familiar?
Dr. ONeal huffed and opened his mouth to chastise the sheriffs choice of words.
Oh, yeah. Sorry again, Jericho put in quickly. What I meant was, what did it look like outside the motel room?
I couldnt see much. But what I did see wasnt anything special. Like the poor side of lots of small towns, I guess. Now how would she know that? She couldnt even come up with her own name and yet she knew what the poor side of town would look like?
The sheriff gave her an odd look. Do you know where you are now?
Your deputy told me. Esperanza, Texas.
Does that hold any meaning for you? Jericho glanced over at the doctor and then held up his hand in self-defense. Dont answer that, Rosie, not unless something comes to you. I shouldnt have asked.
Jericho was more than a little frustrated. He didnt want to hurt her by asking the wrong questions. But the only way he could help her was by getting answers. He promised to think longer before he opened his mouth.
Okay. Lets get back to the men. Can you describe them?
I guess so.
But while Jericho watched her open her mouth to try, he noted her wincing as another one of those slashing pains mustve struck her in the head. Never mind. Give it a rest for tonight. Well try it in the morning. In fact, if youre feeling well enough by then, you can go through mug shots.
Rosie sighed and her shoulders slumped. She glanced up at him from under long, thick lashes with a look so needful, so vulnerable, that it was all he could do not to sweep her up in his arms and keep her bogeymen at bay. Hed never before acted as some females sole link to the world and to safety. He was just a county sheriff. But whatever had frightened her badly enough to erase her memories needed to be dealt with soon. He vowed to be the one to take care of it.