Jayce & Emma

by Barbara Winkes

  “Emma, relax. Nothing happened,” Daniel said, reaching for her shoulders. “I wanted to talk to you. I’m sorry it’s so early, but I wanted to catch you before your shift.”

  “Well, you did. It’s okay, I wasn’t sleeping. Do you want coffee? I have to get going anyway.”

  “That would be nice. Thank you.”

  “No problem. What is this about?” While they were friendly, Daniel had never visited her at home, nor had there be a reason for it.

  “It’s about Jayce.” He held up a hand when Emma spun around from the counter. “She told me about your new job. It’s not a good place to be right now. You don’t have to do more hours in the store if you don’t want to, but there are other options. The money from the lawsuit came through, didn’t it?”

  “It’s not about any of that. Wait a minute, I thought she couldn’t contact anyone during that time?”

  “It’s for emergencies and information that we need to follow up on. Emma, there might be a predator among the staff or the patients. We don’t know yet. It’s dangerous, and it makes Jayce’s job harder. Thanks,” Daniel said when she put a cup of coffee in front of him. “Why did you do it in the first place? Are you really interested in psychiatry?”

  Emma poured a cup for herself and sat across from him. “Actually, I am—and I’d like to keep working there, at least for a little while longer. Don’t worry, I won’t let Kitty down. I appreciate what she offered me. It’s just bad timing.”

  “That it is indeed. Look, I understand. You wanted to be close.”

  Emma rested her head in her hands, hoping he wouldn’t see it as confirmation. Spoken out loud, it sounded needy and dependent. She didn’t want anyone to see her that way.

  “I get it. I worry too. The best way to help is to stay out of it. Let Kitty help you prep for our vacation, and I promise you’ll be so busy time will fly.”

  “Have you done the same thing before? These undercover assignments?”

  “Some. Not many,” he said.

  “When you’re locked in somewhere, time doesn’t fly. It creeps. Granted, in my case I wasn’t sure how soon I was going to get out, and it wasn’t three weeks, but it’s not quick or easy. I need to do this. For both of us.”

  “No, you don’t. You need to give yourself a break, and let Jayce do the job she’s trained for. I can promise you I’ll badger you some more on this, because if I don’t, she’ll be on my case once this is over.”

  Emma couldn’t help chuckling. “You’re scared?”

  “Quit that job, and don’t stress about anything else. It will be fine. Thanks for the coffee.” Daniel put down the cup and got up. “I need to go. Give me a call when it’s done?”

  “Sure,” she mumbled, not at all sure when—or if—she was going to make that call.

  * * * *

  “What am I going to do?” she asked Elvis who sat on the chair next to her, eyes closed, not much interested in Emma’s one-way conversation. “Yeah, it’s too early for me too.” She yawned. “Jayce is already mad at me, and now Daniel’s on my case too. Maybe it was a bad idea. Maybe I should stop.” Would that mean giving up? Emma had liked her job, from before everything went downhill, but there wasn’t a chance in hell to go back to it. Even with her record cleared, she couldn’t imagine anybody in that field would want to hire her now. She’d been so grateful for the chance Kitty had given her, though at first she had been worried there might not be enough hours in it to pay the bills. Now Kitty wanted to expand. Could that be a sign? “They might be right. I should concentrate on other things.”

  Elvis snored softly, making Emma laugh. “Yeah, you’re a real help. I have to go now.”

  Ironically, she had never quit a job before. The financial broker had fired her, of course, as soon as they became aware of her arrest. She had tried hard not to disappoint others, but that hadn’t always turned out so well for her. For the first time in years, she was back to having financial security, for some time to come anyway. She had to do the smart thing.

  Alina greeted her when she entered the nurse’s station.

  “Hey, Emma. I’m afraid it’s going to be a bit of a madhouse today, no pun intended. Tess is out sick, and Rena had an emergency at home. Can you stay for the night shift today?”

