“Sure you are. You and the rest of New York City.”
“Is she in there?”
The bouncer looks over to his coworker and they exchange a grin. Is he expecting a bribe?
“Listen buddy, I don’t know who you are and frankly I don’t care. People don’t just walk up and ask to see Ms. Sanders. She asks to see you. And if we don’t know you’re coming, you don’t get to go in.”
I bristle at his arrogance and take another step toward him.
“Just tell her Elliot Davis is here, she’ll–” before I can say another word, I feel huge hands grab my arms and lift me up. My feet are dangling off the ground and I’m carried for a few feet before the man launches me forward. I stumble and then regain my footing, seeing him marching toward me.
“Time for you to leave,” the man growls. I look at him, twice as wide as I am with no light in his eyes. He’s getting closer and closer and I back away. He grabs my arm and escorts me back to the front doors, pushing me roughly out.
He doesn’t even look at me before turning around and walking back to his post. I rub my arm, half embarrassed and half enraged at being tossed out like it was nothing.
“Come on,” I yell at the bouncers outside. They turn to me menacingly and I bristle and then turn away.
I walk down the street and sit on the curb, putting my head in my hands. I don’t know what I was expecting. Did I think I could just walk up and demand to see her and tell her to let Emma go? And that she would just… listen to me?
She’s expanded her operations massively since I was involved in them. And all these years she’d come and see me for various procedures and I didn’t even question what the fuck she was doing.
I walk back to my car slowly, feeling the despair and hopelessness set in. I dial Emma’s number again and let it ring until the voicemail starts. Then I dial Melodie’s number and let that ring.
I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I can do. I head back to my house, searching every corner of my brain for an idea, any idea. I need to help Emma.
55
Emma
My throat is parched and my stomach feels emptier than I’ve ever felt it. The hunger and thirst are gnawing at my stomach to the point where it’s hard to think of anything else. No one has come to see me since Melodie left, and I wonder how long she’s going to let me rot here.
Long enough for me to agree to her plan, I guess. At least they untied me. For a while I paced up and down the small room, but now the dizziness is stopping me. I sit on the ground against the back wall and try to close my eyes.
I’m exhausted but I can’t sleep. My mind is simultaneously empty and frantic. The hunger in my stomach and thirst in my dry throat are unbearable, but at least it stops me from thinking about Elliot and what Melodie is asking me to do to him.
I have no more tears to cry. No more emotion, no more despair. I have nothing. I’m empty.
After what seems like days, or weeks, or an eternity, I hear footsteps. I open my eyes and squint at the door, feeling more curious than afraid. The lock opens slowly and the door swings open. I shield my eyes from the light streaming in, having been in darkness for so long.
“Well, how is our honored guest doing now?” Melodie’s voice drifts over to me.
“Water,” I croak. It’s the only thing on my mind. I look at her, silhouetted in the doorway and somewhere in the dark recesses of my starving mind, hate having to beg her. “Water, please.”
She waves and someone else appears with a bottle of water. It’s a thin, wiry man with mousy brown hair. He brings it over to me and I fumble as I unscrew the lid. My hands are so weak I can hardly hold the bottle myself. The man stares at me and finally reaches down and takes the bottle from my hands.
“Here,” he says, handing me the open bottle. I drink greedily, letting the liquid fill my mouth and spill over my chin. It’s lukewarm and stale but it’s the sweetest water I’ve ever tasted.
“She’s a thirsty one,” the man says. Somewhere in my mind his voice rings a bell. It sounds familiar but I can’t place it. I ignore the thought and keep drinking until I feel like I can talk. I take a deep breath and struggle to my feet.
“Now,” Melodie says. “Have you done some thinking?”
I look at her, and her perfectly manicured nails, her impeccable hair and makeup and designer clothes. She’s almost glowing in the light of the small, dingy room. I’ve never felt so dirty and powerless and weak as I do right now.
I keep staring at her, trying to find my voice when I notice her nose - it has a slight hook in it. I frown, distracted. I could have sworn I saw rhinoplasty in her file, and I know Elliot is the best in the country. He wouldn’t have done that to her. She must not have had it done at all.
“Well?” she asks, clearly getting impatient.
I clear my throat.
“I’ll do it,” I say. “Just let me out.”
A smile spreads across her face and she nods. Before I know it, I’m being led out the door into the brightest light I’ve ever seen. I have to close my eyes just to stop the stabbing pain in my head. They practically carry me down a twisting hallway and out to a van. I have no idea where I am, and frankly I don’t care.
56
Emma
I close the door to my apartment and lock it. I’m in shock. I look around the room, it’s exactly how I left it Monday morning. I don’t even know what day it is now. I feel like my apartment should be different, changed. It should show the trauma that I’ve just been through.
My wrists are still raw, and I rub them unconsciously. It’s the only indicator I have that my kidnapping actually happened. They gave me back my purse with all my things in it. My phone is out of batteries but I don’t have the energy to plug it in right now.
I flop down on my sofa and close my eyes. My entire body aches with exhaustion but sleep doesn’t come.
I have no idea what I’m going to do. The thought of turning Elliot in makes me sick. I can’t do that to him and let Melodie and Victor and Dr. Yates go free. It’s wrong. And Gracie… I could never live with myself if I was the cause for her losing her father as well as her mother.
Melodie’s words drift into my consciousness. She didn’t even bother veiling her threats to me. “If you don’t do this, we’ll go after you and everyone you love, including that blonde Valerie and her husband, and Elliot and his kid. He’s fucked either way, so you might as well save yourself.” The man she was with laughed and repeated her words. He’s fucked either way.
I sigh. I can’t even cry right now, I’m too exhausted. Drained. I’m supposed to go into work tomorrow and gather all the evidence I’ve gotten. If it’s not turned in to the authorities by tomorrow evening she’ll go after Valerie.
