Deadly Double

by Adrianne Byrd

  He also had the added worry of leaving Josie with Ecaterina. If her condition didn’t improve, there was no way he could leave her with a sixty-eight-year old woman.

  The heavy exertion turned out to be just the stress reliever he needed. By the time he finished wielding a heavy ax and carrying the logs inside, he was ready for a hot shower and a nap.

  The nap never came.

  Instead he made mashed potatoes over a gas stove. The food would be soft enough for Josie to eat and easy on her stomach. From the cabinet, he retrieved a packet of instant apple cider and prepared that as well.

  Josie remained curled in her favorite position with all the covers tucked beneath her.

  He couldn’t help but smile as he moved over to the bed. He set down the tray and pressed a hand the bed. He set down the tray and pressed a hand against Josie’s forehead to check for a fever. It was against Josie’s forehead to check for a fever. It was still slightly elevated, but nothing life threatening. “Josie, I’m going to sit you up now,” he said, but he might as well be talking to a rag doll. Concerned, he checked the dilation of her eyes and again found nothing to be worried about. “Well, let’s see if I can get you to eat something.” He propped her up against the bed pillows and reached for the bowl.

  He apportioned a small amount of potatoes onto a spoon, but couldn’t get Josie to eat. After about a half hour of coaxing, he gave up and put the food aside.

  Two hours later, he tried again and still had no success.

  As the day sped along, William struggled not to be alarmed by Josie’s behavior. It had been forty-two hours since he’d taken her from the institute, and by his calculations, she should be responding to the methadone and coming out of her fog.

  With a frustrated sigh, he took the dishes back downstairs. He prepared himself another bowl of pasta and grabbed a warm beer from the fridge. He hoped the electricity would be back on before Ecatherina showed up Monday.

  “Tomorrow,” he moaned. He would have to act as if nothing had happened. He frowned as he remembered Saturday’s news report. He really should try to call Hines again, but should he be worried? When he returned to work, would it be a trap?

  He drew in a tired breath. He wasn’t at all comfortable with lying, but, at this point, what choice did he have?

  He grabbed a second beer and after achieving a good buzz was able to set his fears aside.

  The day passed with no violent outburst from Josie. It was close to midnight before he was able to get her to eat anything, and she was still unaware of her surroundings.

  He tucked her hack into bed before he settled in for another night in the armchair. But he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop wondering what was going to happen when Josie finally woke up; when she was finally able to recognize him.

  He imagined that she wouldn’t be too happy.

  Lowering his gaze, he contemplated grabbing another beer. He needed something to numb his growing anxiety; not that it was entirely aimed at Josie, but more toward himself for letting her go in the first place.

  As the night ticked on, William was content to listen to Josie’s steady breathing. Hours later, exhaustion finally claimed him. However, he didn’t sleep long before the sun’s early rays sliced through the blinds and warmed his face.

  It was time to face the day. Time to return to the scene of the crime. He glanced at his Timex and saw he had less than an hour before Ecaterina arrived.

  Standing, he stretched and popped his aching bones. A painful cramp lingered in his neck, but it was undoubtedly a direct result of his sleeping arrangement. He walked over to the bed. Josie was still out of it. How could he leave her like this? What would he tell Cat now?

  “Okay. Pull yourself together,” he said. After giving himself a moment to think everything over, he realizing that he didn’t have a choice but to follow his original plan. He couldn’t call in sick, and he was pretty sure Josie’s violent episodes were over. Heck, at this rate, there was a good chance that she would still be knocked out when he returned.

  Exhaling, he reached into the drawer for a new hypodermic needle, gave Josie her morning injection, and changed her IV bag.

  Afterward, he rushed to get himself ready for work. While he dressed he wondered if he should change his story with Ecaterina. How much should her tell her? If she’d seen the news reports about Keystone, would she put two and two together?