  There was a choice in this, walk out now and take Kitty up on her offer—or…

  “Yes, sure, that’s no problem.” One day wouldn’t make that much of a difference, and she could take care of this when Tess returned. She might not even see Jayce all day. To be honest, knowing they were in the same building did not do all that much to ease her mind.

  “Okay, let’s go. We have to go see a patient with Dr. Simmons. He said to come find him in his office.”

  Emma straightened her shoulders, willing to make her last hours in her new, but short-lived career count.

  “Heather Reilly, has been with us for a couple of months. She had a meltdown in a therapy session with Dr. Simmons, the day before you came, had to be restrained, but she’s slowly doing better.”

  “Okay.” Emma imagined that the patient’s meltdown was related to the death of Gillian Thorne. She remembered that whenever something happened at the prison, there was a ripple effect that was hard to get away from. She suppressed a sigh. Those experiences were lingering too closely, and that was exactly why her idea wasn’t a good one. She should have known.

  One of the other therapists, Dr. Tanner, storming out of Dr. Simmons’ office and slamming the door, startled her out of her thoughts. Everyone was on edge here, she realized. It wasn’t just her, because of Jayce, because of Maxine.

  Alina didn’t comment, but knocked on the door. Simmons’ answer was oddly cheerful.

  “Come on in, ladies. I have to grab this file…and we can go. We have a new colleague, I see.”

  “Ms. Curtis. She started as an aide,” Alina explained.

  “Great. There’s no shortage of work around here. How do you like it so far, Ms. Curtis?”

  “It’s been a great experience, really interesting.” Emma blushed as she remembered this experience was supposed to end soon. “Alina told me about the patient.”

  “Yes, she’s doing better now that we’ve adjusted her medication.”

  Heather was fully clothed, sitting on her bed when they came in. Emma noticed her vacant gaze.

  “Good morning, Heather. How are you feeling today?” Simmons said in the same cheerful tone he had used earlier when Alina introduced Emma. It didn’t seem appropriate.

  Heather shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”

  “Have you been sleeping?”

  There were always pauses before her answers, as if she either wasn’t sure or not entirely present. Emma had questions of her own, wondering if there was anything she could do not only to be close to Jayce, but actually help. She was also wondering if this was really a job she could see herself doing in the future—or if she wanted to. Some might say selling greeting cards and stationary didn’t exactly mean going up the career ladder. What if she enjoyed her job, loved the interactions with people who mostly had something to celebrate? If anything, these three weeks were giving her a lot to think about.

  Dr. Simmons said something to Alina, and Emma caught the gaze Heather was giving him, making her flinch. The young woman was afraid. If Emma made this her last shift like she’d promised, she wanted to find out why. There were certain contexts that made bullying and intimidation easier. She had seen her fair share of it. She’d do what she could to help stop it.

  * * * *

  During a short lunch break, Emma found the time to call Kitty and tell her she wouldn’t be available this afternoon.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, anxious to hear whether or not Daniel had told his wife about their conversation.

  “That’s fine. Emma, I understand that we can’t make these decisions for you, but I’m worried. You’re not trained for this. Jayce is.”

  So he had.

  “They asked me to do an extra shift today, b
ecause we’re short staffed. After that…”

  “You’re going to quit?” Kitty asked hopefully.

  Why did everyone feel so great about it? Emma thought, irritated with her friend. She wanted to work, prove herself on the job market again. Maybe the clinic wasn’t the best choice, not at this moment, but Emma didn’t give up easily. If she had, she might still be in prison, with no hope of ever clearing her name.

  “Yes,” she said to cut the conversation short. “I’ll be back at work tomorrow—if you’ll still have me.”

  “Of course, don’t be silly. Are you free for dinner on Saturday? Ray and Tanya will the there too.”

  Emma felt more like spending the weekend hiding under a blanket, but she was aware enough to realize that this was a sign she should definitely go out.

