Page 30 of Solid as Steele
Mackenzie snapped a picture of the heart-shaped pendant with an infinity sign in silver mounted over it.
Mackenzie turned her gaze back to Owen who was pale and looked like the name or the sight of the necklace sent him reeling even more. She leaned closer and whispered, “Do you know her?”
“I think I might.” He worked his jaw muscles. “At least the name sounds familiar and puts a lump in my throat.”
Had he come here to find this girl? Or worse, had he been involved in her murder? Questions Mackenzie would get to the bottom of as soon as possible.
Owen couldn’t think straight. He’d been thrown for a loop by the name.
Cassie Collins.
That necklace… This woman’s relationship to him sat at the fingertips of his brain. If only he could jar the information loose from the lost file where he’d housed it.
“Let’s go over to the firepit and sit down.” Mackenzie took his arm and steered him across the opening to a rock big enough for the two of them to perch on.
She watched him carefully, and unknowingly transmitted her expectation for him to remember too. But he didn’t.
“We’ll figure this out.” She squeezed his arm and let go to sit.
“I hope so.” He sat next to her. “It’s so unsettling. It’s like I’m looking at a black TV screen when I should see my life.”
She shifted to face him. “I can’t even imagine how hard that must be.”
“I’d like to say it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever faced, but I have no way of knowing.”
“If it helps, I’m praying for you.”
“It does help. I have the feeling you have a direct line to God and mine seems more circuitous.” The blood started to return to his head and strength to his legs.
“We all have a direct line to God, but maybe we all don’t take the time to be still and hear Him answer our call.”
“Yeah, that could be it.” Owen had suspected as much. He took a long breath and let it out. “So what happens next?”
“We go help Sierra and Kelsey unload their supplies.” Mackenzie glanced at her watch. “By that time, Ryan should be back, and we can return to the cabin. But before we go, I want to invite Sierra and Kelsey to come take a break and have a light dinner with us.”
“That would be good.”
“If they accept, I’ll have to go to the grocery store for more supplies. But after that, we can search the internet for information on Cassie Collins. I can also call Nick Thorn, the IT expert at Veritas, to run a deep background check.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
She made the call on the SAT phone Ryan left for them in case they needed it, and it was short and to the point, but he could tell that this Nick guy agreed to do the background check on Cassie.
Mackenzie ended her call. “He’ll do it as soon as he can, but might not be until the morning.”
“Thanks for arranging that.” Owen stood and made sure not to show his disappointment in the check taking longer than he’d hoped. “We should help carry supplies.”
He wanted to be of help, but more than that he wanted to do something to stop wondering about this Cassie woman, and ignore the fringes of his memory that were tempting him to remember but keeping the memories out of reach.
He headed for the helicopter where the pilot had taken the supply bins out and set them on the ground.
Kelsey sauntered over to them and swiped a hand over her forehead. “It might not be hot this time of year, but I have my own little heater and need to get that canopy erected or I’ll melt in the sun.”
Owen grabbed the canopy. “I’m glad to carry it over there for you, but I doubt Dahl will let me set it up.”
“Sierra and I can do it.” Kelsey smiled and grabbed a tote. “If you all could also help bring the table to the perimeter and the rest of the bins, that would be incredible. It’ll help us get going much faster.”
“You got it.” Mackenzie picked up the nearest bin and followed.
