The Ninth Floor (20 page)

I finally
looked over at Blair. He was staring at Valerie and chewing his thumbnail. If
Bee was killing—my mind stuttered at the thought—would they sweep it under the
rug too? And who was “they”? “Who bought the newspaper?” I asked.

There was an
abrupt, awkward silence as everyone around the table exchanged a glance I didn’t
understand. Ashley cleared his throat, but Briggs answered. “Your father.”

*

I lay in bed, still marveling
that I hadn’t known my father owned the newspaper. Not only that, but somehow
Briggs knew it and he’d been away as long as I had. Of course, Ashley obviously
knew—so how much did he know about the cover ups? One good thing had come out
of that little nugget of information. It was enough to change the subject. No
one wanted to continue down a path that might offend the host’s family. But for
me, everything that happened after that was pretty much a blur. My mind was
occupied with Valerie’s story and its parallels to what was happening with
Bee—and with the motive my father had for playing a part in the St. Michael’s
cover up.

I rolled over,
and one of the dogs sighed and scooted back against me. I tried to clear my
mind by counting my breaths but failed miserably. I sighed and rolled again.
One of the dogs grunted in complaint. Why would Dad care to cover up anything
at—

The floorboard
outside my bedroom door squeaked.

Everything in
me went still as I listened. Nancy’s head perked, one ear shooting straight up
as she stared at the door. I was about to dismiss the sound when it came again,
only this time it seemed closer. Nancy let out a low, rumbling growl that
alerted Sid to the danger. He stood over the top of me, his head pointed toward
the bedroom door, and joined her in growling. My throat felt dry and my fingers
dug into the covers.

I tried to
speak a couple times, but fear had seized my throat. I debated whether I should
look or call the police or Aiden. The growling sent chills down my spine.
What
if it’s Vivian?

“Sid, Nancy, sit,” I said and struggled to get out of bed with two dogs who seemed determined to
keep me in. I walked slowly toward the door and paused with my hand on the
knob.

“Hello?” My
voice cracked.

Nothing.

I looked down
at the dogs, who gazed back up at me with a curious expression. I nodded and
pulled open the door.

Nothing.

Sid, Nancy,
and I did a once-over of the apartment, but everything appeared to be fine. We
went back to bed.

“Silly dogs.
It was probably Vivian going to the bathroom.” They wagged their tails, not at
all ashamed of our overreaction.

Nancy walked in a circle and flopped down. Sid was about to get on the bed when he turned
around and returned to the bedroom door, growling again. I was never going to
get any sleep this way. I went to the door and flipped the lock.

Deputy Perry arrived at Bee’s
room promptly at eight o’clock the next morning. I had explained the situation
to her, but she didn’t say much about it one way or another. I was having
trouble gauging her mood at all. She’d been quiet since I got there, not even
trying to carry her end of any attempt at conversation. When Deputy Perry
walked in, Bee looked at me and said, “If anything happens to me, I want you to
stay in Goodson Hollow. You belong here.”

I took her
hand. “Nothing is going to happen to you. You’re going to get better.”

She looked
intently into my eyes. “Promise.”

“Fine. I’ll
stay.” I didn’t want Bee to think about giving up when we still had a fight
before us. “Bee, this is Deputy Perry. I told you he was coming by.”

She nodded and
inspected him. “How long have you lived here?”

“My whole
life,” he said.

“Then you
should know better.” She spoke in a flat voice that barely sounded like her.
This wasn’t a time for another episode. I scooted to the edge of my chair,
ready to intervene if need be.

“Ma’am?”

“Than to ask
questions you don’t want answers to.

“I haven’t
asked any questions.”

“You want to
know why that woman died?” She raised an eyebrow. “You know why. I know why.
Everyone knows why.” Bee looked down at the floor.

“You believe
in the ghost then?”

She laughed
without amusement. “Only a fool believes it’s a ghost.”

“What do you
think it is?”

“Evil.”

I could barely
hear her, but she kept repeating the word over and over, rocking back and
forth, still staring at the floor. My skin crawled.

Suddenly she
stopped and pierced me with a look. “Ryan knows.”

