PALINDROME (16 page)

“You just remain calm,” The woman instructed.
There was not a shred of warmth or compassion in her voice.

“Is this a hospital?”

“Yes. You’re at East Pines. Your doctor’s
name is Rosen.”

“Why am I here?”

“You can discuss that with Dr. Rosen. He’ll
be back after dinner.”

“After dinner? What time is it now?”
Everything seemed out of whack. I had no sense of what had
transpired since being attacked in my home.

She checked her watch. I noticed that her
nametag read: Evelyn. “About 10:00 a.m. Are you in any pain?”

“I have a headache.”

“Do you want medication for that?”

“Medication? No, it’s just a headache.”

Evelyn made a note on her clipboard. “Do you
have to go to the bathroom?”

“No.”

“Good. I’ll be back to bring you lunch.
Squeeze the buzzer if you need the restroom.”

“Squeeze the buzzer?”

“Yup, squeeze the buzzer.” Evelyn cracked her
gum. She turned and left the room.

I knew that I should have been in a
full-blown panic, but I felt as if my emotions were suppressed.
Whatever I had been injected with must have still been in my
system. My head began to hurt even worse. I wanted to touch my
head, but my arms felt so heavy. I just couldn’t move them. I
realized why my arms felt so heavy: my wrists were in
restraints.

Twenty-seven: Questions

“
When
am I getting out of here?”

“You’re getting agitated,” Evelyn said. “If
you don’t calm down you’ll have to be sedated. Do you
understand?”

“I don’t belong here. What the hell is going
on?” Whatever I had been injected with had worn off, and I was
beginning to feel like myself. I was nervous, angry, and stressed
out of my mind.

“Listen, the law says you have to be examined
within forty-eight hours of being admitted. I already told you; Dr.
Rosen will be here after dinner. So just calm yourself, you’re not
the only patient in the hospital.”

“What kind of hospital has steel doors and
restrains their patients?”

“I already told you, you’re in East Pines, a
private psychiatric hospital in Kings Park.”

“Psychiatric hospital? I don’t belong
here.”

“Good, I hope Dr. Rosen agrees. I’d love to
see you on your way so that you can break someone else’s stones.
Now, do you have to pee?”

“Yes, I have to pee.”

“I’ll get you a bedpan.”

I wanted to cry. I wanted to bury my face in
my hands and cry. “Can’t you just let me go to the bathroom?”

“Strict orders. The doctor said you’re to
remain restrained until he examines you.”

“I won’t use a bedpan.”

“Great! I can’t wait until you wet the bed. I
love changing pissy sheets.”

“This is wrong.”

“Yes, it’s wrong,” she said indifferently,
“Now, can I get the bedpan?”

“No, I’ll hold it.”

“Another six hours? God bless, honey, good
luck.” Evelyn wasn’t big on pleasantries. She went to the sink and
washed her hands. She dried them and picked up a lunch tray. “Cream
of turkey soup and a tuna fish sandwich. Isn’t this yummy? And I
get to feed you every last morsel. Lucky me. Hungry?”

“No.”

“Well, the law says we have to feed you so
let’s give it a try, shall we?”

“I told you, I don’t want anything.”

“Okay, I’ll leave it here, and you can
squeeze the buzzer when you get hungry or have to pee, whichever
comes first. The soup will get nice and cold, and the tuna will
turn brown and smelly. Sure you don’t want to eat it now before it
stinks up the room?”

“I want to talk to my brother.”

“I’ll tell the hospital administrator. She’ll
make the call for you.”

I didn’t know what else to do. I considered
asking for the police but thought better of the idea. I didn’t know
if Vincent’s body had been found.
Patience, girl,
I told
myself,
it will be all right. Ax will come for me. He always
does.

Twenty-eight: It Gets Worse

Sam
Rosen emerged from Bruce’s Bakery,
got into his 6.3 liter AMG Mercedes Benz
,
and headed south
on Middle Neck Road to the Long Island Expressway. The car was
equipped with Bluetooth, and he could have talked “hands free” but
didn’t. He never did. He took a bite of his grilled chicken wrap
and then dialed Sparks while he chewed his food. The phone rang on
the other end, but Sparks didn’t pick up. It was not unusual,
Sparks rarely answered when called. Rosen had made it all the way
to the Sunken Meadow Parkway and was headed north to Kings Park
when Sparks called back. Rosen swallowed the last of his coffee and
then answered the phone. “Sparks, I’m on my way to East Pines, but
I have to tell you, I don’t like this.”

