Forgotten Place (38 page)

I read a blurb with great
interest. 
Dunhaven was pleased to
announce to the public by 1965, that all patients were treated with
antipsychotic medications except for the most severe and violent
cases of schizophrenia which continued to receive older therapies
as an adjunct to pharmacology.  Dunhaven installed a state of
the art pharmacy in the basement of the hospital by the end of
1955, which continues to operate today.

Digging around at Dunhaven.  Storm
provided Lowe with access to succinylcholine, a drug that I had
completely forgotten was used early in the treatment in
electroconvulsive therapy. 

The hairs on the back of my neck rose. 
"Shit."  Jerry Lowe's mother had been a chronic patient at
Dunhaven for most of his life. 

Johnny still had my cell phone.  Did he
have it in his pocket?

I closed the browser and
slipped the keys to the Expedition into my purse.  What would
a little peek out at Dunhaven hurt?  The place was locked up
tighter than Fort Knox.  It wasn't like I could
actually
do
anything.  Unless... maybe Zack could get me a search
warrant.

I picked up the phone on Crevan's desk, eyes
on Johnny to make sure he remained engrossed in his conversation
with Darnell.

Zack answered immediately. 

"I don't have much time.  What are the
odds of getting a warrant for me to search Dunhaven?"  I
explained the parts of Riley Storm's confession that seemed
relevant.  "He said the answers are at Dunhaven, Zack. 
Dig around at Dunhaven.  The pharmacy is in the
basement.  Surely they have records of when succinylcholine is
dispensed.  If I can link what was used to Lowe and Storm,
it'll convict both of them for McNamara's murder."

"And Johnny's on board with this?"

"Yes, of course.  He's on the phone
with Chris Darnell arranging to transfer Dr. Storm to OSI.  We
don't want anyone slipping inside Downey and killing him before he
can be prosecuted."

"I'll call the judge.  Stay by the
fax.  This could come through quickly."

"Thanks, Zack.  This isn't the outcome
I'd hoped for, but I think that if Dr. Storm feels sufficiently
boxed into a conviction, he'll cave and tell us the name of the man
who's been pulling the strings all along."

Johnny's profile entered the periphery of my
vision.  I disconnected the call.

"You told Carpenter that Storm
confessed?"

I nodded.  

"I'm going to keep eyes on the good doctor
until Chris gets a team over here.  It shouldn't take
long.  Half hour at best, probably a little more.  Are
you all right hanging around until the transfer is done?"

I rose and slid my hands up his chest. 
"Do you have my cell phone with you?"

"Why?"

I pointed to the phone list
on the border of Crevan's desktop calendar.  "He's got
business numbers, but I wanted to call Maya, and I don't remember
her cell number.  It's programmed into my phone." 
Okay, Mr. Human Lie Detector.  See through
this whopper.
  One hand slipped behind
his neck and carded through the hair at the nape.  "I thought
maybe having a chat with her might make the time pass faster...
until we can go home and decompress."

His eyes glazed with genuine emotion, sort
of distant and wistful at the same time.  "What you said to
Riley when you first talked to him –"

"Johnny, I warned you that I'd say or do
anything to keep him off balance.  I love you."  His
stubborn resolve not to let me move at my own pace on the
investigation seemed justification enough for bending the truth a
little bit.  We could get evidence that would force Storm to
finger Datello in a matter of hours.  I wasn't willing to wait
any longer.

Never underestimate the power of words
people want to hear.  Johnny crumbled before my eyes. 
"It's in my coat," he murmured.  "I'll make sure this happens
as quickly as possible."

"Make sure he's transferred safely,
Johnny.  We can't afford to lose him."

He nibbled at my lips.  "Don't worry,
honey.  I know what's at stake here."

Probably my soul, and he certainly wasn't
aware of it.  If I could find evidence and make Storm more
afraid of the law than he was Danny Datello, I could be on a flight
to Hawaii with an arrest warrant by sunrise.  The thought
tantalized more than I realized.  I moved out of the embrace
and retrieved the much missed iPhone.

