The Doe Identity

3 - Cats, Basketball, and the Haunted Woods

"What do you mean you won't take us there?" I struggled to keep my annoyance out of my voice.

Since I had no surgeries scheduled for today, I thought it'd be best to use my day off to visit John's accident site. But I had called five cabs, and all of the cabbies refused to take us there.

"The place is haunted, Lady," the bald man answered. "Only crazy people go there, and I don't deal with crazy people."

I'd been called crazy too many times before, but it still annoyed the hell out of me. As I scowled at the driver, he hit the gas and sped off.

"Do you want to try calling another cab?" John asked.

"No. It'll be a waste of time. We should just walk there." I tightened my grip on my backpack straps and blew out a determined breath. "Go on. Lead the way."

"Are you sure? It's quite far from here."

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I reassured him.

"Alright." As we strode toward the hospital gate, he asked, "So why are we going to a haunted place again?"

"We're going there to try to jog your memory. Patients suffering from amnesia usually find seeing familiar places or things to be helpful. You know, like in all those movies where people go to the place where they lost their memory and get memory flashes or something like that."

The plan sounded stupid, but I couldn't think of anything else. According to Nurse Jackson in the ED, the police had confiscated all of John's belongings, which weren't a lot. Sneaking into a police office was something I had sworn I would never do again. So, this time, I decided to try a different, safer approach.

"But the cab driver just said the place is haunted. Are you sure you want to go there?" John insisted.

"Well, I am talking to a spirit right now, so what's a couple more, right?"

A sheepish smile spread across his face. "Right. Sorry, I'm still getting used to this whole ghosting thing."

I chuckled. "Don't worry. It happens—"

"Alexis?"

My breath hitched when I heard the deep, husky voice calling me from behind. Earvin Cooper, Claire's boyfriend, waved at me from the hospital's entrance, a ready smile on his fresh face.

The thought of getting caught talking to air sent a shiver of anxiety through me.

Calm down, Alexis. He probably didn't see anything. Just act normal. Act. Normal.

I donned a friendly smile and greeted, "Vin, hi!"

As I approached Vin, he moved to meet me halfway. The six-foot-four, muscular man walked with an unusual shuffle; his right leg lagged behind the left a little, his movements careful. Although he was one of the most stylish men in town, today he traded his signature, form-fitting joggers for a pair of baggy sweatpants, most probably because of the wound on his leg.

A whiff of Vin's woody lavender cologne tickled my nose, so I stopped a few feet away from him to stop myself from sneezing.

"How's your leg?" I asked. "Claire told me you got bitten by a cat."

"Yeah, it was stupid." Vin scratched the back of his neck, his thin lips tilting in an embarrassed half-smile. "I found a litter of what I thought were abandoned kittens near my auto shop, and I wanted to bring them to the animal shelter. I didn't realize the mother cat was around, and well, she thought I was kidnapping—catnapping her kittens, so . . . yeah, it was totally my fault."

I chuckled. People in Casa Nova had a soft spot for cats and basketball. Vin was no exception. "Do you want me to take a look at—"

"No, no, it's fine." He put his right foot behind his left and shifted his weight onto his left leg. "I'm quite sure I have a fear of cats now, but my leg's fine. Thanks for asking."