“Of course,” the administrator said mechanically as he handed the paper to Anna.
“Has anyone used his room since his departure?” O’Malley asked, seeking to ease the tension again.
“No,” Wilkinson replied, “I don’t believe so. Summer is a slow period for us,” he added conversationally. O’Malley smiled.
“Then we would like to see his room,” Anna said.
“Right this way,” Wilkinson said, gesturing toward the door.
◆
When they arrived at the designated room, there was a maid dusting. Wilkinson knocked on the door frame. The woman jumped at the sound.
“I’m sorry, Delores,” Wilkinson said. “These people are looking for Brian Teplow, um, Daniel Meldon.”
“So he really was Brian Teplow,” the maid said in surprise. “Dr. Langford checked him out last week.”
“Did Mr. Teplow leave anything behind?” Anna asked. The maid noted Anna’s accent and looked to Wilkinson, who nodded.
“You can speak freely to them, Delores,” the administrator said.
“Well, ma’am,” Delores said after clearing her throat, “Brian was very tidy, and didn’t have much with him other than the clothes he was wearing. It’s hard to forget a grown man in night sleepers.” She grinned at the memory. When she noted Anna’s confusion, she added, “Pajamas with feet.”
“And that is all he had with him?” O’Malley asked.
“That’s all I ever saw him in,” Delores replied. “His closet was empty.”
“So,” Lamb said in Wilkinson’s face, “he was admitted to your facility, under false pretenses, with only pajamas in his possession?” Wilkinson was shaken. “Doesn’t that strike you as peculiar?”
“Mr. Meldon, uh, Teplow, was brought here in the middle of the night,” Wilkinson blurted out defensively. “I wasn’t here at the time.” He glanced at each of the three newcomers nervously. “I was told it was by special arrangement with Dr. Langford.”
“And does Dr. Langford have many ‘special patients’?” Anna asked skeptically.
“All his patients are special,” Wilkinson replied. “He’s not a regular member of the staff. He only sees a few patients here.”
“And what was his interest in Mr. Teplow?” Lamb asked.
“I’m not involved in the treatment of the patients,” Wilkinson continued, “and Dr. Langford is especially private about his clients.”
“So you had no idea who the patient really was,” O’Malley said, “why he was here, or where he went?” The father was starting to lose his composure.
“I know where he went,” Delores said, averting her eyes when she caught Wilkinson’s glare. Anna noticed the exchange and glared back at the administrator.
“Where did he go?” Anna asked with a smile. Delores glanced at Wilkinson and gulped.
“Dr. Langford offered Mr. Teplow the use of his guest house,” the maid said. “The doctor said there were too many distractions, and that the sanitarium was not the right place to treat him.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us that might help us find Brian?” O’Malley asked with urgency.
“Nothing I can think of,” Delores replied, shaking her head. “He was a nice guy. I hope you find him.”
“You have been very helpful, Delores,” Anna said with a friendly smile. “Shane Patterson sends his regards,” she added before turning to leave.
“You may be hearing from us again,” Lamb said to Wilkinson. He handed the administrator a business card. “You will call this number if you have any additional information.” He turned toward the door before Wilkinson could reply.
“Of course,” echoed behind the three as they exited the building.
Chapter 3
July 16, 1929
“Do you know where this is?” Anna asked Shane as she sat in the front seat of the car. Cletus poked his muzzle over the seat to watch her as Anna handed the paper to the driver.
“That’s a ways down the ‘pike in Brume Hollow,” he replied. “It might take an hour or so to get there.”
“Why so long?” Lamb asked as he closed the rear door. “We were told that the resident works in town.”
“Those windy roads are tough to navigate,” Shane replied. “Especially when in this fog.” The three had failed to notice that fog had engulfed the area while they were inside. “It’ll linger in the woods for a while longer.”
“Well, it’s imperative that we find Mr. Teplow as soon as possible,” O’Malley said. “If you would continue to assist us, it would be a truly Christian service.”
