Chapter 8

"Jesse and I did some digging down at the marina where the Lorelei is usually moored. We didn't come up with anything juicy, although when we showed Yvette's picture around, people there knew her." He glanced at Yvette. "From what we gathered, you are definitely Mrs. Roche's personal assistant, and that she was practically joined at the hip with you."

"Now, we know that the Lorelei left the marina a couple of weeks ago, in the middle of the night," Jesse continued. "We were lucky to find the night watchman, and he said Mr. Roche was in quite a hurry to get away. Not long after they left, a fishing boat headed out to sea, and he just figured they were doing some night fishing. Most likely they were in pursuit."

"But that's just speculation, because we haven't been able to fill in the holes from then until yesterday. It shouldn't have taken them two weeks to catch up to the Lorelei." Sam ran a hand across his stubble. "I've got a Coast Guard buddy looking into their reports, see if anything pops up about the Lorelei."

"I'm sorry that I can't be of any help," Yvette spoke softly as she fought the tears that flooded her eyes. "I...I would do anything to help Ms. Romana. She's my friend."

Sam raised his head and stared at her. "Did you hear what you just said? 'She's my friend.'"

"Am I starting to remember things?" A light shone in Yvette's features as she suddenly realized what Sam was getting at.

"Maybe. But don't force it. You'll only frustrate yourself," Michael urged her with a small smile. "I know, I've been there."

Yvette's shoulders relaxed as she sat back in her chair. "I hope this is a good sign, because I really feel bad that I may be putting you all in danger, and we don't know why."

"It's okay. We can handle this." Michael pushed his chair away from the table and stood. "I'm going to go into headquarters and see if I can find out more on Frederick Roche. If this guy is up to another heist, maybe there's some chatter in international channels."

"Thanks a lot, Mike. We appreciate it."

"No problem, Sam. I just got out of there after two days of debriefing, but hey...maybe catching them by surprise will be a good thing."

After Michael left, Sam sat studying Yvette until she squirmed in her seat. He asked, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes. I just...I'm worried, that's all."

"You shouldn't be. We've got you covered," Fiona reassured with a smile. "No one will hurt you as long as you're under our watch."

"I'm more worried about Ms. Romana." Her brow creased. "I can't help thinking that I'm on the brink of remembering something, and it's so hard to not force it." She shook her head in frustration.

"Hey, come on." Sam stood and cupped her elbow with his hand as she followed his lead and stood. "Let's go sit on the couch, relax, and just think about something else for awhile, okay?"

"Okay." She sat beside him on the couch, turned to face him and asked, "How did you come to have such wonderful friends?"

Sam grinned. "That's a long story, and it'll probably bore you."

"No, it wouldn't. It would certainly help to keep my mind off my own troubles."

"I suppose it would." He took a breath and began. "I met Mike first, back when I was a SEAL and he was a covert op with the CIA..."

Yvette leaned into the back of the couch and his pleasant baritone lulled her off to sleep before he could finish his story. Not that it was a boring tale. It was just that her body needed rest, and although her leg was much better that day, the infection was still taking its toll.

Sam stopped speaking when a soft snore came out of her. He smiled, got up off the couch, and rearranged her body so she lay on it with her head on a throw pillow. He draped an afghan over her and went to the kitchen for something to drink.

Two days later, they had little to show for their investigation. Fortunately, bits and pieces of Yvette's memory were coming back. She recalled more details of her relationship with Romana Roche and how much she enjoyed working for her. Their employer-employee relationship had turned into a mutual respect and friendship. Romana was a lonely woman, kept under a ruthless man's thumb. Yvette was the only contact she had with the outside world.

Sam came in the back door with a bag of groceries and found her sitting at the cafe table in the kitchen, crying over her coffee. "Hey, Yvette, what's the matter?"

"Morning, Sam." She sniffled and swiped at her eyes and nose in a most unladylike fashion. "I was just thinking about Romana. I remember so much about her now. I know what a terrible life she leads, and how she wanted to get away."

He set the bags on the counter and joined her at the table. "Get away?"

"Yes. I remember the night before you found me, she spoke to me about leaving Frederick. But she was so afraid and didn't know how to go about it. She said when we reached Freeport, she would try to make a break for it, and she wanted my help." She shook her head. "But I didn't know how I could help her." She began to cry softly, and Sam covered her hand with his.

"Shh, it's okay. Can you tell me what happened after that?"

"I think...I think that Mr. Roche must have had some kind of listening device in her chambers." Her eyes widened at the revelation.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because...oh Sam, I remember it so clearly! After we talked and Romana went to bed, I stayed up for awhile putting her things away in her closet. She had bought some new dresses at Mia Couture, and she asked me to find room for them." She paused and Sam gently urged her with a squeeze of her hand. "She gave me some of her older things. That dress...I was just trying it on to see if it really fit, because it was the most exquisite thing I'd ever seen." She looked down into her empty coffee cup.

Sam took the cue, gave her a moment to digest all her newfound memories, and brought the coffee pot to the table to pour her another cup.

"Thanks, Sam." She curled her hands around it and soaked in the warmth even though it was plenty warm in the house.

Sam poured himself a cup and sat down again. "So now we know how you wound up wearing that dress. But do you remember what happened after you put it on?"

