I Don't Know CH 3
"Bobby" caught her before she hit the floor. He helped her to the bed. "Are you alright? Should I call someone?" he asked.
She stared at him. "Call someone? Are you serious? Bobby, you're alive." She said hotly. "Where the hell have you been? I thought you died."
"Ma'am, I'm sure you have me mistaken for someone else. My name is Mark Collins. You asked about my son Robbie. What interest do you have in him?"
"Robbie? You have a son named Robbie? Is that his real name?"
"Bobby" frowned. "His given name is Robert, yes, it is. Do you know him?"
Alex stared at him. "You don't know me, do you? You don't recognize me." She said in dawning recognition.
"I don't believe we've met before." He said, but he wasn't quite as sure as he'd been before.
"It's Alex. Don't you remember Alex?"
"No, is he from around here?"
The horror of what was happening made her sick to her stomach. She raced to the bathroom to lose the breakfast she'd eaten. She finished and splashed cold water on her face. "Are you alright?" he asked when she reemerged from the bathroom.
"No. I'm not alright." She said looking at him. "I'm Alex. Captain Alex Eames, Major Case squad, NYPD." She looked for a touch of recognition. She held out her hand to shake his.
He took it and shook it politely. "You're a long way from home."
"You know Manhattan?"
"It's a part of New York City." He said.
"That's all you know?"
"Ma'am, I'm not sure what is going on with you. Care to enlighten me?"
"I need to sit down. This is going to sound really, really strange, but we, you and I, used to be partners."
"Are you using drugs? Because if you are, I want you out of my town and stay away from my son." He said menacingly.
"Your so…" Oh, God, this can't be happening. "I'm not on drugs and I'm not selling them. My car is having mechanical problems and I'm waiting for help. Here let me show you…." She reached for her badge. He saw the gun in her bag and backed off putting his hand on the butt of his gun.
"Do you have a permit for that?" He asked.
"I told you, I'm a cop,too. See?" she pulled out her badge careful to move slowly and showed it to him.
He took it gingerly and pulled it toward his face where he could see it. He read it carefully. There was a thoughtful pained look on his face. It was almost there. He tried to find what it was, but it just wasn't happening. He gave it back to her. "I would appreciate it if you not made too much of a scene while you're here."
"A scene? Bobby, I…."
"You keep calling me that. Why?"
"That's your name."
"No, my name is Mark, Mark Collins."
"No, you're name is Bobby, Robert Goren. You are, or were a Detective in the Major Case Squad in New York City. You were thought drowned here nearly twelve years ago."
"You need help, lady. I was born and raised around here. My folks were here and so is my brother, Frank."
"Frank?"
"You know Frank?"
"I think I do." Alex said tightly.
"That explains it." Bobby nodded. "He's not here now and he won't be back for awhile. If you've come to see him, you've wasted a trip. I'd advise you to not wait around for him. He's liable to be gone awhile."
"Tell me something, Sheriff, you said our parents were here. Where are they now?"
"Dead. Frank said they were killed in a car accident. I don't remember it. He said I had a head injury in that accident, that's why I don't remember."
If Bobby had remembered her, or anyone who knew her saw her now, they'd realize that Alex Eames was just about to go ballistic and they'd want to be elsewhere and soon.
"I'd like to have a long talk with you, Sheriff, and soon, but right now I have some calls I need to make. Would you excuse me?"
Bobby nodded and stepped toward the hotel door. He paused just inside of it and gave her a peculiar look. He nodded once at her and stepped out the door.
Alex sank onto the bed, holding her stomach, trying to contain her rage and pain and her joy. Someone was going to pay and pay dearly for this! Someone named Frank Goren. She opened her cell phone and began to dial.
TBC