The Other

by L. J. Sellers

  A sudden squeezing sensation in her brain stopped her in her tracks. The room spun and she sank to her knees, her body shaking so hard she felt sick. Pain and darkness took over her vision and she couldn’t think straight.

  Was she having a seizure… or dying?

  Chapter 23

  A minute earlier

  Marty bounced on his toes as he waited for the elevator to open. He hated being separated from Rox in this prison-like place, but they had to get this rescue done quickly. His daughter was one of the smartest, most competent people he’d ever known. She would be fine—and hopefully right behind him.

  The doors sprang open and he started to step on board. Panic flooded in and his heart missed a beat. Marty jumped back. If Rox succeeded in causing a building-wide power outage, the elevator would quit working. Damn! That had almost been too stupid. He had to slow down and not make mistakes.

  His breath still rapid, Marty scanned the area. Were they both trapped in this medical unit? No, it had to contain stairs; building codes required them. He remembered Rox’s earlier concern. The thought of going downstairs to the main level—and encountering staff—only to come back up for the boy irritated the hell out of him. Surely, an architect hadn’t designed the second floor that way.

  Marty headed in the direction they hadn’t explored yet. The lobby narrowed into a dim hallway, and he passed a serious of doors. They all had tiny windows at eye level and food-tray slots near the bottom. He peeked into one and saw padded walls, but no patient. Revulsion rolled up his spine, and he started to jog, the cart squeaking loudly.

  At the end of the hall, he spotted a door. Yes!

  But where was Rox? As he glanced back, the lights flickered. Finally! She’d created enough havoc with the power system to give them cover on the way out. A little less anxious, he hustled forward, hoping like hell the door ahead was unlocked. Why wouldn’t it be? This was the doctors’ side of the wall. It was likely secured on the other side to keep patients out—unless they were escorted here. He hit the shiny aluminum bar with the cart, and the door pushed open.

  Marty glanced back again. The double doors at the end swung open, and he saw Rox coming out. Thank god! A huge wave of relief pushed him forward. He had to locate the boy before the building went into lockdown.

  Marty found himself in a big recreation area. A middle-aged woman sat on a couch reading, and two guys in their twenties played foosball near the far wall. The female patient looked up as he passed the pool table, but she didn’t say anything. Marty nodded and strode toward the arched opening at the end of the room. A style no one used anymore. He glanced back, but no Rox this time. Damn!

  Marty stopped. He couldn’t just leave her. What if she’d been caught and was in trouble? That seemed unlikely. She’d been right there, and he hadn’t heard any talking. Still, anything could have happened. What was the worst-case scenario? His daughter being detained and arrested? Charged with vandalism? Considering her law enforcement background, she might get off with probation. Still, he started to turn around. Then he heard Rox’s voice in his head telling him to get Logan to safety. Damn, he hated this. But she was right. One of them had to get the kid out.

  He moved forward again and entered another hallway, this one brightly lit and dotted with brightly painted doors. The residence hall and a halfway point. Without Rox by his side, he couldn’t feel any reprieve. In fact, his chest hurt like hell. He hoped it was just the scar tissue from his gunshot wound acting up and not another heart attack.

  "Who are you?” A young woman in pink pajamas approached him cautiously.

  “I’m an electrician. I’ve got to fix this machine.”

  She stared at it, blinking rapidly. “Please don’t.” The woman hurried away.

  Marty checked doors as he walked. They were all different colors, but where were the damn numbers? He eventually spotted a numeral four on a wall plate next to a doorknob. The next one was a five, so he was headed in the right direction.

  As he approached room twelve, his chest pain worsened and he felt weak. But it was just his heart condition, so he ignored it. What if Logan wasn’t in his room? The kid could be anywhere in the building. But not likely, Marty reassured himself. They’d done their homework about habits and schedules.

