He pressed his lips together and nodded, looking sheepish. “Let me run out and have Sergeant Clark give the station a call on the radio to see if McNally’s returned from the Top Hat yet,” he said. He stood and started toward the door. “It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“If you insist,” Dr. Baldwin said. “But it’s a waste of time.”
Sage stood rooted to the floor, blocking the exit. “Take me with you!”
He shook his head. “It’ll be faster if I go alone. I’ll be right back.”
“I’m begging you,” she said. “Don’t leave me here.”
“The sooner you let me by, the sooner I’ll find out if McNally talked to Iris or not,” he said. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?” His voice had turned patronizing, as if he were talking to a child.
She nodded, her chin trembling, and reluctantly moved aside. He tried the handle, but it was locked. Dr. Baldwin unlocked the door and let him out, then stuck his head into the hall and spoke to the assistant waiting there.
“You can take Eddie back to his ward now.”
The attendant entered and Dr. Baldwin shut the door behind him, guarding it so Sage wouldn’t try to escape. Eddie stood, his face blank, and let the attendant take his arm and lead him toward the door. She moved to a chair and sat down, watching him, praying he would change his mind and tell the truth. But he kept his eyes straight ahead, as if no one else were in the room, as if his words and actions had no repercussions. And then, without a second glance at her, he was gone.
Dr. Baldwin shut the door, locked it, and took a seat across from her. She stared at the floor, refusing to look at him.
“You know I only want to help,” Dr. Baldwin said. “But I can’t help if you won’t let me.”
She ignored him.
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if you had a hallucination about Eddie last night,” he said. “Or maybe it was a dream that you think was real. After all, he was a big part of your time here and—”
“Don’t talk to me,” she said. “I have nothing to say to you.”
“But talking things out is the only way to get through everything you’ve experienced. It’s the only way to find out what’s really been happening here.”
“Nothing is happening, except for you taking Eddie’s word over mine. And if I ever need to talk to someone, it sure as hell won’t be you.”
He made a wordless noise of disgust. “We’ll see about that,” he said.
Finally, after what felt like the longest few minutes of her life, someone knocked on the door. Dr. Baldwin got up and unlocked it. Detective Nolan entered and looked down at Sage, wind-blown and out of breath.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But Iris is off today. The owner of the Top Hat said she’s gone out of town for a few days.”
Sage felt like someone had hit her in the chest with a sledgehammer. No one but Iris could back up her story.
Nolan addressed Dr. Baldwin. “I’ll make a call to Social Services so they can work on finding her a temporary place to stay. That was the plan to begin with because she has no other family we can reach right now.”
“With all due respect, Detective,” Dr. Baldwin said, “I know a mental breakdown when I see one. The right thing to do here is to let Miss Winters get the help she needs. That way you can kill two birds with one stone, giving her a place to stay until you check out her story. You’re welcome to return tomorrow to see if the situation has changed, but if I were a betting man, I’d bet good money that you’re going to learn there is no way Eddie King was at that diner with her, or anywhere else near her, for that matter.”
“I’m not having a mental breakdown,” Sage said, trembling with rage and fear. “I’m upset because Eddie is lying and you don’t believe me. Why is that so hard for you to understand?”
The detective looked at her with apologetic eyes. “Maybe Dr. Baldwin is right. Maybe it’d be for the best if you stayed here, just for one night, at least. That will give Social Services a little extra time to find you a temporary foster home, instead of sticking you in the children’s home for who knows how long.”
“No!” she said. “I won’t do it!” She got up, ran to the door again, and shook the handle. “Let me out of here!” She pounded on the door. “Please! Someone let me out!”
Strong hands pulled her away from the door, then turned her around. It was Detective Nolan. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her so tight she could hardly breathe, his face in her hair. She struggled to get free, but it was no use.
“Calm down,” he said in her ear. “You’re acting like a lunatic and making this worse than it has to be. I want to believe you and I want to help, but I can’t if you don’t cooperate.”
She stopped struggling and leaned against him, sobbing and trying to stay upright.
“I’ll let go,” he said. “But you have to pull yourself together and listen to me, okay?”
She nodded and he released her, but kept his hands on her arms, as if afraid she’d fall. She pushed her hair from her eyes and swallowed her sobs, her shoulders hitching.
“You can’t go back to the apartment right now anyway,” Nolan said. “It’s a crime scene. And like I said, we can’t just let you out in the streets. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but for right now, I think you should stay here. I’ll find out where Iris went and call her myself. And as soon as your story about the diner checks out, I’ll come back and take you out of here, no matter what Dr. Baldwin says, all right?”
“No!” she sobbed. “You’ve seen how horrible this place is. Don’t let them keep me here again!”
Detective Nolan shook his head. “I’m sorry, kiddo, but it’s the best solution right now.”
She moaned and closed her eyes. Then her knees gave out, she fell to the floor, and everything went black.
CHAPTER 24
At first, Sage was vaguely aware of the stiff material beneath her cheek and the strong, acidic smell of Pine-Sol and bleach. Then she realized she was shivering, despite the fact that she was under a blanket and fully dressed, except for her winter boots. She turned her head and opened her eyes. A strip of fluorescent lighting hung above her, a bright line of white against a gray-tiled ceiling.
Then she remembered returning to Willowbrook. Panic slammed into her chest, knocking the air from her lungs. She gasped and sat up. Had Dr. Baldwin locked her up again? Was she in House Six? She looked around. No other residents lay in white beds beside her. No other furniture filled the room; only the iron bed beneath her. She wasn’t in a ward, but what building was this? And how long had she been out? The barred window beside her revealed a dark sky. At least she wasn’t strapped down this time. She got up and tried the steel door. It was locked. She pounded on it.
“Hello?” she shouted. “Is anyone out there?”
No sounds came from the other side.
“Please!” she shouted as loudly as possible. “Can someone let me out of here?” She pounded on the door again, this time with both hands. “Hello?”
No one answered. No one came and unlocked the door.