Page 65 of Please Remember

I shake my head. "I already answered all of your questions. Multiple times. Over and over again for the last seven years. What else could I possibly know?"

"We're talking to everyone again to see if there are any details that were overlooked in our original questioning," Shields says. "We find that sometimes something doesn't seem important when originally questioned, but as time passes, something that seemed insignificant can become important."

"The person is still at large, and we're starting back at the beginning," Parsons says.

Sighing, I sit down on a rocking chair I found at a thrift store years ago, and the detectives sit on the couch. "I was at the bar that night with Jax. I was helping him set up for the surprise proposal for Allie. He had this big, elaborate plan, and it was all hands on deck to decorate before she showed up."

"Do you remember who was there?"

Tilting my head, I think back to that night. It was one of the worst nights of my life, and I wish I could just forget all about it. Setting upfor a surprise proposal to someone else with the man I'd been in love with for a decade was almost as painful as someone stabbing me in the gut with a rusty knife. Or, so I'd assume. "His brother, Seth. His parents were there, and so were Benji and Drew. There were other friends from high school and college, but I don't really remember their names. I never really knew them that well."

"What about Sage?" Shields asks.

Was Sage there?"No, I don't think so. But she could have been easily overlooked. It's happened recently, actually. Or maybe she was the one who was supposed to meet Allie outside. I don't remember. It's... it's been seven years."

Wait… if Sage doesn’t have an alibi, maybe this is my chance to get rid of her. My plan can work without her around.

"Are you holding any grudges against Allie, Laura?" Parsons asks.

His face always looks like he just smelled a fart, and I shake my head. It's also unnerving he switched from formal to informal. "Why would I hold a grudge against her?"

"Well, her return ended your engagement. Those wedding plans you had are all down the drain now."

"I don't know what you're getting at," I lie, even though I know exactly what he's saying. He's saying he thinks I might want to hurt Allie. Might have been involved in hurting her before.

"There's someone who wanted Allie out of the picture all those years ago. Everyone we talk to tells us about your obsession with Jax. Even before the proposal that never happened. The person who wanted Allie out of the picture hurt her and locked her away in a basement for seven years. That person could have a reason to want to get her out of the way now. For the same reason, perhaps, but they may not want to keep her alive this time."

I blink at them. "For the same reason?"

"For Jax," Shields clarifies.

"You think I... what? Snuck out of the bar when we were decorating to kidnap Allie, bring her somewhere, figure out how to get rid of her car where no one would notice it, and return before anyone realized I was missing?" I ask and laugh. "You know that sounds insane, right?"

"Not as insane as you seem to think it is," she says.

"No, it is insane. I've always liked Allie. We were friends."

Tilting her head, Shields sighs. Her dark hair is pulled away from her face and is held back by some type of clip, cascading the shiny locks down her shoulders. "That's not what the others say. They tell us you hated Allie because Jax was head over heels in love with her. It had to be painful to set up the proposal for her when you were so madly in love with him."

"You're described as jealous and angry whenever Jax showed up with Allie to events. If Allie was with him, you couldn't have him for yourself. Some even said you would do whatever you could to try and be his date whenever possible," Parsons says.

"I did not kidnap Allie. If I did decide to hurt her, why the hell would I keep her alive? You realize that you're trying to say that I'm so obsessed that I'll do whatever it takes to get Allie out of the picture, but if that was truly the case, I should have killed her. There would've been no chance of her returning and ruining my relationship."

"Maybe you couldn't bring yourself to kill someone you know Jax loved. The person he cared about the most. Maybe you wanted to keep Allie around to learn how to be more like her from the woman herself. And then, once you were married, you'd have no use for her anymore. There are quite a few possibilities, actually."

My jaw drops. "You think I wanted to learn how to be Allie by kidnapping her and, what? Studying her? She says she didn't remember anything when she woke up because of whatever knocked her on the head. How could I learn to be someone when that someone doesn't know who they are?"

"I don't think you meant to cause that much damage when you hit her with a rock or whatever was close to hand. It would have likely been a crime of passion, not something planned," he says. "When you realized you'd caused memory issues, you may have wanted to wait and see if she regained her memory to learn from her again."

"I don't think you're a murderer, Laura," Shields says. "I think this was just a big mistake, driven by a moment of insanity."

Shaking my head, I let out a deep breath. "If I did that, if I hit her hard enough to cause that much damage, there should have been a lot of blood. You would know where she was taken from, wouldn't you?"

"We were thinking that same thing," Parsons says. "But then we looked back through everything, and there was a heavy storm that washed through that night. Any evidence of the attack was likely washed

away with the rainwater."

"I think it's time I talk to a lawyer because not only did I not attack Allie, I did not hold her hostage for seven years. This is crazy, and I'd like you to leave now," I say, standing up.

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