“Could T be an initial of one of my abductors?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But it’s certainly something to look into.”
“But not Nico Kostas or Milo Sanchez. Neither of the other guys who got the tattoo has those initials either.” Talon raked his fingers through his hair and let out a heavy sigh. “God, Doc, it could be nothing. It could be fucking nothing.”
“You’re right. It could be nothing. But you did remember something. I tried having you look around the room where they kept you, but you kept saying dark, gray, cold. You were focused on Larry bringing you food, so there really wasn’t an opening for me to get to one of the other guys. So I had to go up the stairs, and we got something. We got another clue.”
“Yes, I suppose so. What I was really hoping for, though, was to get more physical characteristics. Something to identify the other two.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself, Talon. You were ten years old, a scared little boy, and all you remember about that place is that it was cold, dark, and gray. It’s a miracle you’ve remembered the things you have. These men were all in black, and it was dark. You may have to face the reality that you may not remember anything else visible. Because it was dark and you were scared, there are a lot of things you probably didn’t notice.”
“Take me back, then. I’ll try harder. I’ll look around more. I’ll—”
“Talon,” I said, “I think you need to face the facts that you’ve remembered everything you’re going to remember.”
“No. There’s got to be something more.”
“Maybe. But probably not. It’s pretty amazing that you’ve been able to recall what you have. Remember that today all you said about the area was that it was cold, dark, gray. I couldn’t get you to go any further until you went up the steps. Up the steps there was light. You could see. You were frightened, and you wanted to get out of there, but still, you noticed a few things on the table. That’s huge.”
“But it’s not enough.”
“It’s a leather briefcase and a cuff link with a T on it. It’s what we have, Talon.”
“I need more. I need to figure out who the hell these guys are. I need to find them.”
“Calm down. You need to focus on your healing. I think it’s time we really focused on that. I think you need to take a break from trying to figure all this out.”
That was easy for me to say, since Jonah had already figured out who one of them was. Once Talon knew that, he would feel better about the whole thing, and maybe he’d decide to give up this quest and focus solely on the life ahead of him.
“You have a beautiful future with Jade. The future is what’s important. Not the past. Don’t take your eyes off the prize.”
“I haven’t, Doc. I haven’t.”
“Have you popped the question to Jade, yet?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Why not?”
He sighed. “You know why. Because we’re knee-deep into this investigation into the rose and the business card. The thing with Felicia. And now what has happened to you, and how it might be all related… It’s just so much to deal with.”
“And again, you’re losing focus on what’s truly important.”
“This is all important, damn it.”
“I’m not saying it’s not. But what is constant, wheth
er you figure the rest of this out or not?”
He closed his eyes. “My family. Jade.”
“That’s right.”
He opened his eyes. “You always have the right answer, Doc.”
“I’m not so sure that’s true,” I said. I hadn’t had the right answer for Gina, apparently. Though now I wasn’t so sure.
“It’s true for me.”