  A new wave of anxiety gripped him. He had expected Josie to be conscious by now, and he would have convinced her to play along with having a simple flu bug. Now, the only thing he could do was pray…pray that Josie slept until he returned from work. A loud knock on the front door jerked William from his private reverie. It was time. Another knock accompanied the visitor’s persistent ringing of the doorbell. William rushed down, peeked through the peephole, and smiled as he welcomed his long time friend and housekeeper into the house. “Good morning, Cat.”

  “Morning.” She breezed through the door. “Traffic was crazy.” She peeled off her coat and tossed it up on a gold hook behind him. “So where is she?”

  He closed the door. “She’s upstairs in the master bedroom. Sleeping.”

  “It’s so nice of you to do this for your sister-in-law,” Cat said, and removed her scarf. “Then again, you’ve always been such a kind person. Are there any special instructions?”

  “Yeah. Uh.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to think where he wrote everything down. “I think it’s all upstairs. I’ll go get it. I need to finish changing anyway.” He walked over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “The electricity is out from the storm the other night. Is that going to be a problem?” “Nah. I’m a tough old bird. I can handle it. What happened to your head?” William touched the bruised above his eye. “Just me being clumsy.” He smiled. “I owe you big for doing this.” “Yeah. Yeah. Place a dozen roses on my grave when I’m gone, and we can call it square.” William smiled. “Tell you what, I’ll buy them sooner than that.” Even better.” She winked, then headed into the kitchen. “You better hurry up. You’re already running late.” He nodded and then rushed up the stairs. He was suddenly confident in his decision to ask Cat to watch Josie.”

  Opening the bedroom door, William’s mind was awhirl with all the things he needed to do and what might be waiting for him when he arrived at work. He walked over to the bed and gazed down at Josie.

  He didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t have a choice. “I’ll be back,” he whispered, but it was a statement of hoe rather than a promise. He had no idea what awaited him at Keystone. Turning, he quickly grabbed everything he needed and headed out of the room. At the soft click of the door, Josie opened her eyes.

  Chapter 10

  An hour later, in record time, William arrived at Keystone. Despite his preparation in the car, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of police cars and newsstands monopolizing the employee parking deck. He rubbernecked to see what was going on as he scanned his parking card. When the Mechanical arm lifted, he rolled inside.

  The moment he saw the yellow crime tape surrounding a black BMW, a wave of nausea hit him. “Meredith,” he whispered, recognizing the car.

  A horn blared, and William slammed on his brakes just in time to avoid ramming a silver Mercedes that had suddenly backed up in front of him. While his heart pounded against his chest, he saw heads from the crime scenes swivel in his direction.

  “So much for keeping a low profile,” he chastised himself under his breath.

  When the silver Mercedes pulled out of its parking space, William recognized the flaming mane of Dr. Ambrose Turner and gave him a quick wave of apology.

  As a matter of convenience William with his Navigator into a vacant spot. “Keep it together. Keep it together,” he coached. Everything wrote of his being cool. No one should suspect him and Michelle Andrews disappearance. After all, she wasn’t even his patient. Climbing out of the car, he grabs his things and headed toward the building. “Sir!” Someone shouted. We and kept movi
ng. “Hey, you!” The voice thundered again.

  If finally dawn on William that the person was talking to him. He turned around and when he caught the wave of an approaching police officer, his stomach dropped somewhere between his knees. “You must be a mute or own world,” the baby-faced cop commented, flashing him a quick smile. “Can I help you?” Williams said. The cops found stabbed back in a line of cars. “Your lights. You left the lights on.”

  “My lights?” A second pass before the man’s words sank in, and for waiting to react. He faced his car again just as the headlines automatically shut off. “Oh, look at that,” the cop said. “I guess you didn’t deny help after all.” Williams only manage a benign smile. “Guess not.” The cop shrugged and turned away.

  Relieved, William continued toward the building, all the while his nerves rattling. He had made it inside yet, and he was already a wreck.

