Page 91 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

“Is it Eddie?” she said.

Nolan pushed his hat back on his head. “No, it’s not Eddie.”

“Who is it then?”

“It’s Wayne Myers.”

CHAPTER 23

Back in the service elevator, Sage took deep, even breaths, struggling to fight the dizziness and confusion that swirled inside her head. Wayne was dead. Which meant they were back at square one. “Where was he?” she asked Dr. Baldwin, whose colorless face was impossibly pale.

“The morgue attendant found him in the vault this morning,” Dr. Baldwin said.

“How did he die?” She looked back and forth between him and Nolan. “Did someone kill him?”

“We can’t be one hundred percent sure,” Nolan said. “But it certainly looks that way. From what we can tell so far, his throat was cut. But he’s a mess, so there could be other injuries we can’t determine yet.” He addressed Dr. Baldwin. “How many of your employees have keys to the morgue?”

Baldwin knit his brows together, thinking. “It’s hard to know for sure,” he said. “The attendants who transport bodies, several of the doctors, and the hospital janitors.”

“And as far as you know,” Nolan said, “Wayne Myers was not a patient in this hospital?”

“Of course not,” Dr. Baldwin said, shaking his head. “He was an employee.”

“Is it possible he was injured at work and taken over there?”

“I suppose it’s possible,” Dr. Baldwin said. “Anything is possible. But Nurse Vic would have known about that.”

“Are you informed every time a resident or employee is sent to the hospital?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m a psychiatrist, not a general practitioner, and I’m only one of many doctors who work here. I’m also in charge of numerous buildings and residents. I can’t keep track of everyone.”

“But you’re informed when a resident dies?”

“No, the general practitioners in charge of each building are supposed to be informed, not me.” He jabbed the button for the first floor and the elevator door lurched shut.

“Supposed to be?” Nolan sighed loudly and looked up as if trying not to lose his temper. Then he gave Baldwin a stern look. “My God, man. How do you keep track of anything here? I thought mistaking someone for a missing patient was bad enough.”

A thin sheen of sweat broke out on Dr. Baldwin’s forehead. “You do realize, Detective, that between residents and workers, we have nearly eight thousand souls here at Willowbrook. There’s no way I or anyone else, for that matter, can possibly stay on top of everything. I’m not sure where you’re going with this, but I don’t like it. And Wayne Myers emptied his locker before he left, remember?”

“Or someone emptied it for him.”

The elevator jerked to a stop and the doors opened. Sage hurried out and waited for Dr. Baldwin in the dim corridor. “I’m not sure why I had to come in here to find out Wayne was dead,” she said when he got out. “But now that I know, what do you need to tell me about Eddie?”

Detective Nolan locked eyes with Dr. Baldwin, and a silent understanding passed between them. Whether it was concern or sympathy was hard to tell. The exchange happened so fast someone else might not have noticed, but she did. Her mind screamed,Run!But there was nowhere to go. And she needed to know what they were hiding about Eddie.

“I think it would be best if I showed you,” Dr. Baldwin said.

* * *

Outside, the sleet had stopped and the wind had died down. When Sergeant Clark saw Nolan and Sage heading toward him across the parking lot, he started the vehicle. After they got in, Dr. Baldwin walked over and tapped on the window. Detective Nolan rolled it down.

“Follow me over to House Thirteen,” Dr. Baldwin said. “We’ll park behind the left wing and I’ll let you in through the employee entrance.”

Sage stiffened. “House Thirteen?” she said. “Why do we have to go there?”

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