by David Archer
"Indie was able to get us the case summaries for cases that some of their patients worked in the field. Those reports were all submitted by other agencies and contractors of the government, so North Forest Hospital would have to be watching us closely to know we have them. We got records for the last five years, and we began putting those files together, trying to find patterns. Our first person of interest was a kid who worked cases consistently for a full year before dropping off the map a few months before Eric came to work for us."
"At first, we didn't think there was a connection, given the gap between the two events," Summer interjected, "but we noticed his number ended in 6013. Eric's number ends in 5013, and one of the friends he told Sam about had a number ending in 4013. We thought there might be something to it, so Darren began digging a little more."
Sam leaned on the table, his tone bearing a note of concern only those who knew him well would notice. "Meanwhile, Summer and I began speaking with third party vendors, trying to find someone who might know something helpful." He straightened up and hit a button on the slideshow remote, pointing to the screen. "This is Tony Hester. Tony drove a truck for Johnson Medical, and he often took biohazardous waste to a disposal facility on the western slope. On Friday, Tony got curious and opened an exceptionally large box. He found a girl inside."
Denny's stomach twisted at that, an uncomfortable sensation crawling up the back of his neck. This isn't just about Whiz Kid. This is big.
"We spoke to Tony and the girl, Cindy, three days ago. Early this morning, Tony's girlfriend reported him missing. There is no sign of Cindy anywhere." Sam looked at the screen again. "He gave us the location of the disposal facility before we left, and we're going to look into it. It should also be mentioned that Cindy's ID ended in 2013."
"Which brings us back to our mystery kid, the one who went missing." Darren gestured toward the screen and waited until Sam had changed it to continue. "Say hello to Donny Fitzgerald. I managed to strongarm North Forest Hospital into giving me the file on him. It doesn't tell us all that much, but I couldn't get anything else out of them. We've been playing telephone tag since the Tulsa case, but up until yesterday, nothing I was doing to get information from them was working."
Jade gave Darren a cautious look. "What happened yesterday?"
"I decided to recruit Donny. I called and said we needed him on a case, and they told me Donny isn't on duty anymore. There was a mishap in the field, so they benched him, which is why he disappeared four months ago, and they were considering whether or not to put him back in. They decided to retire him and put him in another facility until it's safe for him to be in the field again."
Sam took over again. "What we find so interesting is when it happened. Less than twenty-four hours after Darren told me he was looking at the number sequence, Donny was relocated. Cindy was relocated the next day. Or she was supposed to be, before Tony intervened."
"I hadn't requested any files yet—hadn't even called them." Darren took another drink.
Denny let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his forehead. "You're saying what I think you're saying, aren't you?"
Sam deadpanned. "If what you think we're saying is that we have a mole, then yes. We believe it's someone here in the office, though it doesn't necessarily have to be one of our team."
"Why here?" Denny questioned.
"We hadn't landed yet when Darren called me. Detective Paulsen checks out, and there wasn't anyone else on the plane other than myself, Summer, and Eric."
Jade nodded a few times. "It has to be someone who heard the conversation from this end." She frowned then. "That also begs the question of how they knew when to eavesdrop and who to eavesdrop on. If North Forest Hospital wasn't notified when you got the public records, what reason would they have to bug Darren's office?"
Darren looked at the screen behind them, scowling a bit. "However it happened, somebody told North Forest Hospital I was looking into Donny, and they had to have been here to know that."
Sam exhaled briefly, the beginning of a frustrated sigh, but the air turned into words. "That leaves us pretty much stranded. We can't speak with Tony or Cindy because they're both missing. We can't get hold of Donny's files or get into contact with him, and our resources on other, potentially involved patients is limited at best."
Lynnette spoke up then, doodling in the margins of her notebook. "That's where I come in. I can make a more… persuasive demand for the files on Donny. However, if they are as restricted as Eric's files, I don't know how much help that will be. I will also be calling on some favors to see if anyone in another department has voiced concerns about North Forest Hospital and been shut down."
