When Questions Abound

  When Questions Abound

  Lorana Hoopes

  Copyright © 2018 by Lorana Hoopes

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Note from the Author

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  It’s not quite the end!

  13. Not ready to say Goodbye yet?

  14. Never Forget the Past Preview

  15. A Free Story For You

  16. The Billionaire’s Impromptu Bet Preview

  The Story Doesn’t End!

  About The Author

  Note from the Author

  Thank you so much for picking up this book. When I wrote Lost Memories, I never intended to write Jordan’s point of view, but I had so many readers ask for it that I knew it had to be done. While you don’t have to read Lost Memories and New Beginnings or Fire Dreams for this book to make sense, reading them will help you get to know the characters better.

  I hope you like this book. If you do, please review When Questions Abound! At your retailer. It really does make a difference because it lets people make an informed decision about books.

  * * *

  Sign up for Lorana Hoopes’s newsletter and get her book, The Billionaire’s Impromptu Bet, as a welcome gift. Get Started Now!

  Chapter 1

  “Help! Is there a doctor in here?”

  Detective Jordan Graves pulled his attention from his girlfriend Cassidy to see who needed assistance. A man stood in the doorway of the restaurant, a frantic look on his face. “There was an accident. A woman’s been injured, but the guy who hit her took off. She looks bad though. Are any of you doctors?”

  “I am.” Dr. Brody Cavanaugh fought his way through the crowd followed by two or three other people Jordan recognized from the hospital.

  “We better go too,” Jordan said to Cassidy. He flashed an apologetic look at Graham, his brother and co-owner of Fire Dreams, before hurrying outside with the rest of the crowd. The sun had set, but the streetlights illuminated the area, and down the street Jordan could see the car – a red sports car – folded in a “C” shape.

  “Get the Jaws of Life,” Bubba, one of the firemen, ordered as he sprinted towards the car. Around him, the rest of the firemen spread out. Some ran toward the firehouse a block away to get the truck and ambulance, and others followed Bubba including Cassidy.

  Jordan glanced around for the man who had entered the restaurant. He stood a few feet away wringing his hands together. “You.” Jordan hurried over to the man. “I’m Detective Graves. Did you see the accident happen?” He pulled out his notepad to write down the details.

  “It happened so fast. I heard the crash and then it sounded like he gunned it. Why would he gun it if he knew he’d hurt someone?” The man was rambling, clearly in shock.

  “Can you tell me what the vehicle looked like that hit her?” The man turned to face Jordan and for a moment his eyes were clear. “It was a truck. A black Ford truck.”

  “Did you see anything else? A license number by chance?” Jordan asked.

  “It just drove off. Why would anyone do that?” Clearly this man wasn’t going to be of any more help. His state of shock was simply too great. At least for now.

  “Can I get your name?” Jordan asked. Perhaps the man would remember more when the shock wore off.

  “It’s Ethan. Ethan Bower.”

  Jordan took down the name and number of the man though he doubted they would contact him again. He appeared to have supplied as much as he could.

  Having finished his interview of the witness, Jordan walked over to the wrecked car. The firemen had succeeded in getting the woman out, and the ambulance had driven off a few minutes ago. That left the car as his domain. His and Al’s, his female partner.

  “Find anything yet?”

  Al was already poking around inside the car. She popped her head out and held up a mangled phone. “Found this, but there’s no purse, no wallet. I haven’t checked the trunk yet, but I can’t find anything to let us know who this woman was. Did you get anything from the witness?”

  “Not much. He said he heard the wreck while he was closing shop. When he looked, the black truck was speeding off. He didn’t get a license plate number.”

  Al sighed and crossed her arms. “We better hope the driver makes it then because all I have right now is a lot of questions.”

  Jordan agreed. “Can you pop the trunk?”

  Al leaned back inside but though he could see her tugging on the lever, nothing was happening. “Is it working?”

  “No, it must have gotten damaged in the accident.” He scanned the area. Bubba and Luca were just putting the Jaws of Life back on the truck. “Bubba, can you guys use that on the trunk? We can’t get it to open.”

  “Wish you’d said something earlier,” Bubba said with a teasing smile. “This thing isn’t exactly light, but Luca could use the extra workout.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Luca retorted.

  Jordan stepped back as the two large men approached. The hum of machinery filled the air again until they were able to cut a hole allowing access to the trunk. Jordan joined Al at the back as Bubba and Luca headed back to the truck. With her flashlight, they examined the trunk, but there was nothing there either.

  “Guess that’s it,” Al said.

  “Yeah, I’ll write down the license plate number and we can run it tomorrow. Perhaps that will give us something to go on.”

  “Sounds good. Sorry the opening of your restaurant was interrupted, but it looks like it will be a great place.”

