Amnesia Ch 07 1

Thank you, Erik Thread, for your excellent editing and helpful suggestions. I am grateful for your patience and skill. Any errors are, of course, mine.

The celebration was brief. Tony had no sooner gotten off the phone from hearing Martin tell him that the arrest had gone down as planned when two well-dressed men arrived at Amnesia!

"Anthony Marino?" a tall, middle-aged man asked.

"Yes."

"I'm agent Thorson and this is agent Pellegrino ... F.B.I." he said succinctly, both showing their I.D.

"I've been expecting you," Tony said with a grimace.

"Is there someplace we can have some privacy?" Thorson asked.

"Not really ... it's a tavern," Tony shrugged.

Thorson sighed and then, "Would you mind coming downtown with us? We need to talk to you."

Tony nodded. "Fine. I want to get this over with and get on with my life. I'd like to phone my wife and let her know what's happening. As far as she knows, someone is still out there that may want to harm us."

"Of course. Why don't you make that call and we'll wait here. We'll give you a ride to the office and back again," Thorson suggested.

Tony turned to the bar. "Carl, would you get these gentlemen some coffee, please."

He pulled out his cell phone, thumbing in the pre-set number as he walked back into the kitchen.

"Nina ... it's over," he said when she answered the phone. "They've arrested the man that tried to kill me."

"Oh, thank god, Tony. I was so worried. Now we can be together again. Can I tell the children?"

"Yes ... you can tell everyone. In fact, I wish you would. I'm heading down to F.B.I. headquarters to make a statement. I don't know how long I'll be, but if you can take care of letting our family and friends know I'm back among the living, I'd be grateful."

"Of course. I can't wait. The children will be so excited. I'm excited," she gasped.

They talked for several minutes before Tony interrupted, "Babe, I've got to go. The F.B.I. guys are here and I have to go downtown with them. I'll call you as soon as I can."

"Take care, Tony. I'll have lots to do calling everyone. I'm so happy that it's over."

Tony signed off and headed out of the kitchen to the table where the two agents were finishing their coffee.

"Thanks for being patient, guys. I appreciate it. We can go anytime now."

"Not a problem. Beside, this is the best coffee I've had in a long time. I hated to rush it," Pellegrino grinned.

They left through the front after Tony let Carl know he would be gone for the day and Eric would be in charge of the kitchen. Martin's son, David, would be in after school to give Eric a hand with the dinner crowd. Earlier, they had prepared a number of heat-and-serve items to keep the lunch crowd under control.

The interview took place in a pleasant, air conditioned room with comfortable chairs and a large table. The two agents that had picked him up remained in the room until two more joined them.

"Mr. Marino, this is agent Bilecki and agent Van Hoote," Thorson said in introduction. "They are from our forensic accounting office."

Tony stood and shook hands with a very attractive blonde woman and a bookish, shy man. The woman, in her early thirties, had a firm handshake, while the younger man, Van Hoote, offered a limp, damp hand.

"Nice to meet you," Tony greeted them.

Agent Bilecki took the lead.

"Nice to meet you too. You've uncovered a major crime and luckily gave the information to someone in authority before you were attacked. That made a big difference in our investigation. Your contact at the S.E.C. came to us when he learned of your disappearance. He told us what you told him and we went from there.

"Your notes were very comprehensive. You've handed us exactly what we need to charge and convict at least the three men you have named in your files. You've been very thorough and it's made our work so much easier. We are confident we will get convictions for fraud and a number of other financial statute violations."

Tony acknowledged the compliment with a nod and a smile. "When will you be charging them?" he asked.

"I think the indictments will be handed down in a week or so," Bilecki offered.

Tony nodded.

"Can you tell us what led you to suspect these men?" she asked. Her partner was furiously scribbling notes despite the fact that there was a recorder on the table.

Tony admitted he hadn't recovered all of his memory, but indicated he had noticed a number of odd transactions that raised his interest. When, on a hunch, he followed the trail of one transaction, he saw a number of irregularities and that opened what he described as "a whole can of worms."

He spent over two hours with the forensic pair, going over anything else that he might remember. Their concern apparently centered around whether they had identified all of the improper transactions, or were there more. Tony told them he didn't know.

