The Missing Year (24 page)

It was clear from meeting with Mark that Lila was in the worst possible situation and that Mark had no intention of helping Ross get to her, blackmail or not.

Ross swiped his keycard in the hotel room door and prayed the two women inside would go along with the only plan he could come up with.

“Hey there,” he said, trying his best to sound upbeat.

No one answered him.

“Hello?”

Camille and Mattie sat on the sofa, watching
Pretty Woman
and drinking a frothy orange-brown drink they had ordered from room service.

Ross nearly tripped over the service cart when he walked through the kitchen.

“Camille? Mattie? Did I miss something?”

The two of them sat closely together, chatting like old friends. Mattie wore a pair of gray yoga pants he’d never seen before and an oversized sweatshirt with the lodge’s logo on the front.

Camille was similarly dressed.

“Hey, honey. How’d it go?” Mattie grinned widely.

“Let’s say I know what I’m up against now and leave it at that.”

“That bad?”

Ross shrugged. “Depends. Have a good afternoon?”

Mattie dangled one hand over the back of the sofa and wiggled her fingers. “Camille and I had manicures and pedicures at the spa. It was a nice treat after the hospital.”

“And then we went to the gift shop,” Camille chimed in. “We charged it to the room.”

“Of course,” Ross said. “I take it that means you’re feeling better?”

“Much,” Mattie said. “Tub soaks and booze, just what the doctor ordered.”

“That’s not how I remember it. What are you
drinking?”

“A pumpkintini,” Mattie said.

“A
what
?”

“A pumpkin martini.”

Ross looked over to see Camille grinning slyly. “Are you getting my girlfriend drunk?”

Mattie smiled at the word “Girlfriend.”

Camille rolled her eyes. “Mattie’s a big girl, Ross, who happens to enjoy pumpkin flavored booze.”

From the near-empty glass pitcher, she enjoyed it quite a bit.

“It’s the lodge’s seasonal drink. Try it.” Mattie held up her glass and nearly slammed it into Ross’s chin.

He took a sip to appease her. “Gross. It tastes like pumpkin pie.” He looked around for something to get the taste out of his mouth. “Some things weren’t meant to be liquid.”

“Buzz kill.” Camille resumed watching the movie.

“What’s next?” Mattie reached up for Ross and puckered her lips.

He kissed her and sat on the chair next to the couch. “I’ve been thinking about that and I need to get into Lakeside. Obviously I can’t just walk in, so the only way I can come up with involves the two of you.”

“Then it should probably wait until we sober up,” Camille said.

“Hon, you know I’m no good at improv.” Even drunk, Mattie looked nervous.

“It’s easy, Mattie. You can do it.”

“Think you can coach her?” Ross said. “I need a distraction.”

“This isn’t the kind of thing where you can break in through the window with a ladder, right?”

“It’s a psychiatric hospital, Camille. What do you think?”

“I think we’re the only people crazy enough to be trying to get
in
. How many people do we need to distract?”

“As many as possible,” Ross said. “I need to get through the front doors and upstairs. There should only be two guards on this late in the day, but I could be wrong. I need you to keep them from noticing me.”

“If we can distract the front desk staff and draw out the security guards, you can get where you need to be?”

“As long as my key card still works. It’s not that big of a place.”

Camille tapped her freshly manicured nails against her glass. “Give me something to work with. I need a vulnerable male. Someone easily flustered.”

Ross’s mind went immediately to Eddie Gill. “Eddie.”

“Tell me about him,” Camille said.

Mattie leaned forward.

“Forties, married, new baby, has a wife named Jen.”

“Anything else?”

Ross shook his head. “That’s all I know.”

Camille thought for a long moment and said, “Mattie, you didn’t happen to bring anything dressy did you? I think we must be the same size. Six?”

“Eight,” Mattie said.

“Close enough.”

“What are you up to?” Ross asked.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Camille said.

“Last time I heard that, I ended up in the role of STD-infected philanderer.”

“That’s part of the fun. Mattie, fix yourself up,” Camille said. “You’re going to be scorned girlfriend number two.”

“Number two?” Ross said.

“What, you think I’d give her the lead?”

Mattie sighed. “Am I the only one who thinks she’s too good at this?”

* * * * *

It had taken the women the better part of an hour to dress their respective parts, both of them having more fun doing it than they probably should have.

