Sun On My Face, Wind in My Hair

Chapter Thirteen

Josie was making over Christopher and finger combing his hair as he settled into bed.

“Josie…did they ever find my billfold?” Chris asked, feeling sure that Josie had it and had withdrawn their money from the bank.

“No…I don’t know what happened. I guess it was stolen when the accident happened. There was a man who helped you when I saw you, maybe he took it,” Josie nervously suggested.

“If I had my phone and my billfold, I could find out more about myself. I wish I knew about myself and my life,” he said.

“Chris, Honey, it will be alright. Once we get home, you will feel better,” Josey assured him.

“How long have we been married, Josie? How long have we lived in California? What kind of work did we do?” Christopher asked, staring at her, wondering what lies she would tell.

Josie became very anxious and fidgety, holding her purse tightly to her body.

There was a knock at the door, and Josey stood up, dropping the purse. Chris looked down to see his billfold lying on the floor.

“Is that my billfold, Josie? Why did you lie to me?” Chris asked angrily.

“I…I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want you getting all confused, looking at the pictures and stuff,” Josie told him, hoping he would accept that answer.

The next person who came knocking at his door was the detective Penny had talked to and Chris’s friend Jordan.

When Josie saw Jordan with the officer, she stood frozen in place. She knew she had been caught.

“Jordan! You…you’re here! How did you find us?” Josie asked, knowing she had been found out.

“Chris’s real wife Penny has been searching for you two. Josie…this man has a wife and children. Why would you pretend to be his wife, and try to convince him he lived here with you?” Jordan asked, angry at the woman.

Detective Milroy came over to Josie and started reading her the Miranda rights as two other officers restrained her and put cuffs on her.

“What Am I being accused of? What crime did I commit?” Josie demanded.

“You kept the identity of this man a secret, but that was not your crime. You stole his billfold, extracted money from his account without consent, and you paid someone to cause his head injury, which we could call attempted manslaughter,” the detective told her.

“Chris…I didn’t mean you any harm. I wanted…I wanted a life with you. It was a dream come true,” Josie explained tearfully as the officers urged her out of the room.

Jordan hugged his friend, patting him on the back and telling him how much he had missed him and worried about him. He told Chris that they had been friends since high school basketball.

“Your wife has been devastated, Buddy. She thought you ran off with that hoe and started a new life with all the money you had in savings. I told her you loved her and the kids way too much for that, man,” Jordan said, still holding his hand on Chris’s shoulder.

“I talked to her today. She seems really sweet, and she seems to love me a lot. Those kids, it was a good feeling hearing them tell me how much they loved me and missed me too,” Chris said, smiling.

“Oh, they do, man. They are crazy about you, and so is Penny. She’s great and just wait til you see her. She is hot!” Jordan teased.

“Hey! That’s my wife you’re talking about,” Chris complained.

“Well, yeah, but I was willing to step in if you had run off with Josie,” Jordan joked. “What are friends for?” He teased.