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“Well, here she is. She mumbles about her daughter being taken from her and something about a baby—how she must find the baby. We try to have her interact with the other patients, but she sometimes upsets them, so she spends a lot of time alone.” This had Lisa and Tanner exchanging glances.
Dr. Hart unlocked the door of a room with only a small square window on the door. Tanner’s stomach clenched. Everything he’d said about Marie matched with what they knew so far.
“Let me go in first so I can tell her what’s happening. I don’t want to bombard her without warning.” When the door swung open, they saw her.
Tanner grabbed Lisa by the arm to prevent her from rushing to Marie’s side. He leaned down and whispered, “Let’s give him a second.” So far, despite being unconvinced, the director had seemed to be playing it straight with them. At least they’d gotten this far.
Marie was a small woman, her dark hair cut short. She was slumped a little in her wheelchair. The director was speaking softly to her. Something he said must have struck a chord because she turned her head and made eye contact with Lisa. She raised her thin arm and pointed. “It’s the baby.”
Tanner couldn’t stop Lisa then. She was beside Marie in a second. “Hi there, Marie. I’m Lisa.”
“I’ll give y’all a few minutes. Let me know if you need anything.” The director shut the door behind him, leaving the four of them in the tiny room with a single window with the thin Venetian blinds that were pulled all the way up to allow some sunlight to radiate the sparse room.
Marie blinked at Lisa and grinned. She was a little out of it but not so much that she wasn’t conscious. “I’ve been trying to find you, honey. They put me in this place to keep me quiet, you know? But nobody believes me.”
“We believe you, Marie. That’s why we’ve come. We’re doing our best to get you out of here today,” Tanner told her.
“Well, what took you so long?” Marie asked them. They laughed in response.
Dr. Gill cleared his throat. “Let me have a look at Ms. Trichel, if you will.”
Lisa spoke gently to her grandmother as she held her hand. “Marie, this is Dr. Gill. He’s our friend and he’s here with us to make sure you’re okay.”
Marie turned her focus to Dr. Gill. She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t like doctors much, ya know.”
“I don’t expect you do, given what you’ve been through, but I’ll be quick, all right. Now, can you follow this light with your eyes? Good. I’m going to tap on each of your knees and check your reflexes. Great…” And so it went. Dr. Gill asked Marie a few questions she struggled with like what day it was and who the president of the United States was.
Marie had decided that Dr. Gill was okay. “I haven’t kept up with current affairs, ya know? But I like to watch movies.”
Dr. Gill took Tanner aside. “I think when the drugs clear, she’s going to be quite cognizant. It might be best to get her clear of here before that happens.”
“Yes, let’s get the ball rolling here.” Tanner knocked on the door to alert the director, Dr. Hart.
Tanner couldn’t wait to let Carly know that Marie was pretty much intact. So much better than they might have found her.
Tanner’s phone buzzed. It was a text from Carly.Carson is here and he’s raising a ruckus about Marie. Says he’s her legal guardian. Jake has taken him outside. Might want to find a back door. I’ll try to figure out a way for the ambulance to meet you someplace else while we distract him.
Carson. Of course it would be Carson. It wasn’t like his involvement in this was a surprise. After all, when it came to Judge Keller, they were thick as the worst kind of thieves. And now this.
I’ll try to figure a way to get Marie out a back door. Maybe the director will help us. She’s loopy but not too bad off. Keep Carson distracted.
“We’ve got a problem, everyone.” They all turned to look at Tanner. “Carson is at the front desk ranting about how no one is to see Marie because she’s his ward.”
Dr. Hart looked down at his phone and nodded. “I’ve just been informed. I believe you now after what my staff is telling me about Mr. Carmichael’s behavior.”
“Can you help us get her out of here?”
“Carson Carmichael? He’s the snake who put me in here in the first place. I’m not goin’ anywhere with him. He told me to keep my trap shut or I would disappearforever.”
“He’s her legal guardian, so I’m not at liberty to aid you, but you could take my key fob and I might not notice it was missing until you dropped it after you use it to swipe the back door that’s to our left and down the corridor and right at the end of the hall. There’s a ramp. Have the ambulance driver meet you out there along with some of the law enforcement in case there’s an issue. I’ll make certain our security stands down and lets you pass.”
“Thanks so much. We owe you a lot for this, Dr. Hart.”
Marie let out awhoop. “That bastard’s not gettin’ his paws on me. This is Independence Day, y’all!” Lisa laughed and quickly hugged her.
“Yes, it is. And we all believe you, so let’s get the heck out of here as quickly and quietly as we can.”
Tanner texted Carly and Jake.One of you keep Carson distracted and the other tell the ambulance driver to meet us at the southwest corner of the building. There’s an exit with a ramp.
