Forget to Remember (3 page)

They were all gone. A few homeless men sat
here and there, on benches or on the sidewalk, but the tent city
had disappeared. All those people couldn’t have found homes. The
police must have cleaned up the area. Where were they now? Where
would Carol end up if she joined their ranks?

Fortunately, parking was less expensive here
than it was a few blocks west amid the office buildings and
high-class hotels. Rigo picked a lot with an attendant who looked
reputable and pulled his car into it. He paid in advance and walked
back along San Pedro Street.

The Downtown Mission was a well-kept,
modern-looking building. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he went
inside, but if Carol could do it, he could. What he did see
startled him—a mother with a young boy and girl. He hadn’t expected
to find children here. Feeling sick, he turned away and spoke to a
nicely dressed woman.

“I’m looking for Carol Golden. She may have
just arrived.”

“What does she look like?”

“She’s young, pretty, with dark hair. It’s
short. She has recent scars on her head and face.”

“Oh.” Her look softened. “Let me check the
new arrivals. What’s your name?”

“Rigo. I’m a friend of hers.”

“Where did you park, Rigo?”

“In a lot down the street.”

“Next time you come, park in our lot
underneath the building.”

She went off to find Carol. Underground
parking. Rigo was shocked at how large an operation this was.
Homelessness was big business. In a short time, Carol came around a
corner, wearing jeans and a top that were too big for her. She
looked at him with surprise on her face.

Rigo felt nervous. This place didn’t feel
real to him. “Hi. I went to the hospital but you were already
gone.”

“They checked me out early and had somebody
drive me here. You came all the way here to see me?”

“It wasn’t that far. Is there somewhere we
can talk?”

They went into a waiting room and sat on
hard chairs. Rigo was trying to figure out what to say. “What will
happen to you here?”

“In the short run, they’ll give me food and
a place to stay. And counseling, although I’m not sure what good
that will do. They’ll also look after my immortal soul, although at
the moment, my body needs more help than my soul. In the long run…I
don’t know what will happen to me.”

That was the opening Rigo needed. “I was
talking about you to my parents last night. They want to help you.”
He had actually talked to his mother briefly this morning.

“That’s very nice of them.”

“They want you to come and live with us
until you get your feet on the ground.” It was easier for him to
talk as if it were their idea.

“Rigo…I don’t know what to say. That’s a
very generous offer. You don’t have to…I’ll be fine.”

He doubted she’d be fine. He forced himself
to grin. “Maybe I do have to. They say that after you…help
somebody, you’re responsible for them.”

“You saved my life. I don’t want you to feel
you’re responsible for me. That’s not fair. You’re very sweet. I
don’t want to impose on you—and your parents.”

He did feel responsible for her. He couldn’t
bear the thought she might just disappear. “I want to make sure
you’re safe. I don’t like the thought of you here—or worse. This
isn’t a good place for a young woman.”

“This isn’t a good place for anybody,
especially children. And yet they’re here.” She appeared to be
thinking. “You must have wonderful parents.”

“You can come with me now.”

“They’ll give me clothes here. At the
hospital I was given a toothbrush and the clothes I’m wearing,
which don’t fit. I don’t even have my own pair of knickers.”

Rigo wondered what knickers were. “Don’t
worry about it. We’ll help you get clothes. I know somebody who can
help find out who you are. She’s good at finding people. She’s a
friend of the family.”

Carol perked up. “I trust you, Rigo. I trust
you more than anybody I know—which isn’t saying much right now. If
you’re serious, I’m ready to go.”

“Good.” He got to his feet. “Shouldn’t you
tell someone you’re leaving?”

“I will. They’ll be glad I have a place
where I can go. One less mouth to feed.” She laughed. Then she
became sober. “When I get on my feet, I’m going to come back here
and help them. They need all the help they can get—just like I do
right now.”

***

Carol showed a lively interest in her
surroundings during the drive south on the Harbor Freeway, west on
Pacific Coast Highway, and then up the hill into Palos Verdes on
Crenshaw Boulevard and several other streets. When they turned onto
Hawthorne Boulevard, she recognized the name from the newspaper
stories about her.

