Page 113 of A Forgotten Mistake

“What happened to me? I’m not the one who got thrown off a balcony because I still couldn’t listen to the advice of others,” I say.

“It’s been what? Decades since I’ve seen you?”

“Well, this isn’t helpful,” I mutter. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I was told I was pushed off a balcony? But I don’t even remember being near a balcony. Man, I didn’t think I’d see you again. Who is this?”

“My boyfriend, Gabriel.”

“He’s cute,” she mumbles before drifting off.

Well, this is irritating.

“We don’t know that her memory won’t come back,” Gabriel says, sounding hopeful. “Let’s see if someone can talk to us about it.”

We have to wait an irritatingly long time before a doctor comes to see us, only to tell us that it’s not uncommon for Abby to be confused. She’ll likely regain some memory, but it’s not a guarantee. Which means that he tells me absolutely nothing of use.

We go back to Abby’s room, and since she’s asleep, I join Gabriel in our hunt for videos taken of the band at the club where Steven met up with someone. They’re surprisinglypopular, but watching recording after recording of them is getting me nowhere.

When Abby wakes up again, I aim a photograph of Cameron toward her. “Do you know this guy?”

“Liam? When’d you get here?” she asks, putting a hand to her head and wincing in pain.

“Like an hour ago. I’m going to figure out who did this to you if you’ll work with me. Do you know who this guy is?”

She stares at it for so long that I’m not sure if she’s really getting a good look at it or if she just fell asleep with her eyes open.

“Maybe I have a better picture or something of him on my work phone,” Gabriel says. “He looks a bit different with the facial hair.” He flashes her a different picture that she glances at.

“I don’t know who that is. I’m sorry, Liam.”

Fuck.

Gabriel gives her a warm smile. “Okay. Why don’t you get some rest? We’ll be back later to see how you’re doing, alright? And we’ll send a nurse in before we go to make sure you get your pain under control.”

Abby’s already back to sleep by the time the nurse comes. She assures us she’ll take good care of her and sends us on our way.

When I reach the car, I turn to Gabriel. “Cameron’s clearly connected to the case. Just because Abby doesn’t recognize him doesn’t mean he’s not.”

“But we have to find something to prove that.”

“I’mpositivesomething has been recorded. I’m confident that’s why there were three marks where a tripod would fit. Whoever is involved in this is recording what’s happening. And we also have the tattoo theory we can look into. The issue is that no one currentlyhasthe tattoo. Jane Doe, Liz, and the man who died today don’t have any tattoos. And looking through Mitch’sbelongings as well as Cameron’s, we’ve never once come across the symbol.”

Gabriel sighs. “No, we haven’t. And I don’t even knowifit has anything to do with anything. But we do know it connects Abby and Christa. Christa’s death and this incident with Abby aretwentyyears apart. It’s going to be hard for others to understand the connection between the two, even if you feel like there is one. They’re going to require proof.”

“I’m aware,” I say. “But if there’s any connection between any of that, I’d like to look into it deeper. We know that Anthony was friends with the tattoo artist. So let’s start there.”

“You know his last name?”

“Nope. It’s a wonder I remember his first name. I tend to only remember things about you,” I inform him.

“Uh-huh. Well, let’s go back up and ask Abby about Anthony,” Gabriel says, since we haven’t left the parking lot. “You don’t really remember anyone else’s name from back then, right? You have the guy who tried drugging Abby. Was he part of their friend group?”

“I really don’t know. Abby left the foster home about two weeks later and I did a month later. I was shuffled to a group home because Lisa thought I would benefit from being around more people my age. I think she was secretly convinced there was something wrong with me. Maybe she was the smartest one of us all. After that, I didn’t see Abby until you tackled her to the ground.”

When we head back up to the room, Abby is awake but staring at a wall.

“Hey, Abby. We’re back and have a question for you,” Gabriel says.

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