Denny pursed his lips. "What do we know about Whiz Kid's other ward mates?"
"I got their numbers from Eric," Summer began, opening the file in front of her. "I asked him for a list of numbers in chronological order, and he gave me twenty-three of them, so I narrowed it down to the last five years. Donny and Cindy both made the list, but it's been a while since he's seen either of them. So, I took this list and lined it up with the timeline I created from the case summaries, including only patients whose ID ends with a 013s number."
Jade whistled. "Do I want to know how long that took?"
"No," Summer, Sam, and Darren replied in perfect unison, and no one else at the table could resist the urge to smile.
"So, Summer, what'd you find?" Denny asked, lips still turned up in the corner.
Summer held out her hand for the remote and got to her feet, changing the screen. "I found something interesting. Every time a patient was moved out of Eric's ward, another one replaced them within a month. Every time except once."
Summer pointed to a particular section of the timeline. "Eric wrote that 4013 left in July two years ago. 4013 didn't work any cases while they were away, and then they came back to Eric's ward this past December."
Denny's eyebrows shot up. "That's almost two and a half years."
"Exactly." Summer clicked the button again and there was another change. "During that time, only two patients with numbers ending in the 013s worked on cases. I'm currently hounding North Forest Hospital for their files so I can get more information." She gestured politely to Dr. Raymonds. "You're up."
Raymonds gave her a bright smile—Denny couldn't help but think of the term 'gentleman' every time he saw the guy—and cleared his throat. "Yes, well, my findings aren't nearly as scandalous, but there were some oddities. First, I received a letter from North Forest Hospital formally requesting that I refer Eric to one of their psychiatrists. It isn't explicitly stated, but I get the idea they're willing to pay me for my troubles, if you know what I mean."
Lynnette held up an evidence bag with a piece of paper in it. "Dr. Raymonds handed that over to me, and because we are officially treating this as an open investigation, we will begin compiling evidence, starting with this."
Raymonds waited until she was definitely done to continue. "I got in touch with a few colleagues who work with North Forest Hospital. They changed the subject every time I mentioned the hospital or its patients, and one of them told me, and I quote, 'You should pass the kid on to someone else. Trust me, you're better off not knowing what goes on in their brains.'" Raymonds sniffed. "I was quite offended, to be honest."
Denny smiled slightly.
Jade leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "So… what are we saying? This isn't just a mole theory, this is a full-blown conspiracy theory."
Lynnette nodded with a solemn expression, her eyes going as dark as her lipstick. "I think we all know what we're getting into. I don't know when Jill will be back, but I'm keeping her updated, and I don't intend to leave until I can hand this position over to her directly. I will do what I can to protect you from repercussions, but we have to tread very, very carefully. North Forest Hospital has a lot of authority over these patients. Honestly, I'm not sure why they haven't taken Eric by force, though I suspect it has something to do with Mr. Prichard's reputation."
There was
a brief moment of laughter, but Lynnette was quick to draw everyone back to the matter at hand, all humor immediately gone from her tone.
"Mr. Prichard is the one who began digging, and other people have slowly gotten involved. If North Forest Hospital hasn't taken Eric back, I have to assume it's because they would prefer Mr. Prichard keep this case a slow-growing hobby. They won't do anything to give him a reason to make more noise than he's making now. I also think that's why you do, eventually, get the files you request. Delayed and altered, to be sure, but North Forest Hospital keeps giving you bits and pieces to keep you from doing anything drastic. It's an advantage for us, but again, we have to be very careful. I cannot stress that enough."
Sam turned to Jade and nodded toward the center of the table. "Jade, did you find something other than what we've covered?"
Jade nodded. "You guys found a lot more than I did, but I did pursue a side investigation you didn't. North Forest Hospital keeps patients with psychosis in a facility in Grand Junction, so I called them up. They wouldn't give me any records on Eric, but they did confirm Eric had been there several years ago. I didn't think it was significant until I saw Summer's timeline."