  He knocked softly, waited a moment, then turned the handle. He pushed the door open a few inches and called Logan’s name. A thin blond teenager came toward him with wide eyes. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m here to help.” Marty glanced up and down the hall. No staff members, only the pajama girl, watching from a distance. He stepped into the tidy narrow room and closed the door. “You’re getting out, and Aunt Shay is waiting for you. But we have to be quick.”

  “What?” Logan looked Marty up and down, his face uncertain.

  “I’m taking you out of here. It’s your chance to be free. Get into the cabinet.” Marty opened the lower doors and pulled out the stack of towels. “Now. We have to go.”

  The boy chewed his lower lip for a full two seconds, then grabbed a small flashlight from his bed, and squeezed his skinny body into the space. Marty closed the cabinet doors, wheeled the now-heavy cart around, and headed out.

  He caught himself whistling as he hurried down the hall, looking for an exit. The lights were flickering wildly now, and a few patients had come out of their rooms to see what was happening.

  Halfway down the passage, wide stairs appeared on his left. Marty whispered to Logan, “Hang on, this will be bumpy.” After turning the cart, he backed down the steps to keep the weight under control. As he hit the bottom, the building went dark. Someone screamed, and a male voice called for everyone to stay calm. Marty spun his cargo and aimed toward the front of the building. He hoped to find the hallway they’d walked down when they entered. A minute later, he bumped into a table and smelled baking bread. He was in the cafeteria they’d passed earlier. Heart surging with optimism, he turned right and soon pushed out the swinging doors.

  He was in the hall, next to the intersection, and the dim lights still had power. Batteries, he thought. Marty scanned in every direction, looking for Rox. The only person he saw was to the left, walking where he needed to go. Marty hurried after the guy, his arms aching with fatigue from pushing the cart. Even a skinny kid got heavy after a while.

  Ahead, the man reached the security door leading to the lobby and opened it.

  Yes! “Hey,” Marty called. “Hold that for me please.”

  A dim light shone through the opening. The man looked back, wearing the blazer they’d seen earlier. He held the door, as Marty approached.

  “Do you know what’s happening?” Blazer Guy asked.

  “No, but I’m hoping to find out.” Marty scooted into the lobby. The same dim lights along the ceiling were operating here too. One more exit to go. With no power, he didn’t expect the main sliding door to open automatically, but he hoped to find a mechanical override.

  He crossed the lobby, glanced at the dark reception counter, and didn’t see anyone. When he reached the glass door, he manually searched the perimeter until he located a button near the top left corner of the metal frame. On his tiptoes, Marty pressed hard, praying it would work. The door slid open and he grabbed the cart.

  “Where are you going? What’s happening?” A balding guy in a sweater vest ran toward him with a flashlight.

  Damn! Marty kept moving and called over his shoulder, “This ECT unit is fried. It took out the power when we tested it.”

  “Shouldn’t you be in here restoring the electricity?” Sweater Vest followed him outside.

  “That’s beyond my skill,” Marty said with a quick glance at him. “I’m calling for help.” He kept moving.

  The staff guy shook his head and went back inside.

  Marty jogged toward their vehicle, his heart pounding so hard he knew he was begging for another attack. He reached the van, slammed open the side door, and turned back to the cart. Logan was crawling out, smiling and crying at the same t
ime.

  Chapter 24

  Marty ran around to the driver’s side, jumped in, and started the engine. He looked back at Logan, who was on the floor in the cargo area. “Get next to the window,” Marty instructed. “We’re watching for my partner. She’s tall and dressed like me.” He had parked the van facing the exit, so he couldn’t see the building behind him. As worried as he was about Rox, he had to stay behind the wheel, ready to roll.

  “Why is she still in there?” The boy’s voice was a mess, halfway between child and adult.

  “I don’t know what happened. Maybe she got caught.” It hurt his heart just to say it. He blamed himself for leaving her, but he also didn’t understand. She’d been right there in the doorway to the medical area, and he hadn’t seen or heard any staff people. Medical area. Hah! More like shock unit. He knew doctors used ECT to treat severe depression, and even Rox had tried it once, but she hadn’t liked how it affected her brain.

