Page 61 of Help Me Remember

“Oh right,” Eric said, turning to walk into the living room, motioning for me to follow. “Mr. Moo Moo. He was white with big black spots.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“God, that’s…a ridiculously stupid name.”

“Dylan, you were like five when you had that cat. Of course you named it something stupid. I thought it was the cutest thing ever at the time.”

“You would,” I muttered as we entered the tiled kitchen, which held only a table and a couple of chairs.

“I remember you telling me about it. You were very…you about it, but I could tell even years later, it had always bugged you how your parents handled your cat,” he said as he pulled out an electric kettle and a couple of mugs. “Not that you would ever admit they broke your heart.”

“I cried for days after they got rid of him,” I said.

“Huh,” Eric grunted in what I took to be surprise. “Maybe this whole memory thing is kind of good for you. Never in your life would you have admitted something like that before.”

“I’m so glad this experience is giving me therapy,” I said with a scowl. “How did you know that was there?”

“Because I went through the house after I made sure you weren’t going to kick it without emergency care,” he said, letting the kettle do its work while he drew a jar of instant coffee out of a cabinet. “There wasn’t a whole lot here, but I didn’t lie to you last night. The place was supposed to be set up so people could come and see the house, so I figured that’s what the kettle was for…though drip coffee would have been more impressive for any potential buyers if you ask me.”

I walked to a nearby door and opened it to find a small closet with mostly empty shelves. There were a few cans that I took out to examine, finding various vegetables and Spam as well.

“There’s nothing interesting in there. I already checked,” Eric told me.

“Was there anything else in the house?” I asked.

“Um, a roll of bandages, topical antibacterial cream, and a bottle of aspirin in the upstairs bathroom. Looked like there was a box of clothes in the closet and linen for the beds,” Eric said, and I didn’t have to turn around to know he was shrugging. “Really basic shit that didn’t help much except for the bandages, and I needed more than what was there. Oh! And a sewing kit in the same closet as the clothes.”

“Did you look in the box of clothes?” I asked, the same uneasy feeling from before settling in my gut.

“Nope, I had other priorities. Just saw there were clothes. Here’s your coffee.”

I turned, closed the closet door, and accepted the cup. Then, dropping down into one of the kitchen chairs, I looked around the room with a frown. The brew was bitter and almost salty, but it tasted enough like coffee that I could pretend it was the real thing.

“So,” Eric began, taking the seat opposite me, “we need to start figuring out what we’re going to do next.”

“Hm?” I grunted faintly, trying to make sense of the unease that wouldn’t leave me. When I’d felt it before Eric woke up, it had been because I remembered the house in some way. Yet this time, the answer wasn’t nearly as forthcoming, and I didn’t like the idea that I could be forgetting something important.

“In case the hole in your side isn’t reminding you, we’re currently hiding out in your childhood home because a bunch of guys are trying to kill us. Very angry guys, with guns and at least one cop on their payroll.”

“I’m betting there’s a lot more than just the one, and not just in that precinct either,” I said quietly, still peering around the room. Perhaps I needed to find the one clue to what was missing, an esoteric key belonging to a lock I couldn’t see deep within the recesses of my memory. “That kind of corruption is bound to spread wide and probably go a lot higher up than just one detective.”

I spared a thought for Officer Fitz and hoped she’d managed to get through the chaos we’d left at the police station relatively unharmed. As for whether she was as dirty as her partner, I didn’t think so. Maybe it was because the woman had been so friendly and earnest, but my instincts told me she was as clean as freshly fallen snow. Whether or not she would get through the rest of her career unscathed when she was partnered with someone as clean as day-old city snow was something else entirely.

“Have I ever mentioned that you’re not very good at inspiring confidence or hope?” Eric asked, and I smirked when he scowled at me.

“You’ve brought it up once or twice,” I said, setting my cup down and frowning.

“Then maybe you could participate in the conversation and be helpful instead of staring around here like…”

He trailed off, and I raised a brow. “Like what? Like I’m trying to find something? Like maybe I’m trying to remember something?”

“Yeah,” he said with a wince.

“Well, maybe you should have thought of that before bringing me back to my childhood home while I’m trying to piece together my life.”

“That’s not fair. It was the only place I thought would be safe while we were still stuck in this city.”

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