Page 53 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

Wayne dragged her along the hallway, then took a right toward the pit. After unlocking the double doors and taking her through, he stopped at the third seclusion room on the right and dug his keys from his pocket again, his free hand like a vise on her arm. Behind the other riveted steel doors, voices cried and shouted and prayed. Someone hit one of the centered door panels so hard it sounded like a gong, making Sage jump. Down the hall behind them, the double doors opened and shut, and footsteps hurried toward her and Wayne. She turned to look, praying it was Dr. Baldwin coming to set her free—but she knew there hadn’t been enough time for Eddie to have shown him Rosemary’s body. And as she feared, it was Nurse Vic, carrying a syringe on a metal tray.

* * *

Sage woke with a start, her head throbbing and her forehead covered in sweat. She was lying on her side with her hands clamped together under her chin as if she’d fallen asleep praying. Something that felt like a leather strap tied her wrists together. No cot or mattress or blanket lay beneath her, but she was still wearing the shoes and coat Eddie had given her. Then an image of Rosemary’s body flashed in her mind, and a hot rush of grief lit up her chest. Her sister was dead.

With no idea how long she’d been in the pit or how much longer she would be kept there, she turned her head, blinking to clear the haze from her eyes, and tried to tell the time of day. But no light reached her. The room was pitch-black, the air heavy and rank. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. It made no difference. The darkness was complete and relentless. The surrounding walls felt thick and close, like the cushioned insides of an oversize coffin. Straightening her arms, she rolled over, leaned on her bound hands, and pushed herself onto her knees. Dizziness descended on her, and she closed her eyes and counted to ten, praying it would stop. When she regained her equilibrium, she blindly reached out to touch a wall. It was padded and rough, as if covered with canvas.

“Help!” she shouted. “Someone, please! Let me out of here!”

No one answered. No one unlocked the door or came into the room. She yelled again. Still nothing. How long had it been since she and Eddie had found Rosemary’s body? Two hours? Four? A day? A week? Panic gripped her, then she reminded herself that her imagination was probably making it feel longer than it actually was. She pushed herself onto her feet and edged forward, arms out, feeling for the door. When her hands landed on the padded door, she pounded on it, to no avail.

“Hello?” she yelled. “Is anyone out there?”

No one answered.

She pounded on the door again, focusing on the sliding panel in the center. Nothing. Standing in the dark—she felt like she was swaying but couldn’t be sure—she tried to think logically. They wouldn’t keep her in the pit forever. Surely Eddie had shown Dr. Baldwin her sister’s body by now. And when Dr. Baldwin realized she’d been telling the truth all along, he’d come over to the pit and release her—apologizing profusely, of course. Unless Eddie was right. Unless it would be easier for Dr. Baldwin to leave her locked up in House Six and get rid of Rosemary’s body than it would be to explain how a resident had been murdered. Dr. Baldwin and the people in charge would do anything, Eddie had said, to protect their jobs and reputations. He also said residents died in Willowbrook all the time, and no one cared. So what would one more death be among so many?

No. She couldn’t think that way. Eddie wouldn’t let that happen. If Dr. Baldwin tried to cover up Rosemary’s murder, Eddie would call the cops, who would demand her release and find the killer. Then, finally, this nightmare would be over. She wouldn’t let Dr. Baldwin get away with it either. No matter how long he kept her in the pit, she would wait this out and survive. Then, somehow—with or without Eddie’s help—she’d escape and find her sister’s murderer.

She sat down on the cold floor again. Leaning against a padded wall, she pictured the door opening, Eddie and Dr. Baldwin entering and helping her out of there, and Wayne and Marla and Nurse Vic all watching in awe and disbelief.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the sliding panel in the center of the door rattled and a thin sliver of light found its way through. The high-pitched shriek of metal sliding against metal made her cringe as the panel slid all the way up, and she blinked against the glare coming in from the hall. Then Nurse Vic’s makeup-caked face filled the opening, her dark brows and red lips like a cartoon character close up.

“You awake?” she said.

“Yes,” Sage said. “How long have I been in here?”

“Since yesterday morning.”

“What time is it now?”

“Six p.m.”

Sage stiffened, shocked and distraught that she’d been in there that long. Why hadn’t they released her yet? What was taking so long? There had to be a good explanation. Maybe they were waiting for the drugs to wear off so she could leave on her own two feet. “Are you here to let me out?”

“No,” Nurse Vic said. “Doctor’s orders. You have to stay until Dr. Baldwin can talk to you. Then he’ll decide what to do.”

“When will that be?”

“I’m not sure.”

“But I need to talk to him right now. It’s urgent.”

“Sorry, no can do. He already left for the day.”

A savage twist of fear ripped through Sage’s stomach. “What do you mean he already left? How could he?”

“The same way he does every day at five o’clock. He gets in his car and drives home.”

“But what about my sister? What about her body?”

The line between Nurse Vic’s penciled brows got deeper. “Don’t start up with that nonsense again.”

“It’s not nonsense! It’s the truth!” She could hardly contain her panic. Why hadn’t Nurse Vic heard about Rosemary’s murder? Why wasn’t Willowbrook crawling with cops? “What about Eddie?” she said. “Can I talk to him?”

“No. And you won’t be seeing him around House Six for a while either.”

“Why not?”

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