Ross drove Camille’s car to Lakeside in the off chance Mark clued anyone in to his rental. He didn’t figure Mark would have talked given that he had blackmailed him, but he wasn’t willing to take chances. He lifted the hood of his black sweatshirt and grabbed a lab coat from the passenger’s seat, praying the key in his pocket was still active.

Camille and Mattie put the finishing touches on their routine.

Camille fit perfectly in Mattie’s vintage black lace dress, which she had brought in case of a nice dinner out. There wasn’t time to drive back to Camille’s and still make Lakeside’s visiting hours. Camille wrapped a scarf around her head, styling her hair like a blond Audrey Hepburn.

Mattie wasn’t nearly as costumed or elegant. She had dressed down to a skirt and fitted blouse, playing the role of the tart. Camille convinced her to stuff her bra.

Ross felt bad for Eddie. He was about to be caught in the force of a whirlwind that had nothing to do with him.

“You almost ready?” Ross asked.

“I am,” Camille said in her favorite southern drawl.

“Me, not so much,” Mattie said, sounding exactly like herself. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Oh, you can, darling. You
can
.” Camille said.

“Hon, she’s better at this than me. Why can’t you just let her do it?”

“Oh, shush,” Camille said. “You’ll do fine, Sugar.”

“Camille, knock it off. You’re making her nervous,” Ross said.

“I’m just trying to get into character,
Cletus
.”

“Mattie, I need more than one set of eyes in there. Can you help me, please?” Ross glanced at the rearview and saw the resignation in her expression. She’d help him, but she wasn’t thrilled about it.

“What’s going on?” Camille said.

Ross had been too busy looking at Mattie to have seen the police patrol cars parked in the Lakeside lot.

“You didn’t say anything about police.”

A lump formed in Ross’s throat. “It’s nothing.” He minimized the worst case scenario. “Police get involved with psychiatric patients sometimes.”

“What are we going to do?”

“The only thing we
can
do. Stick to the plan.”

Ross waited in the bushes, watching through the first floor window with his hood pulled up and his face against the glass like a Peeping Tom.

Camille kicked off what was quickly becoming a three ring circus. She stormed through the front door, headed straight to the nighttime receptionist, and demanded to see Eddie. She was shouting—what she would call “projecting,” in stage speech—giving Ross all the information he needed.

“What do you mean Eddie’s upstairs? I need him down here now, Sugar.”

Ross scanned for signs of police, finding none in plain sight.

Mattie entered the fray as scorned girlfriend number two. She, too, demanded to see Eddie.

Again, the receptionist declined. She cast back and forth glances between the women and the phone on her desk.

“Keep it up,” Ross said. “Keep it up.”

“Eddie? Eddie Gill, come down here right now.” Mattie nodded to Ross to let him know the coast up the stairwell was, at least temporarily, clear.

“Atta girl,” Ross said.

Mattie hadn’t given herself enough credit.

“Eddie, where are you?” she said.

Camille scowled. “What business is that of yours?”

“I’m his girlfriend.”

“No way.
I’m
his girlfriend.”

Mattie laughed. “You’re old enough to be his mother.”

“Eddie prefers a seasoned woman. There’s no way he would go after a … a—”

“A what?” Mattie asked.

“A
whore
like you.”

“Who are you calling a whore,
home wrecker
?”

The flustered receptionist threw her hands up in the air. “All right. That’s it. Ladies, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. We can’t have this kind of scene.”

“There’d be no
scene
if this one would keep her hands off my Eddie,” Camille said.

“
Your
Eddie? Are you kidding me? Where was he last night? Tell me that.”

“He was working. Isn’t that right?” Camille looked to the receptionist for confirmation. “You saw him here, didn’t you?”

“I—I—I’m sorry. If you two won’t leave, I am going to have to call Security.”

“Yes,” Camille said. “I think that’s best. Have this girl removed, please. I think it’s past her bedtime.”

Mattie hauled off and slapped Camille, hard enough for it to look real.

“Okay, that’s it.” The receptionist picked up the phone and the PA system crackled. “Code 10 to the reception desk, Code 10 to reception, and Eddie Gill, please report to the lobby. You have visitors.”

Code 10 was Lakeside speak for an out-of-control situation, a call which was quickly answered. Two men, one older and one young, both wearing the requisite blue uniforms, showed up to diffuse the situation.

