Silent Run

up."
    â€œI was in a car accident. But you know me, right? You know who I am. What’s my name -- my whole name?"
    â€œSamantha Blake. Why are you acting so weird?"
    â€œI have amnesia. I have no memory of who I am or where I live, and most important, I don’t know where my daughter is. If you know me, you must know Caitlyn."
    â€œKatie?” the woman asked, her glance flickering back and forth between Jake and Sarah. “Wow, this is so crazy. You’re saying you don’t remember me or anything?"
    Sarah shook her head. “No, I don’t. I’m sorry. Can you tell me your name and how I know you?"
    â€œI’m Amanda Cooper. I’ve lived next door to you for the past four months. That’s your apartment, three-oh-four.” Amanda paused. “How did you get here if you didn’t know where you lived?"
    â€œThe car I was driving was registered to a woman named Margaret Bradley, and this was her last address,” Sarah answered.
    â€œRight.” Amanda shot Jake a suspicious look. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before."
    â€œJake Sanders. I lived with Sarah for two years before she ran out on me with my daughter seven months ago."
    Shock flashed in Amanda’s eyes. She reached behind her for the door handle, as if she wanted to be ready to slam the door in their faces. “I’m going to call the police."
    â€œWait, why?” Sarah asked.
    Amanda hesitated. “You should come inside, Samantha. And you should wait out here, Mr. Sanders."
    â€œShe’s not going anywhere without me.” Jake took hold of Sarah’s arm, as if he couldn’t trust her not to leave him behind.
    Sarah didn’t attempt to pull away. “Did I tell you about Jake?” she asked Amanda.
    â€œYou told me that there was a guy you were afraid of, someone who might hurt you or Katie."
    â€œThat wasn’t me,” Jake said firmly. “Sarah was never afraid of me. I did nothing but take care of her, protect her and my daughter. She was running from someone else."
    Amanda frowned. “Why do you keep calling her Sarah when her name is Samantha?"
    â€œWhen I knew her, she went by the name Sarah Tucker,” Jake replied.
    Amanda hesitated and then turned to Sarah. “I wish I knew what you would want me to do if you could remember your life."
    â€œJake is okay,” Sarah said. “I feel I can trust him.” She’d intended to say the words only in order to stop Amanda from calling the police, because instinctively she believed that calling the police was a bad idea and would only complicate matters. But as she spoke she found herself actually believing she could trust Jake. He wasn’t going to hurt her. He wasn’t the bad guy. Somewhere in her head, and probably more in her heart, she knew that. “I trust him,” she repeated more firmly.
    Jake’s gaze met hers, and she saw something in his eyes that she couldn’t define. She didn’t know if he was pleased by her declaration or wondering whether or not she was trying to play him again. Not that it mattered. She was in the building where she’d lived. There had to be clues to her past here.
    â€œI want to go to my apartment,” she said. “But I don’t have a key."
    â€œI have one,” Amanda replied. “Are you sure you don’t want me to call the police? You were really scared the other night when that guy tried to get in the elevator with you. You told me that someone wanted to kill you, that you were in terrible danger."
    Sarah’s nerves tightened. Her memory of the elevator had been true and very recent. Maybe she was on her way to remembering everything. “Did I say who was after me?"
    â€œA man from your past. And here you are with a man from your past."
    â€œIt wasn’t Jake,” Sarah said quickly.
    â€œWas Sarah actually physically attacked?” Jake asked.
    Amanda looked from Sarah to Jake, then back at Sarah again, obviously not sure how much to reveal. Finally she said, “No. Mr. Harrington, a tenant on the first floor, ran the guy off."
    â€œDid I call the police?” Sarah asked.
    â€œYou refused. I couldn’t change your mind."
    â€œWhere was Caitlyn? Was she with me?"
    â€œNo, I was watching her while you ran to the store,” Amanda said. “She was fine."
    Sarah let out a breath of relief. “What happened after that? Did the guy come back?"
    â€œNot