Forget to Remember

you mind waiting here five minutes before we go back to the motel, just in case…?”
    He said okay and asked her who this man with the red hair was and why he was trying to kill her.
    “Long story. I don’t mean to stonewall you, but I’m going to have enough trouble explaining it to the police.”
    “You are one brave young lady.”
    As they drove back toward the motel, a police car pulled up behind them, lights flashing. They spent valuable time explaining they were the ones who had issued the 911 call while Carol pictured Michael getting farther and farther away.
    After what seemed like an eternity, they arrived at the motel. Another police car was parked by the front door. Carol thanked her driver for his help, knowing she was walking into a mess.
    ***
    “Are you all right?” Paul gave Carol a hug.
    “I’m a little banged up; my back is sore from hitting a table, but nothing serious. Thanks for coming.”
    Carol had called Paul’s cell phone from her own as soon as she arrived back at the motel and found her purse. She had dropped it when she picked up the chair in the lobby. On the phone they had a quick conversation in which they agreed what to tell the police.
    The policeman who had responded to the motel clerk’s 911 call found out she was the victim and asked her what had happened. When she tried to answer that question, she was glad Paul was coming to help her. She followed his instructions and kept the story simple. She said she’d been attacked by a stranger. She didn’t want to give a long and involved explanation of something the local police couldn’t help her with, especially since her ID said she was Carol Golden, not Cynthia Sakai, the brother of Michael Sakai who was supposed to be dead and would be using an assumed name, anyway.
    The officer seemed to buy her story, but she was still relieved when Paul arrived. He was magnificent. Upon receiving her call, he’d phoned the Chapel Hill police, just in case Michael was headed toward the farm. Not being content with that, he called a private security service and had the owner position a guard on the farm twenty-four hours a day to monitor all traffic coming along the private road. Since there was only one approach to the farm, that would be easy to do. Maybe guarding Mrs. Horton wouldn’t be as hard as she thought.
    Paul told the policeman who he was, which carried some weight, vouched for Carol, and helped place the thought in his head that this was a random attack. The officer took statements from the motel clerk, the man who helped Carol, and the other members of his party. There was no physical evidence; Michael had taken his knife and hadn’t left any blood or pieces of clothing behind, and certainly no fingerprints. Carol remembered he’d been wearing gloves.
    Still, it was some time before the officer left. The patrol cars searching for Michael hadn’t found him. He’d slipped through their fingers. Carol and Paul sat down at one of the breakfast tables. She drank water while he had a cup of coffee. He asked her if she was absolutely sure it was Michael who attacked her.
    Carol nodded. “I caught a whiff of his aftershave when I hit him with the chair. The vile smelling stuff he used always made me sick. That’s the memory that came back to me when I was talking to my friend, Janet, in England.”
    “Is it the same aftershave he had on the first time he attacked you?”
    “Yes. He’s always used it.” Carol was worried about what Michael might do next. “Do you really think he’ll go after Mrs. Horton?”
    “She’s not the heir, but she can identify you as Cynthia. Since Michael’s mind is not that of a completely sane person and we’re not completely sure what his game is, we have to cover all the bases.”
    “I’ve been wondering how Michael knew I was here. Someone must have tipped him off, in time for him to drive all the way down from Virginia, if that’s where he’s living.”
    “Who did you tell?”
    “Nobody. I told Grandma I was staying in Hillsborough, but I didn’t tell her the name of the motel.”
    “Did you tell Audrey?”
    “No. Audrey didn’t know anything. I was with Grandma most of the day. Neither of us said anything to Audrey about where I was staying.”
    “You must have told somebody.”
    Carol thought. “There was one person.”
    “Who?”
    “Rose, your paralegal.”
    Paul looked upset. “It couldn’t have been Rose. She wouldn’t do that sort of thing.”
    “Listen,