  Jordan looked back at the restaurant he and Graham had worked so hard to open. It certainly wasn’t the opening night they had planned for, but he hoped this night wouldn’t keep people from coming back. “Thanks, Al. I hope so. Guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Chapter 2

  “Sir, I’d like permission to investigate this hit and run further,” Jordan said as he looked at his notes from the night before.

  “You have reason to believe it was more than an accident?” Jack Stone, head of the unit, asked as he looked at the board of their current cases. It was rather quiet at the moment for which Jordan was glad.

  “Just a feeling sir. The witness said the truck didn’t even bother to slow down which was supported by the lack of brake marks at the scene. Plus, we found no wallet, no purse, nothing in the car besides the woman’s cell phone. It just feels wrong.” Jordan had no concrete evidence that it was anything but an accident, but he had long ago learned to trust his gut. And his gut was telling him there was more to this case.

  Stone turned from the board and fixed Jordan with his classic stony stare. “Two days. If something hasn’t come up that proves this wasn’t an accident, you let it go. Understood?”

  “Crystal. Thank you, sir.” He looked over at Al who was working on something at her desk. “Al, you want to come with me to the hospital? I’d like to see if our victim made it through the night and if she remembers anything.”

  Al nodded and grabbed the mangled phone. “Yep, let’s go. I was looking for traffic cams, but there was nothing pointed at that intersection.”

  Figured. Even with all the traffic cameras in the city, they rare
ly seemed to catch a break from them on any case they worked. “Hopefully, our victim will have some information.”

  A few minutes later, they pulled into the hospital parking lot. After a brief stop at the desk to sign in and declare their weapons, they headed toward the ICU.

  “I was hoping we would find you here,” Jordan said as he spied Dr. Brody Cavanaugh near the main ICU desk studying a clipboard. “Brody, this is my partner, Al Parker. The woman had a phone in the car,” he said holding up the object, “but no wallet. Is she awake yet?”

  Brody glanced up at them. “She is, but she doesn’t remember anything. Not even her name.”

  Al blinked at him. “Is that normal? Will she get it back?”

  Brody shrugged as he replaced one clipboard and picked up another. “I don’t know. She hit her head pretty hard and sustained a concussion, but the CT didn’t show any lasting damage although it did show swelling. My guess is that she will, but I can’t give you a timeline.”

  Memory loss was certainly not what Jordan had been hoping for, but perhaps with the right questions they could jog her memory. “Is she able to talk? Can we ask her some questions?”

  Brody regarded Jordan and flashed a concerned stare. “She is capable of speaking, but don’t push her too hard. Rest is important for her right now, and again, I don’t think she remembers much. Although she does think someone was after her.”

  Jordan’s ears perked up at that. “She does? What did she say?”

  “Not much,” Brody said with a shrug. “Just that she remembered being afraid and thought someone was after her. I was about to refer her to psych for an examination.”

  Jordan’s jaw clenched, and he exchanged a glance with Al. “Hold off on that for a while, will you? She might be right. We found no brake marks on the road and our witness said the truck didn’t even try to stop. My gut says this might not have been an accident, and we are determined to find out who hit her and why. Which room is she in?”

  “Room six.” Brody pointed behind him.

  Jordan motioned to Al, and the two of them headed toward the room Brody indicated. The door was open, and Jordan knocked softly on the jam so as not to startle the woman.

  “Pardon me, ma’am, but I’m Detective Graves and this is Detective Parker. Do you think we could ask you a few questions?”

  The woman lifted her hand a few inches and motioned them inside. “You can try, but I don’t remember anything. The doctor already asked.”

  A small smile pulled at Jordan’s lips. “Well, no offense to Dr. Cavanaugh, but he’s not a detective, so he might not have asked the right questions.” He held out the broken phone. “Do you recognize this?” As the woman looked at it, he assessed her injuries. Her right foot was in a makeshift cast, cuts and bruises covered her right leg and arm, and a bandage wrapped around her head. Though she stared at them with her right eye, the left was purple, blue, and swollen shut. She had definitely taken a beating. It was a miracle she was alive.

  A spark of recognition flared in the woman’s eye before she shut it again. “That’s my phone, isn’t it?”

  “We pulled it from your car, so we believe it was your phone.”

  “I was going to use it,” she said slowly as if coaxing the words from memory, “but it was on the passenger seat and I couldn’t reach it, but I can’t remember why I was going to use it.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s destroyed, and there was no purse or wallet inside the car that we could find. Do you know why you might have been driving without your license?”

  She opened her mouth to reply but then paused. Her eye opened again and looked from him to Al and back again. “Am I in trouble, officers?”

  He stared at her for a second before the realization of her hesitation made sense. Then he chuckled softly. “For driving without a license? No. You should always carry it and you can be fined for not having it, but we’re not here to issue you a ticket. We’re more concerned with the accident. Our witness says the black truck hit you, but we aren’t sure if the accident was on purpose or not. Do you remember anything?”

