Blind Spot (21 page)

And then she’d started at Halo Valley. Of course they’d asked her all kinds of questions to test her psychological health; Rita had been through that a number of times. She knew the answers, though sometimes she got called out for not having the correct expression and tone for the words. She just couldn’t muster the big bright smile they seemed to want. They worried she was too serious, a code phrase meaning she might be too emotionally remote. She parried that with a good line about keeping a balance between herself and her patients: she worked hard to keep from caring too much.

One moment it seemed like they were actually going to turn her away, then, after another grab-and-stroke session with Avanti, which set up his recommendation, she was given the job. She actually kind of liked working here. Everyone tried so damn hard with the crazies that they seemed to spend less time trying to tell Rita what to do. If she was there helping, well, that was good enough. No one cared whether she was smiling or not, whether she was emotionally engaged.

Rita wondered if there was a way to keep her job even after she found a way to remove Tasha from the hospital’s guarded walls. She thought she might be able to swing it. She knew a lot of ground along the foothills of the Coast Range where no one ever went.

How hard would it be to hide a body, once the baby was taken?

No one ever had to know.

As Lang pulled into the parking lot of Halo Valley Security Hospital, his cell phone went off. He didn’t recognize the number, so he answered, “Langdon Stone.”

“It’s Fred Clausen. O’Halloran said you wanted to talk to me.”

Detective Fred Clausen. Lang’s soon-to-be partner with the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Department, most probably. “Hey, thanks. Have you learned anything more about Rafe Worster?”

“Pretty much what you found out. Turns out he lived in an RV camper that’s on blocks down the street from his cousin. Not a lot of belongings. Worked as a gardener and handyman around Deception Bay and the Foothillers’ community. The last year or so, he’s been doing work at Siren Song.”

“Think that had anything to do with his homicide?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. More likely it’s something he got caught up in outside of the cult. His cousin’s a thief. From what I’ve learned, Rafe didn’t have any problem with that. He pretty much took Tim Rooney’s truck from Cade for himself. People liked him. But nobody’s acted like he was Mr. Responsibility. Kinda lived day-to-day. Had a lot of different girlfriends. Pretty much what Cade told you.”

“You heard we think the girl might have come from Siren Song?” Lang asked.

“Yeah.” Clausen sounded skeptical.

“You don’t think so?”

“Sheriff said she’s pregnant. That would be unusual from what I know of the place, which isn’t much.”

“What can you tell me?” Lang asked.

“Well, I worked a case, almost two years ago now. Caught the tail end of it with Kirkpatrick, but the detective in charge was Sam McNally, out of Laurelton P.D. Case started there and wound its way to the coast.”

“Kinda like this one has,” Lang observed.

“Yeah, kinda like it.” Clausen snorted. “Anyway, we caught this guy and he was squirrel nutty. He’s at Halo Valley and he ain’t coming out anytime soon. This nutcase thought the Siren Song women were the devil’s daughters or something. He was targeting anyone he thought was connected with them. After he was caught, O’Halloran met with Catherine, the girls’ leader, about it. She allowed him inside the gate but not into the lodge. She said she didn’t know anything about the crimes, but the sheriff thought she was holding back.”

“The sheriff acted like he and Catherine stay out of each other’s way.”

“Yeah, well…she’s not a woman with a lot of warmth.”

“You’ve met her?”

“I’ve seen her around Deception Bay a time or two. She reminds me of one of those really mean nuns who rap you on your knuckles or get out the cane and whup your ass. But she’s more than that, too. She’s…” He searched around for a bit, then said, “Otherworldly.”

Otherworldly.
It sounded strange in Clausen’s gravelly voice.

“Catherine and Siren Song are just part of the landscape around here,” Clausen went on. “Everybody’s got a story about them.”

“So, what do I have to do to reach them? Catherine? I want to talk to her about Cat, the Jane Doe who was attacked at the rest stop, and see if she knows her. That’s all.”

“Did I hear you left her a note?”

“Yeah. Threw it through the bars.”

“What did it say?”

“Just told her to call me. I said I was a detective with the TCSD, which is only a lie for the time being, and I left my cell number.”

“Well, don’t expect miracles.” Clausen was dry.

“Why?”

“You didn’t give her any information. She’s not going to bother with you.”

“I didn’t really want to go into the whole thing in a note.”

“I hear you. I’m just saying.”

“Are the women always locked away inside there? Don’t they ever come out?” Lang couldn’t believe how he was stymied.

