Page 35 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

Out in the hall, Norma slipped through the double doors and disappeared. With a growing sense of horror, Sage realized Norma could lock her in the seclusion hall. And if she got caught, someone might think she escaped from one of the rooms. She raced to the double doors and pulled on one of the handles. Her shoulders dropped in relief: Norma had forgotten to lock the doors behind her. But she could still lock Sage out of the ward. And if Nurse Vic or Marla caught her out there alone, they’d think she was trying to escape again. She scurried to the end of the hall and peered down the main corridor. It was empty. And Norma was nowhere to be seen. She started around the corner, then stopped, turned around, and pressed her back against the wall, breathing hard.

No one but Norma knew she was out there, and she’d probably locked her out of the ward by now. If Sage went in the other direction, maybe she’d find a way out. She looked left and right, trying to decide which way to go. To the left was the nurses’ station, the dayroom, and the door to the tunnels. To the right—who knew what she’d find? Maybe an open window, an unlocked door, or another way into the tunnels. She leaned against the wall again, trying to decide if it was worth the risk.

“What are you doing?” someone said in her ear, making her jump.

It was Norma.

“Jesus Christ,” Sage said, one hand over her racing heart. “You scared the shit out of me.”

Norma stared at her with furious eyes. “I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “And if you try running away again, I’ll get Nurse Vic. If you tell on me, I’ll tell on you.”

Sage’s stomach fell. Suddenly she had to choose between protecting Norma and a chance at escape. But there was no guarantee she’d find a way out. The only guarantee was that Normawouldtell on her if she tried. “I was looking for you, that’s all.” She started down the main hall. “Let’s get back before someone notices we’re gone.”

Norma scoffed and moved around her, bumping her shoulder like a bully in school, then hurried toward the corridor leading to their ward. Sage followed, her heart still in her throat. When they reached Ward D, Norma turned at the door to face her.

“You should be careful,” she whispered. “Or I’ll tell Nurse Vic and Wayne you’re not taking your pills.”

“But I am,” Sage said.

“No, you’re not. You’re lying again. I saw you breaking them on the floor and spreading them under the couch.”

Before Sage could respond, Norma unlocked the door and slipped back inside Ward D. Sage took a deep breath and followed, immediately dropping to her knees. By some miracle, Marla was still sleeping and Norma was able to return her keys without incident.

After Sage crawled back into bed, she stayed awake half the night trying to figure out if Wayne might know where Rosemary was or what happened to her. She tried to remember how he’d acted when he first saw her—she’d been near hysteria, so she couldn’t be completely sure if her memories were accurate. She thought he’d seemed surprised, but not necessarily shocked, which probably meant he hadn’t kidnapped or killed Rosemary. But he still might know where she had gone. Then she had another thought, and her heart pounded harder: Unless heknewshe was Rosemary’s twin because he knew where Rosemary was, and as long as Sage was there, he wouldn’t be caught or get in trouble for whatever he’d done. Her mind reeled with the possibility.

When she finally fell into an exhausted sleep, her dreams were nightmarish and frantic—running through endless halls calling for Rosemary, knowing she’d never find her. Rosemary in the corner of their bedroom at home, crying and laughing and screaming. Rosemary sitting on a rock next to a tree, her hair hanging over her face, and when Sage brushed back Rosemary’s hair to talk to her, it was Tina, her skin marled and scarred.

Long before dawn, Sage was startled awake by a high-pitched shriek and hysterical crying.

CHAPTER 9

While Sage waited in line for her pills the next morning, she kept an eye on the dayroom door, hoping Eddie would be the janitor again instead of the man with the orthopedic shoes. When Eddie emerged a few minutes later pushing a mop and bucket, she said a silent prayer of thanks. At least he hadn’t gotten in trouble for speaking to her, and now that he was back, maybe they’d get a chance to talk. At the nurses’ station, Nurse Vic had returned to dole out the daily meds. More than anything Sage wanted to tell her about Wayne—what he’d done to Rosemary, and what he was doing to Norma. But if something became of it, Norma would tell Nurse Vic and Marla that she wasn’t taking her pills. At the same time, the thought of him getting away with everything made her ill. And who knew how many other girls and women he’d assaulted? Maybe Sage could tell Nurse Vic about him without mentioning specific details, like the location of the secret room or Norma’s involvement.IfSage could get her to listen at all. Earlier she’d thought about saying something to Marla, but Norma had been watching her like a hawk in the ward.

“I know you won’t listen because you think I’m Rosemary,” she said to Nurse Vic as she stepped up to the counter. “But you and Leonard are right about Wayne. I think he knows what happened to my sister.”

As suspected, Nurse Vic had “ignoring the residents” down to a science. She kept working, her caked-on face powder and thick eyeliner like a mask. “Take your pills and move along,” she said without looking up.

“I’m pretty sure he was having sex with her before she disappeared. He took her somewhere so no one would find out. And now he’s doing it to another girl, too.”

With that, Nurse Vic raised her head, a strange fire burning in her eyes. Sage couldn’t tell if it was fear, anger, or something else. “If someone is hurting you,” she said, biting off every word, “that’s something you need to talk to your doctor about. Not me.”

“When am I supposed to do that?” Sage said. “I haven’t seen Dr. Baldwin since he locked me up.”

Nurse Vic gave her an icy glare. “Take your pills and move along.”

Sage knew she ought to be careful, but she couldn’t help herself. Her anger was too raw. “What’s wrong with you?” she said. “I thought you were a nurse. I thought you were supposed to take care of people.”

“Oh, I can take care of you,” Nurse Vic said. “I can give you something stronger to calm you down if I think you need it.”

Fuming and feeling helpless, Sage took a plastic cup from the woman in the gray skirt, put the orange pills in her mouth, and, once she was far enough away, spat them into her hand again. It seemed like Eddie was her only hope.

She fixed her eyes on him. Would he acknowledge her today, or just give her the same strange look he’d given her while smoking with Wayne? Maybe he’d ignore her completely so he wouldn’t get yelled at again. When he walked by, pushing the mop bucket, he winked at her but kept going. It was a small gesture, but it gave her a tiny bit of hope.

If he came into the dayroom again, she’d find a way to talk to him this time, no matter what. And she’d stay as far away from Norma as possible. Wayne too.

In the dayroom, she tried again to talk to poor Tina, who was back to sitting in the middle of tables with her eyes closed, but got no reply. Tina no longer looked at her; she didn’t speak or sing or cry. Sage wondered if they had taken out her tongue too. Nothing would surprise her.

When Wayne circled close by on his rounds, she stared at the floor, certain he would read the truth in her eyes: She knew he was a sexual predator, a rapist who took advantage of his position. She suspected him of doing something to Rosemary, but even if that suspicion turned out to be wrong, Sage was still going to expose him. As soon as she could prove her true identity and everyone realized she’d been telling the truth all along, she would reveal his secrets and make him pay.

---