Page 62 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

“Do you know what’s happening? Is someone coming to pick me up?”

“I’m sorry,” Evie said. “But you know I can’t help you.”

“Can you at least tell me if got hold of my stepfather yet?”

“You’ll have to ask Dr. Baldwin about that.”

Sage let go of the button and sat down hard in Dr. Baldwin’s chair.

Just then, a door shut and footsteps sounded in the waiting room. A male voice asked if there’d been any calls. Sage jumped up and went back to the folding chair. The door unlocked and opened, and Dr. Baldwin entered.

“What’s going on?” Sage said. “Why did you send for me?”

Dr. Baldwin went around his desk, pulled out his chair, and sat down, flipping his jacket away from his waist, then looked at her, his face unreadable.

Her heart boomed in her chest. “Did you find Rosemary?” she said.

“You know we didn’t,” he said.

“Did you talk to my stepfather?”

He shook his head. “I’ve had Evie call several times. Still no answer.”

“Then why am I here?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Someone knocked on the office door.

“Yes?” Dr. Baldwin said.

The door opened partway and Evie stuck her head inside. “They’re here.”

Sage felt something click inside her head, as if her brain were shoring up, preparing for shock. Who was there? Someone from the state security hospital? She stood and moved toward the wall, her hands reaching blindly behind her, as if searching for a hidden exit. “You can’t send me away. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Dr. Baldwin ignored her. “Let them in, Evie,” he said.

Sage slumped against the wall, certain she was about to break into a thousand pieces and fall to the floor like shattered glass. “No,” she said. “I was telling the truth about Dr. Wilkins. I promise I won’t cause any more trouble.”

When Evie opened the door all the way, two men entered the room, one in a police uniform, the other in a wool overcoat and black goulashes. Sage went rigid. Did they send cops to help take residents to the state security hospital? Was she about to be handcuffed and hauled away?

Then she had another thought, and a tiny spark of hope ignited inside her. Maybe Eddie had made the anonymous call to report Rosemary’s murder.

Evie stood in the doorway nervously chewing her thumbnail, her other hand on the knob.

“You can go now, Evie,” Dr. Baldwin said.

Evie nodded and reluctantly closed the door, worry written on her face. The man in the wool coat gave Sage the once-over as he moved toward Dr. Baldwin’s desk, holding out his hand. He looked to be in his midthirties, with unruly hair and stubble on his cheeks. The uniformed cop stood straight-backed and steady near the door.

“I’m Detective Sam Nolan with the NYPD, 121st Precinct,” the man in the wool jacket said. “This is my partner, Sergeant Clark.”

Sage’s breath caught in her throat. He wasn’t from the other institution.

Dr. Baldwin stood, shook the detective’s hand, and gave the sergeant a brief nod. “Dr. Donald Baldwin, Willowbrook’s psychiatric director.”

“I’m here on what could be a sensitive matter,” Detective Nolan said. He glanced at Sage. “May I talk freely?”

“Yes, please do,” Dr. Baldwin said. “I have nothing to hide.”

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