Chapter 9

"I knew deep down this would happen," Paul sighed.

"She didn't remember you," Brian guessed.

"It went beyond that. There was not only no sign of recognition in her eyes, she also denied she was Pet and told me to go away."

"Damn, she is way gone."

"Maybe if I'd hired someone like Windsor when she first went missing—"

"Dude, you didn't know what was happening. Whether it was when she took off or even now, chances are good you'd gotten the same result. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I kind of wonder sometimes what would have happened if we hadn't argued on that last night."

"Then there would have been something else that would have set her off. Come on, PL, we have a match later tonight. You got to focus."

Paul raked a hand through his hair. "Yeah. But I also was curious how I can get her to remember something. We've been through this before and something always brought back her memory."

"This is the longest she's been like this, dude."

"Yeah, which is going to make this a lot tougher."

"Hey," Brian said, as if he realized something. "Is the last therapist she had still in town?"

"Come to think of it, he is. You think he could offer any insight into this?"

"It's worth a shot. Gary's always gotten through to her before."

"Sure, but now there's one problem," Paul pointed out. "Getting her back home first."

Meanwhile:

Though Gino had seen her to the bus safely, Nadia couldn't seem to get the man that had accousted her earlier out of her mind. He had seemed a little familiar, but she wasn't sure where she had seen him before—if she indeed had.

Then about midway home, it had come to her. A man that had looked just like the person who had stopped her and called her by another name had resembled one of the two men in those odd dreams Nadia had been having recently.

Had this encounter also been a dream after all?

No, of course not, she thought. I just came from doing the show for Bonnie; how could I have dreamed all of that?

But why would this man approach Nadia and address her by such an odd name? He had to be an out of towner; practically everyone in Cincinnati knew her from her show, if not from the places in town she often frequented.

"Miss?" someone asked, causing Nadia to jump a little.

Oh God, did he get on this bus too?

"Yes?" she asked cautiously, not looking up at first.

"I'm sorry I startled you," the teenage boy said. "But I was wondering if I could get your autograph, Miss Richards."

Nadia sighed with relief, and then smiled widely. It was only a fan who was handing her a pen and notebook.

"But of course," she replied graciously, taking the items. "What is your name?"

"Jason," the boy said.

"All right, Jason," Nadia responded. "Here you are."

"Thank you, Miss. You did a great show today. I got to hear some over lunch."

"Thank you. Bonnie should be back in a few days, and then I'll be back to my regular show. Have a good afternoon."

"You too. Thanks again for the autograph. You really are awesome, just like my dad says."

Nadia smiled again as she watched the teenager scamper back to his friends. I should ride the bus more often, she thought, provided there was a guarantee she wouldn't be accosted again by anyone strange like she had that afternoon.

As she got closer to home and saw that Rick was there, Nadia began to feel better to the point where she'd all but forgotten about the disturbing encounter she'd had earlier.

Smiling broadly once again, she got off the bus and eagerly headed toward her best friend.