Arizona
C.J. or Bunny as she knew herself sat on the bunk frustrated with a red headed woman named Rhonda who was her cellmate. They'd wound up locked up together after having been arrested together at a bar by two men. Actually man handed by them as her first reaction had been to run away, her second to kick and resist when the bartender grabbed hold of her. Sheriff Butz had taken her from the bartender and both she and Rhonda had been tossed inside a van and brought here.
Butz had been a creep and had tried to get her to trade sex with him for protection from what he called the alley cats of Bannon County Detention Center. When she had nixed that he'd tried to force it from her but in the struggle, she'd slapped him.
That's when she met the man who walked in on her while she'd been digging around in the desk for information, not even knowing why she'd been doing that.
Instinct maybe. The man seemed nicer to her than Butz but she didn't trust him. She didn't trust anyone. Then there'd been the fight outside the showers with the boss inmate named Fran who she'd neutralized in a matter of seconds.
"Where'd you learn moves like that," Rhonda had asked.
She didn't know but something flashed in her head.
"I don't know…maybe Houston…"
So with these flashes of memories popping in her head and wanting to get out of here, she did what Rhonda suggested and tried to remember her past.
There'd been the birthday party where she'd worn the pretty dress that got ice cream spilled on it by a boy.
The memory of herself standing by a graveside on a cold morning. Her father's grave because he had died. The profound rush of loss had hit her as keenly as the chill of the winter day, leaving her shivering from it.
Something more recent, Rhonda advised. That's when she remembered a man. A tall man with broad shoulders, curly brown hair and soft brown eyes sitting by her bedside holding her hand.
"He's my friend, my best friend…"
Something else flashed in her mind inflaming her cheeks. They'd been more than that. The same thing that Butz had tried to force from her, she'd given freely to the man who'd had grabbed hold of her once he'd popped in her head.
"He saved my life…who is he?"
She felt frustration fill her then not knowing if she'd ever remember who she was and the life she'd lived.
Matt looked at Cynthia or rather the back of her as she'd left him in her wake after walking out on him. They'd just had a fight about C.J. of course after kissing each other on the couch. He'd just wanted to call the hotel again, call C.J. on her cell because she was supposed to check in her hotel hours ago.
It hadn't taken his girlfriend long to get impatient with him again. All he wanted to do was check in with Santa Fe again. He entered the number on the slip of paper again.
"Yes C.J. Parsons checked in yet…She does have a reservation doesn't she…and you haven't heard from her…Yeah minute she comes in have her call me….Matt Houston. She's got my number."
Cynthia had gotten off the couch, her romantic mood completely dissipated.
"I got your number too Houston…ciao."
"Cynthia…wait," he said, "Why don't we start all over again? You're probably right. She did say she had to meet someone there. Maybe that's what she did and lost track of the time."
Not that it sounded that plausible to his own ears. But Cynthia wasn't cutting him any slack.
"This just isn't normal…I mean we can't even spend some private time alone together without you worrying about her when there's nothing wrong. Ever thought that maybe she did something on the spur of the notice without asking your permission?"
He had just looked at her.
"I just want to make sure she's okay."
"She's a big girl Houston…like I said. It's like you have this thing for her and you won't admit it."
"I told you…"
She shook her head.
"I'm on to you Houston…okay Clover, I believe she was a past fling…Serena a petulant spoiled little girl…and that senator's wife who breezed in her calling you Rooster…strange but an old flame…"
He listened as she continued with the list.
"Okay Erin showing up at the restaurant that was bizarre but I saw Fatal Attraction and I get it but I have to draw the line with C.J…"
"There's nothing between us."
She sighed deeply.
"Matt when a man mentions another woman's name when he…we…you get my drift there's something between them and I don't do triangles…not anymore."
That stopped him cold that she brought that up. It'd been a slip on his part, it hadn't meant anything. Nothing at all. But the way she looked at him right now, he knew no explanation would placate her.
"Oh…that…"
Her eyes took on that piercing look.
"Yeah…that. Goodbye Houston…I think you should head on out there to Santa Fe, find her and do us all a favor and declare your feelings for her."
She turned around and she walked on out of there. He sighed and then he picked up the slip of paper and called the hotel again.
C.J. looked at the man in front of her who called himself Semour Piser. He'd fancied himself a cowboy look but it didn't fit him not like…but soon enough he grabbed his arm and took her over to get her something to drink…to help loosen herself up.
"You look tense…"
It came with having no memory of even her name let alone her life not to mention prancing around in a skimpy bikini in front of a man who viewed it only as wrapping. She knew what he expected of her and she didn't want to give it. But what could she do? She felt damn woozy, barely able to stay on her feet and she couldn't see where Rhonda had gone. The other woman had promised her that when the chance arose, the two of them would just take off. Looking at Piser leering at her as he poured that drink, she hoped it'd be soon.
"You'll like what's waiting inside Bunny but a drink first…to set the mood."