Eddie wasn’t far behind them, which made it the perfect time for Ross to sneak in.

Ross put on his lab coat and went inside with his head down as if he belonged there.

Mattie feigned crying.

Camille shouted.

Of all the folks at the front desk—the receptionist, two security guards, and Eddie Gill—poor Eddie was the only sucker Ross had to worry about recognizing him.

“Eddie, I’m going to have to ask you to get your friends to leave,” said the older security guard.

“I’ve never seen these women before in my life.” Eddie’s pale face turned red, his eyes wide behind his dark glasses.

Camille swept her hand across the reception desk, tossing its contents on to the floor. “What do you
mean
you have no idea who I am? Eddie, you said you loved me.”

The look on Eddie’s face was priceless. He’d gone from sheet white to candy apple red in a matter of seconds and was so flustered that, after a minute, he couldn’t even speak. He met Camille’s outlandish accusations with stammering, and almost passed out when she offered Mattie a tissue. The two of them had ganged up on him, making a bigger distraction than Ross needed.

Eddie had been the perfect patsy.

Ross hurried up the stairs and onto the ward.

The patient floor was quiet, except for the sound of the community room television. No one was there watching.

A sinking feeling took hold as Ross considered the police cruisers.

What if Lila had been arrested?

Was the center under some sort of lockdown?

Where were the patients?

Ross crept down the hall, holding his breath as he closed in on Lila’s room. The pulled shade obscured his view through the window. He turned the knob and pushed the door open to find the room empty except for the over-pruned bonsai tree.

He was too late.

The thought made him sick to his stomach.

“I thought you’d be back,” said a male voice behind him.

Ross spun around to see a smugly grinning Guy.

“Where’s Lila?”

“She’s gone,” he said.

“Gone
where
?”

Guy clucked his tongue and shook his head. “After all that’s happened, is it so hard to figure out?”

“What did you do?” Ross prayed Lila hadn’t incriminated herself.

“That’s quite a distraction you have going on downstairs. I’m guessing the brunette is the on and off girlfriend you told me about. What was her name, Mattie?”

“Guy, I’m not playing around. What did you do with Lila?” Part of him wondered if maybe Guy had been expecting him and moved her to throw him off.

“Lila?” Ross called for her. “Lila, are you here?”

Kendra stepped out of her room, lips pursed and arms across her chest. “Dr. Reeves, why are you yelling?”

“Kendra, where’s Lila?”

Kendra shrugged, her large breast swelling from the deep V of her shirt. “How should I know?”

“When’s the last time you saw her?”

Guy stepped in. “Ross, Lila isn’t here and I don’t appreciate you upsetting the patients.”

“Who’s upset?” Kendra said.

“Kendra, please. Did you see the police?”

“What police?”

“Kendra, go back in your room please,” Guy said.

“I—”

“Back in your room and close the door.”

Kendra did as she was told.

Guy and Ross stood on opposite sides of the hallway, Guy looking up at Ross who was several inches taller. “You should have left well enough alone.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Between Jeremy Davis, his staff, and the people you asked favors from at the hospital back in Edinburgh, people are asking questions, saying Blake Wheeler
wanted
to die. You can’t blame Ruth for being upset.”

“All I know is that Blake didn’t want to live on life support.”

“According to Lila.”

“According to
him
. You know there was paperwork. Blake’s advance directive had him removed from life support.”

“The advance directive that Lila forged his signature on.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. You might as well admit it now.”

“There’s nothing to admit.” He wouldn’t turn Lila in, even if it was already too late. Even if she had given herself up. He prayed that wasn’t the case. “Guy, please. Tell me where Lila is.”

Two security guards appeared at the end of the hall.

“Is she all right?” Ross said. “Can you at least tell me that?”

“She isn’t
here.” Guy paused between each word.

“Dr. Reeves,” the younger of the two guards held his radio in his hand, “I’m going to have to ask you to surrender your key card and leave.”

“Guy, please. Stop this.”

“It’s too late, Ross. Take care now.” Guy headed toward the elevator.

“Dr. Reeves, will you come with me or do I have to call the police back?”

Back.

The word resonated.

Whatever business they had, they must have left.

Ross took one last look into Lila’s former room, wondering if she had gone with them, and handed over his key card. “That won’t be necessary.”