“That’s a noble endeavor,” he said, and a smile flashed across his face, making me feel as if I’d dedicated myself to curing a putrifying disease.

“It’s the least I can do for her.”

“I’m sure she’s appreciative. She believes that your childhood history has made you susceptible to memory suppression.”

“Lily has shared that opinion with me, but I disagree that I’m damaged goods. I’m more like those books on the discount table. Perhaps there’s a smudge on the cover, or someone has dog-eared a page, but otherwise the book is perfectly fine, Mr. Ducharme.”

“Do call me Ian.”

“Ian,” I said, and looked into his eyes. It made me feel more exposed than one of those dreams when you’re caught naked in public, so I acted as if it was normal. “Ian.”

“I’ve talked to Mercedes and Gabriel, too, as well as Pepper, and Gabriel’s given me the forensic investigator’s report from your loft.”

“Who’s Pepper?”

“Ernest Culpepper, a trusted friend,” he said. “Wilcox was involved in an activist movement, but no one took his dabbling seriously, so we doubt that was a motive. We thought it more likely that a jealous ex-lover had killed him, since he was a popular fellow, but Wilcox had a talent for staying on good terms with most.”

“What about me? Did I have any enemies or jealous ex-lovers?”

Ian hesitated and said, “Yes, but they’ve been cleared.”

“It’s so strange to think that anyone would care that passionately about me anyway.”

“You’re alone in that opinion.”

I laughed. “You make me sound like a notorious femme fatale.”

He smiled and gazed at me. “We’ll continue to investigate Wilcox’s disappearance.”

“I wish I could help, but I can’t remember what happened,” I said. “That’s not everything, though, is it? No one will tell me about the time between Wilcox’s death and my arrival here.”

“They thought it would impede your recovery.”

“It suddenly strikes me as quite bizarre that I didn’t want to know before. Tell me what happened.”

“I’ll tell you what you told Mercedes. An acquaintance of yours was dabbling in blood play. She accidentally cut an artery and bled to death. You stumbled upon the scene and witnessed her husband slipping, striking his head, and dying.”

It sounded incredible, but I believed him. “How could something like that have happened? This was unrelated to Wilcox’s death?”

“It’s the world we live in, and things happen around you.”

“As if I’m a catalyst?”

“Yes, you could put it that way. You were discovered at the scene and taken in for questioning by a private security group.” Ian paused and again I saw sadness in his eyes. “You wouldn’t tell Mercedes what happened.”

“They hurt me, didn’t they?”