Everyone stared expectantly.
"Eric was at North Forest Hospital Sanitarium from July to November of last year."
Everyone looked at the timeline in unison, feeling the urge to double-check the connection they had just made.
"Right at the end of the unexplained gap," Sam mumbled.
"We have to talk to the kid who came right after Whiz Kid got back." Denny drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "Yeah, we should talk to the two who worked in the gap, but whoever 4013 is, they can give us the best before and after picture."
Darren and Summer both began sifting through the files they had.
"I think it's one of Eric's friends, actually." Summer kept flipping through, mumbling. "Where are you? Hmm… They showed up earlier on Eric's timeline, too, a couple years ago. I think—there."
Denny leaned forward a bit. "Who is it?"
"Oh, I remember her." Summer nudged Sam on the arm. "She caught my eye because of what you said about wanting your own personal technical wizard."
Sam looked at Lynnette immediately. "I was joking, of course. I’m sure you know that my wife handles that sort of thing for us quite often."
“Of course,” she said.
Summer tapped the page. "She has incredible technology skills, but they haven't let her out in the field in three years. Her file is black-tagged because she is, apparently, 'a severe flight risk who is prone to violent outbursts.'"
Sam read the paper over Summer's shoulder. "We can look into it."
Lynnette stood up from her chair and buttoned her jacket. "I have to cut out, I'm afraid. I have a meeting in twenty. I'll keep an eye out for cases involving these patients and make sure they end up on your desk. I'll approve and prioritize your request for her help on said cases. Have a good night, everyone!"
There were waves and farewells, and then Sam got back to business.
"Summer and Darren will continue trying to get ahold of some files, namely those of 4013 and the two patients in the gap. They will orchestrate any attempt to come into contact with any of these patients. Jade and I will be going out to the biohazard waste facility to see what we can find. Dr. Raymonds, please keep us updated on any information you might be able to get from your colleagues, and let us know if North Forest Hospital makes any further attempt to reach out to you."
Raymonds placed his hat on his head and stood up. "Of course. If that's all…?"
"That’s it," Sam replied. "Thank you again for coming."
Dr. Raymonds waved and opened the door to leave. "Oh!"
Everyone looked up to see Lynnette standing there with an apologetic look on her face.
"Sorry everyone, but you have a case. I just got the notification; the files should be coming through any minute."
Disappointment travelled around the room, but Jade still tried to find some hope. "I don't suppose it's a computer-related case?"
Lynnette shook her head. "Sorry, again. You're headed to the middle of nowhere."
There was another surge of disappointment, but there was nothing anyone could do about it, so they all fell into their roles. They left the conference room one after the other until it was just Denny and an open file.
"Let's see who's gonna help us take down North Forest Hospital."
Denny stood up and reached across the table, dragging the papers over to himself and turning them right-side up. He skimmed the details, briefly noting the lack of a picture, and couldn't help but chuckle at some of the things he read.
"Hmm… Melanie, huh?"
EIGHTEEN
The case in the middle of nowhere turned out to be a lot simpler than they had expected, tracking down a group of survivalists who were making noises about overthrowing the government. It turned out to be more of a prank than anything else, but once again Eric had been instrumental in cracking it. The only problem came when Sam went to turn in his rental car, which had suffered some damage. As they were flying back to Denver, Eric decided to share the story with the rest of them.
"So, Mr. Prichard, he—he looks at the man and asks, 'That couldn't be caused by normal wear and tear, could it?'"
Denny threw his head back laughing, and Eric dissolved into hysterics, both of them stopping just long enough to look at Sam and then started laughing all over again.
"Wear and tear, Sam?" Denny pressed a hand to his aching stomach. "It was a bloody caved in fender!"
Eric nearly snorted, covering his mouth with his device-free hand. "I haven't been around cars for five years, and even I knew that couldn’t be wear and tear!"
