A thick lump formed in Sage’s throat. Rosemary had wanted to kill herself? That didn’t sound like her. Rosemary had always loved life. Then she remembered the complete and utter misery she’d felt when she thought she was damned to spend the rest of her life in Willowbrook. In some ways, she could understand why her sister would want to end her suffering.
She closed Rosemary’s file and shoved it, along with poor little Gregory’s, back in the cabinet, not caring if they got crumpled or torn. After shutting the cabinet, she went around the desk and sat down to wait for Dr. Baldwin. Unfortunately, finding Rosemary’s file had only deepened her grief over the loss of her sister and added to her despair over her short, tragic life. And now, sometime in the next few minutes, she was about to find out if she was being released or sent to the state security hospital, which meant her life would be as disastrous as Rosemary’s.
No, that wasn’t true. Unlike her sister, she’d had the chance to go to school and make friends, to go dances and ballgames and museums, to learn about the world and the people in it. She’d gone to the movies and to all-night parties; she’d laughed and gossiped with her best girlfriends. She’d walked under the stars at midnight while drinking wine and felt that bottomless hope of a world full of possibilities. She’d fallen in love and made love to a handsome boy. It was more life than most of the Willowbrook residents had ever experienced. And she’d taken it all for granted.
She squeezed her eyes shut to stanch her tears and wiped her cheeks, determined to stop thinking that this was the end. If someone was coming to take her to the state security hospital, they would have just taken her from the ward. Leonard must have brought her here because Dr. Baldwin wanted to talk to her again. And more than anything, she needed to know why.
Ten more minutes went by. Fifteen. Thirty. She couldn’t take it anymore. She got up and pounded on the door.
“Hello?” she shouted. “Evie? Where is Dr. Baldwin?”
No answer. Just the muted clicking of typewriter keys.
She rattled the handle and pounded on the door again. “I know you’re out there. When is he coming back?”
Still nothing.
She went to back to the desk and pressed the intercom button. “Please talk to me, Evie.”
When Evie answered, she said, “He’ll be back soon. You need to be patient.”
“Do you know what’s happening? Is someone coming to pick me up?”
“I’m sorry,” Evie said. “But you know I can’t help you.”
“Can you at least tell me if got hold of my stepfather yet?”
“You’ll have to ask Dr. Baldwin about that.”
Sage let go of the button and sat down hard in Dr. Baldwin’s chair.
Just then, a door shut and footsteps sounded in the waiting room. A male voice asked if there’d been any calls. Sage jumped up and went back to the folding chair. The door unlocked and opened, and Dr. Baldwin entered.
“What’s going on?” Sage said. “Why did you send for me?”
Dr. Baldwin went around his desk, pulled out his chair, and sat down, flipping his jacket away from his waist, then looked at her, his face unreadable.
Her heart boomed in her chest. “Did you find Rosemary?” she said.
“You know we didn’t,” he said.
“Did you talk to my stepfather?”
He shook his head. “I’ve had Evie call several times. Still no answer.”
“Then why am I here?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Someone knocked on the office door.
“Yes?” Dr. Baldwin said.
The door opened partway and Evie stuck her head inside. “They’re here.”
Sage felt something click inside her head, as if her brain were shoring up, preparing for shock. Who was there? Someone from the state security hospital? She stood and moved toward the wall, her hands reaching blindly behind her, as if searching for a hidden exit. “You can’t send me away. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Dr. Baldwin ignored her. “Let them in, Evie,” he said.
Sage slumped against the wall, certain she was about to break into a thousand pieces and fall to the floor like shattered glass. “No,” she said. “I was telling the truth about Dr. Wilkins. I promise I won’t cause any more trouble.”
When Evie opened the door all the way, two men entered the room, one in a police uniform, the other in a wool overcoat and black goulashes. Sage went rigid. Did they send cops to help take residents to the state security hospital? Was she about to be handcuffed and hauled away?
Then she had another thought, and a tiny spark of hope ignited inside her. Maybe Eddie had made the anonymous call to report Rosemary’s murder.
Evie stood in the doorway nervously chewing her thumbnail, her other hand on the knob.
“You can go now, Evie,” Dr. Baldwin said.
Evie nodded and reluctantly closed the door, worry written on her face. The man in the wool coat gave Sage the once-over as he moved toward Dr. Baldwin’s desk, holding out his hand. He looked to be in his midthirties, with unruly hair and stubble on his cheeks. The uniformed cop stood straight-backed and steady near the door.
“I’m Detective Sam Nolan with the NYPD, 121st Precinct,” the man in the wool jacket said. “This is my partner, Sergeant Clark.”
Sage’s breath caught in her throat. He wasn’t from the other institution.
Dr. Baldwin stood, shook the detective’s hand, and gave the sergeant a brief nod. “Dr. Donald Baldwin, Willowbrook’s psychiatric director.”
“I’m here on what could be a sensitive matter,” Detective Nolan said. He glanced at Sage. “May I talk freely?”
“Yes, please do,” Dr. Baldwin said. “I have nothing to hide.”
“As I told your secretary earlier,” the detective said. “We received an anonymous call from one of your employees early this morning. He said he found a body in the basement, a young woman named Rosemary Winters. Do you know anything about that?”
Sage nearly cried out in relief. Eddie had done it. He’d called the police. Thank God. Now she just had to make sure Dr. Baldwin didn’t lie his way out of it. She stood up straight and stared at the detective, willing him to read the truth in her eyes.
Dr. Baldwin let out a halfhearted chuckle. “I was told that as well,” he said. “But I can assure you there are no dead bodies in our basement. Or our attic for that matter.” He forced an uneasy smile. “Our head of security and I did a thorough search and found nothing amiss or suspicious.”
“It was my sister,” Sage said. “I saw her body down in the tunnels, but someone moved her.”
Nolan turned toward her. “And you are?”
“Sage Winters. It was my twin sister, Rosemary.” She eyed Dr. Baldwin. “But he doesn’t believe me.”
“Detective,” Dr. Baldwin said, smiling. “Let’s remember that Miss Winters is a Willowbrook resident for a reason. She truly has no concept of reality.”
“He’s lying!” Sage cried. “I came here looking for my sister because she went missing and he locked me up because he thinks I’m her!”
“That’s simply not the case,” Dr. Baldwin said. “Miss Winters is a paranoid schizophrenic. She thinks everyone is ‘out to get her,’ including me.”