“And I will donate another five dollars for your troubles,” Anna added.
“Well, you folks have been good to me,” Shane said without hesitation, “and this feels like an adventure in a dime novel. Count me in.”
“Good man,” Lamb said in approval, and patted the driver’s shoulder.
Gravel sprayed behind the Nash and left divots as the car sped off down the fog-shrouded drive.
◆
As predicted, the going was slow. Shane turned in the opposite direction upon leaving the Oak Valley Sanitarium driveway. The road devolved down to a dirt track within a few miles. It wound into a dense stand of old oaks, where the little sunlight that broke through the thick, towering canopy barely pierced the blanketing fog.
As they entered the encroaching forest, Cletus’ attention drifted from Anna to their surroundings, and he growled ominously, alternating between stepping across Lamb and O’Malley to peer out the windows.
“This is Brume Hollow,” Shane said as he slowed around a winding curve along the bank of a defile containing a babbling brook.
“It seems like it would be quite lovely when the fog is gone,” Anna said, admiring the creek as it flowed through some rocky outcroppings.
“There aren’t too many people out here,” the driver continued, “being that the roads are so dangerous.” O’Malley sensed there was more to it.
“This seems like prime real estate,” the priest said with curiosity. “Surely some industrious speculator has considered developing this area.”
“The country folk won’t come here,” Shane replied. “They say these woods are haunted.” He paused to concentrate on a sharp turn. “Some city folks have disappeared here over the years.”
“That seems a little fantastic,” Lamb said suspiciously.
“God’s honest truth,” Shane replied defensively. “There was a young couple just last spring found all chewed up. They said it looked like they’d been attacked by a bear. And then there was that fellow with the broken neck. They said he fell off a cliff. There were others come out here and were never seen again. As you can see for yourselves, if you don’t know these parts and get trapped in a fog like this, the going can be treacherous.”
“Indeed,” Anna said introspectively. This is a very remote address for a psychiatrist, she thought. Especially one who invites patients to use his guest house. On the other hand, the seclusion might be beneficial for the treatment of certain conditions.
The car slowed to a stop at the end of the dirt road, where a pair of iron gates blocked passage beyond an ancient, eight-foot-high brick wall.
“This must be the place,” O’Malley said.
“It doesn’t look like anyone has been here in a while,” Lamb said. The gates were locked with a rusted chain and old but serviceable padlock on the outside. Beyond the gate, an overgrown path disappeared into the trees and up a small hill.
“There must be another entrance to the estate if Dr. Langford lives here and commutes into the village,” Anna said.
“I suppose so,” Shane replied. “Maybe there’s a driveway on the other side of the hill. But this is the road on your paper.”
“No one is faulting you, Shane,” O’Malley said reassuringly. “We traveled quite a distance into the forest. Given the condition of the road, Dr. Langford must have another means of egress.”
“And I haven’t seen any telephone poles since we left the main
road from the hospital,” Lamb added. “We’d best turn around and look for the driveway he uses.”
“I wouldn’t mind getting out of the hollow before the sun goes down,” Shane said uneasily. He put the car into reverse and backed up to the side to turn around. It started backward slowly, but then the rear end dropped, and the car slipped a little, stopping abruptly with a clunk. Cletus barked.
When Shane put the car back into a forward gear, the wheels spun to no effect. Lamb leapt out, followed by Cletus. The dog circled the car, while the doctor stepped to the rear. The back of the car was completely clear of the ground, which dropped a couple of feet beyond the tall grass that had concealed it.
◆
“That’s gonna need a tow truck,” Shane said twenty minutes later. He, Lamb, and O’Malley had tried a variety of methods to free the car from its predicament, but the soft ground and the purchase from the gully below were insufficient to get any leverage.
“Then we need to find out if anyone is at home,” Anna said, indicating the gates.
“Under ordinary circumstance,” Lamb said, “I would respect the occupant’s privacy. But we have no alternative. It’s several miles back to the main road. The house is probably closer.”
