Page 51 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

He hesitated for a moment, unsure, then turned and kept running. She stood and tried to keep up, but it was no use. Between too little sleep, too little food, and the shock and grief of discovering Rosemary’s body, her strength was nearly spent. Her chest ached from the frigid air, and a stitch caught in her side. When she saw House Six in the distance, she slowed.

Eddie stood in the road next to a Chrysler New Yorker parked in front of the building, looking toward the campus entrance with one hand on the top of his head, as if he were lost. No news van sat in front of the building or trundled along the road toward the exit. No men with cameras and microphones surrounded Eddie or House Six.

The reporters were gone.

“Damn it,” she said, stopping to catch her breath. The cold air felt like a knife in her lungs. What were they supposed to do now? If Eddie told Dr. Baldwin about Rosemary and he didn’t believe him or tried to cover it up, getting out of Willowbrook and finding out who killed her sister would be impossible. Eddie looked back at her, throwing his arms up in frustration. She wiped her wet cheeks with frigid hands and started toward him. They would have to take their chances with Dr. Baldwin. They had to go to his office and tell him what they found. There was no other choice.

Then Sage stopped in her tracks. Wayne and Marla were coming out of the main doors of House Six, followed by Dr. Baldwin, who look red-faced and disheveled. She crouched in the snow. If Dr. Baldwin thought she was running away, he’d have Wayne and Marla drag her back to Ward D and pump her full of drugs before she could convince him what happened. Yes, she and Eddie were going to tell him about Rosemary, but first they had to get their story straight.

“Just pretend you’re going to work and enter the building, Eddie,” she said under her breath. “Act like nothing happened. Then you can come back out and get me and we’ll go to Dr. Baldwin’s office together.”

She pressed her nails into her palms, waiting to see what Eddie would do. As she had hoped, he turned down the sidewalk toward a door at the end of one wing. But Dr. Baldwin had already spotted him. He raised his hand and called out. When Eddie stopped, Dr. Baldwin started toward him.

Sage held her breath. Did they know she was missing from House Six? Had they counted the residents after the news crew left?

She was too far away to hear what was being said, but Dr. Baldwin started shouting at Eddie, his hands in fists, his face twisted in anger. Then he thrust out his arm and pointed at House Six as if ordering him inside. Eddie took a step back, but Dr. Baldwin seized his wrist and wouldn’t let go. When Wayne and Marla hurried over and grabbed him by the arms, Sage drew in a sharp breath. Why were they treating him that way? Did they think he was the one who let the reporters inside?

She wanted to yell at them to leave him alone, to tell them Eddie hadn’t done anything wrong, but she clamped a hand over her mouth. Dr. Baldwin wouldn’t listen to her, and if he thought Eddie was helping her run away, they’d both be in big trouble.

Glancing toward the distant gate of Willowbrook’s main entrance, she wondered if she should make a run for it. The problem was, even if she could get there without being seen, she’d never get past the guard in the middle of the day. Maybe she should wait until dark. She eyed the nearby buildings and trees. If she could hide behind something, she could stay put until nightfall, then sneak out. Even if the gates were closed by then, she’d find a way out through the woods somehow. And once she was free, she’d go to the police, bring them back here, and show them Rosemary’s body. After that, Dr. Baldwin would have to release her. He’d have no choice.

When she looked back at House Six, she startled. Wayne and Marla were plowing toward her, clambering over snowbanks and trudging through drifts. Terrified, she froze. Then she jumped up and ran toward a stand of trees, slipping and sliding in the oversize boots. The cold air stabbed her chest as she ran and tripped and almost tumbled. By the time she was halfway to the trees, she was certain she’d gained ground. She risked a look back and let out a shriek. Wayne was only a few feet away, his breath billowing out in the cold, his muscular arms reaching for her. She tried to run faster, but her feet caught in the snow and she fell face-first into a drift.

Wayne stood over her, beast-like and breathing hard, then grabbed her arm and yanked her up. “You and your little boyfriend took it too far this time,” he said. “No one makes me look bad and gets away with it.”

“Let go of me!” Sage shrieked. “We found Rosemary!”

“Sure you did,” Wayne said. He dug his fingers into her biceps and hauled her back toward House Six. She pounded on his face and shoulder and chest, but couldn’t get away.

When Marla reached them, winded and panting and limping worse than ever, she took Sage’s other arm. “What’d you get your damn self into this time?” she said.

“We found my sister!” Sage said. “She’s dead!”

Marla rolled her eyes. “Oh, Lord have mercy. Not the sister story again.”

Sage started to say more, but she could hardly catch her breath. It didn’t matter if Wayne and Marla believed her or not, anyway. The person she needed to convince was Dr. Baldwin, and that would take every ounce of strength she had left. Exhausted both physically and emotionally, she stumbled and tripped, staggering like a drunk, nearly falling every few steps. Exasperated, Wayne picked her up and carried her across the yard. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to think about his hands cutting Rosemary’s throat, his arms carrying her bloody body. When they reached the icy sidewalk in front of House Six, he put her down and shoved her forward. Eddie hurried over to catch her before she fell.

“There’s no need to be rough,” he snarled at Wayne.

“What are you going to do about it, punk?” Wayne sneered. He pushed Eddie away and dragged Sage over to Dr. Baldwin, who still looked shaken by the news crew’s surprise visit. His hair stuck up on one side and his shirt collar was cockeyed. He glared at Sage, anger hardening his face.

“What the hell are you doing out here?” he said.

Sage looked at Eddie. Had Dr. Baldwin asked him why he was out there? Did he know they were out there together? Eddie’s face revealed nothing. She had no idea if he would have lied or told the truth. “I . . . I found Rosemary,” she said. “Someone killed her.”

Dr. Baldwin jerked back his chin and gaped at her like she had three heads. “Good Lord,” he said. “Now I’ve heard everything.” He glanced toward the snow-covered lawn. “Where is she, over there behind the trees? Buried in a snowbank somewhere?” Sarcasm colored his voice.

“I know you don’t believe me,” Sage said. “But it’s true. She’s in the tunnels. And she was murdered.”

Dr. Baldwin smacked his palm against his forehead, grinning like he was on the edge of losing his mind. “Of course she is,” he said. “Why didn’t I think of that? How foolish of me.” Then his face went dark and he addressed Wayne. “Take her inside and put her in the pit. She needs to learn once and for all to stop running away. I don’t care how long it takes. Right now I need to find out how those damn reporters got inside and deal with that. Then I’ll get to the bottom of her latest stunt.”

Wayne seized Sage again. Marla grabbed her other arm.

“No!” Eddie said. “She’s telling the truth. Her sister’s body is in the old maintenance tunnel leading out to the employee parking lot near the hospital.” He looked at Dr. Baldwin. “We can show you.”

“How do you know?” Dr. Baldwin said. “Were you in the tunnels with her?”

Eddie nodded.

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