“They used to. A couple of ’em left or were adopted out, early on. One of ’em worked at the Drift In Market for a while. They’re not prisoners, though sometimes it seems that way.”

“What happened to the one who worked at the market?”

“You’d have to ask them. I don’t know.”

Clausen didn’t have much more to go on, so he and Lang ended the call. As soon as he was off the phone, Lang looked through his rearview at the front of Halo Valley. The rain was threatening, but there was a slight break. The wind was blowing the maple trees around, waving orange and brown leaves on the end of spindly leaves, daring him to enter.

Early October.

He was in jeans and his black leather jacket, which had survived its drenching. Just. His cowboy boots had been cleaned; no trace of the muck he’d covered them in after chasing Cade across the field.

He strode forward and hit the buzzer at the hospital’s glass doors. The woman at the desk asked his name through the speaker. He gave it and was admitted. Once inside, he wished he could just join the inmates in the morning room. He could see Cat’s blond head, but the front guardian was gazing at him suspiciously.

“Dr. Norris,” he said.

She hesitated, giving him a long look. Lori, her name tag read. He realized she’d witnessed the brouhaha that had ensued the last time he’d been there. She probably also knew something about his feelings for the doctors at Halo Valley, especially Dr. Claire Norris.

He didn’t offer up any further information and Lori touched the intercom button and spoke softly to the person on the other end.

Come on down, Dr. Norris…
he thought, girding himself a little for the battle that was sure to follow.

Claire replaced the receiver and paused, wondering if she should call Freeson and tell him Langdon Stone was back in the building. What he would do when he learned Heyward III had been moved was anybody’s guess. He would undoubtedly go to the press and make the decision public, and then there would be hell to pay. Claire knew she could pick up the phone herself at any time and be that teller of tales. Pauline Kirby would be all over the Marsdon story.

But Claire was facing a moral dilemma where Heyward was concerned. She was starting to wonder if he really did belong on Side B. She’d been so sure before, but was that because of her own fear? He wasn’t a psychopath. He was a paranoid schizophrenic who suffered hallucinations and delusions. A sick man who needed professional help. And it wasn’t as if he were allowed to just roam around Side A; so far, he’d been confined to his room. Locked in. Able to page the staff but kept separate from the rest of the patients. Radke, the hospital administrator, might bend to the Marsdons’ wishes, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

Besides, she really thought if anyone should go to the press about Heyward’s transfer, Langdon Stone was the man.

Claire made a face. She wasn’t going to call Freeson. She would never call him. He was worse than useless, in her mind. Let them figure out what to do when Stone exploded. Maybe it wouldn’t happen just yet as Heyward was being kept in his room, unable to enjoy the full privileges of Side A until such time as it was proven he was, in fact, a true Side A candidate.

Glancing at the clock, she mentally logged the time. One thirty. How convenient for him that her three o’clock had canceled and she was free for the day. The man was lucky—if a meeting with her could be considered luck, she supposed.

She headed out, using her keycard and punching in her code to take her from the medical office building to the hospital. Since Heyward’s transfer, they’d increased building security to include all hours of the day.

As she was walking across the gallery she passed the new nurse, Rita, who read her name tag but seemed to turn away rather than engage Claire. She realized this had happened almost every time they’d run across each other and wondered if she intimidated her in some way.

Or maybe she’d already heard that Claire was being blamed for the incident with Melody Stone and had chosen the other side.

“Or maybe you’re being paranoid,” Claire murmured aloud as she descended the steps to the first-floor lobby where Melody Stone’s brother stood, legs apart, eyes serious, waiting for her arrival. She forced herself not to glance down the hall toward Heyward’s room.

“Did you decide our Jane Doe’s abdominal wounds were worth a second trip?” she asked, stopping about two feet away, giving herself ample personal space.

“No…” She nonplused him a little. “I have some information about Jane Doe.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“It’s not verified, but I’m a little stuck, so I decided to bring it to you now.” He thought a moment while Claire waited, then said, “I think she belongs to this group of women who live together in a lodge at the coast.”

Claire frowned, bringing her thoughts back to the moment with an effort. “You mean Siren Song?”

“You know it?” He was surprised.

“I live in Deception Bay. I’ve only been there a couple of years, but yeah, I know the lodge. You think Cat’s part of the Colony?”

“Pretty sure.”

“I don’t know…” She glanced away. Where was Freeson? If he were to suddenly decide to bring Heyward down the hall at that moment, while Stone was there…

“She’s pregnant. I know,” Stone said, sounding like he’d covered this ground a thousand times. “And nobody from there can get pregnant.”

