Free More Than Memories by Kristen James

their
numbers, and Molly sparked my curiosity when she asked if I thought her parents
were into something illegal.” He gave Mark the address of Molly’s house in
California.
    “Well, Trent, that’s one possibility, but not all
people on the run did something illegal.”
    He hoped her parents were clean for her sake.
Trent knew Molly had enough to deal with, but Molly’s idea would make sense.
It’s possible they felt they needed to run because Molly was dating a cop who
would eventually find out their secret. He grimaced. Going
to spend the rest of her life with a cop.
    Mark asked, “So we’re going on the assumption they
were on the run?”
    “I think it’s a strong likelihood.” Trent made a
few notes of his own in his notebook. After ending the call, Trent wondered if
he should call Molly or just show up. It was seven thirty. He decided not to
bother her yet, so he mowed the lawn, started laundry, and picked up the house
in case he did let Molly come see it. On his way to the front door, he walked
slowly and scanned his home, trying to do so through Molly’s eyes. Wouldn’t
some of this bring back memories? He headed out a little before nine in khakis
and a thick, brown shirt. He didn’t want to mess with a sweater even if it was
chilly outside.
    Trent caught sight of Molly as he pulled into her
hotel parking lot. She was returning from a walk, he guessed, in jeans and a
raincoat. He caught sight of a red silky shirt underneath. That girl always
looked vibrant with a splash of red, whether on her lips, her nails, or her
clothes. She could pull it off looking both sexy and refined.
    He pulled the truck up slowly so he wouldn’t
startle her and rolled down the window.
    “Hey there pretty lady, need a ride?” He greeted
her with a smile.
    “Well, I usually don’t take rides from strangers,
but you are cute.”
    He didn’t get called cute a lot, but he’d take
that from Molly. She went around to the passenger side and hopped in.
    “Off to the station?” she asked.
    “If you’re ready.”
    She nodded and he turned the truck around. At
their destination, Trent opened the door for her, and she commented, “I’ve
never been in a police station before.” She glanced
sideways at him. “Or have I?”
    He laughed and shook his head. She didn’t need Trent’s affirmation to know she’d probably visited this one many times before.
Inside, they found Mark easily by spotting his curly hair. They pulled up two
chairs at his request. “Molly, does the name Cindy Dean mean anything to you?
Someone you knew or your parents talked about?”
    Immediately she looked
questioningly at Trent . He explained what he’d been thinking that
morning, and how she’d given him the idea. She repeated the name and said, “I’m
not sure if it sounds familiar or not. Who is she?”
    “The house in California belonged to her before it
came to you after your parents passed away. They must have known her, but I
can’t find an address or number for her now.”
    Trent wrote the information down in his notebook.
“We might find something when we look in that file cabinet you told me about.
For now, maybe we’ll get something out of the records we have here.”
    That said, Trent took Molly to his desk and they
opened her file. They each took several interviews and started reading.
    “Wow.” She said several minutes later. “The police
did talk to every neighbor, friend, and person who knew my family or saw us the
last week we were here.”
    “But no one knew much about your parents’ history
before they moved to Ridge City.”
    She enjoyed working together with Trent and
noticed him glance at her once in a while, usually catching her eying him.
Forgetting she was in a police station, she felt the urge to touch him, to
reach over and put her hand on his arm and see how he reacted. She reminded
herself not to rush things.
    After an hour of reading, she knew more about her parents than they had ever told her ,
but wasn’t