River of Secrets (12 page)

One of their first conversations ran through his mind. He’d asked her why she was doing what she was doing and she’d said, “Because of my mother.”

What had she really meant by that? What did Cecelia Graham have to do with anything?

A knock on his door brought his racing mind to a screeching halt. “Who is it?”

“It’s me. Amy.”

Amy. Did he want to talk to her yet? Not really, but he couldn’t just ignore her. Plus, he had a lot of questions that only she could answer. He pulled himself from the bed and to the door. Yanking it open, he found Amy standing in the hall, twisting a tissue between her fingers.

She still looked beautiful to him in spite of her tear-swollen red eyes. And that made him mad. He had to quit noticing how good she looked.

“Would you walk with me and talk?”

“I don’t know that I’m up to talking, but I’ve got a few questions I wouldn’t mind listening to the answers to.”

“That’s fair.” She hiccupped and stuck the tissue into her back pocket. Micah pulled the door shut behind him and fell into step with her as she headed down the hall. They passed through the lobby and exited the double doors at the end. Bright sunlight made him wish he’d brought his sunglasses as he headed for the path that led to the river.

Amy took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry.”

“Just tell me why.” He didn’t look at her, couldn’t. He’d been halfway in love with this woman and now…

“A lot of reasons. Albeit most of them would probably be considered selfish.”

“Does it have anything to do with your mother?”

She dragged in a ragged breath. “Yes.”

It had everything to do with her mother. But what did she say? “It’s…hard to explain. I don’t know if I can find the words.”

“You knew who I was and you never even hinted. I need you to find the words.” His voice was tense, as though he were controlling his anger with great effort.

Oh, God, please give me the words to say.
“I called your parents the minute I figured out who you were. And I haven’t known for long. You look so different and we hadn’t seen each other for years. You looked familiar, but I didn’t really think about it. Micah McKnight was dead. And I didn’t know who you were until that day in the jungle when we were hurrying down the path and your shirt ripped. I saw the birthmark and knew.”

Surprise flickered. “You called my family?”

She nodded. “I didn’t get anything but voice mails for a while because they’re on a month-long cruise. Then I finally got in touch with Cassidy and told her you were here.”

“So they know I’m safe?”

“Well, they know you’re alive. After all that’s happened, I’m not sure I’d say you were exactly
safe.
” Or safe to be around. Her heart still went crazy around him, even though he still didn’t know everything. “But, yes, they know you’re alive and that you’ve had amnesia. They’re trying to get here to see you, but that hurricane off the coast of Florida has them grounded right now. They’re not sure when their cruise ship will be permitted to sail again.”

“That makes me feel somewhat better, but why didn’t you tell me as soon as you realized who I was? You knew the agony I was going through, trying to remember,” he accused.

Amy hung her head for a moment. “Micah, I’m not the same girl you remember from back home. Growing up for us was one big party. We’ve always had the easy life, taken the easy road. Yes, I was lonely as a child sometimes, but having you and Cassidy filled that void. My parents were always busy with their politics—and keeping my antics out of the gossip column. I took for granted that nothing would change, I could just skip through life untouched by tragedy. And I certainly didn’t need God. But now—” she sucked in a deep breath “—life has been…cruel the last few months. My world has been shaken, rocked to the core. And…” Oh, how could she put this? She scrambled for words. “I’m trying to make sense out of a lot of things. Especially God, and what He has in mind for me.”

He gave a sound of frustration. “What does that have to do with your not telling me who I am?”

She huffed in exasperation. “Nothing. Everything.” She threw her hands into the air. “I’m trying to find the words to explain, so you’ll understand why I didn’t just blurt out that I knew you. Micah, I didn’t know if I would do more harm telling you or not. At first, I hesitated for medical reasons because I didn’t know what kind of effect telling you would have. A lot of doctors feel like an amnesiac needs to remember at his or her own pace.”

Amy stalled. How could she tell him it was her mother that set him up on that mission? Would he think she had anything to do with it?

Another thought struck her. She’d wanted him to get to know her as she was now. Not remember her as she’d been growing up. She reeled with the realization. Where had that come from?

