They were rolling past the silent mansion again on their way back to the prison when it hit Nella like shattering glass. She grabbed Frank's arm and the car slid across the empty lanes. "Stop the car," she said, "I remember where I saw her. Stop the car."
"Jesus, Nella! Okay, don't kill us."
She barely waited for him to pull off the side of the road. When she opened her door, the tires were still spitting gravel at her ankles.
"Just a second! Where are you going?" Frank yelled out the open door. Nella walked back toward the mansion, her hands shaking inside her jacket pocket as they fumbled for her phone. Frank ran up behind her. "What are you doing?"
"Do you know if there is cell service here?"
Frank stammered. "What? I've never been here- I guess so, I mean we're close enough to the prison that the tower there should cover it. I don't know which ones have been fixed out here."
Nella swore and started dialing. "Sevita, pick up the phone. Sevita, it's me, pick up the phone. I need to know when you recorded that footage of Dr. Carton's house. The one with the woman. It's extremely important. If you can meet me at the prison in half an hour I can almost guarantee it will be more than worth your while. I really need you to do this for me." She hung up the phone and turned toward Frank. "Remember I told you I knew I'd seen Dr. Schneider somewhere before?"
The early spring sun made a weak, cold halo around him. "Of course," he said, "You mean you saw her here?"
"I saw a film of her here. Sevita Das, the reporter who is covering the trial-" she paused.
"Yes, I know who she is," said Frank.
"She's been my friend for a long time. Since the Cure began. She's always wanted to find Dr. Carton. It's been her obsession since the first day we administered the Cure. I don't know if she wanted to thank him or curse him for putting this burden of guilt on everyone. But she's always wanted to know. She's tried everything to get him to agree to meet her, but she can't find anyone who knows anything about him and so far he hasn't answered the door. So in her spare time, she comes out here and films the house. She says that he has to get groceries from somewhere, he has to have contact with the outside world once in a while."
"And she found something?"
"She thought she did. I mean, there's always the postman and the deliveries from the Farm, but they never go inside. There's an interior door that's always closed when the outer door is open. That's how deliveries are made." She became embarrassed as he stared at her expectantly. "Sevita makes us watch hours of footage to make sure she doesn't miss anything. But this one time, about a month ago, she taped someone coming out. No one has ever come out before. At least that we saw. I'm almost positive it was Dr. Schneider."
Frank shook his head. "What would she be doing there?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out before we run out of time." Nella began walking toward the massive iron gate. Frank grabbed her arm.
"Wait," he hissed, "we don't know anything yet. If you go pounding on the door you could alarm her. We can't afford to lose what little bit of a lead we have. Besides, you said no one answers the door. It can only make things worse. Let's at least go to the prison and see if we can get some more information first. You said your friend spent hours videotaping this place. Maybe she can at least point out all the exits in case Dr. Schneider is in there. I hardly need to tell you that we can't get the military police involved."
"But what if she's in there right now? What if she's got the bacteria right there. What if today is the day it gets lost or released or stolen?"
"This isn't the place to argue about this."
Nella reluctantly began walking back to the car with him. He took a deep breath.
"Maybe this is the day, Nella. Maybe this is the very last day. But what is banging on the front door going to do about it? You think they're just going to hand over the bacteria because we say please? There's a reason Dr. Carton doesn't want the world to know who he is. There's also a reason that Dr. Schneider was in there when no one else has been allowed. I'm not saying those reasons are questionable or honest or anything else. I'm just saying they exist. And until we find out what those reasons are, we're going to have to tread carefully."
"I can't just wait around."
"We're not, we've got a plan. Let's follow it. Someone will tell us something, and then we'll have to decide what we're going to do."
Nella slid back into the car. She flexed her wounded hand after closing the door. It was stiff, and she had a heck of a hangover. She shut her eyes as Frank turned the car on.
"Have you thought about that?" he asked as he pulled the car back onto the tar.
"Have I thought about what?" she asked, her eyes still closed.
"What we're going to do once we know where Dr. Schneider is?"
"I guess that depends on where she is. You do realize that the chances of her remaining unfound in a Cured sector are pretty remote don't you?" she opened her eyes to squint at him.
"I've thought about it, yes." He was quiet for a moment. "I'm not a soldier."
"I know. I understand if you don't want to go with me. I can do it alone."
"I just don't know if I could shoot someone. Not knowing they could be Cured. Not even to defend myself."
Nella smiled gently at him in the mirror. "Well," she said, "let's not borrow trouble. Let's just get through today."
The prison was a flat, dull blotch. Nella felt her chest fill with lead as soon as she stepped out of the car. They walked toward the door silently. Nella reached for the handle, but Frank put his hand over hers to stop her. "No one can know, not even your friend," he said.
"I know. She can be trusted, but she won't ask if I don't offer. I won't say anything."
"I'll see you soon," he said and let her go.
She hesitated for a second, not wanting to walk away into the madness of Ann's cell. She realized she was truly frightened. Nella became angry with herself and pushed herself forward through the heavy door. She forgot to say anything to Frank and she felt immediately guilty. But she didn't turn around. She had to be professional. She felt ridiculous instead.
What Ann Saw
After the Cure Page 17