Instead of calling Maya, I waited for Johnny
to go down to the tombs and stand guard over Storm.  I took
post at the fax machine and counted double heartbeats for every
second until the paper tray hummed to life. 

I snatched the warrant off the fax and
shoved it into my purse.  Next stop Dunhaven.

Chapter 34

On the way to Fielding, I called the
hospital and requested that Administrator Sykes be summoned to meet
me when I arrived, after a terse explanation that I would be
serving a search warrant for pharmacy records.

"Ma'am, our pharmacy is closed at this hour,
and I really doubt that –"

"Which part of warrant and cooperation not
optional was unclear to you?  Get Administrator Sykes out to
the hospital.  I'll be there in thirty minutes."

The tires of the Expedition crunched over
the white rock driveway at Dunhaven.  I anticipated Lowe
inside, frothing at the mouth to make his way into the pharmacy and
start destroying records. 

When armed security met me at the front door
of the hospital and demanded to see the warrant before I would be
allowed to enter, I was a little surprised at the hostility. 
Then again, I hadn't put forth my friendliest, least accusatory
approach on the phone with whomever I'd spoken to. 

He scanned the document quickly.  "It
seems to be in order, detective.  Sorry to be abrupt. 
Dunhaven is sensitive about being forced to open our records for
any purpose, but since this is limited to the pharmacy,
Administrator Sykes said we should be cooperative.  He's not
calling the hospital's legal team."

"Sykes isn't here yet?"

"No, ma'am.  He told me I should take
you through the exterior entrance to the pharmacy where he'll join
you as soon as he arrives."

That was more like it.  I nodded curtly
and followed him outside the hospital.  We made the long trek
around the building to the rear entrance.  Several doors
granted entrance to the building.  The guard chose and old
metal door without a window and shoved a key into a key-only
deadbolt.  There was no knob on the door.  He jerked it
open and flicked a switch inside the door.

"After you, detective.  Pardon the
mess.  This entrance is seldom used, but opens to a tunnel
that leads directly to the section of the basement where the
pharmacy is located."  He gestured for me to enter.

Seldom used was apt.  Cobwebs dipped
from the ceilings and frosted the walls of the narrow staircase of
uneven stone steps that led to pitch blackness below.  A
single light bulb dangled from ancient wiring in the stairwell
ceiling.

"I'm right behind you, ma'am.  There's
another switch at the bottom of the stairs that will illuminate the
tunnel.  If you'll just proceed, I'll close this door."

I moved quickly down the stairs in search of
the light switch and tried not to imagine a host of disturbed
spiders descending on me in the meantime.  As my foot hit the
final step, and I landed on mossy soil, the stairwell plunged into
darkness, and the door behind me slammed shut.

"Son of a... Sir?"  I called out. 
The muffled sound didn't echo.  "What the hell," I
muttered.  I pulled out the iPhone and used the screen to
illuminate the darkness around me, hopefully finding this elusive
light switch.

A beam of light appeared in my face.  I
squinted and lifted one hand to shield my eyes.  "Mr. Sykes,
is that you?"

"Drop the phone," the voice rasped.

My mind searched for anything familiar about
it, but came up empty.  My heart pounded.  Not
Lowe.  Not Sykes.  Not the lying bastard security guard
who had locked me into this boggy basement.  Oh, most
definitely not Danny Datello either.

"I said, drop the phone."  The business
end of a semi-automatic pistol poked into the beam of light.

I swallowed the fear that uncurled in my
belly, started strangling its way upward and dropped the phone to
the floor.  A splash of water accompanied the thud when it hit
the dirt floor.

"Are you armed?"

"No," I said.

"Very stupid move, Dr. Eriksson.  Step
this way," he swung the flashlight down a long, dank
corridor.  Light bounced off the irregular smattering of
puddles. 

"You'll never get away with this," I
said.  My voice trembled.  "People know where I am."

"Like they did in October?  I can
assure you, doctor, the cavalry will not arrive in time.  As
we speak, your vehicle is being moved."

I patted my pocket and felt the keys. 
Liar.

