“Any priors?”
“No.”
“All right,” Dimples said. “Let’s see if Sophie recognizes any of them.” He turned my way. “Want to come?”
“I don’t know. It seems like a waste of time… you know… with Sophie’s amnesia and everything, how is she supposed to remember?”
Willow straightened. “I have some tools of the trade to help with that.” She was thinking about the crystal she used for clarity, combined with her training in hypnosis. If Sophie was willing, she was confident she could break through the drug-induced fog and get a clear match.
“Hypnosis huh?” I raised my brows. “That’s your plan?”
Her eyes widened. That was uncanny… or… no, it was just a good guess—that’s all. “Good guess.”
I smiled. “Then I wouldn’t want to miss it.”
She gave me a sideways glance, thinking that she couldn’t wait to show me up, and started toward the exit. Dimples met my gaze and shrugged, speaking softly so Willow couldn’t hear him. “I’ll be so glad when we can get back to normal.” He shrugged his suit coat on, and we followed Willow to the car.
She waited for us at the passenger door, relegating me to the back seat, and a smug look on her face. Dimples slowed, realizing this could be a cause for concern. He’d never had to deal with two women who wanted him so badly. He cut his gaze to me with a saucy smile.
I rolled my eyes before climbing in the back seat, picking up that he was happy we could still communicate, even with a third wheel in the car. He chuckled, mentally laughing at his own joke, and I just shook my head.
On the way to Sophie’s, I sent Ramos another text about the kid with the BMW, telling him that he was young, like a high school student. Instead of texting me back, Ramos called, and I quickly answered. “Hey.”
“Babe, thanks for the tip.”
Just hearing his sexy voice sent shivers down my spine. “Sure, anytime.”
“You at the station?”
“Not right now, but I’m helping Detective Harris with a case. You need me?”
He chuckled. “Babe… I always need you… but if you’re busy, it can wait.”
I laughed. “Okay… sure.”
“I’ll call you later, but you might want to plan on tonight… around nine-thirty at the health-and-nutrition store. Can you come?”
“Uh… yes, that should work.”
“Good. See you tonight. And Shelby… try to stay out of trouble.”
“Ha, ha.” He disconnected on a chuckle, and I put my phone away. As I smiled, I immediately picked up that both Dimples and Willow wondered who I’d been talking to. Willow thought it must be my husband, because of the warm, flirting tone I’d used.
Dimples wasn’t so trusting. His suspicious attitude always ran toward the skeptical side, and he wondered if it was Ramos, and if it had something to do with Manetto.
He thought I needed to put an end to my relationship with both of them before I got in any deeper. It would bring me nothing but heartache and pain… and maybe even death if I wasn’t careful. What he wouldn’t give to put those two away.
I tried not to roll my eyes again, but this was getting old. It was nice to know he cared, but somehow I needed to tell him that it was too late, and it wasn’t ever going to happen. Maybe then he’d quit thinking about it so much.
But what would happen if he ever learned I was Uncle Joey’s successor? Yikes. I knew that was a secret I’d have to keep from him. It might just be the one thing that would send him over the edge and ruin our friendship. He might even refuse to work with me anymore, and that would be terrible.
Still, if Uncle Joey managed to get out of the mob-boss side of the business, Dimples would have nothing to complain about. Besides that, it wouldn’t happen for a long time… years and years from now, just like Bob said, so I shouldn’t worry about it.
Too bad that was easier said than done.
We arrived at the house and knocked at the door. Mrs. Sanchez opened it, surprised to see all three of us there. Willow jumped in, before Dimples could open his mouth, and explained that we were there to show Sophie some photos.
Mrs. Sanchez nodded and ushered us inside. Before we sat down, Sophie joined us, looking like a different person. She wore jeans and a tee, and her hair was washed and clean. Seeing us brought sudden hope to her heart that we’d found Brock’s killer.
I hated to disappoint her, especially since she still had that haunted look in her eyes. It brought out the protective side in me, and I hoped Willow’s stunt wouldn’t set her back.
“We have some photos we’d like you to look at,” Willow began. “These men were at the hotel around the same time you were at the bar.”
Sophie’s brows drew together. She still couldn’t remember a thing. Not the bar, not the room, nothing. What made us think she’d recognize a photo? “So you don’t know who did this?”
“We’re still working on it,” Dimples said. “But we’re getting closer. On a positive note, we got your blood work back from the lab, and it’s confirmed that you were drugged with scopolamine. It causes amnesia. That’s why you can’t remember anything.”
“So it wasn’t the shock?” Mrs. Sanchez asked.
“Not entirely, no. Someone drugged Sophie. That’s why we want her to look at the photos.”
“Please, sit down,” Mrs. Sanchez said.
Dimples moved to a chair, and Willow handed Sophie the folder with the photos. She sat beside Sophie on the couch, leaving me to sit on the other chair facing them. I discreetly sniffed the air, but there was no sign of Armani cologne. Maybe Brock was gone? I doubted it, since his murder wasn’t solved, but what did I know?
This whole ghost thing was weird. Sure, it had helped Sophie come out of it, but it didn’t
