The streets were empty on that Sunday afternoon, as Carter stood alone in the doorway of an abandoned hotel, shielded from the rain, playing his clarinet. An aging pick-up truck pulled up to the curb; Wes and Jan hopped out. Carter stopped playing as he saw them approach; they huddled together in the doorway as the rain slapped against the pavement.

“Carter, this is Wes. He’s a lawyer. He may be able to help you. I filled him in on what happened.”

“Hello Carter.” Wes extended his hand. Carter shook his hand but looked at Jan.

“I don’t need help,” said Carter. “I’m not going to jail.”

Jan and Carter looked at each other. “You’re out on bail,” said Wes.

“I won’t go back,” Carter replied. “If I do they’ll lock me away for years.”

“If we can prove that you hit that cop to protect Jan, will you consider going back for the arraignment?”

“How you gonna prove it? She’s the only witness. It’ll be her word against that cop’s. If she tells the judge he attacked her, he’ll tell the judge she’s lying and that’ll be the end.”

“He might believe Jan. “Why would she bet twenty thousand dollars on you, someone she never met?”

“No matter what you think you can prove, or what you tell me, if I go back I’m goin’ to prison.”

“We still have nine days,” said Jan. “Stick around, okay?”

“I might stick around,” he replied.

“If you jump bail they can send a bounty hunter after you,” said Wes. “If he catches you, it could mean a lot more jail time.”

“I don’t want to run off, and I don’t want her to lose that bail money. But I’ll do what I have to do.”

Wes decided to change the subject. “Jan tells me you’re a first rate clarinet player. I could tell she was right from the little I heard when we parked. I used to play trumpet in a band in college. We could have a little jam session some time if you wish.”

Carter smiled. Jan looked over at Wes, a bit impressed. “Bring your horn,” replied Carter. “We’ll see if you can keep up with me.”

“Okay.” Wes started to walk away. “Oh, I do have one question for you about what happened that night.” Jan tensed; she knew what the question would be. “You hit the cop with a fire extinguisher, correct?”

“Yeah…I did.”

“When did you hit him, when you were scuffling on the ground? Or did he manage to get up first?”

Carter thought for a moment. “He got up.”

“You picked up the fire extinguisher and hit him after he stood up?”

“Yeah.”

Wes paused. He put his hand on the back of this head. “He had stitches in this area. That means he was hit from behind.”

“I wanted to be damn sure he wouldn’t come back at me so I hit him.”

“You hit him after he started to walk away?”

“Like I said, I didn’t want him comin’ back at me, or at her.”

Wes handed his business card to Carter. “Thanks. We’ll be in touch. Phone me if you want to talk…or have a jam session.”

Back in the truck Jan turned to Wes. “He’s honest. He told you the truth about hitting that cop. But if he tells that to a judge at the arraignment it won’t look good. What now?”

Wes gave it a moment. “I’m not sure. First I’m going home to practice my trumpet. After that I’ll be in touch.” He smiled at her and drove away through the rain-soaked streets.

When Jan hopped out of the pickup truck her cell phone rang. “Hello…yes this is Jan. Okay, tell him I’m coming.” She hurried over to her car in the IHOP parking lot and drove quickly away.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Half an hour later she was walking into her father’s retirement home. She spoke to the girl at the front desk: “Can you take me back?”

“He’s in the courtyard with a care-giver. I called you because his recognition is worse.”

Jan nodded and walked quickly away from the lobby, along a corridor and through a side door exit near the dining room.

Outside, in a small square courtyard, Jan’s father sat on a wooden bench; a young female caregiver dressed in a white uniform sat beside him. He wore a brown jacket and a brown beret to keep his head warm. His walker was parked beside the bench. As Jan walked over to him Edward didn’t turn his head; his somber eyes looked across the courtyard at the wide green field beyond.

“Hello Dad.” Jan sat down on the bench beside him. He slowly turned his head and looked at her. The caregiver patted him on the back.

“You have a special visitor today, Mister Lehman.”

“Who is she?” he replied.

Jan glanced at the girl. “Can I take him for a walk?” The girl nodded. “Come on Dad, let’s walk for a while.” They helped him to his feet, and placed his hands on the walker. The girl left, and Jan put her arm around her father as they walked slowly out of the courtyard and onto the narrow sidewalk that circled the retirement home.

