Enter Evil

by Linda Ladd

  “Okay, anything else, Pete?”

  “Well, he was into Asian stuff. You know, incense and Buddha, that kinda stuff. And he liked Asian girls. That’s who he liked to date, I mean. I think it was because they’re all smaller than him. He’s pretty little, for a guy.”

  “Do you know any of their names?”

  “No. I’ve seen him out and about with some of them.”

  “More than one.”

  “Yeah. All of them were little, though, with long black hair.”

  I showed him the bracelet and key. “You know anything about either of these?”

  “I know Mikey got real superstitious and paranoid and hung these all around his place. He wore them, too.”

  Bud said, “Know where he got them?”

  “Uh uh. He never said, and I never thought to ask. Probably some New Age place, if I had to guess. The key doesn’t go to anything around here, I don’t think.”

  “Okay, you’ve been very helpful, Pete.”

  “Hey, no problem. I think this bites, what happened to Mikey. I thought he was gonna be okay. It’s hard to believe he really did it. We have a pretty good rate of survival around here.”

  Well, that’s good. “What about failures? I mean, when a patient commits suicide, despite your efforts?”

  Looking down, face getting all serious, Pete said, “More than we’d like. Through the years, there’s been some we couldn’t get through to, no matter how hard we tried. Those are the tough ones to think about.”

  “Is this a large number?”

  “I guess it’s how you look at it. I don’t have access to the total number. I only know the ones I’ve worked with. And there were too many of those, I can say that.”

  “You think Dr. Young will give us a list of deceased former patients?”

  “Probably not. But you can ask him.” He stared into the classroom again. “Truthfully? I’m surprised he’s letting you talk to any of them. He doesn’t usually want to release any records to anybody. He’s very, very protective of his patients.”

  Bud said, “We’re not just anybody. We’ve got warrants to help him make those decisions.”

  “Yeah,” said Pete.

  The three of us sat silently for a time, thinking deep thoughts. Mine were pretty morbid, so I tried to think about solving the case instead of the victims. Bud and Pete were now best buddies, sharing marathon running feats.

  “You ever run in a marathon, Detective?” That was Pete speaking to me.

  “No. If I’ve got to get twenty-six miles in a hurry, I take my car.”

  Pete laughed, delighted by my wit. “You ought to give it a try. It’s elating to run and run until you’re exhausted, then keep on going. And it’s the accomplishment, really. Just being able to say you can do it.”

  “I’d rather say I solved a difficult case and put a criminal in jail. Besides, Bud always gets blisters.”

  Amused, Pete gave me a little wink, but about that time my phone started up with the Mexican Hat Dance song. It was Charlie, wanting to know if we’d notified the parents and how they’d taken it. I said not good to the latter. He said to get back to the station and have the reports ready when he came in tomorrow morning. I winced, then said, “Yes sir, no problem.”

  “We need to interview any kids who are ready for it,” I said to Pete. “Thank you for your help. We may need to talk to you again. That okay with you?”

  “I’m happy to help.”

  “Would you get word to Dr. Collins that I’ll get in touch and set up an interview?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I’ll sure do it. And good luck. I hope you figure out why Mikey did this. I still can’t believe it.”

  “How about finding out if any of the kids are willing to talk right now?” I said. I looked around the room, wondering if there were microphones or cameras hidden in the walls. I figured there were, so I said, “Anywhere outside we can talk? It’s a nice day.”

  “Okay. I’ll see what I can do with the patients. There’s a couple of picnic tables outside under some big trees, if you want to talk to them outside. It’s hot out there, though. Why don’t I bring you some bottled water?”

  These guys were sure peddling the water. Must be shareholders in Ozarka. “Okay, sure, Pete. That sounds great.”

  We walked outside, and Bud’s phone rang. He looked at Caller ID and said, “It’s Brianna from Rome. Mind if I take it?”

  I smiled. “No, give her my best. I’ll wait and see if anybody shows up at the picnic tables, then I’ll meet you at the car.”

