The world around her went dark and hazy, disjointed sounds and images that she couldnt piece together into a coherent whole. Someone asked her name and she said, Sandra. But that wasnt her name. Not anymore.
Shed left Sandra behind in Wyoming, along with the last of her hope. And Joe.
The thought of him brought fresh pain, deeper and broader even than the cramping in her abdomen. She needed Joe. Where was he?
She lay swaddled in agony, the world around her disappearing in a haze of pain and fear. She called Joes name and a soft female voice answered, offering to call him for her. But she shook her head, closing her eyes and her mind to everything that was happening.
Jane woke with a start, her heart racing. She pressed her hand to her aching chest and tried to grab the disappearing fragments of memory. She had a sense of pain. Fear. She strained for more but nothing connected into any sort of narrative she could make sense of.
In the other bed, a snuffling sound drew her attention. Joe lay asleep, his breathing slow and steady. She stared at him, overwhelmed with a fierce, unfamiliar sense of joy. For a moment, shed had the terrible sense that he was gone from her forever, but the sight of him drove out the fear, leaving her weak and trembling with relief. She slid off the bed and made it halfway across the space between them before she stopped herself.
What was she going to do? Crawl into bed with him?
She sank onto the edge of her bed and watched him sleep, slowing her breathing to match his. Her pulse calmed in response, approaching normal. But she knew that sleep was now out of the question.
Pushing to her feet, she crossed to the window. Afternoon had begun to creep into evening, the desert sun dipping toward the Sierra Nevada range west of town. Jane watched the shadows on the rough-hewn mountains deepen, creases and folds appearing out of nowhere as if the crags were aging before her eyes.
She checked her watch. Almost five. Five hours to go before they had to meet Joes stepmother at the airport.
Then home to Wyoming.
She smiled bleakly at the thought. Home.
If you judged such a concept by family connections, she was already home. Her father still lived here in Reno, had apparently done so for at least eight years and maybe more. Put down roots.
And she was leaving here without asking the questions that only her father could answer.
She let the curtains drop and turned back to look at Joe. He was sleeping deeply. God knew he could use it. Between his injury and their adrenaline-fed flight south to Nevada, hed slept little in the past few days. She couldnt wake him now just to appease her curiosity.
But she couldnt just sit here and do nothing, either.
Moving silently, she shrugged on a light jacket, picked up one of the room keys from the bedside table and crossed to the door. As quietly as she could, she opened the door and slipped outside.
The setting sun brought dipping temperatures, carried on a light breeze that lifted her hair and made her burrow deeper into her jacket. She gazed up the busy street, feeling a bit disoriented, as if still trapped in whatever nightmare had jarred her awake. A vague sense of foreboding lingered with her, making her queasy.
She finger-combed her hair back from her face, trying to settle her still-rattled nerves. She felt the need to do something constructive with the last few hours of their time in Reno. But what?
To begin with, she could at least go down to the front office and buy one of the Reno city maps the desk clerk had told her about on the phone earlier. She and Joe had never picked one up, sidetracked by finding her father waiting for them outside their room.
The front office was little more than a small kiosk located at the western end of the squatty two-floor motel. A young woman about Janes age, with short blond hair and pale blue eyes, looked up as Jane entered. Jane saw a flicker of recognition in the other womans eyes and something clicked into place. Ashlee.
The desk clerks eyes widened. So you remember.
Jane shook her head. Not really. Just-pieces.
Ashlee flattened her hands on the glass top of the front desk, her expression guarded. Long time no see.
Youre the one who told my father where to find me.
I thought the old man would want to know.
You still work for him? Jane asked.
No. Got out of that a few years back. I have a baby now. Ashlee reached for something under the desk and came back with a wallet. She opened it and showed Jane a photo of a little girl with blond ringlets and eyes as big and blue as her mothers. Thats Kathryn. Shes two.
Jane smiled, although a phantom pain raced through her insides. She tamped it down. Shes beautiful.
Shes mommys little angel. Ashlee put the wallet away and looked at Jane with a furrowed brow. What happened to you, Shan? Why dont you remember anything?
I dont know, Jane admitted. What do you remember about me?
We were friends-we kind of had to be, since we were the youngest in the crew. My daddy was your daddys right-hand man. They planned a lot of the scams together.