When they finished, the two special agents rose, and once again Bilecki thanked him for his efforts and assistance before leaving the room.

Tony sank back in the comfortable chair and let out a sigh.

"I know what you mean," laughed Pellegrino. "That stuff can wear you out."

"I've got some lunch coming, Mr. Marino," Thorson said amiably. "We'll take a break and then we can get back at it. In this case, I think we might have some information for you as well."

The chatted quietly over the lunch after it arrived. Someone had gone to the trouble of ordering some very nice smoked meat sandwiches on rye with dill pickles, coleslaw, and, ironically, Pellegrino water.

Thorson was interested in his amnesia and the affect it had on him. Tony noted that his case was unusual in that it had been over a year before he regained any significant part of his memory. Still, there were frustrating gaps, but he had adapted and accepted that perhaps he would never completely recover everything.

"Do you remember anything at all about the day you disappeared?" the agent asked.

"No ... nothing," Tony said, shaking his head.

"Well, we do have some information that you don't have. Apparently, you brought in some work clothes and changed in your office. You were going down to the basement file storage to look for something, according to your secretary."

"Huh! Joanna remembers that, eh. I guess those were the clothes I was found in."

"Yeah ... she remembers what you were wearing and it matches what the N.Y.P.D. noted when you were found. When she told us that, she let us into your office and we found your suit and shirt hung up in the closet. Your wallet and security pass were in it, so no one had disturbed it. We have it here, and we can return it now. We've gone over it carefully, but can't find anything of use to the case."

"I guess the credit cards are useless. I'm sure my wife would have cancelled them by now," Tony mused.

"Yeah, when we checked them, there hadn't been any activity on any of them from the day you vanished. We figured something had happened to you based on how much use you made of those cards. When you didn't reappear over the next months, we were pretty sure you were dead. Someone had twigged to your uncovering the fraud and tried to take you out. Lucky for you, they were amateurs," Pellegrino jumped in.

"Listen guys, there's a cop ... a detective ... that helped me out a lot. He was the one who let you guys know I was still alive. He kept me safe and put a lot of his own time in on trying to find out who I was."

"What's his name?" Thorson asked.

"Are you sure he won't get in trouble?" Tony asked warily.

"No ... not from us. If he catches any flack it'll be from his own people. But I do have a question. How long has he known who you are?"

"His name is Martin Polikoff. I told him right away, as soon as my memory came back. So he's known for ... a few days," Tony hesitated, shrinking the time. In fact, Martin had known for weeks.

"Well, it's nice to know that not every cop in the city hates us," Thorson chuckled. "Our main objective is to get a conviction on the three or four people who pulled off this scam. We will try to get a federal charge of conspiracy to commit murder on the guy we picked up today. That business took place across state lines and that should give us jurisdiction. The main thing is we want to make sure this guy is in jail to stay."

The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur as the two agents went over the details of Tony's story a step at a time. By the time five o'clock rolled around, Tony was bushed and both Thorson and Pellegrino look pretty tired as well.

"Well ... that's it for now, Mr. Marino. You will be notified when we want to have you come in to go over the testimony you'll give at the trial. It's a kind of rehearsal just to make sure you know what questions we'll ask and what to expect from the defense attorneys. All three of these guys have their own lawyers, so you may be cross-examined three times. Right now it looks like that's going to be some time yet. These cases take forever to get before a judge and jury."

"What about Stanton Mellows? I'm damn sure he's involved somehow," Tony said.

"We think so too, but so far none of the others have said anything about him and forensics haven't found a paper trail. However, they are working on it. That funny little guy, Van Hoote, is apparently some kind of genius at sniffing out these deals. If anyone can find something, they say it'll be him. In the meantime, if you happen to remember anything more that relates to this case, please contact us."

The three rose and waited as Tony walked into the hallway of the office. "Thanks for your cooperation and good luck, Mr. Marino," Thorson said. "We'll be talking to you sometime in the future. Keep us informed if you leave the state for any reason. We'll need to be able to contact you if there are further questions."

"I have a home in Connecticut and a summer home on Nantucket. Do I need to let you know each time I go there?"

