Chapter 10

"What's all this shit?" Brian asked. "Jesus, no wonder your luggage weighed so much I thought you were carrying a body."

"A few things I thought might help jar Petra's memory," Paul replied, sorting through some photographs and a few small items.

"You're determined to get through to her, aren't you? Dude, you said she didn't remember who you were."

He held up a hairbrush. "This was her favorite brush; she seldom went anywhere without the thing. Maybe if she recognizes this and a few pictures I have here, maybe it might–emphasis on might–trigger something."

"Good luck with that, PL. But you can't say Windsor didn't warn you about something like this happening."

"I know, but one way or another, there has to be a way to get her back. And I'm not giving up."

Meanwhile:

"You've seemed kind of pensive since running into that guy the other day that Gino told me about," Jimmy said. "Care to discuss it?"

Nadia nodded. "It's just the strangest thing. I don't think I ever knew him, but at the same time, he looked so familiar. I know it doesn't make sense, but I had been having these dreams over the last several weeks—"

"Whoa, wait! What dreams?"

"They're hard to describe, Jimmy. I kept having these dreams—even more so recently—about places I have never seen before and these two men. The guy who thought I was someone else the other day, he looked just like one of the men in those strange dreams."

"Maybe it's just a strange coincidence," Jimmy offered.

"Maybe it is," Nadia agreed. "But it still disturbs me somehow, especially when he insisted I was this other woman. He kept saying the name over and over."

"Do you remember the name?"

"Patty…Peta…I really can't think of it offhand. Maybe it will come later."

"About as far from 'Nadia' as one as one can get, if that is the case," Jimmy nodded.

"Yes, it is. But let's discuss that appearance I have later today instead, all right?"

"Sure. Actually, it's this evening; there's some wrestling thing going on up at the arena. Just the usual stuff. Give away stuff, get the crowd psyched up for the event, things like that."

"As usual, doesn't sound too difficult," Nadia managed a smile.

"Well, you've already been a hit at the car show and the hockey playoffs," Jimmy grinned back. "I figured I may as well send you to do something that is off the beaten path."

"Good for you. And if it's anything I like, it's something challenging that is off the beaten path."