  During his short trek to the building his mind wandered to what could’ve happened to Meredith Bancroft. The doctor’s kind a surface from his memory, and the nausea returned. He had known her long, as he’d only been working at the institute six weeks. However, he’d been impressed not only by the positions intelligence, but also bought her sharp wit and easy disposition.

  Strolling through the doors of the Institute, William dragged himself out of his melancholy thoughts just as Dr. Rae Coleman nearly bumped into him.

  “Oh, good morning,” she said, gushing up at him. “Just got off the graveyard shift. I haven’t seen you around. What happened to your head?” He relied on his previous explanation. “Just me being clumsy.” “You should be careful. Can you believe what’s going on around here?” “Actually, I don’t know much about it,” he said. “But that he is married his car taped off, isn’t it?”

  “I’m afraid so.” Ray abruptly changed her course toward the exit to backtrack and follow way into the hallways. “Dr. Bancroft was found dead in the talk of her car.”

  He stopped. Here in the words allow brought the tragedy home.

  “I know,” she said. “Were all upset about the news. But you should have seen poor Brian Bancroft. He said that he knew something was wrong when married and had made it home early Saturday morning. It said he just knew in his gut that something bad had happened.”

  William imagined the man’s heartbreak. “My prayers go out to him.” He resumed walking with a heavy heart. “Where is Mr. Bancroft now?” “Grady Hospital.” He frowned at Rae as he pressed the up button for the elevator. “Heart attack,” she added. “This is just horrible all around.” Stunned, William blinked. “Is he going to be okay?” “We don’t know yet,” she said remorsefully. “Marcus is supposed to keep us posted.” A bell chimed, and the elevator door slid open. William stepped inside, hoping for a clean escape, but Rae followed him. “And guess what else,” Rae continued. “There’s more?” He swallowed while his stomach twisted in knots. “Yeah. We’re missing a patient: Michelle Andrews.” “What?” He asked for dramatic incredulity. Hopefully, he was overdoing it.

  “Hospital break, kidnapped, or just plain wandered off. We don’t know yet. I just know that the patient’s sister has been here and made holy hell with Marcus.”

  “Sister?”

  Rae rolled her eyes. “Oh. Consider yourself lucky you’ve never had to deal with that one. First time she came by to visit, and Andrews attacked her. I swear was like an old episode of Dynasty. Andrews gave her a black eye and everything. After that, we had to keep Andrews heavily sedated; for her safety as well as the staff’s.”

  “Sister?” he asked again, feeling a prick of unease.

  “Yeah, and a real piece of work, too. Id your ever see her around, stay clear. But I have a feeling she’s going to be around a lot. Marcus is afraid that she’s going to file a lawsuit against the institution.”

  William struggled to keep up with the conversation. “That shouldn’t be a problem,” he said worth a weak smile. “I wouldn’t know who she was anyway.” “It’s kind of hard not to.” Rae laughed. “Why is that?” She shrugged. “Because she’s a dead ringer for Michelle Andrews. Twins.”

  He could feel his panic morph into a full-blown anxiety attack. Instead of climbing to the twelfth floor, William felt as if the elevator was plummeting to the ground. Luckily, his feelings didn’t come across in his expression because Rae ranted on.

  “Frankly, I think someone took her. The last time I checked on Andrews, she was too sedated to go anywhere, let alone muster the strength to steal a badge and escape on her own.” William swallowed. “About this twin sister...” “What about her?” The elevator stopped. “You wouldn’t happen to know her name, would you?” “Sure.” She shrugged as the door opened. “Josephine Ferrell.”

  Chapter 11

  Numb, William stepped out of the elevator while Rae dogged his heels. Another vision of prison bars flashed in his mind, this time with the added image of him dressed in bright orange suit. “Kind of wild, isn’t it?” Rae asked. “Yeah, it’s a lot to take in,” he said, making his way to his office. “Marcus will keep us abreast of any funeral arrangements. Of course, with Brian in the hospital…”

  “Dr. Coleman, I really have to start my rounds. Maybe we can play catch-up later,” he said, exchanging his coat for a white lab jacket. He rushed to his desk and retrieved his digital recorder for dictation.

