Page 60 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

She cringed inside. If she admitted that she’d told Dr. Baldwin about Dr. Wilkins giving the reporter a key, Eddie might stop helping her. Even if she could convince him that she hadn’t mentioned his uncle, he might still be angry enough to desert her. For now, she couldn’t take that risk. If the truth ever came to light, hopefully he’d remember she’d been fighting for her life.

“I couldn’t believe he agreed to it either,” she said. “Maybe he’s scared because that story about Willowbrook came out on the news. His secretary turned it on while I was in his office and he was pretty upset. Did you see it?”

He nodded. “Hopefully it’ll help change things around here, but I’m not holding my breath.”

“What about your uncle? Have you told him what happened to Rosemary?”

“If I say one word to him about being down in the tunnels with you, he’ll force me to quit working here. And how am I supposed to make him believe your sister’s dead when her body has disappeared?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice filled with desperation. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way Rosemary had been sitting in the cramped tunnel, like she was waiting to be found. And Sage had failed her. Again. She looked at Eddie. “Do you think I’m right? Do you think Wayne did it? Maybe she threatened to tell someone what he was doing to her.”

“I don’t think that would be reason enough for Wayne to kill her. He knows no one would believe her, that’s why he gets away with the things he does.”

“What if he had another reason?”

He furrowed his brow. “Like what?”

She thought for a moment, then gasped, surprised it hadn’t occurred to her before. “Maybe she didn’t have that operation. Maybe he got her pregnant.”

“Well, if he killed her, he moved her body too. How long was he in House Six with you after he and Marla took you back inside?”

“He stopped at the nurses’ station to talk to Nurse Vic for a minute, then he took me to the pit and restrained me while she gave me a shot. One of them bound my wrists together, but after that I don’t know what happened.” A sick feeling swirled in her stomach. She hadn’t thought about the fact that she couldn’t remember anything after she was drugged. When she’d woken up, she was still wearing the trousers, and as far as she could tell, she hadn’t been violated. But who knew what Wayne might have done while she was unconscious? “I don’t think Nurse Vic would have left him alone in there with me. I hope not anyway.”

“If he did it, he would have needed enough time to make it all the way over to Rosemary and move her before Baldwin and I went down there. And the only way he could have done that without Nurse Vic wondering where he was would be if he left the residents alone in the dayroom.”

Sage nodded. “Which sounds exactly like something he would do.”

CHAPTER 16

The next day, Sage sat alone in Dr. Baldwin’s office, anxiety clawing at her nerves. Earlier that morning, Leonard had retrieved her from the ward and taken her into the tunnels, refusing to answer her questions about where they were going and why. At first she thought he was taking her to the morgue to identify her sister—that, somehow, Rosemary’s body had miraculously been found. But then he turned in the other direction, took her up into the main building, and led her along a maze of hallways and elevators until they reached Dr. Baldwin’s office. After Evie let them inside, Leonard told Sage to sit, then left her there while Evie locked the door behind him.

When they were gone, Sage jumped up from the chair, went around the desk, and picked up the phone. Hands shaking, she tried to think. When Dr. Baldwin asked Evie to get Alan on the line last night, he said it was Saturday. That meant today was Sunday. Trying to call Alan again would be pointless, but Heather or Dawn should be home. Please God let one of them be home. She put the receiver to her ear, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst through her chest. Except, for some reason, she couldn’t remember Heather’s number. And she’d dialed it a thousand times.Shit.She took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and pushed the chaos from her mind. Finally the number came to her and she dialed it with trembling fingers, the whirl and click of the rotary like bones grinding in her ears. With the receiver tight in her fist, she kept her eyes locked on the door in case someone came in. But no ringing sounded on the other end of the line. No one picked up or said hello. She hung up briefly and got ready to try again, then realized for the first time that there was no dial tone. Frantic, she pressed the hang up button repeatedly. Still nothing. Scanning the extension buttons beneath the dialer, she prayed one of them would connect the phone to an outside line. She pushed the one next to the red HOLD button. After what felt like forever, the phone rang on the other end. Once, twice, three times. Finally someone picked up.

“Dr. Hammond’s office,” A female voice said.

Sage froze, unsure. Then, in the steadiest voice she could manage, she said, “I’m sorry. I’m trying to dial out. Can you connect me?”

“This is the head of administration’s office,” the woman said, “not the switchboard.”

“How do I get the switchboard?” Sage said.Please don’t ask who you’re speaking to.

“You need to dial zero.”

“Thank you,” Sage said, and hung up.

Suddenly Evie’s voice came over the intercom, making her jump. “Get off the phone, Miss Winters. I can see you’re trying to use it.”

Ignoring her, Sage picked up the receiver again and dialed zero.

Another female voice answered. “Operator, how may I direct your call?”

“I . . . I need to dial out,” Sage said.

Then the line clicked and Evie’s voice came on. “Operator, this is Dr. Baldwin’s secretary. There will be no outside calls from his line for the time being. I’ll let you know when he returns to his office and you can open it up again.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the operator said. “I understand.” Then she hung up.

“Hello?” Sage said. “Hello, operator?” She pushed the hang up button again and again, but the line was dead. She slammed down the receiver. “Damn it!” she yelled, tears of frustration burning her eyes. She pressed the button on the intercom. “Please, Evie. I just need to make one phone call, that’s all. Just one. Please.”

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