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How can I blame her? I don’t know if I trust him either. But I won’t admit that, not for one second. Charlie needs to feel like this situation is in my hands. She needs to think I know what the hell I’m doing, even if I don’t. I’d never do anything to purposely put her in danger. That’s the best I can offer now.
I force a smile and suck in a deep breath, putting on my most cheerful look. “I don’t know what to make of him. Something about him makes me trust him,” I lie as convincingly as I can. “Besides, he’s offering to help, and we need it. We can do a lot worse than a doctor who looks like a pro-wrestler.”
I try to laugh, but Charlie rolls her eyes. She may think she can handle herself, but it never hurts to have someone protective in your corner. She hasn’t experienced what I have. She doesn’t know how dangerous it can be trying to hide her until I find a good place for her.
“You should be more careful about who you trust,” she says hollowly. Then she crosses her arms and looks down at the bed, saying nothing else.
My heart aches as I watch her silence. I don’t know everything about her past. She won’t open up to me. Her secrets are hers to carry, but I wish she could trust me to share her burden. All I’ve wanted to do since I found her is make her life less difficult. Whatever she’s been through makes her unwilling to believe that.
I’m about to say more, to ask her what she knows about trust, when my phone buzzes in my pocket. My stomach drops to my feet. I pull my phone out and look at the screen, seeing Dr. Graves pop up in my text messages.
It’s go time, the text reads.
I take in a steadying breath and smile at Charlie reassuringly, though I don’t feel remotely reassured. A million things could go wrong in the next few minutes. If she doesn’t trust Dr. Graves she may not cooperate with him. I wish I could stay with her, to talk her through this, but she won’t have it.
“I’m going to go grab us a snack from the café,” I tell her loudly, garnering another eye roll. “Please be nice,” I say more quietly, so only she can hear me. “He’s our only way out of this situation.”
Charlie doesn’t respond, merely folds her arms again. I reluctantly leave her, headed toward the café. The plan is for me to sneak out of the loading dock where Dr. Graves has a van ready. I have to pull it around to the morgue and keep it running until he comes out with Charlie. My stomach is in knots as I wait for the elevator. I pray this plan works.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Ibreeze into the room, eyeing Charlie carefully. From my interactions with her so far, I’ve seen her range from surly to downright volatile. I’m not sure which version I’ll get now, but I hope she will work with me. I hadn’t considered how difficult this plan would be if she doesn’t cooperate with me. I smile at her carefully, but she watches me, not saying anything.
“Are you ready for your psych evaluation?” I ask her loudly, in case anyone is nearby listening.
I’m dressed in full surgery gear, scrub cap on my head and mask on my face. The cameras in the hospital need to find me indistinguishable from any other orderly in this place. It’s essential that I’m not linked to Charlie’s disappearance when it comes out.
Charlie shrugs and sits patiently while I unhook her from the many machines she’s attached to. I help her out of the bed and into the wheelchair I parked outside of the room. She gets in without question, and also without any acknowledgment. I can work with silence.
We leave the room. I head toward the pediatric psychiatry ward where we like to bring children when they meet with the psychiatrists. It’s a more neutral area with toys they can play with and an observation room for the guardians. Her body tenses as she sees the sign, but at the last minute, I turn us in another direction, into a restricted part of the hospital that’s currently under construction.
I figured this would be the best place to switch her over to the bed. People are constantly leaving broken medical equipment in here, figuring the construction crew will dispose of it for them. I move to crouch in front of Charlie so I can explain this next part of the plan to her. She probably won’t like it, but hopefully, she’ll stay as quiet as she’s been so far.
“Charlie,” I tell her softly. “This part will be scary, I’m not going to lie to you. You’re going to lie on that bed inside that black bag there.”
I bring the body bag to her attention. Her expression remains the same. She’s completely unmoving, appearing almost bored. She simply stands and moves to the bed, climbing into the body bag with precision and grace.
“It might get hot in there,” I tell her. “Just remember to breathe normally and relax. We’ll have you out of here in no time.”
She continues to look bored, lying down with a serene expression on her face and crossing her arms over her body as if she were dead. It’s alarming how good she is at this, how at ease she looks in the body bag. It’s as if she’s been in this scenario before.
At least I don’t have to worry about her screaming or drawing attention to us. But it breaks my heart to think about what Charlie must have gone through in her life. No child should look this comfortable in a body bag.
I zip her inside, leaving a small space for air to get through. I can’t let her suffocate. Then I maneuver her through the construction area and wheel her out the other side of the hospital. I may have to have Snake scrub this footage later, but that’s a future problem. Right now, my only concern is getting Charlie down to the morgue and into the waiting van.
Meredith will do everything she can to protect Charlie. I know she’ll do whatever she can to get to that back door in time. I take a steadying breath as I hit the button for the elevator and pray no one decides to get in with me. The last thing I need is for Charlie to panic inside the bag, or for someone to recognize me and raise questions.
Thankfully, I pass no one I know on the way to the morgue. When I reach the loading dock, Meredith is waiting. I see her fingers drumming on the steering wheel. I chuckle. Maybe I should have saved my “Don’t panic” pep talk for her. I knock on the back of the van to let her know I’m there. I open the back, carefully placing Charlie inside.
I go around to the front of the van and climb in, giving Meredith the instructions to get to the clubhouse. Once we’re clear of the hospital, I have her stop so I can go into the back and let Charlie out of the bag. Again I’m struck by how serene she looks as I open the bag, as if this is where she’s comfortable. I shudder at the notion.
She sits up and stretches, yawning lazily.
“Are we almost there?” she asks in a bored tone. “I need to use the bathroom.”
I laugh and assure her it won’t be long. Unfortunately, I don’t anticipate the snag in the plan. When we pull into the long driveway of the clubhouse, Seer comes out to meet me, looking tense. I’d texted him on the way to let him know we were coming, but he hadn’t responded. Based on the look on his face, I imagine it’s because he wants to chew me out in person.
I hop out of the van and tell Meredith to wait. I notice she stares up at the plantation home in amazement and apprehension. I close the door and walk over to Seer, who shakes my hand but looks angry.