Sam glared at them disparagingly. "It was worth a shot."
Denny and Eric both began laughing again, though not quite as raucously, and then Eric put his headphones in. He curled up, nestling into Denny's side with a mumble. "Worth a shot…" Eric giggled and then fell silent, sighing contentedly.
Denny draped an arm around the kid and put his own headphones back where they belonged, directing another grin at Sam. Oddly, he didn't mind the close contact with Eric.
Denny figured it was just something he had gotten used to. Eric loved to be touched—also odd, because when they first met him, Eric shied away from physical intimacy of any kind, even handshakes and tight quarters—but with the occasional exception of a panic attack, Eric now enjoyed physical contact with several members of the team.
Denny wasn't exactly a touchy-feely kind of guy, but there was something so innocent and pure about the way Eric tried to, for lack of a better word, cuddle other adults. Besides, after five years of isolation… after growing up thinking only mothers handed out hugs… how could Denny tell him no?
"Denny."
Denny pulled his headset down around his neck and looked at Sam expectantly.
"Do you need a day off to recover?"
Denny immediately knew where the talk was going, and he shook his head. "Nope. I'll be ready to roll as soon as we land."
Sam nodded a bit and looked over the legal pad in front of him. "I need to go home and shower, and then I'm spending a few hours with Kenzie and Bo at home."
Summer looked up at him. "I'm expecting a call from Ms. Donaldson sometime today. She's in a meeting until four, and she wasn't certain when she would be able to get in touch with me after that."
Sam looked back at his notes, scribbling down a few things before continuing. "Jade, you said you were going to look into employment records at Johnson Medical?"
Jade nodded from her seat on the plane, a legal pad sitting in front of her as well. "North Forest Hospital was established in 2008, and Hester was only their driver for the past five years. Hopefully, I'll be able to find other drivers and, if they're still around, talk to them about the shipments they ran."
Darren rolled his shoulders and tapped Sam's legal pad. "Put me down for working from home. Someone has to do the reports
for this case while you're running all over God's creation chasing leads." He twisted the cap off a water bottle and took a drink. "I'll be getting some features installed in my spare rooms, too. We're gonna need a place for these patients to stay, and our boy might not need to be under lock and key, but I doubt we can say that for all the patients we'll come across."
"Hey." Jade stopped writing and looked across the plane. "Mind if I come over? We can tag-team the research and report-writing."
"Only if you let me cook for you." Darren grinned and raised his water bottle as if it were a wine glass.
Sam chuckled and continued to write. "That leaves you, Denny. Eric has an appointment with Dr. Raymonds today—"
"And while Whiz Kid is seeing the doctor, I'll be snooping around the office in search of our mole." Denny shrugged. "I might take the kid for ice cream or something afterward. Or to get a library card."
There wasn't a single face that didn't have a smile at the thought of that.
"You know what?" Sam rested his ankle on the opposite knee. "Why don't you all come over for dinner? It's about time we involve him in a big family meal."
Denny gave a thumbs up. "I'll be there, and I'll bring the kid."
Darren thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Me, too." Walter and Steve chimed in that they would be coming, and Summer said to count her in.
Sam set his pen down and addressed the plan. "Stay in touch with Summer or myself and meet at my house at six if you can make it. Take tomorrow off and do something relaxing. The deeper we get into this, the more intense it's going to get, and I don't know when you'll have free time again."
There were affirmative murmurs around the jet, and Denny turned his attention back to Eric, who was still pressed tightly against Denny's side, eyes closed and lips moving in silent song lyrics.
We'll get this figured out, kid. Don't you worry. Denny gave him a one-armed squeeze, and a happy smile pulled at Eric's lips. Everything is gonna be alright.
* * *
If I were a mole, where would I hide?
Well, seeing as Denny had never been a traitor and never would be, he had absolutely no idea how to answer his own question, and that made it largely unhelpful, but Denny had never been a quitter—and he never would be—so he continued to stand by the coffee machine and survey the room.