Page 64 of Whispers Left Behind

Maybe it was the room’s muted lighting casting shadows on the wall, but the air was suddenly thick with tension. Douglas’s features were taut, and a sheen of perspiration was visible on his forehead. Alex took a few steps away from Kinsley. Suchaction had been ingrained in them from their time at the police academy.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” Heather muttered as she sidestepped Kinsley’s reach. Heather knocked rapidly on the door. “Mr. Baird?”

“Heather, move away from the bathroom. Now.” Kinsley held up a hand to indicate Douglas should remain in place. The nurse hesitated, but Alex stepped forward and took Heather by the arm. Once she was removed from the room, Kinsley lowered her arm. “Mr. Glynn, what am I going to find when I open this door?”

Kinsley unfastened the small leather strap of her holster before resting her hand on her firearm. She didn’t need to glance over her shoulder to know that Alex had now positioned himself properly to help if the situation warranted it.

“Please.” Douglas’ plea was a harsh whisper. “Louise is only trying to protect her son. She can’t lose another child. It would destroy her.”

It was obvious that Douglas wasn’t going to give Kinsley a straight answer. She braced herself before turning the handle and yanking the door open.

The bathroom was dark, but there was enough light from the room to reveal no one inside. Alex immediately ordered the security guard to contact his supervisor to provide an update on their current situation.

“Mr. Glynn, Louise stands to lose her life if I can’t find them immediately,” Kinsley said sharply, not concerned with the man’s emotional well-being right now. She waded into personal territory, knowing such direction usually reached an individual on a deeper level. “Gage slit his sister’s throat and stood there while she bled out. He won’t hesitate to do the same to his mother.”

“Louise is trying to get him away from the hospital," Douglas revealed as his eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t know. You have to believe me. I didn’t know until a few minutes ago when—”

“Don’t leave this room,” Kinsley ordered, not giving Douglas time to finish his speech. He could save it for a judge. “Alex!”

Kinsley exited the room, closing the door behind her. She caught sight of Alex near the nurses’ station. He was on the phone while the security guard had positioned himself next to the stairwell entrance. The doors at the end of each hallway began to close as an alarm blared from the overhead speakers.

“I’ll go room to room,” Kinsley called out to Alex. Concern for the other patients took precedence. “See if security can determine an exit or if they are still on the floor.”

Alex lifted a hand in acknowledgment as Kinsley began to search each room. Most beds contained sleeping patients who were now stirring upon hearing the alarm. She reassured them as best she could while clearing each space.

As she finally reached the last room on the right, a male nurse emerged with concern.

“What is—"

“Please join Heather at the nurses’ station,” Kinsley urged as she glanced at his nametag before quickly explaining their situation. Another thought came to mind. “Aiden, how many nurses are currently working this floor?”

“Just me and Heather.” Aiden gestured toward the other side of the floor. “We also have two orderlies with us tonight. Should I go and find them? I can—”

“No,” Kinsley swiftly replied with as much of a reassuring smile as she could under the circumstances. “Please go and stay at the nurses’ station. Let Detective Lanen know if you need to tend to a patient, and he or a security guard will accompany you.”

The piercing alarm abruptly stopped, only to be replaced by a brief buzzer. Kinsley turned her attention to the double doors on her side of the hallway. Two more security guards came rushing through, one of them remaining near the exit while the doors closed completely shut. She took the time to direct them to the other side of the floor.

She glanced down the hallway, but Alex was no longer in her line of sight.

Her mind raced as she considered the likelihood of finding Gage and Louise Baird. If the nurse believed Gage might need assistance in the bathroom, then his physical state must be too weak for Louise to have gotten far.

There was a really good chance he was still on the sixth floor.

After searching two more rooms across the hallway, she came upon a supply closet. As with each search thus far, she kept her firearm in its holster yet easily accessible. There was no need to turn on the light. That fact alone was what brought her up short.

A spike of adrenaline shot through her, but it was also too late for her to back out. Her gaze dropped to the droplets of blood on the linoleum floor, the trail beginning at the wheel of an IV stand.

“Gage, Louise…step out where I can see.” Kinsley used a measured tone, not willing to raise her voice so Alex and the other guards could hear her. There was no telling what would set Baird off, and she wasn’t willing to put the other patients in danger. “There is no reason for anyone else to get hurt.”

Muffled cries came from somewhere in the back behind a shelving unit. Kinsley glanced down to find a rubber stopper, so she carefully used her boot to wedge it under the door. She needed a quick exit if things went sideways.

Kinsley took a cautious step forward with her weapon trained in front of her.

“Gage, do you hear me? I need you to acknowledge me.”

Louise released another whimper, but Gage continued to remain silent. The air in the storage closet was cool, but that didn’t stop Kinsley’s hands from perspiring. She did her best to even out her breathing as she peered around the corner of the shelving unit.

Gage’s back was pressed against the far wall, his eyes wide with desperation. He clutched his mother to his chest while holding a scalpel mere centimeters from her neck. There was a slight tremor in his hand, and it wouldn’t be long before the blade cut into her skin.

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