Bile filled her throat. She thought she'd kill him first before he even touched her. They sat down and he put a hand on her thigh.
"Tell me about yourself…"
What's to tell about a life she didn't remember? She just smiled playing dumb while he rhapsodized about his prowess in the sack with women.
"All the women talk about old Piser when it comes to being a great lover."
Who was he kidding? The women talked about Piser all right but well, if she told him what they talked about he'd just get furious and take it out on her. She just smiled brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.
"I'm sure I'll enjoy it."
Then her eye caught something and she noticed that peculiar looking deputy was creeping up to hide behind a tree. She'd seen him looking at her inside her cell after rapping on the glass to get her attention. Something about him…had drawn her to him but she didn't know why. Why would a deputy do that to her?
The shots ripped through the festive air and everyone turned to look as the mysterious deputy returned fire and shot one of the deputies. C.J. took that as her cue to turn on Piser sending him on the ground. She got up and started running away. A deputy ahead of her tried to shoot the man and without thinking, she pushed him into the pool in one fluid movement. The man ran up to her and started calling her C.J.
She just stared at him.
"Who's running this party?"
That she could answer. She pointed to the burly man fleeing the scene.
"Him…Sheriff Butz…"
Matt took off chasing after the man in a fury and she found herself following him. Not knowing why, just drawn that way towards a man she felt like was becoming clearer to her.
C.J. barely had her memories return to her before her interrogation began at the makeshift police station set up by the state troopers who'd broken up Piser's party declaring it to be his final one. She'd felt her memory return when Matt lifted her into his arms and held her tightly.
"I know you…"
So she did…he was Houston and she was C.J. After that it was like a dam had broken and so many memories spilled before her, they nearly overwhelmed her. She sat down inside the squad car to go to the motel where they'd set up a location to process all the women who'd been in Butz' jail. Fran met them there and she looked happier than C.J. had ever seen her and friendlier with Matt.
She'd answered every question asked of her, shared every detail of her experience until they released her into the hallway and Matt waited for her with a change of clothes.
"Some lady officer gave them to me," he said, "They should fit."
She went to change and they did, a pair of jeans and a chambray shirt, along with a pair of sneakers. Her hair loosely curled around her shoulders.
"I can book us a hotel room and we can head back tomorrow…"
She shook her head.
"I just want to go home…"
The party had been Matt's idea but when Cynthia got wind of it, she came over and told him she'd help him to bury the hatchet. They realized that it'd never work between them and they should just go their separate ways.
Many of their friends showed up to eat the food catered from Marcelles and listen to soft jazz music. Roy had flown back in from D.C. to join them and welcome C.J. back home after meeting her and his nephew at LAX.
She'd been quieter, deeper inside of herself. In some ways she reminded Roy of someone else. But once she'd settled back into her life in L.A. and working for the agency, she returned to the woman they all knew and loved.
But she was nowhere to be found tonight even though Matt dressed in his dreaded tux had gone looking. He'd bumped into Cynthia who'd complimented him and headed out to the roof area past the parked helicopter. If she heard him coming, she didn't turn around to face him.
"I came out to see where you've been hiding…I thought you'd be celebrating."
She turned around looking beautiful of course in her white dress. But her eyes didn't hold any gaiety, they looked pensive.
"I'm sorry Houston…I just didn't feel like celebrating much."
"It could have been a whole lot worse."
"I know but you can't go through an experience like that and not feel changed by it."
She'd opened up to him then, and he heard the fear in her voice about what'd happen if she never got her memory back, if he'd never found her, if…she couldn't finish the rest of it.
"I'd never have stopped looking for her."
That relaxed her some because she knew he'd meant it. But she still felt troubled. She hadn't been held captive in that god forsaken jail alone.
"But what about the other women…the ones who don't have anyone…?"
He said something about trying to save the world tomorrow and just to let her friends show how much they appreciated and loved her tonight. So she embraced him, and then he wrapped his arm around her waist and they rejoined the party together. Walking along side of her felt so natural to him…so right in ways he dare not think about too much. He just knew he was so glad to have her back where she belonged.
She fell asleep on the couch resting against his chest as the quietness of the office surrounded them. They'd stayed to clean up after the partiers had gone home. His uncle had taken off an hour earlier leaving them alone.
He'd poured them both a Scotch and they sat on the couch together talking about nothing really…just a case here and there…some briefs that needed to be filed by the end of the week. Murray's latest quarterly report that needed reviewing.
Suddenly she fell quiet and he knew she was thinking.
"It's great to be back…"
"Great to have you back."
She glanced at him.
"I'm sorry…I know you and Cynthia…"
He sighed.
"It'd never work. She's very nice and a lot of fun but C.J. there's no way I was going to leave you there once I realized you hadn't checked into that hotel. If a woman's going to be my girlfriend, she's not going to make me choose between her and my gut instinct…when it comes to family."