“This isn’t the complaint department, Dr.
Rosen. We have an agreement, and we expect you to carry out your
end of the deal.”

“For Christ’s sake, I’m not even a
psychiatrist.”

“I told you, the law doesn’t care that you’re
not a psychiatrist. You’re a physician, and that’s all the law
requires. You signed the PEC, so everything’s good and legal.”

“I’m not trained to treat a mentally ill
patient. I can do her more harm than good.”

“She’s not going to get hurt. Keep her
sedated, and we’ll release her in a couple of days. Surely you can
do that competently.”

“Do we even know what’s wrong with this girl?
This goes against every oath I’ve ever taken.”

“Of course it does, but you’ve got a sick
child in a very expensive private rehabilitation facility, a cranky
wife who has Bloomingdale’s on speed dial, and the IRS is breathing
down your neck. You need money, don’t you? You want to stay out of
jail, don’t you? You’ve been indicted for running a pill mill by
the federal government. How would you like your family to live with
that shame? I had you released from custody without even spending a
night in jail. I think you should get down on your knees and thank
me.”

“Okay, I got it, I got it.”

“No, Dr. Rosen, I don’t think you understand.
You could lose your license and do serious jail time. Despite the
big house and fancy car, you and I know both know that you don’t
have two nickels to rub together. You’ve been dispensing illegal
controlled substances—”

“Which you supplied me with.”

“We did what?” Sparks spat in a threatening
tone. “Go ahead, tell the authorities. We’ll see how quickly you
end up dead. Screw you, Dr. Rosen, you’re ass is up against the
wall.” The phone went dead.

Rosen saw his exit coming up. He pulled the
Mercedes off onto the shoulder, got out, and walked into the brush
that bordered the highway. He felt a wave of nausea rise up from
his stomach. He leaned over and retched. “Shit! This is bad,” he
said. “What the hell have I gotten myself into?” He stared at his
car and the passing traffic for several minutes hoping the nausea
would subside. Ten minutes passed before he finally got back into
the car. He was still nauseous when he started the car and pulled
back onto the road.

Twenty-nine: And Worse

I
was miserable. My back ached and my
hands were numb from the wrist restraints. It took every last ounce
of self-control to keep from wetting the bed. I was now completely
lucid and had spent the afternoon thinking about the events that
had transpired the evening before. I reviewed the assault in my
home, the attack by Keith Cooper and Shawn, and their murders. What
was going on? I wanted to find the answer, but the pieces didn’t
fit together. All I could think of was that Vincent’s body had been
found and that I was the last one to be seen with him. Vincent and
Keith were linked by the dose of GHB Keith had dropped into my
margarita. I could only assume that Shawn was another of Vincent’s
friends, someone close enough to him to come after me for answers.
But who had murdered them? I was turning the pieces over in my mind
when the door opened. A physician walked in followed by Evelyn. “Oh
thank God,” I bellowed. “Please, doctor, I’m about to burst. I have
to go to the bathroom.”

The doctor turned to Evelyn; his expression
showed that he was looking for an explanation. He didn’t speak.

“She refused the bedpan,” she said.

His face contorted in disgust. “So you let
her lie there?”

Evelyn shrugged. “She has a buzzer.” Her
expression read,
I could care less.

“Get me 2 ml of Valium.” He seemed
bewildered. He continued to stare at Evelyn in disbelief as she
walked out of the room. He shook his head and then turned to
me.

His demeanor didn’t convey much information,
but I found hope in it all the same. At that moment, the only thing
on my mind was getting to the bathroom before I wet myself.
“Please, I have to go.”

“I’ll have you up in two seconds,” he said.
“I’m Dr. Rosen.”

The door opened, and Evelyn returned with a
syringe. She handed it to Rosen, who took it without making eye
contact with her. “You can go,” he said.

Evelyn rolled her eyes and turned for the
door. “Amateur,” she muttered.

“I don’t want to be sedated,” I said.

Rosen was already purging the syringe. “This
will just take the edge off.” He turned to look me in the eyes
before administering the drug. “It’s just a precaution.” He didn’t
ask, but his expression implied that he was looking for an
acknowledgement. I nodded.

He began to undo the restraints as soon as he
set the syringe down on the end table. He helped me up and led me
to the bathroom. “Do you feel like you might faint?”

“I’ll be okay.”

“All right, be careful in there. I’ll be
waiting out here when you’re done.”