“Are we close to the restaurant where you
found me?”

“It’s at the end of Hawthorne, all the way
up to the top of the hill where we’re going now, and then all the
way down the other side, at the coast.”

“I’ll buy you dinner at the restaurant—when
I get some money.”

“It’s a bit pricy. I can’t afford to eat
there on my salary. Fortunately, I get fed as part of my job. They
have good seafood.”

“Los Angeles doesn’t look familiar to me at
all. I don’t think I’ve been here before, at least when I was
conscious. I can’t remember ever being in California.”

“Do you remember where you have been?”

“Perhaps the East Coast. I think I might
recognize places if I saw them in person.”

“We’re in the electronic age now. We’ve got
fancy tools, like the Internet and Google and Google Earth. It’s
not quite the same as being there in person, but you might
recognize something you see a picture of or read about. We should
be able to track you down.”

CHAPTER 4

“This was my sister’s room. She’s married
and living in Phoenix. You can sleep here.”

“Look at the view.” Carol rushed to the
window of the second-story room. “I can see the whole world.”

“Los Angeles, the mountains, Santa Monica
Bay, Malibu, which is around the curve on the east-west section of
the coast. Actually, you can see west to Point Dume, where the
coast starts to curve north again, and east past Mt. San Gorgonio,
the highest peak in Southern California. The closer peak to the
right is in Orange County. In the right-hand corner you can see a
bit of the Los Angeles harbor. The total distance east to west is
over one hundred twenty-five miles.

“If you let me use this room, I’ll never
want to leave.”

Rigo laughed. “Fortunately, it’s a very
clear day. They’re not all like this.” With the aid of a pair of
binoculars, he pointed out Santa Monica, Malibu, the Hollywood
sign, the Los Angeles Airport, and the Los Angeles version of
downtown, with the tall buildings they’d just been among.

Carol looked through the binoculars for
several minutes. “The map was right. Los Angeles is a big place.”
She put them down. “Do you have any other siblings?”

“Another sister, but she’s also married.”
Rigo led the way into his room, where he kept his computer, and
fired it up. On Google’s page he typed in “missing persons” and
retrieved information on 2.5 million Web sites in a fraction of a
second. “You aren’t the only missing person in the world.”

“I guess that should make me feel
better.”

They studied the pictures on the FBI
database first. Carol kept looking in the mirror above Rigo’s
dresser. “I wonder how long I’ve had short hair. I picture myself
with longer hair. It would help if we had a photo of me to compare
with these pictures.”

“No problem.”

Rigo took out his digital camera and
proceeded to snap several head shots of Carol. He posed her so the
shaved spots on her head didn’t show. He enjoyed photographing her
because she was very photogenic, in spite of her bruises and
lacerations, and she had an entrancing smile. It also gave him a
better feel for how she would look when the injuries healed, which
would help in identifying a photo of her. He loaded the pictures
directly from the camera into the computer and printed copies.

In addition to the FBI, each state appeared
to have a department for missing persons. A number of other
organizations had sites with many pictures. Rigo and Carol studied
them diligently. Only a few photos came close to looking like
Carol, regardless of hair length, but closer study ruled them
out.

They checked several states, including
California and those close by. Carol suggested they check other
states, including those on the East Coast.

“Okay, but let’s be smart about it. Judging
from your accent, or lack thereof, I doubt that you’re from the
Deep South. That would rule out Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama,
Louisiana, and probably Texas. I suspect Arkansas, Kentucky, and
Tennessee aren’t good bets either.”

“What about the northeast? I feel a kinship
to Massachusetts, for some reason. Maybe because I like the
name—Massachusetts. It has a delicious sound to it.”

They looked at Web sites for New York and
the New England states. They stopped to eat a lunch thrown together
by Rigo from what food he could find in the kitchen, but they
didn’t spend a lot of time.

Back at the computer, they kept looking
until Rigo glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to go to work. I have to
get to the restaurant before it opens at five, to help set up.” He
saw a stricken look on Carol’s face. “It’s okay. My parents should
be home by six. My mom will feed you dinner.”