  “Yes, thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She had a few minutes left, but Alina hadn’t been kidding about the workload. Emma was on her way back to the office, when someone gripped her hand and the next moment, she was pulled into what looked like a utility closet. It could have been disturbing if she hadn’t been in Jayce’s arms a heartbeat later.

  “Hey. I’m sorry I went off on you like I did,” she whispered. “Why are you still here?”

  If there was a contradiction somewhere in there, Jayce didn’t seem to notice. Emma didn’t care, all her worries vanishing in the distance.

  “I was asked to stay for another shift, but I swear, I won’t do anything dangerous.”

  “Not good enough.”

  “Just this one shift.” Truth be told, Emma didn’t even mind the argument, as they were having it in close quarters. “I feel bad enough about leaving so quickly. I don’t think that’s going to be good for my résumé.”

  “I’m sorry, but I swear, we’ll find a solution. Stay away from Simmons in the meantime.”

  “I saw him earlier. We went to visit a patient with him. You don’t think…?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Jayce said. “I get a certain unpleasant vibe. I asked Daniel for more information, but he hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I want you to be careful, with him especially, as long you’re still here.”

  “As long as you do the same…”

  “Sure. Now let’s go back to work.”

  “Wait a moment.” Emma leaned in for a kiss that soon became a lot deeper and more passionate than either of them had intended. She couldn’t bring herself to let go.

  “It’s all right. I hear Daniel and Kitty will have plenty of work for you. The time will go by fast.”

  It sounded logical. There was no reason to fear otherwise, yet Emma couldn’t help it.

  “You said when this is over…”

  “I’ll talk to Chomsky,” Jayce promised. “We’ll both find a better way of how to do this. Now go.”

  “You’re not still mad at me?” Emma had to ask.

  “I’m not, I swear. I just need to know you’re safe.”

  “Okay. I…I’ll see you.”

  Funny how it was exactly the same thing they were most concerned about.

  * * * *

  Eileen wasn’t in the class. Jayce sat at her desk, closer to Maxine. In reality, she despised the woman for what she’d done to Emma, but J.C. didn’t mind socializing and curious questions.

  “So, about earlier, what did Eileen mean?”

  “This is probably not a good idea. Ask her.”

  “I would, but she’s not here. So? You seem to know a lot about what goes on in this place.” Maxine leaned a little towards her, obviously welcoming the flattery. “About the girl who was asking too many questions?”

  “I don’t know what happened,” Maxine said. “I swear. I can tell you this, though, no one likes Simmons. Heather wasn’t exactly friends with Gillian, but she freaked out when she heard about her. She kept saying she was murdered, and that one of us would be next.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “I told her that something was going to happen to her if she didn’t calm the hell down, but she didn’t listen. I hear they had her restrained. I haven’t seen her since.”

  “That seems a bit extreme,” Jayce said, wondering if Simmons had signed off on this, and if he had a habit of doing so.

  “Well, you gotta be careful with the crazies, right? Especially when most of us are here because we’re lucky enough some judge thought they’d be better at handling us than prison.”

  “Do you think Gillian was killed?”

  “I mostly keep what I think to myself, and I’d advice you to do the same. Look, it’s not like they’re planning to let any of us out anytime soon, so you can just as well try to stay out of trouble.”

  “Where is Eileen?”

  Maxine shrugged. “See? I don’t know anything.”

  “Maybe that’s not a good strategy when you could get killed.”

  “Hey.” There was a sudden unexpected anger in her voice. “What do you want from me? We are friendly to strangers, but you need to keep your mouth shut.”

  “Or what?” Jayce asked mildly.

  “Or you’ll wish they’d kept you at Morgan. This is not a joke.”

  “All right, I got it.”

  Jayce couldn’t help thinking that there was fear behind Maxine’s tough behavior. She sensed a mood of impending dread with almost everyone she met, and it always seemed to lead back to Dr. Simmons. She had another appointment before dinner.

