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to see this,” he said to the dog.
    Eventually, he reached the living room and stopped in front of the bay window that overlooked the backyard. Moonlight reflected off the falling snow, making the room glow. Tess had put up a Christmas tree and he looked for the ornaments they’d purchased together. Before they were even married they’d had a tradition of buying an ornament in each city they visited. Sort of a holiday scrapbook that hung on the tree. He’d always loved decorating the tree with her. They would laugh and remember their vacations together.
    This year Tess had decorated with glass balls found in any discount store. Just another reminder that their memories meant so little to her. He turned back to the window only to encounter Tess’s reflection in the glass.
    Face scrubbed, her hair brushed and falling almost to her waist, wearing flannel pajamas that were two sizes too big, she looked sixteen. Too young to have been married and divorced. Too young for the sadness in her eyes. He wondered if he looked older to her. Had the divorce aged him as well?
    “I didn’t wake you, did I?” he asked her reflection.
    “I couldn’t sleep.”
    He touched the needles of the tree. “Where are our ornaments?”
    “In the basement.”
    “Why?”
    “Because it hurts too much to look at them.”
    Adopting a nonchalance he didn’t feel, he said, “So, get rid of them.”
    “I can’t.”
    “You got rid of me. What’s a box of ornaments?”
    She sighed, pulled her hands up into her sleeves and stepped closer to the tree. “Getting rid of the ornaments would have hurt more than putting them on the tree.”
    “So you want the memories, just not the person attached to them.”
    She spun away. Instead of mere inches separating them, a couch, a dog, five years of marriage and six months of separation lay between them.
    “I need to go to bed. You need to sleep too. Tomorrow’s your first physical therapy session and I need to get up early to start baking. Barbara’s been handling my business for the time being, but she can’t do it forever.”
    “Tess?”
    A heartbeat of time passed. “Yes?”
    “I’m sorry. For everything.” He’d never said that before. Never apologized for all the pain he’d caused. Too little, too late, he knew. Two simple words couldn’t even begin to heal a marriage full of broken promises.
    She nodded and disappeared down the hall and into her bedroom. Alex grabbed the walker and scooted closer to the window. Pushing the vision of Tess in her oversized pajamas out of his mind, he thought back to the night he’d been shot. It was all he’d been doing since he awoke to the realization he couldn’t remember a damn thing. And it was easier than thinking of his failed marriage.
    The lieutenant and the chief had been patient but he knew they needed his memories before they could move on with the investigation.
    There were images. Small things. Like the John Deere cap. Jason’s lifeless eyes. But everything in between was a solid wall of darkness. Nothing.
    Damn his malfunctioning brain. He had to remember who killed Jason. Because what if the killer knew where Tess lived?
    He stared at the back lawn, at the newly fallen snow that created a pristine landscape, and breathed deep the scent of pine.
    A shadow by the maple moved. Othello padded to the window. The hackles on the back of his neck stood up and he growled.
    The full moon and the snow illuminated a figure darting from the tree. Alex’s heart kick-started as the shape swung toward the house and accelerated at a dead run.
    “Tess!” Alex spun around. Blinding pain shot up his leg and his knee gave out. He grabbed the small table beside him but it toppled and the Tiffany lamp that sat on top bounced off him and hit the wall.
    Othello began barking. Tess came running in.
    “Get down, damn it.” Alex motioned for her to drop to the floor.
    She skidded to a halt right in front of the window.

Chapter Six
    Alex jerked Tess down on