“Look, I really appreciate what you’re doing
for me, but do they really know about me or were you just making
that up?”

“No, no.” He stopped, realizing how badly
she must have wanted to get away from the shelter, in spite of her
hesitation. “Everything’s cool. I talked to them. They’re good
people. You can stay on the computer until they get here.” He hoped
his mother would talk to his father before they got home, so Carol
wouldn’t come as a complete shock to him.

Carol sighed. “I don’t think anybody’s
looking for me.”

Rigo wanted to give her a hug, but he didn’t
dare. “I care about you, and my parents will, too.”

“Thank you. I don’t think I want them to
first set eyes on me while I’m using your computer in their house.
It will look as if I’ve moved in for good. This is too
discouraging, anyway.”

“All right, you can read a book in the
living room. They have a big library.”

Rigo didn’t want to leave. He still had the
feeling, however irrational, if she were left alone, she might
evaporate like the morning dew. She must have sensed this, because
after he showed her the books in the living room, she gave him a
smile and told him to go. She would be fine.

He drove to the restaurant with mixed
feelings he couldn’t put into words.

***

“Have some more food. Chicken, beans?” Tina
Ramirez waved her hand at several platters sitting on the antique
dining room table with high-backed chairs. A matching sideboard
dominated one wall.

“No thanks. It’s all delicious, but I’m
absolutely stuffed.” Carol placed her hands on her belly to
indicate how full she was. She had been very careful of her table
manners, not wanting to spill something in such an elegant
setting.

“But you’re so thin. You need to gain
weight.”

“If you don’t eat, you’ll waste away to a
spot of grease.”

Ernie Ramirez had a wide grin, much like
that of his son. He was tall and thin, but not as tall as Rigo.
Tina was elegant; there was no other word to describe her. Of the
three, only Ernie had a Spanish accent.

Carol wanted to express her gratitude. “I’m
so appreciative you two are allowing me to stay in your beautiful
home. I don’t know what would have happened to me, otherwise.”

Ernie’s eyes twinkled. “You can thank Rigo.
It was his idea. He has an eye for—”

“We’re glad to do it.” Tina frowned at
Ernie. “Rigo is a sensitive young man.”

“I know. I was fortunate he was the person
who found me—in more ways than one. Of course, this is temporary.
I’m hoping to discover my identity soon.”

“Don’t worry about having a place to stay.”
Ernie gave an expansive gesture. “You can stay as long as you like.
Tina was upset when our last daughter got married and left. You can
replace her.”

“It’s true. I don’t like to see them leave
the nest. Only Rigo is left now. He went away and then came back
after he got his master’s degree. I’m sure he’ll be leaving when he
gets a real job.”

“
If
he gets a real job.” Ernie
frowned. “What can he do with a master’s degree in psychology or
whatever they call the program? He can’t be a therapist unless he
puts in several thousand hours of internship. He did a few hundred
when he was in school, but he hasn’t done any since.”

“He’ll do something. We invited him to join
the business, but he says he doesn’t want charity. He should have
gotten an MBA.”

Carol suspected this discussion was ongoing.
Ernie and Tina were much more informal than their dining room had
led her to believe. She started to relax. “I don’t want to
freeload. I’d like to help around the house.”

“Do you know how to make tamales?” Ernie
smacked his lips.

“I think I can cook, but I don’t know about
Mexican food. I can learn, however. Maybe I can make dinner, so it
will be ready when you get home.”

“We eat lots of things besides Mexican.
Ernie’s a joker.” Tina looked at Carol’s ill-fitting top. “We have
to get you some clothes. Tomorrow’s Saturday. You and I are going
shopping.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“It’s okay. We’ll use Ernie’s credit
card.”

“Mine? You’re the one who’s rich.”

Carol tried to say again they didn’t have to
buy her clothes, but then they quit kidding and told her they were
glad to do it.

“I’ll pay you back.” Tears came to her eyes.
“I…I wonder if my parents are as nice as you two. I hope they are.
If it weren’t for you and Rigo, I’d be sleeping at the mission and
wondering what I was going to do next.”