Page 63 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

“As I told your secretary earlier,” the detective said. “We received an anonymous call from one of your employees early this morning. He said he found a body in the basement, a young woman named Rosemary Winters. Do you know anything about that?”

Sage nearly cried out in relief. Eddie had done it. He’d called the police.Thank God.Now she just had to make sure Dr. Baldwin didn’t lie his way out of it. She stood up straight and stared at the detective, willing him to read the truth in her eyes.

Dr. Baldwin let out a halfhearted chuckle. “I was told that as well,” he said. “But I can assure you there are no dead bodies in our basement. Or our attic for that matter.” He forced an uneasy smile. “Our head of security and I did a thorough search and found nothing amiss or suspicious.”

“It was my sister,” Sage said. “I saw her body down in the tunnels, but someone moved her.”

Nolan turned toward her. “And you are?”

“Sage Winters. It was my twin sister, Rosemary.” She eyed Dr. Baldwin. “But he doesn’t believe me.”

“Detective,” Dr. Baldwin said, smiling. “Let’s remember that Miss Winters is a Willowbrook resident for a reason. She truly has no concept of reality.”

“He’s lying!” Sage cried. “I came here looking for my sister because she went missing and he locked me up because he thinks I’m her!”

“That’s simply not the case,” Dr. Baldwin said. “Miss Winters is a paranoid schizophrenic. She thinks everyone is ‘out to get her,’ including me.”

With a look of concerned concentration, Detective Nolan took a pad of paper from his pocket, jotted something down, then turned his attention to Dr. Baldwin. “You said you were told there was a body down there as well,” he said. “May I ask who told you that?”

“Certainly. It was Miss Winters.” Baldwin gestured toward Sage. “That’s why I wanted her here in my office when you arrived. She needs to learn once and for all that her antics have real-life consequences. You see, we caught her trying to escape, not for the first time, I might add, so she has come up with an elaborate story about finding her twin sister’s body in the tunnels to distract us.”

“That’s not true,” Sage said, her voice rattled by anger. “She was there! I saw her!”

Nolan looked at the doctor for a moment. “So you’re telling me there’s no body?”

“That’s exactly right. There’s no body. Miss Winters has been going by numerous names for years now. She claimed one of the other residents was her sister, but I believe they’ve had a spat. And now, suddenly, she says she has a twin sister. Adeadtwin sister. But you have to understand, thinking that way is a result of her many conditions. She also has what’s called split personality disorder, among other problems.”

Sage furiously shook her head. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. My sister was ill, but I swear to you, I’m not. I’m perfectly sane. You can’t believe anything he tells you because he’s trying to cover up what happens here. This place isn’t a school. It’s like a concentration camp! A prison! Didn’t you see it on the news? The staff abuses the residents and—”

“Miss Winters,” Dr. Baldwin interrupted, his voice granite. “Do I need to send you into the waiting room?”

She hesitated. She had to be careful. “Please,” she said, turning to him, her eyes filling. “I’m begging you. Just tell them the truth.”

“You know perfectly well that Iamtelling the truth,” he said. “But I’m also losing patience with you. So I suggest you keep quiet until a staff member arrives to take you back to your ward.” He looked at the detective. “Please continue, Detective Nolan.”

“So you’re saying Miss Winters made up a story about the body in the tunnels, correct?”

“She either made it up or actually believes she saw it. It’s hard to tell with someone who suffers from her illness.”

“But the person who called the station said he was an employee. And he was male. How do you explain that?”

Dr. Baldwin shrugged. “Unless you can give me a name, I can’t.”

“The call was made anonymously.”

Sage opened her mouth to tell them it was Eddie, then stopped. She didn’t want him to get fired for calling the cops.

“It’s quite possible that one of our employees caught wind of Miss Winters’s story,” Dr. Baldwin said. “Because as you can imagine, a place like this is ripe with gossip. And sadly, there are employees who like to start trouble for those of us in charge.” He looked at Sage. “Who else did you tell about this wild idea of yours?”

She ignored him and kept her eyes on the detective. “You need to check the tunnels again. Or the morgue. No one would even notice another dead body in this place because people die here all the time and they cover it up. My sister was down there, but someone moved her. I swear I’m telling the truth.”

Another knock sounded on the door. Sage ignored it. “Please, you have to listen to me.”

“What is it?” Dr. Baldwin shouted, scowling at the door.

A man’s muffled voice came from the other side. “Picking up.”

“Enter.” Baldwin looked at Nolan. “Excuse me, Detective, but someone is here to take Miss Winters back to her ward. I just wanted her here long enough to see the trouble she’s caused. She needs to know that giving a false report is not only wrong, it’s against the law.”

---