  Oh shit. Had she suffered a serious shock when she sabotaged the electrical system? A more worrisome thought hit him. What if she’d had another seizure? His daughter could be in there on the floor, right now, with no help. If that were the case, the staff would find her soon and give her medical attention. Marty mentally kicked himself again for not staying with her.

  “Hey, two security guys are coming out!” Logan shouted from the back. “They’re looking at the parking lot.”

  Time to go. Marty put the van into gear and eased forward. Rox would have done the same. The rescue was most important. They were giving this kid a shot at a normal life.

  Logan scrambled into the seat next to him. “Should I keep watching?”

  “No, but you have to stay down and out of sight.”

  “Out of sight. Out of sight.” The boy eased onto the floor, keeping close. “I like how that sounds.”

  “Me too.”

  Once they’d left the parking lot, Marty pressed the accelerator and tried to decide how to handle the situation. He and Rox had mapped out several possible scenarios, but this wasn’t one of them. She would want him to deliver Logan to his aunt, then come back for her. Marty decided to find a nearby place to park and stay low while he called their client.

  “Did Aunt Shay hire you guys?”

  “Yes. She’s going to take you out of state for a while.” Up ahead, the private lane intersected with the main route.

  The boy was quiet for a second. “My mother will be mad.” The worry in his voice was unnerving.

  “We hope that won’t matter until you’re a legal adult.”

  “Two years, one hundred and thirty-five days.”

  It took Marty a moment to realize Logan was citing the time until his eighteenth birthday. Something Rox would do. But for this kid, it was a freedom countdown.

  Marty turned onto the main road, his nerves pinging. Hospital security had probably called the police by now. He had to find a back loop and get the hell away. A mile later, he turned on Church School Road, remembering from their map studies that it connected to Meridian, which would take them north. For the moment, he just needed a building to park behind.

  “Are you going to call my aunt?” Logan asked.

  “As soon as I find a place to get off the road.”

  “I can’t wait to see her. It’s been so long.”

  Marty spotted a rural boat and RV dealership, and his chest relaxed, easing some of the tightness and pain. He could park there for hours and no one would notice. As he made the turn, he thought about what the boy had just said. “When did you last see Aunt Shay?”

  “I don’t know. It seems like months.” Logan let out a nervous laugh. “But time is slow in a psychiatric institution.” He pronounced each syllable of the last two words.

  Maybe months really meant weeks. Kids exaggerated. Marty drove to the end of the RV lot and eased in between two big fifth-wheelers. From here, he could see Highway 214 in the distance and expected police cars any moment. Probably at least one local patrol unit from Mt. Angel and a state trooper as well. He found his phone in the console and called their client. Shay Wilmont didn’t answer.

  What the hell? He shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d been unavailable after their first extraction attempt too. He left her a message: “This is Karina’s partner. We got Logan out this time. Please call me ASAP.”

  “What’s your name?” Logan asked from the floor next to him.

  “I’d better not tell you. This isn’t exactly legal.”

  “I understand.” The boy nodded solemnly. “Can I call you Pops?”

  Marty sputtered in surprise. “Uh, all right.”

  “Can I get up now?”

  “Yes. Sorry. I’m distracted.”

  “Aunt Shay gets distracted too, especially when she’s working.” Logan climbed into the passenger seat.

  “What does she do?” Rox had told him, but he couldn’t remember.

  “She’s an artist. She makes colorful bowls and paints boring pictures.”

  Blunt like Rox too. “She’ll call back soon.”

  “I hope so.” Logan gave him a funny smile. “I know where she lives, but I haven’t been there in years, and it’s kind of hard to find. And I didn’t come and go much when I lived there.”

  Marty patted the kid’s hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you to your aunt.”