  She had to try and move this forward, but first she wanted to know what had happened with Eileen—and the other girl, Heather, who was confined to her room since her breakdown.

  Jayce had to admit that as much as she wanted Emma safe at home, it had been so good to see her. It was also dangerous, making her slip out of her undercover persona. She couldn’t afford to let that happen.

  Eileen, as she learned later, had spent most of the day in the infirmary sick.

  This time, she couldn’t talk to Emma as the other nurse, Alina, was around the whole time.

  “Can’t you just let me know if she’s going to be okay? I was worried about her.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Alina said.

  “Yeah, well, it’s about me also. I’ve been here for a few days, and I can’t sleep. Can’t you give me something?”

  Alina regarded her for a long moment. “My supervisor isn’t here today.”

  “Please, I need something…It’s driving me crazy.”

  Emma dropped her gaze to some forms she was organizing. She looked tense.

  “I need you to help me.”

  Alina sighed. “Okay, okay. I’ll be right back.” She went into the other room, and, a few seconds later, returned. “Emma, could you please make those copies I asked you about?” Emma was on her feet before Alina had finished the sentence, her back turned to them as she went about her task. Alina handed Jayce a small strip containing two pills. “This should help,” she said in a lowered voice, looking behind her to make sure Emma was still busy. “Don’t come around asking Tess. I’ll see what I can do when I’m here, okay?”

  “Okay. Thank you so much.”

  Jayce put the pills into the pocket of her jeans.

  “Like I told you,” Alina said, “I need to clear these things with my supervisor. I’m sorry, Ms. Turner. Try tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, sure. Thanks anyway.”

  Emma had finished her task and laid the copies on Alina’s desk, giving Jayce an apologetic look.

  Jayce left to deliberately arrive five minutes late to her appointment. When she knocked on the door, Simmons opened it to her with a smile somewhere between jovial and thoughtful.

  “You’re late, Ms. Turner.”

  “Sorry. I got held up asking about another patient. I was worried about her.”

  “Come on in, sit. You’ve been making friends?”

  “I thought I was supposed to socialize,” she said, uncomfortable when he didn’t sit down, but instead stood at the door, outside her line of vision. Her chair didn’t swivel, so she had to crane her neck. �
��What’s this, your version of the couch?”

  “Don’t worry. This is to assess how well you’re adjusting to your new environment. Are you?”

  “I guess. I have trouble sleeping. The nurse wouldn’t give me anything, said she had to clear it with you. I hope you’re going to say yes.”

  “You are still worried about Gillian? It’s all right to be curious, but you should use your time here to focus on yourself.” He had taken a step closer.

  “I’m trying, okay?”

  “And you think some sleeping pills will help you? After you have just gotten rid of your problem with prescription drugs?”

  “I am not sleeping!” Jayce knew she was convincing. At some point in her life, this had been more than a role she was playing.

  “I’m sorry about that, but you need other ways to learn to relax. What are your goals? What is it you want to do when you get out of here?”

  “That’s more an ‘if’ than a ‘when’ at this point.” Emma had faced these same questions. They had something in common, Jayce reflected. Of course, Emma’s situation hadn’t been a job, a choice. There was no reason to feel trapped.

  “Don’t be silly. You’re intelligent. If you use your time wisely, you do have some options. There are people who can help you. I can help you.”

  His hand on her shoulder made her cringe. “How?”

  “In various ways. My evaluations and reports of our sessions can make a difference for you—if you’re willing to work with me. Have you ever tried relaxation?”

  “Not that I can think of. You’re going to teach me?”

  “If you want to be successful, J.C., you need to learn to trust other people. Yes, we can work on that together.”

  He kept his hand in place as if it was the most natural thing to do, and not creepy, crossing every line in the book.

  “I’m interested,” Jayce said. She wanted to know if he had made similar promises to other patients—like Gillian or Heather.

  “That’s good, very good.” Finally, he broke the contact and went to sit in his chair.

  “I want you to close your eyes and try to relax.”