She sipped her drink thoughtfully.
"I suppose we are family," she said, "I know if it hadn't been for Bill and Roy…I might not be the woman I am today."
He smiled, stroking her hair off of her face.
"You were always going to be a woman who went on and did great things C.J. You're sharp, ambitious but you've got the best heart anyone could ever have…best thing that ever happened to me was you becoming my neighbor."
"Best thing for me too…moving next door to your ranch. I'd lost both of my parents…been in foster care and then lived with an uncle who wouldn't even mention my father's name."
She tilted her face.
"I was a bit reckless as I remember…rough around the edges definitely."
"You were strong and you were tough because you had to be. My daddy's ranch hands didn't make it easy for you."
She shook her head.
"No they didn't…especially…"
Matt arched his brows for her to continue but she fell silent again, reaching for her glass.
"I know you miss your daddy Houston," she said, "and you never knew your mama…"
Matt paused then nodded.
"I had a lot of years with him before he passed. I got to say everything I needed to him. He really looked out for me growing up…"
She leaned her head against him and he slipped his arm around her.
"You miss your daddy a lot…"
She nodded.
"One of the first remembered…was the day we buried him. The memories of the years we had together were among my last…"
"Memory's a funny thing C.J. It doesn't work in a way that makes sense."
"I know…part of that might have been not wanting to remember how he died," she said, "It was so sudden so violent. Sometimes I can still see it."
He pulled her closer to him and she let him. She'd been wary of being touched or hugged by any man since her return from Bannon County…but not him.
Her voice softened.
"I remembered us too."
"Us?"
"You know that night we spent together after the poker match. It was…"
"The most incredible night of my life…"
She smiled.
"Mine too. I felt so…well if I appeared to know what I was doing it was all an act."
He furrowed his brow.
"You mean you were….?"
She shook her head.
"Oh no but I wasn't like you Houston. I didn't have a lot of…boyfriends. Only one and he wasn't…he was more for looking out for himself. With you I learned the difference."
He sighed.
"I'm sorry about that but the time we spent…meant more to me than anything. That night I learned the difference too."
Her eyes widened a bit in surprise but then she snuggled against him feeling suddenly tired. He lay down on the lounge still holding onto her. He stroked her face and kissed her on the forehead.
"Good night C.J…"
"Good night Houston…it's so good to be back home…"
Roy didn't like what he heard on the other end of the line. Art had called him back with some unsettling news.
"I think someone's found him," Art said, "It's only a matter of time until they put two and two together."
Roy sighed.
"Damn…his own fault for not staying below the radar, making himself more vulnerable to his enemies."
"Why now? He'd hidden in plain sight for two decades," Art said, "You think we should contact the others, meet up with them?"
"No…too risky. Some of them are hiding as well. You know that Roman might be in prison but he's still got a lot of power."
"I can't believe Charlie would be so damn reckless…stupid."
Roy heard the frustration in his ex-partner's voice.
"Now he wants to go take out someone else on that list of his," Art said, "and we can't stop him."
"No we can't…we can't even relocate him, give him another name, another life. All we can do is watch."
Art sighed.
"Watch him get exposed to his enemies and be taken out permanently. No funeral this time. No headstone. He doesn't really exist in the real world."
Piser sat on the bunk of his isolated cell in the wing where they held inmates who were considered too high risk to be in the general population. How dare they treat him this way, he the head of the state parole board was being treated just like one of the lowlifes he oversaw in his position. It was his job to decide their individual fates, should they be released on parole or left to rot for more time in a prison cell? Now, he'd been stripped of his clothes and his dignity and though he was guaranteed three hots and a cot, he'd never felt more indignant and more ill-treated in his life.
His one phone call had gone to a world renowned defense attorney who had yet to return it. He'd have to get in touch with everyone who ever owed him a favor. Problem was all of them were keeping their distance from the whole situation lest their own careers go up in smoke and they wound up wearing orange alongside him.
"Damn that bitch," he said, "Damn her…"
Suddenly he heard footsteps and saw a female guard approach his cell.
"I hope you don't mean me," she said, "or you won't be going to the rec yard today."
He scowled.
"You can't do that. You can't deny me of my civil rights."
The guard leaned forward.
"What about those women that you abused who were locked up on trumped up charges?"
He shrugged.
"They were all lowlife druggies and hookers anyway," he said, "I gave them time out of their cramped cells and a higher class of john."
"Whatever…look it's time for you to get your hour of exercise so let's get a move on."
She opened the cell and another guard joined her. They handcuffed him and walked him down the row of cells to a smaller entry room which led to the caged yard. The other guard left the two of them alone.
The female guard pulled her gun out of her holster and aimed it at him. His eyes widened and he looked at her in shock.
"What the…"
She smiled and took off her hat and sunglasses. His eyes narrowed in recognition.
"It's…you…how?"
"Just call me Lady Blue."
Then she pulled the trigger.