I wanted to
cry. I wanted to yell at her. Why was she acting crazy in front of the cop?

“The hospital
isn’t evil, Bee.”

“It wants you,
Ryan.”

I forced a
smile. “Bee, Deputy Perry is here to see you, not talk about me.” I pleaded
with my eyes for her to cooperate. When she turned to the deputy she sounded
more normal.

“Perry, Perry …”
She tilted her head. “Would you be Colin Perry’s son?”

“I am,” he
said. “Did you know my father?”

“I certainly
did. We use to drag race together by the river about two centuries ago.”

Deputy Perry
smiled. “Ms. Scott, do you know about the young woman who died here yesterday?”

She shook her
head. “Oh dear, did someone die?” I couldn’t tell if she was serious or mocking
him.

“She was a
night nurse. Peggy Carlile. Do you remember her?” I appreciated that he spoke
in a soothing voice to her, but I stayed on edge.

Bee’s face
scrunched up. “What did she look like?”

The deputy
stalled, so I jumped in. “She was a couple inches shorter than me, with short
brown hair and green eyes.”

“I think I
remember her. I’ve had so many nurses though. You should ask Dr. Sadler.”

The deputy
nodded. “Thank you for your time. It was a pleasure meeting you, ma’am.” He
shook her hand and walked out.

I followed
him. “Deputy,” I called, catching up with him at the elevator. “Thank you for
being gentle with her.”

He studied me.
“Has she been doing that a lot? Personality changes?”

“It’s been
getting worse. Her doctor says it’s her illness.”

The door
dinged. “I’ll see you later, Ms. Sterling.” The words sounded more like a
threat than a friendly promise. I don’t know how long I stared after him. Jack’s
voice finally pulled me from my thoughts.

“You okay?” He
handed me a cup of coffee.

“No.” I sighed
and headed back to Bee’s room with him, but Jack stopped me before I could walk
in.

“What’s going
on?”

“I’m tired.
And I’m getting a headache.”

He rubbed a
spot at the top of my spine. “Is Blair coming today?” I nodded. “Maybe you
should go home and rest after he gets here.”

“I can’t.” I
explained the conversation Bee and I had when the deputy first came in. “I need
to spend time with her. I don’t want her to give up.”

“Don’t forget
to take care of yourself too.”

“I won’t. Who
would I need to talk to if I wanted to see the ninth floor?”

He shrugged. “I
don’t know. The hospital board maybe. Why?”

“Two of Bee’s
nurses have died, Jack, and she’s getting worse. I can’t keep pretending
nothing’s happening.”

“You’re tired
and stressed, and you’re letting your imagination run away with you. There’s
nothing on that level.”

“Great. I want
to see for myself.” I walked into Bee’s room and forced a smile. “Look who I
found.”

Jack went
through their routine, and Bee seemed to be in good spirits. After he left, I
read to her until Blair stopped by. He hugged us and took my seat.

Jack popped
back, handed me two white pills and shot me a wink. I gave him a questioning
look. “Tylenol. You didn’t get them from me.”

“Thank you.” I
put the pills in my pocket and fished change out of my purse. “I’m going to get
a drink. Do either of you need anything?”

Bee shook her
head and Blair looked slightly alarmed that I was leaving.

I handed him
the book. “Why don’t you take over reading for me?” I waited a couple minutes
until they both seemed settled in before I left. Outside of Bee’s room, I ran
smack dab into Deputy Perry.

“Ryan, I was
just coming to find you.”

“I’m going to
get a drink.”

“I’ll walk
with you.”

We headed for
the vending machines, but he didn’t speak.

“Did you need
something?” I asked.

“I have
something I would like you to look at, but I need you to come downstairs to
security.”

“What is it?”

“A video.”

Nerves
fluttered in my stomach. What kind of video? “Okay.”

I bought a
lemon-lime soda, swallowed my Tylenol, and let Deputy Perry take me downstairs.
We went through the lobby and down a few “Staff only” corridors until we came
to a plain door that simply said “Security.” We were buzzed through another door
and went into a larger room with a couple metal desks and people in uniform. He
ignored them and took me to a tiny, dark room filled with equipment and TV
screens. He nodded to Aiden, who was present too, then pointed at the middle
screen. I watched the stairwell. No one was on it.