"I was in the dressing room and I heard someone enter the suite. Heavy footfalls. It wasn't Mr. Roche." She took a sip of coffee. "I turned off the light and hid in among the clothes. Then I heard rustling noises, and Romana screamed...oh my...I couldn't stay there, because I was sure that they were killing her with the way she cried out! I surprised them and one of them shot at me. I thought he hit me, but I reached up..." She placed her hand on the fading graze on her neck. "It was bleeding, but not as if I had actually been shot. So I ran." New tears fell from her eyes, rolled down her cheeks, and splattered onto the table as her eyes locked with Sam's. "I left her behind to die! What kind of friend does that?"

"There's nothing you could have done, Yvette. She was probably already dead before you came out of that room, if they were any good. And considering what we know about Roche and his men, they were most likely experienced killers." As he spoke soothing words, he grasped her hand in both of his in an attempt to massage away the tension. "You wouldn't be here right now if you hadn't run. And we never would have had the chance to meet you."

Yvette hung her head for a moment before looking up into his warm eyes. "Thank you, Sam. I thank God that I wound up in your care." She sniffled. "After I ran, one of those goons chased me. I slipped, on the hem of the dress, I think, and fell. He grabbed me by the ankle and was going to do God knows what. He had a knife...it was stained with blood...Romana's I would guess. He slashed at me, but I kicked him with my other foot. He cut the dress, I think. I felt the blade against my thigh.

"I didn't even stop to see if he cut me. I just kicked him hard again, right in the face, and he rolled away. I got up, picked up my skirt and ran for the stern. I knew they kept a lifeboat there."

"That was a smart move."

She nodded. "Except for the fact that I got there and another one of Mr. Roche's men tackled me. He slammed my head on the deck and I saw stars. But somehow I managed to stay conscious and I kneed him in his...um..." She blushed, waved a hand in the air and continued. "Anyway, I was able to get to the lifeboat. I tried to unlatch it and get it into the sea, but that horrible man was on me again. We struggled, and...I don't know how I managed it, but I got him off me, and he fell...he fell into the water."

"Did you get away then?"

"Yes. I unhooked the lifeboat, got in, and it dropped into the sea. I almost fell out of it and it nearly capsized, but I hung on and it righted itself. I didn't know how to start the motor, so I grabbed a paddle and started paddling away from the yacht. More men came on deck and shot at me. They hit the inflated side, and it sank right out from under me." She smiled, a devious look on her face. "Then I pretended to go down with it. I just hung on where they must not have been able to see me, and eventually they gave up.

"I heard Mr. Roche say I wasn't worth it and that they had a mess on board to clean up. Shortly after that, I heard a splash and the yacht's engines started up again. I think...they threw Romana into the ocean, but I couldn't find her body." Her tears renewed themselves. "I was alone, and the waves were getting higher and higher... I just hung onto that boat as long as I could, but when the air was completely gone and it was no longer able to hold me up, I didn't know what to do except lie on my back and wait for the inevitable."

"So you just rode the waves all the way back to Miami?"

"Apparently." A small smile spread across her face. "And you found me."

"Wow."

"You believe me, don't you?"

At first, Sam wasn't sure what to make of her story. But the look of complete innocence and her answers to more of his questions led him to believe that she was telling the truth. "I'm glad you got your memory back."

Yvette's smile widened. "Now if only I knew what I'm supposed to do next."

"I don't know. I guess that's up to you." He hesitated before asking one more question. "Do you know what happened to your parents?"

"No. The last time I saw them was in the summer of '07. That's when I started working for Romana. Do you know where they are?"

"No, I'm sorry. Our investigation led to a dead end on them."

"Dead end." She pondered the significance of those words after the death of her friend. "If they're...gone...I'm all alone."

"No you're not. You've got friends."

She leaned across the table and gave him a kiss on his scruffy cheek. "Thank you, Sam."

Given the information from Yvette's restored memory, Michael, Sam and Jesse were able to piece together more information and discover that the Lorelei was docked at a private island in the Bahamas. Sam itched to go out there with his friends and take care of this guy themselves, but with no body of proof other than Yvette's testimony, they couldn't very well get him on murder. The best they could do was inform the Bahamian government, as well as the American intelligence community, and let them do what they would with the information. In the meantime, until things cooled down and Roche forgot about Yvette, she needed protection.

"She can stay here with me," Maddie announced with a grin. "I'm really starting to love her. She's like the daughter I never had." Maddie patted Yvette's hand with affection.

"Thank you, Madelyn. I don't know what to say."

"First of all, you say 'yes'. Then we'll go shopping with Fiona. We'll have a girls' day out. What do you say?"

"Well...I don't know." Yvette glanced from Maddie to Fiona and back, then fixed her gaze on Sam and Michael, who sat across the table from the women.

"You'll be in good hands with Fiona, Yvette. Trust me."

"Mikey's right, Yvette. She's more than capable of handling herself."

Fiona gave Sam a slight nod in appreciation for his vote of confidence.

"But...I don't have any money. Everything I have is tied up in an account here in Miami, but if I tap into it, don't you think Mr. Roche will find out and come looking for me?"

"I doubt it," Michael answered. "I just got word this morning that the Lorelei is cruising toward South America as we speak, and there's speculation that Roche is preparing to steal something in Brazil. He's too busy somewhere else to worry about you. It'll be fine."

"Thank you, Michael. All of you. When I lost Romana, I thought I would never have another friend as good as she was. As best friends go, she was the best of the best." She paused. "But I was wrong. Thank you for showing me that all was not lost."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Sam tipped up his beer, and the others followed.