Oh God, what a relief. I lingered in the
bathroom a few minutes. I washed my face and rinsed my mouth, which
was as dry as paste. When I came out, Rosen was dumping my lunch in
the waste pail. He pulled out the plastic liner bag and sealed it
with a knot. “I poured you a cup of water and asked Nurse Ratched
to bring you your dinner,” he chuckled and then pointed to a chair.
“Sit down, okay?”

The Valium was already taking effect—the
chair seemed like a good idea. I guess I was a little unsteady as I
made my way to the chair. Rosen reached out, took my hand, and
assisted me. “Feeling all right?” he asked.

“A little woozy.”

“It won’t get any worse than that.” He handed
me the cup of water. “You’re dehydrated. Drink.”

“What am I doing here?”

Rosen looked at me without speaking. He
seemed to be preparing his response. He pulled up another chair and
sat down facing me. “Your attorney asked me to admit you. He said
that you were extremely agitated, and that you had been sedated. He
asked me to sign a PEC and have you admitted for forty-eight-hours
observation.”

My attorney?
I mulled the words but
never said it. I wasn’t sure what was going on or to whom I should
be speaking. “What’s a PEC?”

“A Physician’s Emergency Certificate. It was
for your personal safety.”

“And that’s how I ended up in a psychiatric
hospital?”

Rosen seemed uncomfortable.
“Forty-eight-hours observation,” he repeated. “Your attorney was
worried that you might harm yourself.”

“I asked for my brother. I gave his name and
phone number to the hospital administrator, but I never heard back
from her.”

Rosen looked at his watch. “I’m sure she’s
gone by now. I’ll ask someone to check when we’re done.”

I was afraid. The killer had a reason for
keeping me alive, just as he’d had a reason for killing Keith
Cooper and Shawn. He had a reason for putting me in a mental
hospital. It was all so confusing, and the Valium wasn’t helping my
ability to concentrate. What did he want with me? Did Rosen know
about the murders? I couldn’t believe that he did. “I want to be
released. There’s no reason for me to be here.”

“And you will be, just as soon as we
determine that you’re not going to harm yourself or anyone
else.”

“Harm myself? I’ve never harmed anyone in my
life.”

The door creaked behind us. I just assumed it
was Evelyn returning with my dinner. I saw Rosen looking at the
door. His expression expressed alarm. I followed his gaze as a
torrent of fear racked my body. The man who had murdered Keith and
Shawn walked though the door. He gave me a warm smile. “Up and
around, are we?” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to
introduce myself to you last night. My name is Thomas Sparks.”

Thirty: Sparks

“
That’s
not exactly true, is it?”
Sparks said. He was carrying my dinner tray. He walked into the
room and placed it on the bed. He turned to Rosen. “If you’re done
here, I’ll take over.”

The Valium wasn’t strong enough to keep my
heart from racing. Thomas Sparks came close. He gave me a warm and
friendly smile, but the message in his eyes was frightening. I
broke out in a cold sweat.

“We didn’t finish talking,” I said,
suggesting that Rosen and I needed more time together.

“That’s all right, he can come back.” He
turned to Rosen. “You can come back in ten minutes, can’t you,
Sam?”

Rosen looked at Sparks unhappily. He didn’t
seem like the kind of man who was accustomed to being dismissed.
“I’ll go get a cup of coffee.” He left the room.

Sparks turned to face me. He pulled back his
suit jacket exposing the butt of his gun. “Like my new gun?” he
said. “I know you’re sedated, but just in case you get any ideas .
. .” He covered his jacket again and sat down in the chair that
Rosen had just vacated. “What you said is not true. You’re a
dangerous woman.”

Sparks had a menacing expression on his face
as he reached in his pocket and took out his iPhone. “I think
you’ll find this video interesting.” I was frightened to death but
insanely curious at the same time. What was he going to show me? It
had to be the video that Cooper had mentioned in my condo. He
touched the screen a few times and then turned the iPhone so that I
could see it. A video began to play. I recognized the scene
immediately. The TV was on, and Vincent was starting to get
undressed. The camera was positioned at the far end of the room. I
saw him look up after a moment, and then Ax walked past the camera.
Ax had his back to the camera as Vincent stood and looked at him.
Vincent’s expression suggested surprise. The camera didn’t pick up
Ax’s muscular arms and shoulders. All you could see was his hand
shooting forward and Vincent’s head smashing against the wall. In
the next instant the audio and video equipment tumbled off of the
wall unit and the small screen filled with snow. Sparks turned the
iPhone away from me. “Vincent had a hidden camera, kinky son of a
bitch. And you are one strong goddamn girl. You split his head open
with one shot. I’m impressed.”