I swallowed
hard, thinking of all of Jack and my not-so-secret rendezvous in the stairwell.
Surely the deputy wouldn’t call me down here to yell at me about that. When I
was about ready to hide my face, something caught my eye in the corner of the
screen. A flicker or a flutter. Then Bee walked into view and static lines
rolled across the screen—but I could still make her out. She was moving
perfectly. She trotted off camera and I looked at the deputy.

“Keep
watching.”

I looked back
as the camera switched views, and I saw her returning, along with the static.
She moved like she hadn’t a pain in the world. I recognized the chained door in
the stairwell. Bee stood in front of the doors. I waited, but nothing else
happened.

“Can you
explain this, Ryan?”

“What night
was it?”

“Last
Wednesday night.”

“Is this all
the video?”

“Yes, she
stares at the door until she’s found by the nurses. Can you confirm this is
your aunt?”

“Ms. Sterling
isn’t confirming anything,” Aiden said.

I shook my
head. “It’s very strange, but I don’t know what to tell you. I should probably
go back.” I started for the door, but the deputy stopped me.

“What are you
hiding, Ryan?” he asked.

“Nothing. What
makes you think I know anything at all?”

“You don’t
have much of a poker face.” I rolled my eyes. “Let’s talk. Off the record.”

I huffed out a
breath and looked at Aiden. He nodded so I agreed.

Aiden put his
hand on my arm as I followed Deputy Perry outside. “I’ll be right in here.”

I joined the
deputy on a bench in front of the building. “I know that’s your aunt in the
video and I think you do too. However, it isn’t clear enough to use as
evidence.”

“Evidence of
what? Her sleepwalking? If it is her, what has she done that’s illegal? Do you
have video of her attacking those women?”

“No. There was
a camera malfunction.”

“Then I’d say
you don’t have a case.”

Perry rubbed
above his left eye, where a thin scar stretched from his eyebrow to his
hairline. “A few years ago something similar happened. A patient, who was for
all medical purposes an invalid, got up in the middle of the night and attacked
a sleeping floor with a scalpel. It took five officers, including myself, to
bring down that sick, dying man.”

I studied my
hands.

“I saw hints
of her personality switch myself, Ms. Sterling. And you’re more on edge each
time I see you. I think there’s a lot you’re not telling me.”

“Bee would
never hurt anyone.”

“Ryan.”

I licked my
lips. “It’s crazy.”

A faint smile
tilted his lips. “It’s St. Michael’s.”

“I honestly
cannot believe that Bee killed those women, but I do think something’s
happening to her. She’s somehow connected to the hospital and not in a good
way. I’m looking into transferring her.” I explained the ghostly encounters,
the multiple personalities, and the light that night on the ninth floor.

“What are you
saying? You think she’s possessed?”

I hadn’t put a
word to what I thought, and I shuddered hearing it. “Sometimes, maybe.”

“And the
nurses?”

I looked away,
focusing on a piney looking bush with little yellow flowers. “I don’t know.
Peggy told me that Bee was sleepwalking, and Leigh started to tell me something
about the ninth floor but never finished it.”

“You spoke
with Leigh too?”

I nodded. “Aiden
doesn’t think any of this is …” I struggled for the right word, “
paranormal
.
He thinks it’s a person. Someone’s been leaving me letters.”

“Yes, I know
about your situation.” Perry cracked his knuckles and looked out at the parking
lot. “Officially I can’t investigate any of this.”

“Why?”

“Your family
cut the local police out of the stalking matter a long time ago, and St.
Michael’s is off limits. The more attention people give it, the worse things
get.”

I crossed and
uncrossed my legs.

“Unofficially,
if I were you, I’d get myself and everyone I loved out of St. Michaels.”

I stood up. “I
left my brother upstairs. I should go.”

He looked like
he wanted to say something else so I lingered for a moment. “Ryan, why
you
?”

“What do you
mean?”

“If I were
investigating this, which I’m not, I’d start with asking why whatever is
happening has targeted you. Once you know that, you might be able to stop it.”