  The next hour passed slowly. Marty chatted with Logan off and on, mostly about the kid’s chess and dictionary hobbies. He also tried calling Shay several times. To his bafflement, no police cars had traveled the highway. What did that mean? Had no one in the hospital reported their phony intrusion and sabotage? What about Logan, a missing fifteen-year-old patient? Certainly, that would have required a call to authorities.

  Stumped by the lack of response and worried about Rox, Marty decided to call Bowman. He asked Logan to move to the back and give him some privacy.

  “I need to pee anyway. Do you think they have a bathroom here?”

  “Try the office.” Marty pointed at a small flat-roofed building.

  The boy climbed out and gave a little wave as he walked away. Marty’s heart fluttered. Would the kid run? They didn’t really know much about him except what his aunt had told them, and she wasn’t exactly reliable at this point.

  He took a deep breath and rubbed his chest in a calming motion. The pain had subsided but he felt a little lightheaded and desperately wanted a nap.

  His ex-partner answered after five rings. “Hey, Marty. You looking for a golf partner?”

  “Not exactly. Are you off duty?”

  “Yep, and I have to get out of here before the wife starts giving me chores.”

  “Then you’ll love this.” Marty laughed. “Or maybe not. Can you find out if anyone called in a disturbance from the Mt. Angel state hospital?”

  “What the ever-loving-hell are you up to?” Keys jangled in the background, indicating Bowman was on the move.

  “An extraction. I rescued the kid, but I lost Rox.” Marty wished he could just tell him the whole story, but he had to protect his friend from liability. He was also paranoid about admitting to anything on the phone. Tech companies had a recording of everything.

  “Oh shit. You mean Rox is inside the damn mental ward?”

  “Yeah, and I have a weird feeling that the director is keeping this whole thing quiet.” Another wave of guilt made him almost queasy. “If they are, it’s good for me, but bad for Rox.” Through the windshield, Marty spotted Logan coming back.

  “That place has been a problem from day one. The zoning, the budget, the constantly changing directors.” A pause while a car started in the background. “I’m in my unit now and leaving the house. Should I come to you?”

  “Not if you can find out what I asked.” Next to him, Logan opened the passenger door and got in. Marty kept talking to Bowman. “I don’t want to directly involve you with this case. His mother may press kidnapping charges at some point.”

  “Shit, Marty. You have to get out of that business. I don�
��t want you to die in prison.”

  Marty was touched but didn’t know what to say. “Find out what you can and call me. And thank you.” He hung up.

  Logan stared at him. “Mother won’t press charges.” His voice was deadpan.

  “No? Why not?”

  “She’d rather not admit I exist.”

  Poor kid. “Sorry to hear that. But I guess it’s good for us.”

  “Maybe.” Logan averted his eyes, staring out the window. “She can cause you problems in other ways.”

  Marty’s gut tightened. “What do you mean?”

  “She’s the governor.”

  Chapter 25

  Wednesday, October 17, 1:32 p.m., Salem

  Jillian Palmer leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. She’d wanted to be an important politician her whole life, but the reality of it was overwhelming sometimes. Everybody wanted something from her, and often all at once. And the goddamn budget was driving her crazy. There just wasn’t enough money to make every department and every voter happy. Closing the psychiatric hospital had seemed like a simple and brilliant idea. Fix the hole in the budget and put a lid on Roger’s problems at the same time. But the damn protestors were stirring up public outrage, and she was back to staring at line items and giving herself a headache. This was not the life of power and glamour she’d sought.

  Her cell phone buzzed, startling her. Vibrating noisily against the massive wooden desk, it demanded her attention. She flipped it over and noted the ID. Roger was calling from his personal number. Jill was tempted to ignore him. He’d been great about keeping Logan under wraps, but his handling of the rest of the hospital had become a nightmare. Some days, she wanted to be rid of them both.

  Jill sat forward, tucked a wisp of auburn hair back into her otherwise tight bun, and answered the call. “Hello, Roger.”