For a while they walked in silence, as the sidewalk wound around the property through the oak grove and the emerald green lawns. The peaceful surroundings couldn’t calm Jan’s aching heart, for she knew that her father was slipping further away from her. She forced herself to smile and break the silence.

“Dad, do you want to go somewhere? We could go out for dinner together.”

He stopped, and leaned on his walker. When he looked at Jan his eyes became curious. “When am I going home? I want to go home. They’re waiting for me.”

Jan put her arm around his shoulders. “Dad, this is your home. I’m your daughter…Janet.”

He shook his head. “No…my daughter is young. She’s a little girl.”

He started to walk away from her. Jan stood motionless, unable to speak, a stranger to her own father.

When the cell phone range Liz Neaman was inspecting designer clothes on a rack in Nordstrom’s. She brushed back her long blond hair, searched through her leather handbag and found the phone. “Hello…Jan? Well, I’m a little busy. What’s going on? You can’t tell me on the phone? Okay…I’ll come over.” Liz hung up, checked her watch, and continued looking through the clothes rack.

Jan was typing on her laptop when the doorbell rang. She quickly logged off and went to answer the door.

“So what’s going on?” Liz smiled; she had a shopping bag in her hand.

Jan looked at her watch as Liz came in to the apartment. “I phoned you forty five minutes ago,” she said angrily. “What took you so long?”

Liz held up the shopping bag. “I had to buy a new dress. Donald’s hosting a New Year’s party for the brokers in his office. Want to see it?”

“No thanks,” replied Jan. “Have a seat.”

They sat on the sofa; Liz put the shopping bag aside. Jan remained silent for a few moments and Liz could tell that something was troubling her. “What is it Jan? What’s wrong?”

Jan choked with emotion as she spoke. “My father doesn’t know who I am.”

“What?”

“He doesn’t recognize me. He’s lost his memory.”

Liz held her hands. “Oh God…I’m so sorry Jan.”

“I went to visit him today. He said he wanted to come home.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him that he was home…and that I’m his daughter. He said no, his daughter is a little girl.” Jan paused, became thoughtful. “You ever wish that you were little…that you could go back?”

Liz hesitated. “Sometimes…we all have regrets. But Jan, you worked hard, you had a terrific education, you have a super job.”

“And what do I have to show for it? A lousy marriage and a lonely life. Unpleasant memories.” Jan looked across the room at her laptop. “Maybe that’s why I did it.”

“Did what?”

Eleanor jumped up on the sofa. “Tell her Eleanor.”

Liz chuckled. “Come on Jan, what did you do?”

Jan stood up and started pacing back and forth across the living room. “Remember that guy I told you about? The guy who saved me from being raped?”

“Yes.”

“He was arrested, and the cop who arrested him is the creep who tried to rape me.”

“Oh my God.”

“The cop claims he assaulted him, which he did, but only to protect me.”

“What did you do when you found out?”

“I bailed the man out of jail…for twenty thousand dollars.”

“Wow!”

“Wow what? Wow that I bailed him out, or wow that I spent twenty thousand dollars.”

“Both.”

“He’d been in jail before. It was almost certain that he’d be convicted. I had to do something to help him after he helped me.”

“Will there be a trial?”

“First there’s an arraignment, in a little over a week. If the judge thinks there’s enough evidence against him he could be put on trial. If he doesn’t show up I lose my twenty thousand. But I hired a lawyer, some young hot-shot. He might be able to help. If the cop drops the charges before the trial it’ll be a happy ending.”

Liz heaved a sigh and shook her head. “God, what a mess.”

“I could have left it alone, forgotten about it. I have enough to worry about.”

Liz reassured her. “Jan, you did a good thing. Whatever happens, you did what you thought was right. Ready to see my dress?”

Jan frowned. “No, but go ahead, show it to me.”

Liz opened the shopping bag and extracted a full length, red-and-white-sequined evening gown. She stood up, held the dress against her body and smiled. “You like?”

Jan managed a smile. “I like.”

Liz returned the dress to the shopping bag. “Hey, why don’t we go somewhere for lunch, or go shopping. It’ll cheer you up.”

Jan shook her head. “No thanks Liz. I think I’d like to be alone for a while.”

“Okay, but don’t be too depressed. I’m really sorry about your Dad.” Liz picked up her shopping bag and walked to the door. “I’ll phone you this evening.”

As Liz left the apartment Jan picked up Eleanor and walked over to the desk. She turned on her laptop, opened the novel and typed Chapter 3.