Page 95 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

“I want to,” he said. “I really do. But at this point your story is a little hard to swallow. If Eddie could leave Willowbrook to go to your house, why would he come back here?”

“I don’t know!” she cried. “Maybe you should ask him that! But I didn’t imagine it! I’m not sick like my sister!”

“No one said you were sick,” Nolan said.

She leapt up, ran toward the door, and tried the handle. It was locked. She spun around and stared at the men, all of them watching her with pity. “Let me out of here! I want to go home!”

Dr. Baldwin started toward her.

“No,” she cried. “Eddie, please! Tell them you were there. Tell them we went to the Top Hat.” She looked at Baldwin and Nolan with wide, tear-filled eyes. “We had pancakes and . . . and he played Pink Floyd on the eight-track!”

Eddie made a face. “Pink Floyd? Is that a band?”

“You know it is!” she shouted. “You said you saw them in concert!”

“Just calm down, Miss Winters,” Dr. Baldwin said. “Everything is going to be all right.”

She shook her head violently back and forth. “No! No, you’re not locking me up again.”

“No one said anything about locking you up,” Baldwin said. “We just want to help you get through this latest shock.”

She pleaded with Nolan. “But you went to the apartment. You saw the pillow and blanket on the couch where he slept.”

“I saw a blanket and pillow on the couch, yes. But that doesn’t mean anything.Youcould have slept there, for all I know.”

“No, I slept in my bed. What about the note? He left me a note and twenty dollars!”

“We found a note on the floor, but it wasn’t signed by anyone,” Nolan said. “And there was no date on it.”

She gaped at Eddie. “Please, don’t let them do this. Please!”

“We’re not going to do anything to you,” Dr. Baldwin said. “But I think it would be best if you stayed here for a couple of days, overnight at the very least. We’ve got a few short-term rooms in the main building for temporary admissions. I won’t put you in House Six again unless it becomes necessary, so don’t worry about that. It’s not likely that you’ll fall into full-blown psychosis like your sister, but we want to be on top of the situation to prevent that from happening.”

She shook her head again, gaping at Detective Nolan, horror filling her throat like oil. “You said you wouldn’t let him lock me up again!”

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.

---