"You think nobody knows how to hot-wire a
new car?  Wrong.  This hospital is a veritable
institution of higher learning – of the criminal variety," he
sneered.

"Who are you?"

"They call me Painless Carl," he said,
"because if you stay on my good side, what I do doesn't have to
hurt one little bit."

It was hard to remember why I sneaked off
without backup with Painless Carl's gun pressed between my shoulder
blades.

My mind started racing.  Surely Johnny
had figured out I'd gone off and done something supremely stupid by
now.  He'd probably kill me for breaking my word and lying to
him again, but if it advanced the case, got us closer to arresting
Datello, surely he'd forgive me.  If not forgive, understand
my impatience.

"I'll make a deal with you,
Eriksson.  You cooperate with the game plan, and you won't
feel a thing.  I won't fuck up your poor shoulder before I
kill you.  I won't even hook you up to
the machine
before it's
over."

"You can kill me, Carl, but you'll never get
away with this.  An Assistant District Attorney obtained the
warrant I served.  Even if you lie and tell them I didn't show
up, they'll go through this place brick by brick until they find
the truth.  Are you so clever that you can hide all forensic
evidence that will show what happened to me?"

"Nice thing about fire," he tapped his
flashlight against the blackened stone wall.  "Wouldn't be the
first time it damaged part of this old girl, and it has a hell of
an effect on DNA and hair and even fibers from that fancy sweater
you're wearing."

I took another tactic.  "If I'm going
to die anyway, why not tell me the truth?  Who's the man
controlling this scheme?  Are you taking your orders from
Jerry Lowe, Carl?"

"Lowe?" he scoffed.  "Lowe ain't in
control of jack shit.  Hurry up.  I don't have all
night." The barrel propelled me to pick up my pace.

"You need to finish me off before
Administrator Sykes arrives, right?"

He chuckled.  "Uh, sure,
detective.  Whatever you say."

Thoughts raced in another direction. 
Could Sykes be part of this?  Why hadn't I thought to do a
background search on him before I decided to serve the
warrant? 

Painless Carl reached around me and twisted
an ancient doorknob.  The cast iron appliance swung
inward.  A musty odor gagged me before he shoved me roughly
over the threshold.  A light overhead, not all that dissimilar
to the one in the stairwell illuminated the room.

My spirit wilted at what I saw.  This
was no pharmacy.  It was a long abandoned treatment
room.  A table bearing an old stained mattress was bolted to
the floor in the middle of the room.  Leather restraints were
still attached at the four corners.  Another chair that looked
like an implement designed for dental torture sat off in one dank
corner.  The deep metal tub once used to immerse patients in
icy water for hydrotherapy was adjacent to the chair. 

Two walls were decorated with built in
construction that didn't look as old as the wooden bench bed. 
The first was lined with a series of cabinets.  The long doors
were narrow and stretched from floor almost to the ceiling.  I
wondered what they might contain that would necessitate deadbolt
locks and no doorknobs.  A long wooden counter had been built
against the opposite stone wall.  Stainless steel trays held a
variety of implements, from padded tongue blades to electrodes and
something that looked suspiciously like an ice pick lay on one
shiny tray.

"That's right,
detective.  Get a good look.  Soak it all in and think
long and hard about how far you're willing to take this before
you're willing to answer
our
questions."

"Like what?" I whispered.  Screw the
law, I was ready to babble like a fool right now.  Plan A, the
one in which I simply found Datello on the street and gunned him
down in cold blood and forgot the consequences that would attach
suddenly seemed like the most rational plan in the world.

Carl gripped my ponytail and jerked backward
hard.  I cried out from the pain that shot through my
shoulder.  He hissed over it into my ear, "Like where that
goddamn disk is!"

Something harder than stone smashed into the
back of my head.  White lights burst in tiny explosions on the
backs of my eyelids before the world faded to black.

~

When my eyes fluttered open, I wasn't sure
where I was or what had happened to me.  At least I assumed my
eyes were open.  The world was pitch black again.  I
tried to move, but found that I was wedged tightly into a very
confined space.