Did I tell you where I was going when I left Reno?
Ashlee shook her head. Wed drifted apart by then. My pop had gone out on his own, so we didnt see much of you and your pop anymore. I just heard you took up with some older guy and he took you out of here.
Was his name Clint? Clint Holbrook?
I dont know. I never heard the name.
Another dead end, Jane thought.
Are you and your fellow going to be in town long? Maybe my husband and I could take you out to dinner-
Jane shook her head. Were heading out of town soon. But it was nice to see you. Listen-on the phone this morning, you mentioned I could buy a city map here-
Ashlee reached under the counter and pulled out a map. Here. On me.
Jane took the map and smiled her thanks. It was good to see you again, Ashlee.
I hope you get your memory back, Shan. Some of the old times are worth remembering.
Jane smiled at Ashlee and gave a little wave before she headed out of the office into the waning sunlight.
Going somewhere? The sound of Joes low drawl made her jump.
She whirled to face him, placing her hand over her pounding heart. Dont do that!
What? Sneak around?
She sighed and started walking back toward the motel room. I just came down here to get that city map we never got earlier.
He fell into step. Planning on a little sightseeing in the next couple of hours?
I thought we might go look for the Lady Luck if you woke up in time.
He put his hand on her arm, stopping her in the middle of the walkway. You want to see your father?
I may never see him again, she said softly, surprised by the bleak emotion accompanying that thought. I just dont want to leave without asking him a few more questions about my former life. Can you understand that?
The hand on her arm moved gently, his touch becoming a caress. Yeah. I can.
They returned to the motel room together and unfolded the map on Joes bed. Jane found Pridemore Avenue on the map. Its about twelve blocks from here.
Better grab a jacket, then.
She looked at him. Weve got a long drive tonight once we get that rental car. I dont think you need to walk twelve blocks in the cold.
Youre not going by yourself.
I know that. But I have an idea. She picked up the phone and rang the front desk.
Ashlee answered. Front desk.
Ashlee, its Shannon Dugan, Jane said. Do you have a car?
PRIDEMORE is up ahead, Joe said from the passenger seat. He was playing navigator while Jane drove, though hed questioned that arrangement when she admitted, as she belted herself behind the steering wheel, that she wasnt entirely sure she knew how to drive a stick shift.
But apparently she did, because she handled the borrowed Honda Prelude with skill, negotiating Renos busy streets without any difficulty. He suspected that more of her memory was coming back to her-in pieces, perhaps, but sliding back into her consciousness little by little, making her feel more at ease with the world she lived in.
Joe could tell that she was growing nervous about seeing her father again. He laid his hand on her shoulder and gave a little squeeze. Its going to be fine, he assured her. Well find Harlan, you can ask him the questions you want to ask him, and then we can go.
Im not sure what I want to ask him, she admitted.
You said you think he knows more about Clint Holbrook than hes telling. You could start there.
Jane turned the Honda onto Pridemore Avenue and glanced his way. How much farther?
Two blocks up, according to this map. Ashlee had given them the actual address of the Lady Luck, marking it for them on the map before she handed Jane the keys to the Honda. Joe wasnt completely at ease putting their safety in the hands of a former con artist Jane barely remembered, but having the car at their disposal would at least make them more mobile if they ran into trouble.
The Lady Luck Tavern was a two-story storefront building in the middle of the block, with only a neon beer sign in the window to differentiate it from the other shabby-looking shops and offices surrounding it. A small sign advertised parking in the rear, but Joe spotted an open parking slot on the street half a block up and suggested that Jane park there instead. I dont want to get trapped in a back parking area, he explained.
Traffic on this part of Pridemore Avenue was light, and the cars parked along the street were older-model vehicles for the most part, a few of them well past their primes. As he and Jane crossed the street and headed for the tavern entrance, he noticed that the dark-tinted tavern windows allowed for no good look inside. It gave him an uneasy feeling, and on instinct he reached behind him to feel for the holster and weapon that wasnt there.
He dropped his hand back to his side and caught Janes arm as she started for the door. Wait a second.
She looked up at him. What is it?
Before he could answer, he heard a muffled cry coming from somewhere behind the building.
His instinct was to go back to the car and get the hell out of there, but Jane exclaimed, Thats my father! and started running toward the narrow alley between the tavern and the insurance company office next door.