Claire gave him her full attention again. “Pregnancy just…it’s not their way.”

“So I keep hearing. But even preachers’ kids get pregnant,” Lang pointed out dryly.

“In some cultures it’s more taboo than others, and in the case of the Colony…in their particular culture, I’d think it’s still pretty taboo.”

“You know a lot about them?”

She shrugged. “They’re old-fashioned. In dress as well as thought. Maybe they have a totally progressive stand on sex, but I wouldn’t bet on it.”

A door squeaked open at the end of the hall and Claire nearly jumped out of her skin. Stone made silent note of her discomfort, then turned to look in the same direction.

“What makes you think Cat’s from Siren Song?” she asked quickly, seeking to regain his attention.

“A number of things.” He quickly gave her a rundown of his interview with Cade Worster, finishing with, “Rafe Worster’s the homicide victim. Stands to reason Jane Doe could be from this Colony, or whatever.”

“Have you told them? The Colony members?”

“Oh, sure. I walked right in and sat down with Catherine and the girls. We just talked and talked and talked.”

Claire forced herself not to look directly down the hall, but in her peripheral vision she got a quick look at Heyward and Greg.

Aware she was distracted, Lang asked, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

He stared into her eyes for long moments until Claire had to look away. Then he turned slowly and saw for himself. “Jesus,” he muttered. “He’s here.”

“You can’t go there.” Her hands shot out to stop him, arms straight.

“I haven’t moved a muscle, Doctor. I don’t plan to see him.”

His voice was like a razor. She nodded, feeling idiotic. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry.” His voice dripped sarcasm. “And you keep saying my sister asked for it.”

“I’m not your enemy,” she said a bit helplessly.

He looked like he was going to argue. The scowl on his face reflected his anger. But with an almost physical effort, he clamped his lips shut and pulled himself together.

“To hell with it,” he muttered, thinking of turning away.

“If you really want to talk to the Colony, why can’t you?” she burst out. “I mean, essentially, aren’t you the law?”

He didn’t want to be here anymore. He was done. She was the enemy, even if she didn’t know it. She and Halo Valley Security Hospital.

But he’d come here for a different reason. Arguing with her about Marsdon wasn’t it. “Even the law isn’t going to hit their gates with a battering ram or yell at them through a bullhorn without some kind of proof of a crime. I can’t really force them to talk to me. They don’t have phones. Electricity is iffy, maybe a generator for the first floor. They wear long dresses and their hair up in buns. I’ve called to ’em. I shoved a note with my cell number through the bars, just in case they find a phone somewhere. I told ’em I’m with the sheriff’s department. They know I’m trying to reach them, and they now know how to reach me, but so far, nada.”

She nodded, clearly surprised that he’d been able to put Heyward Marsdon aside.

He shook his head, wondering what the hell he was doing.

“Cat can walk by herself now, though we don’t let her without staff nearby,” she said diffidently.

“She talking?”

“No.”

“I’d like to ask her about the Colony anyway.”

“I don’t know…”

Heyward and Greg came their way, Heyward looking hopefully toward Claire, who nodded but stayed where she was. Lang watched them slowly move on by, his body tense.

With an effort, he dragged his attention back to their conversation. “Maybe she’s listening. If she’s a member, maybe she’ll snap out of it.”

“It doesn’t usually work that way,” she said carefully.

“How the hell does it work, then, Doctor?” he demanded.

“She’s just not responding that well.”

“Why don’t we go try it on her? You and I. Right now.”

He turned toward the hallway, and short of physically blocking his way, Claire could do nothing but fall in step beside him. At Cat’s door they turned to face each other. Squared off.

“Let me talk to her first,” Claire said.

“I want to be there. See her reaction.”

“If there is any.”

“If there is any,” he agreed flatly.

“I think I should go in alone first.”

“Bullshit protocol,” he said. “What’s the worst thing that’ll happen?”

“She’ll relapse.”

“Into what? Catatonia?”

“You don’t know anything about it,” she said stiffly.

“I know a lot about it,” he snarled. “I had a sister who suffered from schizophrenia. Don’t tell me I know nothing about it.”

“Cat’s going to have a baby very soon,” Claire said, losing the battle, stinging from his arrows. “I’d like to know who her people are in case she cannot care for this child immediately.”

“So would I. Lead the way,” he challenged.

She pulled out her cell phone. “We have a midwife who’s associated with Ocean Park Hospital who’s been looking in on Cat, monitoring her pregnancy. I need to check with her.”