"No ... we have those phone numbers. Just keep us informed if you plan anything other than your normal routine."

With that, the two shook hands and Tony walked with Pellegrino to the elevators. The younger agent would drive him back to the tavern where Tony would call Nina to let her know what his day had been like. He would be equally interested in hearing from her when she spread the good news that he was alive and well and living in New York City.

"Oh, Tony, I'm exhausted. I've been on the phone all day, talking to family, friends, answering questions about what happened. The newspapers haven't called, so that's something. People I've never met have called to wish us well. Word travels fast when my relatives get a hold of it," she laughed.

"You mean Mama Novak likes to talk," he chortled. "Why, I'd never have believed it."

"All right, all right. That's enough," she chided. "Mama wants to talk to you as soon as you can call her. She was in tears the whole time I talked to her she was so happy. Dad's pretty happy and relieved too. The kids are jumping up and down and I think I'd better give them some Valium in their supper to bring them back down to earth. I know they want to talk to you. Can you do that now?"

"Of course!" He waited as he heard the commotion in the background. He talked to Nadia first and then Jared. He told them they would see each other on the weekend when their mother brought them to New York. After their excited conversations, they handed the phone back to their mother.

"Bring them to the city this weekend, Nina. I want to see them. I'll arrange to take Saturday off and we can spend it together, getting to know each other again. Book two rooms at the hotel. We'll visit your folks on Sunday. It's going to be a great weekend."

He phoned Mama Novak after he hung up with Nina and she was once again in tears of joy that her much-loved son-in-law was alive and well. With the children coming to the city that weekend, she quickly arranged a Sunday dinner for the whole family. It would be Tony's chance to re-connect with everyone together and allow him to explain what had happened in the past year as well as their plans for the future.

His last act before heading for Muriel's apartment was to tell Carl what was going on and confusing him by letting him know his real name was Tony Marino. Carl just shook his head and apologized in advance for all the times he would be calling him John.

-0-

Friday night fights! That's what Tony called it, smiling, but grumbling aloud that it had to stop. The problem was simple. Trying to mesh a sixteen-year-old daughter with a thirteen-year-old son in the same hotel room was a non-starter. Nina didn't think it was funny. The noise of their arguments was seeping through the otherwise quiet of the room. The culprit was the adjoining doors between the two rooms.

Nina had gone in shortly after ten to "read the riot act," but the affect was only worth a few minutes of calm before the war broke out again. It was Tony's turn. Nina expressed her hope that the long-absent father would be able to bring some peace and order with the two teens. After calmly explaining that they had a big weekend ahead of them and patiently listening to each of their complaints about the other, he crossed his fingers in hope.

As they lay in bed, Tony was still smiling while Nina was quietly steaming.

"Damn those kids anyway," she said in a loud whisper. "How are we going to get through this weekend with them constantly at each other's throat?"

Tony rolled on his side, his hand cupping her exposed breast. "I have a suggestion. Why don't we send Jared off to your parent's tomorrow morning. I'm sure they'd be delighted to have him there and will find plenty to keep him occupied. Nadia can stay with us. I bet she would jump at the chance to do some shopping with you."

Nina rolled on her side, facing her husband. "You are one smart cowboy. There will be some peace and quiet around her tomorrow night and you and I can quietly celebrate."

"Does that mean I have to wait to tomorrow night to celebrate?" he frowned.

"No ... never again, my love. I'm never going to waste another moment that I'm with you. I learned a very hard lesson when you were gone. Very hard."

"What did you learn," he asked.

"I learned I can't live without you. I was dying without you. A day at a time ... a piece at a time. Dying."

Tony kissed her softly as she gazed mournfully at him.

"What did you think when I didn't come home that night? That first night."

"Oh, Tony, I don't want to go there. It's over now and I'm so relieved. I don't really want to dwell in the past."

They lay silently, Tony's hands caressing Nina softly, almost absently in the dim light. The noise from the adjoining room had finally ceased.

After a long while, "I thought you had left me," Nina whispered, almost inaudibly.

"I thought you had given up on us and left. I've never felt pain like that. I was wandering around without any sense of purpose or hope. I thought my life was over."

