Page 94 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

Dr. Baldwin shook his head, like a teacher dealing with a disobedient student.

“Sage said you were driving a red Mustang,” Detective Nolan said.

“Cool,” Eddie said. “Except I don’t know how to drive.”

A miserable clutch of fear twisted in her stomach. “What are you doing, Eddie?” she said. “Why are you lying?”

Dr. Baldwin looked at Detective Nolan. “Do you want to tell her, or do you want me to do it?”

“Tell mewhat?” She felt like throwing up.

Baldwin cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Miss Winters, but what you’re saying is impossible. Eddie doesn’t work at Willowbrook. Well, he does, but he’s not a paid employee. He’s been a resident here since he was nine years old, when he was found at Grand Central Station with a sign around his neck that said,Take Me to Willowbrook. And like a number of the long-time residents, he empties the trash cans and mops the floors because we’re understaffed and it keeps him out of trouble. At least it did, until you came along. He doesn’t have a driver’s license, let alone access to a vehicle, so he couldn’t possibly have been at your apartment last night.”

The floor seemed to drop out from beneath her. She couldn’t feel her legs. This was a setup after all. They didn’t believe her. They thought she was crazy. But what she said was true. Eddie had been there. He’d taken her to the Top Hat. He’d folded the blanket on the couch before he left.

Unless.

Unless . . .

She started to shake. Unless she’d imagined the whole thing. Unless being locked up in Willowbrook had unearthed the hidden parts of her brain that were twin to Rosemary’s. Unlessherhead was full of ghosts too. She gaped at Eddie, tears blurring her vision.

“Why are you doing this?” she said. “Why aren’t you helping me?”

“I’m not doing anything.”

A booming noise filled her head. It was too loud. Too overwhelming. All of this was too much—too unbelievable, too ridiculous. She looked at Dr. Baldwin. “If he doesn’t work here, how did he take me down into the tunnels? How did he get a key?”

“Detective Nolan and I discussed that with Eddie yesterday,” Dr. Baldwin said. “He says someone left the door to the tunnels open when the reporters broke into House Six, and you must have taken advantage of the situation to try to escape. I can assure you he never had a key.”

“That’s not true,” she said. “We planned the whole thing together. Remember when I told you he overheard the doctors talking about Dr. Wilkins giving the reporter the key to House Six? Eddie and I knew we could get into the tunnels when they arrived because he had a key. He said he lied to you about it because you would have fired him for helping me, but you made him work in another building instead.”

“Well, he’s not an employee so he couldn’t have been fired,” Dr. Baldwin said. “But I did prevent him from working in House Six again, that part is true. But that is neither here nor there. Residents are not allowed to have keys.”

“But he came into the ward in the middle of the night. Hemusthave one!” she said. “And I saw keys in his hands! He also called the cops because he knew you’d try to cover up Rosemary’s murder. And I don’t care what he says or what you say, he came to my house last night!” She turned to Eddie. “Tell them!”

“Sorry,” Eddie said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re lying!” she said, close to screaming. “You picked me up in a red Ford Mustang and drove me to the Top Hat for breakfast! You even paid the bill!” She pointed at Detective Nolan. “He sent someone to the diner to talk to the waitress, so you might as well tell the truth!”

“Maybe Detective Nolan sent someone to check out your story because he knows it’s impossible,” Dr. Baldwin said. “He’s known since last evening that Eddie is a resident.”

Nolan gave Dr. Baldwin an irritated look, then said, “I’ll confirm one way or the other when I hear back from Officer McNally.”

“Then call the station,” she said. “See if he’s back yet.”

“I will. As soon as we’re done here.”

“Excuse me for stating the obvious,” Dr. Baldwin said, “but how on earth can anyone prove it was Eddie at the diner? It could have easily been some other boy.”

“Iris knows my friends,” Sage said. “She thought Eddie was my cousin.” She turned to Nolan. “Will Officer McNally ask her about that? Will he ask her if I was with one of my usual friends?”

“Maybe,” he said. “But unless Iris knows Eddie or has seen him before, technically Dr. Baldwin is correct. There’s really no way to prove it was him.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “It was him, I swear on my life.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Winters,” Dr. Baldwin said, using the same tone he’d used when he thought she was Rosemary. “But there’s no way Eddie came to your apartment last night. And you see how this looks, don’t you?”

“Of course I see how it looks,” she said. “But Eddie’s lying!” She turned to Detective Nolan. “You believe me, don’t you?”

---