Christmas Angel by Amanda McIntyre Read Free Book Online Page B

his head. “Nope, I’m good. Just going to call in and see what forensics might have found out about our hotel guest. They claim the credit card he checked in under was a corporate card, under the name Jonathan Smith. Not unusual for Madam Lee’s variety of services. We’ll run his fingerprints, but we may need Madam’s help to get a physical description. There wasn’t much left of the guy's face. She could sit down with our artist. Might give us a lead.”
    “We’ll see. I’m going to see if I can find some food for her.” “You still think she’s innocent in all of this?” Gleason interjected.
    “I can’t say without a doubt, but it seems she happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
    Gleason shrugged. “Guess time will tell.” He pulled out his ancient cell phone.
    The deserted corridor afforded Shado time to think back on her facial expressions as he’d interrogated her. True, she was a fragile looking thing, built like a willow, and yet there was a fire in her blue eyes and a dogged determination. Perhaps pride made her appearance deceiving. Still, for reasons he didn’t understand, he possessed a powerful need to protect her. He didn’t want to believe she had anything to do with Espinoza, but with this temporary amnesia, getting to the truth would prove to be a challenge. He glanced up and a silent curse registered in his brain. The cafeteria was dark. Luckily, he’d passed a row of vending machines not too far back. Though it wasn’t as nourishing as a hot beef sandwich, he selected a ham and cheese on wheat, a package of peanut butter crackers, and bought himself some stout black coffee. He turned the corner to the ER as the captain left her room, slipping his notepad in his jacket. From the look on his face, he’d gotten no further with his questions than they had.
    “She says she remembers clearly the guy who knocked her over the head. She can’t remember seeing the other guy.”
    “I spoke to her doctor while you were in there and in his opinion, she’s suffering from something called retrograde amnesia,” Gleason explained. “Apparently it means she can remember her most recent memories, but not those previously stored.”
    “Sounds like the stuff that happens in my wife’s soap opera,” the captain muttered. “But I won’t argue with the doc. Still means she could pick out a face from those guys at the hotel. If they let her go, maybe we can get her something to eat, a place to rest, and see if she’s up to going through a few photos. With any luck, she could lead us right to the killers. Do we have a name on the vic?”
    Gleason spoke. “The manager of the hotel said he checked in this morning as a Jonathan Smith. Apparently on business from San Francisco. Forensics is still on the scene.”
    “Good.” Captain Murphy nodded. “See what more we can find on this guy. Why was he at the Imperial? Who was he supposed to meet? Who sent him? We need to find out if these guys were Espinoza’s men and if she….” He tipped his head toward the room. “…is a part of all of this.”
    Shado opened his mouth to offer his opinion and decided to wait. Gleason was far easier to reason with. He watched the ER doors swoosh open and the captain disappear into the night.
    “Do you think maybe it’s better she stays here, even if it’s in the psych ward?” he asked.
    Gleason shrugged. “You heard the captain. He wants us to bring her down to the station.”
    “Yeah, I heard him. But you just explained she virtually has no memory except the short term. Where’s she going to go?”
    Gleason shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll get her a hotel room, maybe? Put someone on her to watch her.”
    “What if it takes longer than the doctor thinks for her memory to return? What if those goons come looking for her?”
    Gleason’s face clouded. “Assuming she’s innocent, I suppose we could arrange for her to be placed in a holding cell, to keep her safe, but legally we