“We should all keep together,” O’Malley said to Shane.
“Cletus and I will stay here,” he replied, “in case somebody comes down this way. If so, I’ll toot the hooter.” He squeezed the ball at the end of the horn to demonstrate.
“As you wish,” O’Malley replied.
“And we will pay for any damages to your vehicle,” Anna added.
When Anna stepped out of the car, Cletus started barking and carefully approached her. Anna stopped and held out her hand to the dog. Cletus stepped up, sniffed the offered hand, and then hopped into the driver seat.
“We’ll see if we can get a tow truck, or if Dr. Langford has a tractor or something will can pull the car up with,” Lamb said. He handed Shane one of his business cards. “If you run into any difficulty, this will validate your story.” He shook Shane’s hand and then joined O’Malley at the gates.
The priest examined the lock more closely. Then he pulled at the chains and tested the give of the iron bars of the gate.
“This lock is newer than the chain,” he said as Anna joined them. “And both are newer than the gates.” He pulled at the gates, and the centermost bars started to bend. “I think we can pull these apart enough to squeeze through.”
“It’s worth a try,” Lamb said. He took hold of the bar on one side and pulled. At the same time, O’Malley pulled on the other. Their muscles strained as the two exerted themselves, and they managed to bend the bars slightly, but the chain was not long enough to part the gates sufficiently. Then they both fell backward as the gates suddenly opened. Anna and Shane laughed as she held up the lock, which she had managed to pick with a pin and a nail file from her purse.
“That should enable us to bring a tractor back if we find one,” she said with a grin.
Lamb patted down his trousers, feeling the wet, muddy stain on his rear, and scowled at Anna. She put her hand before her face to cover her grin.
“We probably should have tried that first,” O’Malley said, dusting off his cassock. He had landed in dry gravel.
“Let’s go,” Lamb said, taking the lead through the gates. O’Malley followed. Anna turned back to nod at Shane. He acknowledged the gesture. Then she turned and hastened her pace to catch up with the others.
◆
Following the path beyond the gate led the trio up a small hill where, completely concealed from the gate, stood several old, weather-beaten, wooden structures. Their paint was chipped and faded, but all showed signs of sporadic maintenance.
The main house, a large Victorian with a wrap-around porch, sat before the overgrown, circular driveway. To one side of the house stood a detached garage that sagged slightly to one side. The twin doors hung askew. Beyond those structures, barely visible between them through the fog, was what looked like a barn and a small cottage.
All was quiet and the air was still. The sound of their footsteps through the fallen leaves seemed to thunder in the silence. The shadows of the tall trees scattered throughout as the weak sunset cast a grim pall over the estate.
“Doesn’t look like anyone has been here in a while,” Lamb mused, “and I don’t see any signs of another exit.”
“Someone has been maintaining the place,” O’Malley said. “There are no broken windows, and some of the walls have been patched more recently than the underlying structures.”
“Perhaps this is not the actual residence,” Anna suggested. She started toward the cottage. It was a small, two-story Cape Cod with a single dormer over the front door. As it became more distinct through the fog, Anna noticed that it was in relatively good repair compared to the other buildings.
“That must be the guest house,” Lamb said as he and O’Malley caught up with Anna.
“Shouldn’t we try the main residence first?” O’Malley asked. “It wouldn’t be proper to poke around without announcing ourselves.”
“Neither house appears to be occupied,” Anna said, “but that one is in better condition, which suggests more recent occupation.”
As they rounded the main house so that the cottage was in full view, they could see wires suspended from poles leading into the woods behind the cottage.
“There,” Lamb said with confidence, “the cottage is in use, and there must be at least a maintenance road to service those telephone lines.”
“At least we should be able to call for a tow truck,” O’Malley said with relief. He leapt up the three steps to the front door and knocked. “Hello? Dr. Langford? Mr. Teplow?” There was no response. “Hello? Our car is stuck on the road down below. May we use your telephone?”
