I came out and handed her back the mobile that appeared operational, but wasn’t. I heard a car’s horn from outside and led her to the waiting vehicle.
Once at the hospital complex, Maureen followed me to an out-of-the-way courtyard and I explained what had happened. My version of it anyway.
“My memory has been coming back in bits and pieces,” I explained. “I’ve no idea what Smoke divulged to you, but he and I work in intelligence.”
She nodded, her eyes wide. “I gathered it was something like that, given the way he got the doctor to travel from London to the States with us.”
“Right. Anyway, I’ve received word that I must return to the UK as soon as possible. My orders are that Smoke not know of my departure nor of my whereabouts.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?” I pressed.
“You can trust me.”
Whether I could or not, remained to be seen. I wasn’t foolish enough to think she couldn’t contact Smoke without her mobile. I only hoped to waylay her if that was her intention. “Best you wait here,” I said, before leaving for Dr. Mansfield’s office. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
“I don’t have much time,” I explained as the doctor closed the door behind me.
“What’s happened?”
I told him about the conversation I’d overheard between Smoke and Decker. “The last thing I heard him say was that he was waiting for me to get my memory back. Once that happened, I could return to IMI’s employ and he’d ensure the two of us never saw each other again.”
The doctor brushed his lower lip with his finger and leaned back in his chair. “I was aware your relationship with Mr. Torcher wasn’t the way you remembered it. However, I do believe he cares for you, Siobhan. A great deal, in fact.”
“You would think differently if you’d overheard the same conversation I did.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“You are not permitted to tell anyone the things we say while in session.”
“That is correct.”
“My intention is to fly to Washington, DC, and go straight to the Irish Embassy. I will explain who I am and that I need to return to Ireland as soon as possible.”
Dr. Mansfield opened a desk drawer and pulled out a large envelope. “This may prove useful,” he said, handing it to me.
“What is this?”
“A complete dossier on Siobhan ‘Siren’ Gallagher.”
I opened the envelope, pulled out a few of the pages, and looked through them. “You know everything about my life? I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me.”
“Because you needed to remember on your own, Siobhan. Not reconstruct your memory based on things I told you. Do you understand the difference?”
The fact that I did, did not diminish the rage I was feeling at that moment.
“I do not want Smoke to know any of this. That I was here, where I’m going. Nothing.”
“There is an easy solution to that.”
“What?”
He opened a different desk drawer. “This form removes Mr. Torcher currently from your medical power of attorney. Once you’ve completed it, he has no legal means by which to access your medical records.”
“He could trace my whereabouts that way,” I mumbled.
“That is correct.”
“Please.”
“There’s one more thing,” Dr. Mansfield said when I stood to leave. “I want you to know that I truly do believe Smoke cares about you, Siobhan. I wouldn’t say so otherwise.”
“It doesn’t matter whether he does or not, because I do not care about him.”
“I hope you’ll keep in touch,” he said as he walked me to the door.
“When I can, I will.”
“Best of luck to you, Miss Gallagher.”
Before I left his office, I placed a call to another car service and then dismantled my phone. I tucked part of it under the cushion of the sofa in the waiting room. The other part, I dropped in the trash can near the hospital’s entrance.
I returned to the courtyard where Maureen sat waiting with her suitcase and asked her to remove the small bag I’d given her earlier.
“Follow me,” I said, leading her back out to where the car service I’d called was waiting.
Rather than fly out of the regional airport in Asheville, I asked the driver to take us to the larger one in Charlotte. From there, we’d fly to Dulles in Washington, DC. My plan was to book Maureen and I on a direct flight to London as soon as we landed. However, she’d be the only one of us getting on the plane. Once she did, I would make my own travel arrangements.
17
Smoke
I’d been trying to reach Siren all afternoon as well as Maureen. Finally, I called Dr. Mansfield.
“I saw her earlier,” he told me.
“Did she mention whether she had scans scheduled?”
“She did not.”
“Hey, Smoke,” Zeke hollered at me. “We’ve got a situation.”
“Thanks, Doc,” I said, ending the call. “What’s going on?” I asked my ranch manager.
“One of the perimeter lines has been crossed.”
This is what we’d been waiting for. That breach would trigger drone coverage; however, I wasn’t about to wait around to see if we could identify the bastards stealing and killing my cattle. Zeke, Decker, and I had already formulated a plan of action for when this happened.
“Let’s move out!” I shouted, heading for the part of the barn where the ATVs were stored.
“Fuck,” I swore into my headset’s mic when we came over the crest and could see there was no one anywhere near the breached perimeter.
“We’ll review the footage. If someone was here, we’ll ID them. If not, I’ve got a glitch to fix.”
“Copy that,” I said. “I’m going to keep looking.”
“I’ll go with you,” said Zeke through his own mic.
It was after three in the morning by the time Zeke and I agreed there was nothing more we could do. I’d checked my phone a couple of times, frustrated that I hadn’t heard from Siren or Maureen.