  “Of course we can. I guess I got carried away since I hardly ever see you around. Different shifts and all.”

  William nodded, and then waited for her to leave. After a pregnant pause, it finally dawned on her that she was holding him up, and a blush of embarrassment stained her cheeks.

  “Well, I better go,” she said, backing out of his office. “I’ll see you around?”

  He nodded again and watched her leave. Instead of getting right to work, he closed the door and laid his head against the frame. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

  The severity of his reactions was making him physically ill. At the same time, if he didn’t pull himself together he was going to draw unwanted attention.

  “Twins,” he whispered, and backed away from the door.

  Josephine had never mentioned she had a sister. It’d had been more than sixteen years since he’d seen her, but he was pretty sure he was right about that.

  If he was wrong, he had just kidnapped a schizophrenic patient and left her alone with Ecaterina. He walked over to his desk and grabbed the phone.

  A quick rap on the door interrupted him. He turned as an agitated Geena, one of the institute’s older RNs, entered the office with her pudgy hands clamped on her plump waist.

  “There you are. Your eight o’clock family counseling session just left. Mrs. Banks said their time is just as valuable as yours and they would come back when you remember how to tell time.” She pushed up her wire-frame glasses on her button nose. “Can’t say that I blame her.” “I deserved that one. But Geena, I’d appreciate it if you could leave the attitude at home.” She straightened. “Will do.” Geena turned with a sly smile and left his office. William picked up his phone again and called Ecaterina. After he counted fifteen rings, he hung up, and feared the worst.

  #

  The patient had a splitting headache.

  At the moment, all she could do was lie still and hope the room would stop spinning. After a while, she grew tired and closed her eyes. A second later, she heard a door open.

  “All right now. The electricity is back on, and it’s time for something warm to eat,” a woman’s heavily accented voice said.

  Frowning, the patient struggled to open her eyes.

  “I’m glad you’re awake,” the elderly woman said, smiling down at her. “William thought you’d be out of it for most of the day.”

  William?

  “Let’s get you feeling better,” the woman said, easing the patient back against the pillows. “I told him you’d probably be hungry before he came back. I know how these flu bugs can be. You’ll need plenty of fluids, so I made you some chicken noodle soup.”

>   “W-where...?” the patient forced the question out of her parched lips and winced when her throat burned from the effort.

  “Ooh. You really are out of it,” the woman chuckled and then spoon-fed soup into the patient’s mouth.

  After a few sips, the patient relished her newfound warmth. However, the older woman’s slow feeding became an agitation and she grabbed the spoon and shoveled the hot soup greedily into her mouth.

  “My, you’re hungry.”

  She ignored the woman and concentrated on emptying the bowl. After a while, she did away with the spoon and simply lifted the bowl and drained the remaining contents. “Okay.” The older woman said, reaching for the empty bowl. “Maybe I should get you some more.” The patient nodded and wiped her hand along her mouth and struggled to focus on her host. “Who...?” The woman fluttered a blue-veined hand across her chest, and then flattered the patient with a belated smile.

  “Of course you don’t know who I am. What was I thinking?” She patted the patient’s arm. “My name is Ecaterina. I work for your cousin Sheila’s brother-in-lawI think.” She laughed at herself. “I get confused whenever I try to decipher things like that.” She chuckled again. “I’ll just run and get you some more soup.”

  The patient frowned and eased back against the pillows. Cousin? She struggled to think, but her head ached.

  “Sick,” she groaned, pulling at the covers. However, she couldn’t seem to untangle her feet from the bedding. The spinning grew worse while the soup seemed to slosh around in her stomach. “B-bathroom,” she whined as she teetered on the edge of the bed.

  “Dear Lord.” Ecaterina reappeared and rushed toward her. However, she didn’t reach the bed in time and the patient toppled out and hit the floor. Stars danced behind her eyes while her stomach threatened to repel her lunch.