Linda Crowder - Jake and Emma 02 - Main Street Murder by Linda Crowder

home today,” Cheri answered, “but that crazy policeman says I have to stay here until he can get a team put together to babysit me.”
    “Detective Joyner?” asked Emma.  Cheri nodded.  “He thinks you need police protection?”
    “Isn’t it wild?” answered Cheri.  “Some crazy person, probably just somebody who’d had too much to drink, takes a swipe at me and suddenly I need a body guard.  Waste of taxpayer money, if you ask me.  At least I work in a bank surrounded by security so I was able to convince him I could go to work all by myself.”
    “Well I’m a taxpayer and I can’t think of a better use of my money.”  Emma smiled as Cheri stuck her tongue out at her.  “Have you been able to remember anything more about what happened?”
    Cheri’s smile vanished and her face became serious.  “No, Emma, I have not and I don’t understand it.  Oh, I know they say it’s trauma but I don’t see what’s so traumatic about it.”
    “Cheri, you almost died,” answered Emma.  “You were in a place you assumed would be reasonably safe and then suddenly it wasn’t.”
    “Yes, but in the accident that killed my Joe I almost died too - I even bounced my head off the steering wheel,” said Cheri.  “I didn’t forget what happened then.”
    “Post-traumatic amnesia isn’t quite that predictable,” explained Emma.  “Some people will develop it but only for a few hours after an incident.  Others will never remember what happened.  Still other people, like you, may develop it after one sort of trauma but not after another.”
    “In other words, ‘who knows,’ right?” asked Cheri. 
    Emma smiled ruefully.  “Something like that.  Human behavior is an inexact science.  Every person is a complex combination of all the biological and environmental influences that have affected them over the course of their lifetime.  I can predict generally how someone should respond to a situation, but one plus two doesn’t always equal three with human beings.”
    Cheri sighed.  “This is why I became a banker.  Give me a spreadsheet and I can tell you 100% of the time what those numbers are going to add up to be.  People?  That’s a whole other story.”
    “Exactly,” said Emma.  “Which by the way is also probably why Detective Joyner wants you to have someone looking out for you for awhile.  At least until we have an idea of why someone would attack you, it’s best to keep you safe.”
    “That sums it up perfectly.”  Both ladies turned toward the man’s voice at the door.  Detective Joyner walked into the room followed by a uniformed policewoman. 
    “Ladies, I’d like to introduce you to Officer Ann Rutledge.  She’s going to be your evening security detail tonight, Ms. Jackson.”
    Emma rose and shook hands with Officer Rutledge, stepping back so the policewoman could speak with Cheri.  Joyner pulled Emma into the corner of the room furthest from the bed and they spoke in hushed tones.
    “I was able to pull a picture of one of the men you overheard at the parade from the City’s Main Street traffic cameras,” he said, pulling a print of the shorter man from the pocket of his suit jacket.  “Do you recognize him?”
    Emma took the print and studied it.  The picture was grainy, but she thought if she knew the man, she might be able to recognize him from it.  Shaking her head, she handed the print back to Joyner.  “No, I’m sorry.  His face doesn’t ring a bell.  I could probably recognize their voices if you ever find them, but I didn’t get a look at their faces.”
    Joyner nodded.  He suspected as much since the men had turned away on the footage before Emma had arisen to follow them.  He moved to the side of the bed opposite Officer Rutledge and showed Cheri the same picture.  She didn’t recognize the man either.
    “Is this the person you think attacked me?” she asked, handing the picture back to the detective.
    “Anything is possible,” answered