When there was still no response from inside the house the priest tried the door, and it opened easily. Beyond the doorway was a foyer, with a stairway leading up along one side. To the right of the steps was a door. O’Malley stepped carefully into the foyer. The floorboards squeaked loudly in the absence of any other sound other than the ticking of a grandfather clock to the right of the door.
“Hello?” he called again. Anna and Lamb entered the foyer and the doctor quietly closed the door behind him. “There doesn’t appear to be anyone home.”
“Let’s find the telephone,” Lamb said impatiently, and stepped through into the room to the left. Inside was a dining room table. A single setting of dirty dishes was present. The partially eaten remains of a chicken breast was affixed to the plate. A ceramic mug stood nearby. The doctor sniffed the contents and grimaced. “Stale beer,” he said to Anna, who had followed him.
Passing through to the kitchen, they were greeted by O’Malley, who had gone through the room to the right of the door and entered an oddly neat kitchen from Lamb and Anna’s right. Canisters stood on a countertop along the far wall on either side of a sink beneath a grimy window. Between the two doors stood an icebox. Immediately to the left of the dining room doorway was another counter, whose top was a dirty, wooden cutting board. A cleaver lay near a pan containing the carcass of a chicken.
Anna carefully put a finger to the pan. It was room temperature. Lamb examined the icebox. The ice inside was partially melted, but there was still a sizable block inside, such that it must have been replaced in the last few days.
“No sign of a telephone,” the doctor said. “Did you see one in the other room?”
“No,” O’Malley replied, “There are a pair of doorways down here.” He indicated the short hallway he had come through.
One door contained a stairway down into the basement. Inside the other door was a small chamber with a chair and a table upon which rested a pad, pen, and a telephone. The priest put the receiver to his ear, tapped the arm on the base a few times, and frowned.
“The telephone isn’t working,” he told the others, returning it to the table. Lamb slapped himself on the forehead with his p
alm.
“If we couldn’t call to here,” he said in disgust, “why did we think we could call out?”
“Nevertheless,” Anna said, “perhaps we can find tools that we can use to return Shane’s car to the -” She stopped suddenly at a quiet thump from the basement. “Did you hear that?” she whispered. Lamb and O’Malley both nodded. The doctor drew his revolver from beneath his jacket, and Anna pulled hers from her waistband. Seeing the others armed, O’Malley opened his valise and drew the automatic. Lamb glanced to the others. Anna and O’Malley nodded, and the doctor led the way down the steps.
Chapter 4
July 16, 1929
Lamb descended the dark stairwell. The steps were steep, and creaked despite his slow, deliberate steps. Given all the noise that they had made upstairs, the doctor was sure that whoever, or whatever, was down there knew they were coming, but he proceeded with care out of habit. O’Malley had produced a flashlight from his valise, but its narrow beam did little to pierce the darkness while it advertised their location.
A few steps short of the bottom, right before the stairwell cleared the bottom of the ground floor, Lamb raised his hand and stopped. O’Malley walked absently into him, and the doctor sprawled on the floor at the base of the steps with a crash. The priest descended quickly to his side, shining the light on his colleague, when something struck his hand. The flashlight fell to the ground and disappeared out of sight.
Suddenly, Anna saw a blur as a hunched figure hit what she believed to be O’Malley on the back of the head. The priest fell on top of Lamb. Anna fired in the direction the blur had moved in. She heard the sound of a ricochet, and then there was silence.
“Who’s there?” Anna heard a muffled voice say from farther into the darkness.
A moment later, a beam of light darted in all directions. Lamb had recovered the flashlight and was seeking out their assailant. Not finding anyone, he directed the beam onto O’Malley, who was sprawled face down. Anna descended quickly to his side, and saw a bloody gash in the back of head. Lamb knelt beside her and gave Anna the flashlight. Then he examined the priest’s head, wiping the wound clean with his handkerchief. He pointed at Anna’s necktie. She set her pistol and the flashlight down on the step with the beam pointing toward O’Malley and started to remove the tie with her free hand.
The Other Realm Page 2