“You said, ‘at first.’ That means you changed your mind.”

Blinking, she focused on what he was saying and responded, “Oh. Lucas overheard a conversation between Anna and me. He told me it would be all right to tell you. So, I said I would. I originally planned to tell you that day of the picnic, but then the dunking booth exploded and you were hurt. Lucas told me not to say anything until you felt better. Later, I went into town and you ended up rescuing me. Then today…”

“It was too late.”

“Yeah.” She sighed.

“Hey, Juan, Amy.”

They turned at the call. Relief at the interruption flowed through her. She could hear Micah’s molars grinding, but he put a smile on his face and said, “Hello, Chief.”

David Ruibero glanced between the two and asked, “Am I interrupting something? You looked as if you were having a pretty serious discussion.”

Micah said, “We were, but nothing that can’t wait. I’ve regained my memory and the name’s Micah. What can we do for you?”

The man stuck his hands into the back pockets of his pants and looked Micah in the eye. “You remember, that’s great. Maybe now you can tell me why someone is trying to kill you.”

Micah blinked. “What do you mean?”

“As you suspected, the steering wheel and the gas pedal were jammed. That jeep running you off the dock was no accident. We took fingerprints, but don’t know how long it’ll take to get anything back. And I don’t know that it’ll do any good anyway. Probably every staff member at the orphanage has driven that jeep, plus all the kids that have ridden in it at some point. Darts don’t come with poison. And homemade but deadly bombs don’t just magically appear under dunking booths. Someone is going to a lot of trouble to get rid of you. I’m trying to find out, but not having a whole lot of luck.”

Nodding, Micah said, “Well, I appreciate the effort. And to answer your question, I don’t have a clue who wants me dead. That’s one of the things Amy and I’ve been trying to figure out.”

“What’s
he
doing back?”

The surly question caught their attention, and Amy turned to see Jonathas standing in the middle of the path ahead glaring at David. Trying to have a private conversation around here was impossible.

“You want me to lock you up, kid?” Steel underscored the soft-spoken words.

Laughing, Jonathas didn’t look the least bit concerned. Amy frowned at the teen’s obvious disrespect. “Jonathas, that’s enough. David is here to help.”

“His kind don’t help. They just throw you out on the street and make you beg. Or take money from the rich people who don’t want to go to jail, but deserve to.”

It was Micah’s turn to frown. He glanced at Amy, then David, then back at Jonathas. “I’m not sure what kind of experience you’ve had with law enforcement, but David here has done nothing but try to help. You might want to be a little more respectful.”

The teen’s glare bounced from one adult to another. He snorted. “You’re all alike.” He stomped off before anyone could offer a rebuttal.

Amy sighed and said, “Obviously he’s got some issues with the law.”

“
Sim,
I’m going to look him up when I get back to the office,” David muttered.

“Jonathas is a good kid. He just needs some guidance. And a positive male influence,” Amy insisted. Micah grunted, but didn’t argue.

“Okay, so where does all this leave us?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” David asked.

“I mean, what’s next? Someone tries to smother Micah with a pillow, attempts to shoot him full of holes with poison darts, tries to run him over or hope he drowns attempting to get away from the runaway jeep, blows up the dunking booth and now knocks over those boards. All of those incidents could have had serious consequences. It’s just by the grace of God that he’s even standing here.”

Micah thought about that last statement. She was right. He should be dead several times over by now. Was it really God’s grace or just dumb luck? He realized he wanted to believe it was God. Since Amy had arrived, their talks had made God more real to him than He’d ever been before. As a child, Micah had never had much use for God. As a teen, he’d gone to church with a buddy from high school and learned about Jesus dying on the cross for his sins.

During a summer church camp, the band had been the biggest spiritual influence. The lead singer really seemed to get into the whole worship thing, and the speaker had been real, not some put-on job who thought he was above the kids he was preaching to.

