He nodded and crossed his arms, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe while I made the call.
Jack answered almost immediately. “Hey, good timing. I was just heading out.”
“Can you or Betty do a trace on Ginny’s earwig for me?”
“Um, sure.” Silence fell for a couple of seconds, though I could hear Betty in the background, talking to someone. “She’s registered as being at the Mater Private Hospital.”
Which was where Monica had been sent. “Any reports of trouble there?”
“Haven’t received any—why? Is there a problem?”
“There might be, as she’s not answering her phone. Can you try contacting her?”
“Hang on,” he repeated. After a few more seconds, he added, “Not answering the phone for me, either.”
I swore again. “Contact the security team we’ve got there and ask them to check the room.”
“Surely if there was a problem they would have already reported it.”
“We’re dealing with someone—or someones—with the ability to touch people’s minds and alter their memories, so the fact no one has called it in isn’t a guarantee of anything.”
“Okay, give me a few minutes.” He paused. “Your earwig is reading as offline, by the way.”
Ah, fuck, of course it was, because it was still stuck in the signal blocking box. “Yeah, sorry, but we had to move to a new location and were ordered to use signal blockers when here.”
“That sounds suspiciously like they don’t trust someone in this office.”
“I think it’s just a precaution after the invasion a few days ago.”
His grunt was disbelieving. “Well, get the wig back online as soon as you can. I’ll ring you back the second I’ve contacted security.”
“Thanks.” I hung up and then said to René, “You able to drive me out to the hospital?”
“Sure can.” He pushed away from the doorframe, moving back to his bedroom. “Even if nothing is wrong, I wouldn’t mind the chance to speak to Monica.”
“Just talk? Or force her via magic?”
He glanced over his shoulder, his eyebrows raised. “What makes you think I could in any way magic someone into talking?”
I shrugged and followed him into the bedroom. “Just a hunch.”
“You have some very strange hunches.”
Which was not a denial. I grabbed fresh socks, then looked around for my boots before sitting down on the bed to pull them both on.
Jack called back a few minutes later. “Okay, got hold of the officer in charge. There’s been no problems, and Monica’s in her room, sleeping soundly. Ginny is still with her.”
I frowned. “That makes no sense.”
“Maybe Monica wanted her to stay.”
I seriously doubted that, given she’d been less than happy about our presence in her life. “I’m heading over there now. Give the guards a heads-up.”
“Will do,” he said, and hung up.
I rose, tucked the phone into my back pocket, and walked across to my suitcase, this time tugging out a long-sleeved crop. With my back to René, I quickly stripped off the T-shirt and pulled on the crop.
“Turning your back only fuels my imagination,” he drawled softly.