  “I don’t think it was an accident. I can’t remember why, but I think someone was after me. Did the witness help at all?”

  Al stepped forward, “He wasn’t able to supply us with much unfortunately, so we were hoping this phone might jog some memories.”

  “I wish it did, but I have nothing more.”

  “That’s okay, it will probably come back.” Jordan was about to thank her when his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and turned away slightly when he recognized Stone’s number. “Detective Graves.”

  “Jordan, are you with the hit and run victim?”

  “Yes, sir, we are here now.” Did Stone have information?

  “Ask her about the name Tia Sweetchild.”

  Jordan glanced back at the woman. “Tia Sweetchild?”

  “Yes, the license plate you ran just came back as a rental car. I called the company and they said a Tia Sweetchild rented the car. The funny thing is, her address is in California, so she’s not from here.”

  Interesting. If she wasn’t from Illinois, what was she doing here? “Okay, sir.” Jordan hung up the phone and returned to the side of the woman’s bed. “Does the name Tia Sweetchild ring a bell for you?”

  “Is that me? Am I Tia?” she asked.

  “The car you were driving was rented to a Tia Sweetchild so yes, we believe so. However, the address listed on the rental agreement is in California, so we’re not sure what you would be doing here in Illinois.”

  The woman paused, and he wondered what she was thinking. Did the name sound familiar to her? Was she simply pretending not to know? “I have no idea what I was doing here, but now that we know my name, we should be able to find out some more about me, right?”

  “We’ll certainly do our best,” Al said. “If you remember anything else, please call us.” She handed Tia a white business card.

  “We’ll be in touch as soon as we have more information,” Jordan said. As they exited the room, he turned to Al. “What do you think?”

  “I think she’s beat up pretty badly.”

  “Yeah, but do you think she’s telling the truth?”

  Al’s lips formed a tight line. “I don’t know, but something about this case bothers me. I think we better have a look into Tia Sweetchild.”

  Jordan couldn’t agree more.

  Chapter 3

  Jordan sighed as he shut down his computer for the night. He had been hoping to find out more about Tia Sweetwater, but other than discovering she was an author of clean romance books, he had come up empty handed. Maybe dinner would help.

  He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Cassidy’s number. He hadn’t had a chance to catch up with her since the accident, and he was missing her company.

  “Hey Jordan,” she said when the call went through.

  “Hey Cassidy. You feel like dinner tonight?”

  “I’d love to,” she said sighing softly, “but I’m on shift tonight. Tomorrow though, okay?”

  “Sure thing.” Jordan shouldn’t be upset that Cassidy had work especially since his own job wreaked havoc on their plans a lot of the time as well, but he missed her. The opening of Fire Dreams had kept him busy in the evenings the last few weeks, and now there was this hit and run case. Hopefully, things would slow down again soon.

  With a sigh, he headed out of the office and to his car. There was a restaurant down the street from his house. He could pick up a dinner and ponder the case as he ate.

  The unintelligible hum of conversation assaulted him as Jordan stepped into the dim atmosphere. He scanned the area - a habit he’d had even before becoming a cop - and was surprised to find Brody at the bar. Jordan didn’t drink, but he was curious if Tia had remembered anything more.

  “You want to open a tab?” the bartender asked Brody.

  “No need,” Jordan said, pulling out a five and placing it on the counter. Brody looked up at him in surprise. “It’s on m
e. Grab that and follow me.”

  “Were you following me, detective?” Brody asked as he sat in the booth.

  “No, but I’m glad I ran into you. Did our patient remember anything more today?”

  Brody shook his head. “No, but I didn’t really ask today. I did find out she was an author though, and I brought in one of her books hoping it would help.”

  Jordan’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t shared the information with Brody yet. “How did you find out she was an author?”

  “I had dinner with Nick last night and he recognized her name, so we googled her. Anyway, when I showed her the book, she said she remembered something when she touched it.” He paused, as if trying to remember her words. “A man saying ‘What are you doing here?’ But that was all she could remember. She didn’t even remember being an author. Should I be asking specific questions? Did you find something out?”

  Jordan blew out an agitated breath. “Not much more than that, but it just isn’t sitting well with me. Why would anyone want to harm an author? She’s not a big name like Stephen King or J.K Rowling so I don’t think it was about money, and she writes clean romance, so I doubt she offended someone enough to want to kill her. All I have are questions - the biggest one being what was she doing here in the first place?”

  “I don’t know.” Brody shook his head and took a sip of his beer. “She said a woman visited her today and claimed she was in town for that reason.”

  Jordan’s head snapped forward. “What? She had a visitor?” Why did neither of them tell him about this?