  Bud answered the phone quickly and walked off toward the front of the clinic. As I made my way to the picnic area, I looked back toward the building where the poor, unfortunate suicidal teens were spilling their guts and wondered how many would be dead in their graves a year from now.

  Here Comes Trouble

  The night they were supposed to play basketball came soon enough. A lot of kids showed up, and Tee was pleased. Especially that little Asian girl named Lotus. She dragged in late and kept pretty much in the middle of a bunch of other Asian girls, two of whom were real pretty, even prettier than she was. One thing he noticed, however, was that Lotus kept an eye on him. She tried to hide it, and did pretty well, but their eyes met a couple of times and she always jerked her gaze away like she hated him. But that usually meant the opposite when dealing with hot girls, at least in his limited experience.

  On this particular occasion, he realized that there were a good many Asians in treatment at Oak Haven, and he began to wonder why. Missouri wasn’t particularly known for its Asian populations, not to his knowledge, anyway. One Asian guy was a counselor, and not a whole lot older than the patients. His name turned out to be Yang Wei, and he openly told everybody that was his real name. Yang Wei didn’t choose any other name, but nearly everyone else in treatment had chosen to go the alias route. Something about him using his own name interested Tee, and he became intrigued as to why each of the kids had been stuck in this psycho ward. Especially that little Lotus, not that it really mattered. He was gonna nail her, even if she was flat-out bonkers.

  After everybody had arrived and had warmed up with some free throws, Yang Wei threw the ball to Tee and said that to get things going they would pick partners and play each other in one-on-one challenges. After that, they would choose up teams. Tee laughed inside, because Yang Wei might be tall and thin, but he didn’t know Tee’s expertise at all sports or his incredible hand/eye coordination or how many trophies he’d won on the basketball court alone.

  Tee whipped his ass, of course, but barely. Yang Wei was a hotshot, too. Afterward, Yang Wei walked up and said, “You’re damn good, kid. Quick as lightning.”

  “Yeah, that’s my nickname on the court. Lightning.”

  “Tee your real name?”

  “Uh uh. I’m keepin’ that to myself. You’ll know when I play in the NBA.”

  “How about we sit down and have a Coke?”

  “Sure.”

  They sat on the bleachers together and watched the other kids play. Lotus was playing Horse now, and she hadn’t been lying about the three-pointers. He watched her sink six in a row, all nothing but net, but what he really liked to watch was the way her short top rode up and showed her muscular midriff each time she shot the ball. She had to be working out on weights to develop abs like that. Hell, her six-pack was almost as defined as his own.

  Watching the others, Yang Wei popped the tab on a can of Coke and said, “What do you think about our happy little home here at Oak Haven?”

  “It’s not so bad. Not as bad as I thought it’d be.”

  Yang Wei smiled. “At least you’re honest.”

  Tee noticed that Yang Wei’s English was perfect. Yang Wei sounded just like a regular American. He wondered if he’d been born in the United States. But he didn’t ask. Instead, he said, “Yeah. I usually say it the way it is.”

  “You’re slated to be in my therapy group. Not all the time but now and then, for a change of pace.” />
  “Good. You any good at this analyzing crap?”

  “You are direct, Tee, my man. But to answer your question, I’m very good. I try to make the sessions fun for you guys. You know, not as intense as the others.”

  “But you’re not a doctor yet?”

  “Nope. Working hard on it, though. It won’t be long now.”

  “You a Chinese American or you from China?”

  “I was born in China.” They both watched Lotus drop in another perfect trey. “I defected, along with Lotus out there. She’s my little sister.”

  “No kidding. I didn’t know that.” And that might complicate my plans, Tee thought.

  “Yes, we came over here to an international basketball competition in St. Louis and managed to escape our keepers.”

  Now this was getting very interesting. On the other hand, he knew that Yang Wei’s friendly conversation was not without its purpose. He was trying to gain Tee’s confidence so he’d open up himself later. Yang Wei had already underestimated Tee’s intelligence, but that was a good thing. Tee said, “They try to come after you?”

