As he slid the bills across the desk, he peeled off an extra fifty and handed it to the clerk. “We’re not expecting any visitors, but if anyone should show up, we’d appreciate a phone call.”
The man fingered the corner of the extra bills as his beady-eyed gaze jumped back and forth between the two of them, studying them with an air of suspicion. “I ain’t lookin’ for no trouble here, mister.” His gaze shifted over to the woman in the corner and then came back. “I don’t like the cops nosing around, here, if you get my drift.”
“Not a problem,” Ryan said quietly. “It won’t be the cops looking for us if anyone shows up. Believe me, they aren’t interested in talking to the cops any more than you are. All you have to do is give us a call if anyone shows up looking for us and we’ll be gone.”
The clerk stuffed the bills in his pocket and nodded. He shoved a key across the desk. “Take room fifteen on the end. Park your car around back. There’s a small driveway that will take you out to a side street. If anyone comes nosing around, I’ll ring your room three times and hang up.” He ripped up their registration card and dropped it in the trash can. “Just make sure you lock up when you leave.”
Ryan picked up the key. “Appreciate the help.” He nodded to Stacy and pressed his hand against the small of Tess’s back. They exited quickly.
“That was smooth,” Tess said, as Ryan pulled the door shut.
“I thought so, too.”
“You’ve got real potential for this business.” Tess climbed into the car.
“Really? And what kind of business would that be?” Ryan asked as he slipped into the driver’s side and started up the car.
Tess bent down and grabbed the map crumpled on the floor. She sat up and carefully folded it. “Spook business, of course.”
“Spook stuff, huh? Are we talking ghost spook or the spy kind of spook?”
Tess laughed and shot him a glance that told him she appreciated his humor. “Spy naturally. You’ve got all the necessary qualities, Dr. Donovan. Something tells me that you missed your true calling. You don’t lose your cool and you think ahead. But most important, you show a solid understanding of the need to grease the wheels of cooperation. All critically important skills of a well-seasoned spook.”
“I think all those skills come from years of dealing with patients who show an uncanny ability to manipulate the system. No spook lessons needed.”
She shrugged. “You still show potential.”
Ryan drove past the row of cars lining the front of the motel and took a left at the end of the building. He braked at the end of the alley and shoved the gears into Park. The car engine rattled a little when he turned off the ignition but finally shuddered to a stop.
As he unbuckled his seat belt, he turned to her. “Any idea where you learned what a spook needs to do in order to function successfully?”
Tess paused and her eyes met his across the length of the front seat. “I-I’m not sure. You don’t think-” Annoyance flashed across her face and she glanced away. “Jeez! Will you stop with the questions already. You’re like some kind of relentless head doctor.”
He pocketed the keys.
Tess laughed bitterly. “Oh that’s right, I forgot. You
He waited her out, allowing the heavy silence to build until she lifted her head and met his gaze. Both regret and sadness were visible in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I know you’re just trying to help.”
He shrugged. “Every little statement-every off-the-cuff remark-is a clue.”
“Not everything. Sometimes a comment is just a comment. People read spy novels and watch the latest block- buster movie about espionage. What red-blooded American wouldn’t know what a spy needs in order to be successful?”
She yanked open the door, grabbed her knapsack and climbed out. Ryan pocketed the keys but stayed in the car, contemplating what Tess had said. Why was she angry? His training told him he was getting closer, and the closer he got to the truth, the more frightened she became. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to regain her memory. Consciously she did. But unconsciously her brain was fighting her, trying to keep her safe from the knowledge.
He knew that what she’d just revealed was something much deeper and more meaningful than the simple fact that she might have read the latest Tom Clancy novel. There was a confidence, a feeling of self-assurance, when she talked about government spooks.
Was it possible she really was some type of government spy? He knew some of Sidney Bloom’s funding came from government grants. Could the government-the CIA or the Secret Service-be involved in some kind of hush-hush research project involving brainwashing techniques?
He reached over the back seat and grabbed his duffel bag. Human experimentation with an unknown, experimental drug wasn’t something that would be sanctioned by the FDA. Experimentation was always possible, just not with human subjects. But people had been known to test that restriction before. Was it possible that Bloom was doing just that?
He sat behind the wheel and studied Tess. She didn’t go straight to their room but, instead, walked down the alleyway to the back of the motel. He knew without asking what she was doing. She was scoping out what would be their getaway route should they need it.
If Tess was involved in some sort of government research project, why wouldn’t she know that? And why all the secrecy surrounding the project? Was it possible that the project wasn’t sanctioned by the government, that it was some kind of renegade group, conducting the research without the government’s knowledge?
“Are you coming?”
Ryan glanced up to see Tess standing by the room door. He nodded and climbed out. The possibility of the research being something other than government sanctioned intrigued him. It might explain the excessive secrecy surrounding the project, the almost deadly take-no-prisoners attitude of General Flynn.
Ryan locked the car and followed Tess inside.
THE ROOM WAS IN WORSE SHAPE than the lobby. Tess pulled the drapes as Ryan bolted the door. The smell of cigarettes and another unidentified musky smell rose up off the cloth, threatening to suffocate her. Tess coughed and turned away to survey the rest of the room.
“I can see why the guy wanted to know how long we wanted the room for. My guess is that he rents them by the hour,” Ryan said as he walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. He bounced up and down a few times and then winked at her. “This thing has seen a lot of action.”
“Don’t remind me,” Tess said, kicking off her shoes and bending down to take off her socks. One look at the condition of the matted carpet and she rethought that decision. Better to sleep with her socks on.
“I’ll go across the street and get us something to eat,” Ryan said, getting up. “You haven’t eaten in over twelve hours-with the exception of those four candy bars and two packages of M &Ms we got at the gas station. I’m betting you’re ready to swoon.”
“I wouldn’t swoon,” she grumbled. “Southern ladies swoon. I’m a Yankee.”
“Really? Where in the north are you from?”
“Well, not that far north, but from the D.C. area.” She carried her shoes over to the bed and then stopped dead. She met his eyes from across the room. “Holy cow! I just remembered where I lived.”
Ryan nodded.
Tess sat on the side of the bed, her mind racing. “I live in a house, not far from…” She hit the top of her thigh with her fist. “Damn, it slipped away again.”
“Take it easy,” Ryan said. “It’s coming back at a faster rate now. That’s a good sign. But don’t force it. Let the memories flow back on their own.” He opened the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Ham-and-cheese sub okay with you?”
Tess nodded absently. “Yeah, sure, that’s fine. I’m going to take a shower.”
When she stepped out of the bathroom, clean and refreshed, she found Ryan already eating, his body hunched over a small cafe-style table in the corner of the room. She was wearing the stiff new jeans and tight T-shirt Ryan had bought earlier from the feed and farm store they had stopped at for gas.
A ham-and-cheese sub was halfway to his mouth when he spotted her. He paused, and one corner of his mouth quirked upward in a familiar devilish grin. “Guess I got the shirt a few sizes too small, huh?”
Tess pulled at the hem. “Gee, ya think?”
