Page 6 of Forbidden Whispers

“What was that about?” she said.

“I dunno. Maybe he thought you could use a hug?” Noah offered.

“Hmph.” Maggie stood up and began brushing the dog fur off her dress. “What I was going to say is, do you think we should call the police?”

“Oh. Uhhh...”

She looked up, clearly surprised at his reaction. “I mean, it’s clear that Valentina is missing, right?”

Noah nodded slowly.

“And it’s also clear that something,” she waved her hand to encompass the entire condo, “er, bad happened here...” she trailed off.

Something bad. Right. Noah didn’t need to hear her say out loud what they were both thinking. What if he’d done something to Valentina?

Now, it was his turn to sink onto the bed.

“Are you sure you can’t remember anything from last night?” Maggie asked, genuine concern etched on her face.

He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his already mussed-up hair. Then he looked up at her. “I remember meeting Valentina at Lakeside Latté yesterday at three-thirty. We had coffee, and I remember thinking that our date wasn’t going so great. But then...” Here he frowned.

“Then what?” Maggie said.

“Then...” He squeezed his eyes shut for several long moments before opening them and lifting his palms. “Then nothing. It’s just a big blank.”

Maggie stood looking at him, lips compressed as she thought. He felt helpless, wishing he could ease the worry he saw flickering in her eyes. Several long moments ticked past. Finally, keeping her eye on Boon, she eased herself down to sit beside him on the edge of the bed.

“Noah,” she said, her voice quiet. “I know what you’re thinking, but there’s no way you did anything harmful to Valentina.”

“You don’t know that. I told you I can’t remember anything. What if I...” He couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Noah, you are the kindest person I’ve ever known. Remember when you stood up to that mammoth-sized senior in the cafeteria during our junior year? He was bullying that super skinny kid from the Robotics team, and you stepped in the middle of it all, separating them. Then the jerk started threatening you, pushing you, trying to get you to fight with him. Yet somehow, without resorting to anything physical, you managed to completely defuse the situation. You even had the guy apologizing to the kid by the end of it all.” She shook her head in wonder. “You were amazing, Noah. And I just don’t believe the man who did that would ever willingly hurt another soul. It just wouldn’t happen.”

Noah was in shock. Not only did he not recall the situation Maggie had just described, but he was stunned by the fact that she was able to recall it in such detail.

He turned his head to face her and met soft, brown eyes that were now gazing at him in a way that made his heart beat faster in his chest. He wished he didn’t have any doubts himself. But with no memory of what he’d said or done, anything could have happened.

He knew, however, that what Maggie was suggesting was the right thing to do. And normally, he wouldn’t have hesitated, especially considering the fact that his brother Wade and new sister-in-law Cassie were both on the Whispering Pines police force. But as of two days ago, they weren’t in town or even in the country. Cassie had joined the force a year ago, and she’d finally earned enough vacation so they could go on their two-week honeymoon to Greece. Without Wade in his corner, he felt much more nervous about involving the police, particularly in light of his apparent amnesia.

He took a deep breath. “Look, I know we need to call the police, but I’d like to make another phone call first.”

Maggie tilted her head quizzically. “To whom?”

“A man named Hugo Garcia.”

***

Hugo stood in the busted-out doorway of the small condo wearing a very similar expression to the one Maggie had worn when she’d first arrived. However, he recovered more quickly than she had.

Noah watched as Hugo’s gaze swept the room with a practiced eye, then returned to examine Noah’s appearance for the second time.

Hugo was his brother Wade’s former beat partner and a close family friend. He was in his late fifties and had retired from the police force a year ago to spend more time with his newly adopted teenage daughter, Ani. Noah decided to call Hugo before contacting the police because he knew the situation didn’t look good for him, and he also knew he could completely trust Hugo.

Noah noticed that Hugo had lost a bit of weight since the last time he’d seen him, no longer sporting the rounded belly on his stocky frame. He still wore his thick salt-and-pepper hair in a short, cropped style, and as usual, despite the circumstances, his dark eyes were kind.

“Okay, amigo, tell me what happened,” Hugo said.

Noah related everything he’d already shared with Maggie, who now stood silently by his side, her hand absently petting the top of Boon’s head.