  “If they did, they haven’t found us yet.”

  “How’d you end up way down here in the middle of nowhere?”

  “Lotus had a hard time accepting the fact she couldn’t ever go back home. She had some emotional problems when we first got here, and so the people that gave us asylum said she ought to come out here for treatment, and then they helped me get on the staff so we could be together. That was several years ago. They’ve been sending other defectors down here since then, sort of a way to decompress and get used to a new culture. A lot of us develop paranoia because the government does send out people to find us. Lotus’s afraid all the time that some assassin’s gonna show up. She was in training for the Chinese Olympic team. Women’s basketball, one of the star guards, actually. Talk about a quick launch. Wait till you see her on a fast break.”

  “Wow. That’s some major shit, Yang Wei. I think she’s beautiful. I have some sisters, but they’re all dogs.”

  Laughing, Yang Wei nodded. “Yes, she is very beautiful, but she’s a troubled girl. Gettin’ better, though. These doctors here are pretty good with her.”

  “Including you?”

  “I’m not a doctor, but I’m good with her. She and a half sister’s all I have now. The rest of our family is still in Shanghai.”

  They were silent for a while after that, and then Yang Wei said, “I read your file. Man, you’ve had a rough time of it, too.”

  At first Tee didn’t say anything, then he decided to play along. He wouldn’t have any trouble getting himself out of this place when the time was right, so he might as well lay the groundwork of his miraculous recovery right off the bat. “Yeah, my dad’s real worried about me. Thinks I’m suicidal, and stuff. I’m not, anymore, though.”

  “You saw some members of your family die, if I recall. That must’ve been a pretty bad trip.”

  “Yeah. I couldn’t stop my mom, but I tried.”

  “Bummer. You think about it much?”

  Okay, Tee thought, now I get it. Yang Wei’s job was to get him talking in a social situation, get him all relaxed and see what he had to say when he was unguarded. These shrink techniques were really transparent.

  Tee said, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

  “Okay. Sure. Maybe some other time.”

  “Yeah, maybe. Hey, there’s my roommate. Catch you later.”

  Yang Wei nodded, and Tee got down and walked away. Gee, what’d they think? He was some kind of chump. He was going to enjoy playing them. Matching wits would be fun, but first things first. Right now, his primary concern was getting Lotus off by herself.

  Three nights later, Tee managed to do just that. She’d begun to warm up to him a little. At least, she wasn’t calling him names. One night when he saw her studying outside at a picnic table under some trees, he decided to get rid of Buddy, who had started tagging around after him like some kind of freakin’ remora fish feeding off a shark. Twilight had fallen, and he told Buddy to go back to the room and see if Tee had gotten any phone calls. Buddy was turning out to be just about the easiest person to manipulate that Tee had ever run up against, but truth was, just about everybody he knew was easy to manipulate. All you had to know was what buttons to push.

  Sauntering out to the table as if he’d just happened upon Lotus, he sat down across from her, and said, “Hey, girl, you ever play Moonlight Tennis?”

  “What?” She said it real haughty-like and gave him a cold stare.

  “Moonlight Tennis. It’s fun. You hit the ball back and forth in the dark and can’t see the ball until it’s almost on your racquet. It’s good practice for hand-to-eye coordination.”

  “I suspect I could beat you at it, if I wanted. Or anything else, for that matter.”

  “Okay, prove it then.”

  The girl loved challenges; that was the key to her. And she liked him better than she let on, count on that, too. That was because he was so good looking and drew girls to him like flies to melted chocolate ice cream.

  She hesitated. “I’m too busy.”

  “Oh, come on, it’s fun. Finish that later.”

  Finally, she bit. She shut the book. “Okay, but you’re going down, Mr. T.”

  “They keep the racquets and balls in a shed out there. I already asked.”

