Free Dying for Love by Rita Herron Page A

watched it disappear into the fog ahead, her heart pounding. The truck had nearly run her over.
    She started trembling from the inside out. Had he done it intentionally?
    Or was she being paranoid again?
    Shaken, she turned and rushed up to the doctor’s office. She glanced over her shoulder before she entered, searching to see if the truck had come back. But the street was quiet, almost deserted.
    Inside, she greeted the receptionist, then knocked on Dr. Clover’s door.
    Dr. Clover arched a brow when she entered. “I didn’t realize we had an appointment.”
    “We didn’t. But I need to talk.” She was desperate. And paranoid someone had just tried to kill her.
    The ticking of the clock echoed in the silence, making her even more edgy.
    Dr. Clover motioned for her to sit. “What’s wrong, Amelia?”
    Amelia sank onto the couch she’d grown to hate and love at the same time. The heater whirred, the blinds rattling.
    “Outside a truck nearly ran me over.”
    Alarm sharpened Dr. Clover’s features. “What?”
    “When I parked and got out, a truck barreled by and nearly hit me.”
    “My God, some drivers are so careless.”
    “I’m not sure it was an accident,” Amelia admitted as she shrugged off her wet coat.
    “You think someone intentionally tried to hurt you?”
    “I don’t know,” Amelia said, starting to doubt herself. The roads were icy. The driver could have hit a slick patch. “But I have felt like someone is following me lately.”
    “Are you taking your meds?”
    Amelia startled, debating whether to tell the truth. She wasn’t in the mood for a lecture. Finally, she sighed and shook her head. The doctor had insisted on honesty, saying it was the only way she could help Amelia. “I stopped the antidepressants. I couldn’t paint while I was on them.”
    Dr. Clover made a low sound in her throat. “Is that why you came to see me? Because you think someone is following you?”
    “Yes.” She took a deep breath. “No. In short, my ob-gyn confirmed I gave birth. Then I talked to Ms. Lettie, the nurse who took care of me at the sanitarium, and she admitted I had a son.”
    Dr. Clover normally showed no reaction, but her eyes widened. “That must have been a shock.”
    “Yes, it was.” Amelia fidgeted, wiping at a drop of mud on her coat. “There’s more. Ms. Lettie said my baby was buried next to the Commander’s daughter, but since he lied about that, I thought he might have lied about my baby, too.”
    Worry darkened Dr. Clover’s eyes. “You had the grave exhumed?”
    Amelia nodded, the image of the bear haunting her. “Yes, I went to Special Agent John Strong with the TBI, and he arranged it. But the grave was empty.”
    “Empty?”
    “Yes. That is . . . except for a teddy bear like the one I had as a child.” She picked at another piece of dirt caught in the fibers of her coat. “I mean, that Bessie had.”
    Dr. Clover crossed one leg over the other. “Why did you go to John Strong?”
    Amelia bit back the truth about seeing John in her dreams. She didn’t want to confess she was having strange dreams that she thought might be prophetic. The doctor might decide she was delusional again and force her back on the medication. Or worse, send her back to the sanitarium.
    “I didn’t want to worry my family right now. Besides, I saw him on the news. He’s apparently one of the best when it comes to solving missing persons cases, especially involving children.”
    A heartbeat passed, and for some reason, Amelia sensed the doctor’s disapproval.
    “Agent Strong sent the stuffed animal and coffin to the lab to process it for evidence.” Amelia shifted. “I have to know what happened to my child. If the Commander sent him somewhere to be in another one of his crazy experiments.”
    Dr. Clover studied Amelia for a long moment. “I’m not sure what to say, Amelia. The uncertainty has to be terrifying for you.”
    Amelia rubbed her arms to warm herself. The thought of her son