Like it was yesterday, Micah remembered when the session was over, the speaker had joined the kids in the dining hall and just hung out. The band, too. It had been one of the coolest experiences in his life. God had seemed so real to him that week, so Micah had gone forward for the invitation and accepted Christ. Then that summer ended and his life had not exactly gone back to
normal,
but he’d definitely put God on the back burner.

When he’d joined the Navy, his spiritual attitude had been to say a quick prayer when he was in trouble and remember to thank God every once in a while when he was safe. Now he realized God was very real. It also hit him that he didn’t consider it dumb luck he was still alive. God had spared him from death, was allowing him to get his life right. He swallowed hard, realizing he needed to have a serious talk with God. But right now, he had to focus on what the chief was saying.

“We’re still investigating. Anna said that those who set up the dunking booth did so almost first thing in the morning, so almost anyone would have had time to slip those little bombs underneath with no trouble. Meaning, even if we knew exactly who set the booth up, it doesn’t mean one of them is our would-be killer.”

Micah sighed. “Of course.”

“I’ll get back to you when I have something. Otherwise, keep your eyes and ears open. No telling what our perpetrator has planned next.”

“Will do.”

“Ah, Chief,” Amy said, “did you find anything out about Roberto?”

The man smirked. “Nothing. I really don’t think he was the man you saw in the alley.”

Amy disagreed, but kept her mouth shut. She’d done the right thing and told what she’d experienced. As expected, no one believed her. Which suited her purpose right now. She wasn’t ready for anyone to raid that camp. Not until she met with her grandmother to see if she had any other relatives here in Brazil.

The chief left. Micah turned his attention back to Amy. Maybe now they could finish their conversation, but Amy’s focus was elsewhere.

Salvador came down the path swinging a stick, knocking on the trees. Micah noticed the young man’s sullen expression. “Hey, Sal, what’s wrong?”

Amy sidled away. “I’ll catch up with you later. Why don’t you figure out what’s going on with Salvador? I promised to help on the wing a little more.”

“We’re not done, you know.”

She dropped her gaze. “I know, Micah. Just give me some time and I’ll tell you anything you want to know, okay?”

He let her go. Right now, he’d see what was wrong with Salvador. Later he’d find out what Amy was hiding. Intending to offer his assistance, Micah walked over to Salvador.

The boy glanced up. “What do you care?”

“I care. You want to talk about it?”

Salvador cut his eyes at Micah as though considering the question. “My whole family is gone except Carlita.”

Yeah, that would depress just about anyone. Instead of voicing that thought, Micah said, “What do you want to do, Salvador? You’re twenty years old with a little sister to take care of. Have you talked to the counselor here?”

The young man snorted. “He’s an idiot.”

Remembering his own transition from teen to early twenties, Micah could relate to Salvador’s thinking that almost all adults were ignorant. Except for those he’d met that summer he’d accepted Christ. But that wasn’t going to help Sal now. Or could it? Could he, Micah, talk about a God he still had a lot of questions for? “Have you asked God to help you?”

“Every day. I ask Him what I should do. How can I help Carlita? How can I find Natalia? But I don’t get an answer. He is a very quiet God right now. But I am very angry with Him also.”

“I guess I can understand that.” Micah decided he had his own issues to take up with God in the near future. “What about Carlita? Does she talk to you at all?”

Bony shoulders slumped. “No. Nothing. I will take her to America one day. Then she will be fine.”

“What did you see that day? The day the men came and took your older sister away and killed your parents?”

Shudders racked Salvador’s thin body as he fought the memories and looked up at Micah with a glare. Through gritted teeth, he swore, “Nothing. I saw nothing.”

Micah hesitated to push the issue. He was no counselor, but even he could see that Salvador’s bottling everything up inside wasn’t good. “You need to talk about it, Sal.”

“I can’t,” he whispered, agony etched on his young features.

“Think about it,
sim?
”

“Sim.”
Abruptly, Salvador asked, “You like the woman, don’t you?”

“Huh?” Micah blinked, trying to line his thoughts up with Salvador’s question.

“Miss Amy. You have feelings for her, don’t you? I can tell by the way you look at her.”

“Uh, yes, I mean, she seems like a good woman. She cares a lot for you and Carlita.”