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They entered the first store, which featured everyday clothes along with frilly dresses and matching hats. Very Derby-like, she thought. Then she abruptly stopped. “I—don’t know how much you want me to spend.”
“I have a company card, so don’t worry about it.” Doc didn’t appear concerned. “Just don’t go crazy. I need to pick up a few things too.”
“You own your own company?” she asked incredulously.
He shook his head. “I work for Grayson’s Guardians. Rex Grayson is my boss. He owns the company.”
“Army Captain Rex?” She was trying to understand.
“Yes. Don’t worry, it’s fine.” He nudged her toward the racks of clothing. “Get what you need.”
She found her size easily enough but was secretly upset at seeing some of the prices. She settled for a simple pair of capri jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, along with some new underwear. In truth, she would rather keep Doc’s sweatshirt. It had become her security blanket. Maybe he wouldn’t mind if she hung on to it for a while longer.
Fiona paused at the rack of brightly colored dresses, knowing that if they were going to attend a race, they’d need to dress appropriately. Doc must have read her mind because he crossed over to her.
“Those look nice. Make sure you get a hat too.” He had a nice pair of slacks and a short- sleeved shirt slung over his arm. “Something large enough to hide your face.”
She chose the bright-yellow dress and matching hat, then carried her purchases to the register, hiding a deep sense of foreboding. Attending the race made sense, but somehow, she didn’t think a hat alone would be enough of a masquerade to protect her.
Not when these gunmen seemed to know more about her than she did.
Doc paid for their clothing and additional items like a new phone charging cord, thinking his expense account was going to take a huge hit by the time this job was over. And that was exactly how he’d decided to view this time with Fiona.
As another job for Grayson’s Guardians.
The shopping spree didn’t take too long, and they were back outside heading to the Derby Inn Suites within the hour. He sensed Fiona’s hesitation about attending Keeneland Fall Meet, but he didn’t know what else to do. Without her memory, he had nothing other than the horse races to use as a clue to uncover what was going on.
A big part of horse racing was betting. And with betting came money and desperation. Two big reasons he avoided any sort of gambling and normally didn’t pay attention to the sport of racing in general. Which brought him back to the possibility of cheating. Doping horses seemed stupid as the horses always had to have their blood drawn before and after a race. Unless there was some new way to cheat that couldn’t be uncovered in a test? He turned that possibility over in his mind. Fiona must have witnessed something that had caused her to run for her life.
The races would no doubt be crowded. That was good and bad. Easier to blend in, but harder to identify a threat ahead of time. Since he didn’t even have tickets yet, he decided to worry about that later.
He swept his gaze over the busy streets full of cars and pedestrians as they walked back to the hotel. The other thing they needed was a rental car, especially if they managed to get tickets to the race.
They reached the hotel without incident. Up in the suite, he handed Fiona her bags of clothing and personal items before disappearing into the bedroom he hadn’t bothered to use the night before.
A long hot shower, a shave, and wearing clean clothes felt good. He wore the short-sleeved shirt untucked to help hide his service weapon. He’d charged his phone while he’d cleaned up, but the battery was still only at 30 percent. Carrying the phone and the charger into the main room, he noticed the door to Fiona’s room was still closed. While he waited for her, he kept the device plugged in and called Rex.
“What do you need?” Rex asked in lieu of a greeting.
“Any chance you can figure out how to get tickets to a horse race that might already be sold out?” He had used his phone to identify the next race Fiona’s Folly was entered in, one with a $1 million prize purse. Hard to believe these races paid the winners so well. “I know Fiona Murphy’s father, Liam Murphy has a horse in the race that’s taking place tomorrow late afternoon.” He’d discovered there were no races on Mondays and Tuesdays, which made him wonder where Fiona had been before she’d landed on his doorstep Monday evening. “I’m hoping her memory will return when she’s in familiar surroundings.”
“Why not reach out to her father?” Rex asked.
“There’s nothing in the local news about Fiona going missing,” he explained. “And we heard the gunmen say something about heading back, which made it sound like they were hired guns. It’s possible her father is involved in her disappearance and that’s why he hasn’t raised the alarm.”
Rex was silent for a long moment. “Okay, I understand your hesitation. Let me see what I can do. I have a few connections to tap into.”
“Thanks, Rex. Appreciate it.” He turned the television back on, keeping the sound muted for now. “Please let me know one way or the other. If we don’t get tickets, I’ll have to come up with another way to try to spark her memory.”
“I’ll let you know.” Rex paused, then added, “Are you sure you don’t want me to head down to back you up?”
“We should be fine for now.” Doc didn’t want to drag his boss into the line of fire without a good reason. “I’m planning to arrange for a rental car too. We need to be able to move around the city.”
“Fine with me,” Rex agreed.
Doc eyed the door leading to Fiona’s room. “If Fiona’s father isn’t involved, I’m sure he’ll be willing to pay your fee once this is over and her memory has returned.”
“If her memory returns,” Rex said. “I’ve heard of a few cases where a person suffering from amnesia never remembers their past.”