Tony pulled her closer to him, holding her tightly. "I'm sorry, Nina. I know I made you feel that way. I don't know how I can apologize enough for the misery I caused you. There isn't any excuse I can give you. I can only ask for your forgiveness."

"It's over now Tony. We don't have to worry about it anymore. We can start again and make our life better. We've promised ourselves that we'd do that, haven't we?"

"Yes. I'm never going back to where I was ... in my head. Whatever happened to me was the catalyst that brought the realization that I couldn't live that way. You'll never have to worry about that or me again. I promise," he said, kissing her passionately.

They made love again. Slow, careful, sensuous love. They murmured endearments to each other and touched and kissed and nibbled their way to a blissful union. Nina would have tears now and then at the most unexpected moments, but they were tears of happiness and relief.

Sunday was a raucous, happy celebration in the Novak household. Magda had invited Martin, but he declined, saying it was strictly a family gathering. Mama Novak was virtually dancing around the kitchen and living room as she had her family together. It wasn't enough that Tony had been found alive and well. There was also the reconciliation of Nina and Magda. She had every reason to be joyful and she and Papa wanted everyone in the family to know it.

When a very tired Nina, Nadia and Jared climbed on the train early Monday morning, they had already said their goodbyes to Tony and the grandparents. The children would miss a day of school, but Nina would accompany them the next day to explain to the teachers just what had been going on in the past weeks.

On Sunday afternoon, the family had discussed just how they were going to approach the matter of moving back to New York. Nina would leave the children in the care of Mrs. Martinez for Tuesday and Wednesday night. She would return to the city to look for a permanent home for the four of them, returning on Thursday afternoon. Back to the city on Friday evening when the grandparents would look after Nadia and Jared while Nina and Magda continued the search for a home.

This became their routine for the next three weeks while Nina searched in vain for a suitable home. The prices in the city were even more outrageous than when they lived here years ago and she was beginning to despair that they would find something they would be happy with.

"Why don't we sell Nantucket?" Tony said one evening. "We hardly ever go there. I'm sure we can get a very good price for it. You know we've had offers before without even listing it." Nina didn't argue with his logic. It had been over two years since anyone had been in the island summer home.

"I'll call the agent we used before on Monday," she said. "Selling our home on the island will be a step toward leaving the past behind us."

It was Tony's turn to provide Nina with a surprise. They were sitting in the tavern at a table they now thought of as their own. It was a small, quiet, mid-week crowd and they could talk in privacy.

"I think it's time I tell you about my plan for the future, Nina," he began.

"Go on." She was paying close attention.

"I want to open my own restaurant. About this size, not much more. It will be a bistro, rather than a tavern. No bar, just food service with a liquor license."

Nina nodded without comment.

"I've been thinking about a period décor. You know, big booths with tuck-and-roll upholstery. A few tables. Period decorations. A Wurlitzer. Maybe even a small dance floor. Kind of a fifties-sixties theme."

"Do you think that will work? Won't people be expecting a burger place or some trendy menu?" Nina questioned.

"Not if I do it right. In the right neighborhood, it would be a place to go for good food, a good time and you wouldn't have to get a second mortgage to enjoy a nice evening. The food will mostly be traditional North American fare, but with a few specials thrown in from time to time. If I'm going to experiment, it'll be at Amnesia! first. That crowd is a little more accustomed to my unusual dishes."

"How are you going to be in two places at once?" Nina asked, now bearing a look of concern.

"I won't. I have an idea that I think Mr. Leung will go for if my hunch is right. Muriel or Eric could replace me at Amnesia! while I get the new place up and running. If we're doing well after the first six months, I'll swap him 20% of the new restaurant for 20% of Amnesia! That way we both have a stake in both operations. I want them both to be successful, so I can't abandon one in favor of the other."

"Do you know where the new restaurant will be?" Nina asked, still cautious.

"No ... not yet. I'll be looking for a likely spot that's not too far from our neighborhood. I'm not interested in the Broadway dinner crowd. I want the local people and their friends. I'm not in this to get rich and famous. This is what I want to do and that other stuff is of no value to me. We don't need the paparazzi and the other hangers-on to make it work."