  The tennis court was way out at the far end of the gymnasium but most of the patients pretty much had the run of the clinic grounds. The lights were off, but Tee had found out earlier that there was a button on the light pole that turned them on. There was a light inside the shed, too, and Tee opened the door, turned it on, and got out a couple of racquets and a tube of new yellow tennis balls.

  “It’s almost dark enough. Let’s wait a few more minutes and it’ll be more of a challenge.”

  “Okay. Give me that Wilson. I play better with it.”

  “So you know how to play tennis?”

  “Of course, I do, stupid. You think I’d take this bet if I couldn’t beat you?”

  “You’re pretty slick, Lotus.”

  “Thanks, I guess.”

  “I like your brother.”

  “He’s all right.”

  “You miss China?”

  “You nosy?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.”

  She gave an itty-bitty smile then, but it faded quickly. “Let’s get going with this. I need to finish reading that chapter before I go to class tomorrow. We’re having a test, and I always make A’s.”

  So they turned out the court lights and played, hard and fast, and she was good. The moon came out, and it was almost full, with just enough light to see the ball about four or five feet from the racquet face. It was kind of fun, especially when they swung and missed. Even Lotus laughed a couple of times.

  “Okay, you win,” he finally called out. “I’m beat.”

  Of course, he’d let her win because that was to his own benefit. He could’ve beaten her soundly, if he’d wanted to.

  “Told you I’d win,” she said, as she handed him the racquet.

  The time had come, and he didn’t waste a second of it, either. Some of the counselors might get curious and come out and check on them. Quickly and suddenly, he grabbed her, one hand over her mouth and the other around her waist. Dragging her back inside the shed, he kicked the door shut with his foot. The light was out, so he couldn’t see the fear on her face, unfortunately. She put up a pretty good struggle for someone so tiny and was stronger than he would’ve thought but no match for his strength.

  “Just shut up and enjoy this,” he whispered in her ear, laying full-length atop her body and pinning her to the ground. The way she was squirming around underneath him sent all kind of tingling sensations straight to his dick and made it get hard. He began to pant and rub his hand over her breasts, and then inside the top of her T-shirt.

  Lotus struggled harder, but he kept her quiet with his hand over her mouth. When she kept up the fight,
way too long, he held her nostrils together and shut off her air.

  “Now, listen here, Lotus. We’re gonna do this, one way or another. Got that? Just relax and you’ll end up liking it as much as I do. Otherwise, it’s gonna hurt you.”

  The girl lay still then and shut up with all the muffled screams and wriggling, so he jerked down her shorts and fumbled to get off her underpants. She didn’t move. He went ahead and had his way with her and felt the most exquisite release of all the pent-up tension he’d felt since he’d first seen her. Afterward, he realized he wasn’t a virgin anymore, and from what he could tell, she wasn’t to begin with. When he was done, he zipped up his pants and backed off her, but she still didn’t move, didn’t respond, just lay there silently with her eyes shut. Not crying, or anything, just lying there, like she was dead.

  “C’mon, now, Lotus, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  She said nothing. She was lying so still that he began to think she was dead for a second or two, but when he put his hand on her naked chest, he could feel her breathing just fine.

  “Okay, that’s it, for now. Don’t tell anybody, you hear me? Or I’ll kill you. I’ve got a knife in my room, and I’ll do it. And I’ll make it look like it was those Chinese ninjas, or whatever the hell they are, those guys that are looking for you.”

  Lotus reacted to that. She began to shiver all over.

  For emphasis, he added, “And I’ll kill Yang Wei, too. When he’s least expecting it. It’ll look like it’s an accident.”

  Lotus opened her eyes then and stared at him. He could see her eyes in the moonlight coming in from a crack in the roof. Putting both his hands around her throat, he pressed down a little but not too hard.

  “Gonna tell?”

  She shook her head, and he rolled away and stood up, then looked down at her. “Good. I might want to do this to you again one of these days. You be ready to do whatever I say, you hear me?”

  Nodding mutely, she slowly got to her feet, righted her clothes, and walked away. She didn’t run.