Author Anon

“Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?” asks Amanda, watching an orderly clean Nicholas’ room.

“I-I-I don’t know,” says Leslie, trying to avoid eye contact.

“Didn’t you work at the Golde residence?” asks Amanda, a little suspicious.

“Oh, oh, yes. I helped take care of Mrs. Golde,” Leslie answers quietly.

“And now you’re working here,” says Amanda.

“Yes, this is my new job,” says Leslie, clearly uncomfortable.

“I see,” says Amanda.

Nicholas stirs in bed, catching the women’s attention. He opens his eyes and sees Leslie. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” he asks.

Leslie turns red, then white. “I-I-I don’t think so,” she stammers.

“I have a feeling I know you,” says Nicholas. “But I can’t place you right now.”

“I’ve never seen you before,” says Leslie, rushing to get out of the room.

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“Don’t bother with making Thanksgiving dinner, darling,” says Sylvia. “Come over to our house.”

“This is our first Thanksgiving without mom,” says Marie. “I thought I’d try to get the family together at our house. Start a new tradition.”

“It’s a very nice thought,” says Sylvia. “But I have a feeling your family’s not ready to start a new tradition. And I don’t want you to overexert yourself and not have anyone to appreciate it. I promised your mother to watch over all of you, and I’m going to do that. I’ll invite everyone, but I’m not sure they will all accept. I hope they will, but they might have other plans.”

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“How is Mr. Cole today, Dr. Steele?” asks Detective Daze.

“I’m afraid he has some amnesia,” says Amanda.

“That’s unfortunate,” says Cody. “But could you keep that part secret for now?”

“That’s no problem,” says Amanda. “But why?”

“I’d like to see if anyone makes another attempt at killing him,” says Cody. “If they knew he has amnesia, they may lay off him and we’d get no where.”

Michael comes along and joins the conversation. “What’s been happening?” he asks.

Amanda looks at Cody, who nods. “Mr. Cole has amnesia,” she says. “But we’re going to keep that a secret.”

“That’s a good idea,” says Michael. “But I’m sorry he can’t remember what happened.”

“It’s more than just what happened that night,” says Amanda. “He seems to have lost his memory for events in the past month.”

“Great,” says Michael. “Any other bad news?”

“Well, the guard tells me one of the maintenance people tried to get in,” says Cody.

“Interesting,” says Michael. “Considering Cole was found in a janitor’s closet.”

“That’s not all,” says Amanda. “An orderly I recognized as working for Julia Golde now works in this hospital. She was very nervous when I recognized her, and was practically spooked when Mr. Cole woke up and thought he knew her.”

“Did you catch her name?” asks Michael.

“Her name tag read ‘Leslie Black’.”

“I think we should look into her background,” says Cody, taking his leave.

Michael turns to Amanda. “Are you working all day?” he asks.

“No, I’m leaving right now,” says Amanda. “I only came in to check on Mr. Cole. My family’s expecting me for Thanksgiving dinner.”

Michael smiles. “Mine, too,” he says. “Well, Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your dinner.”

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“I wish Rick was home for Thanksgiving,” says Lisa. “This is a time for family.”

“Well, you’ve got Lucy,” says Blanche. “She’s refusing to go back to the group home.”

“It doesn’t seem right to put her back there,” says Lisa. “She doesn’t seem that bad.”

“You just never know, though,” says Blanche. “What if something happens to the baby?”

“She seems so gentle,” says Lisa. “I can’t imagine she’d hurt Eileen.”

“You’ve got no medical background,” says Blanche. “You wouldn’t know how to control the situation if it got out of hand.”

“Maybe we can call Amanda if something happens,” jokes Lisa.

Blanche considers this. “It might not be a bad idea to have Amanda around more often.”

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“I couldn’t do anything,” says Leslie. “That doctor recognized me. Then when that Cole guy woke up, he looked at me so funny, I freaked out.”

“Yeah, that place is so well-guarded, you couldn’t get in without a close inspection,” says Floyd.

“Damn!” says Carl.

Melanie walks into the kitchen and sees the group. “Floyd! Carl!” she says. “You’d better clear out. William is coming for dinner.”

“Looks like you’ve got it nice,” says Carl.

“It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” asks Melanie.

“At least one part of the plan is going smoothly,” says Carl. “As long as you don’t start thinking about double-crossing me.”

“Nothing will go smoothly if you stick around,” says Melanie.

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Filed under: All That Glitters