What am I going to do?
I can’t let myself break down. Not now. I take a deep breath and open my eyes. Melodie’s voice rings in my ears, and the man’s high pitched voice echoes it. I replay his words over and over in my head. I’ve heard his voice before. I don’t know if it’s my mind playing tricks on me or if I’ve really heard it before.
Then it hits me.
I have heard his voice before. He’s the accountant. He’s the one who gave me a list of names that didn’t have Melodie’s name on it. He’s the one that Dr. Yates told me to call. They’ve been setting this up together.
My exhaustion falls away and I sit up on the sofa. My back is as straight as a rod and my eyes are wide open. They’re all in on this together. They did this to me. They did this to Elliot. They’re going to ruin his and Gracie’s life, and probably mine too.
Suddenly I know what I need to do. There’s no question. I need to find a way to implicate Melodie and get her and Dr. Yates to take the fall instead of Elliot. If they figure out that’s what I want to do then I might as well be signing my own death wish.
All the paperwork is in Elliot’s name though. Why did he let them do that to him? Did he know? Melodie said he’s not as innocent as I thought he w
as, was she talking about the gambling?
There are too many thoughts going on in my head. The adrenaline starts pumping into my blood and I know I won’t be able to sleep so I stand up and start pacing. I need a plan. I have less than 24 hours.
I need to do what I do best, and that’s think like an accountant. I go to my personal computer and turn it on. I need as much information on Melodie Sanders as possible, and I need it fast.
I plug in my phone and wait for it to turn on. Dozens of messages and missed calls come through. Elliot. He’s mad at me and I don’t blame him. I tap on his name and am about to press call when I stop myself.
I have no idea what these people are capable of. They’re obviously watching me and my friends. They could be listening to my phone calls. They could be following me. If I try to contact him, try to warn him, I could be putting both of us in danger.
No, this has to be me alone. I’ll work through the night and once I know if I’ve succeeded or not, I can tell him everything, and I mean everything. I’ll come clean about it all. I need to be open and honest with him. I want to be. But my priority right now has to be keeping him and Gracie safe. I look at my phone and feel a pain in my chest when I see his messages. All I want to do is comfort him, call him, rush to his house and be in his arms, but I can’t. Not tonight.
I stretch my neck from side to side and look at my computer. I’m going to need to be clever about this, but most of all I’m going to have to be quick.
57
Elliot
I haven’t slept in three days. I’ve hardly eaten. My work is suffering, I’ve had to reschedule some procedures and feign sickness. I can’t get her out of my head. I’m sick with worry, wondering if they’ve hurt her, or threatened her, or worse.
Usually people are happy it’s Friday but every morning just fills me with dread. I walk into the office wondering who will be sitting at the front desk. A small tendril of hope is still alive inside me but I try to ignore it. It’ll most likely be crushed the minute I walk in the door.
I’ve called Melodie countless times but she won’t answer. That’s two women now that I’ve been calling constantly. I can’t take it anymore, being left in the dark like this. I’m going crazy.
Finally I’m nearing the office and I take a deep breath, steeling myself against the inevitable disappointment of anyone who isn’t Emma sitting at that reception desk. I close my eyes and push the door open, only opening them as I step through.
I gasp.
It’s her. She’s here. She’s alive!
I run. She has her back to me, facing the wall behind her. The shelves have some boxes of files in them again, and Emma seems intent on one of them. She turns when she hears my hurried footsteps and her face breaks into a smile.
I scoop her into my arms and hold her tight. Tears are streaming down my face and ragged breaths are raking through my lungs.
“I thought you were dead,” I whisper to her.
“So did I,” she responded. She pulls away and I see the tears in her eyes too. Her forehead is lined with worry and she takes a step back. It looks like she hasn’t slept either. She feels frail in my arms. “We can’t talk, not here.” Her eyes dart down the hallway and around to the front door.
“What’s wrong, Emma? I’ll help. I know what Stuart is up to. I know he’s setting me up. You know I have nothing to do with this right?” I look down and her hands and bring them up to my lips. I want to kiss every part of her. Then I see her wrists. “Emma, what the fuck happened? Who did this?”
She looks me dead in the eye.
“We can’t talk here,” she hisses. “I don’t have much time. Go to your office and pretend nothing is wrong.”
The vehemence of her words hits me and I nod. It kills me, but I take a step away from her and walk down the hallway. Every cell in my body is screaming at me to turn around, to grab her and hold her and take her with me.
Emma and Gracie and I could run. We could go anywhere! I have money saved, we could make a break for it and leave this mess behind. I glance down the hallway and see Emma watching me. She dips her chin down once and then turns back to her files.
The frustration is too much for me. Will no one tell me what the fuck is going on? My life is hanging in the balance here, Gracie’s life is hanging in the balance! Emma is still looking through those files and I know she knows my name is all over them. I can’t take this anymore. I have to know what’s happened to her.
The marks on her wrists were deep red bruises and scabs. Rope burn. My heart turns to ice as the realization of what must have happened to her hits me. I get to my office and close the door, turning around on my heels as I look for something that I can hit, something I can throw, something that I can unleash as this flood of rage suddenly boils up inside me.
I’m completely powerless.
58
Emma
Telling Elliot to walk away was infinitely harder than I thought it would be. He walked down the hallway and all I wanted to do was run after him and jump in his arms. Having him so close to me is torture, especially knowing that it could all fall apart in a matter of hours.
I don’t have time to explain anything. It’s too risky. All I can do is go forward and hope that everything works out. Nothing is certain but I have to try.
I head for the file room. My number one priority right now is finding Melodie’s file. Over the next hour, I flip open every single box and rifle through, making sure it hasn’t been buried in one of these boxes. My hands work quickly, flicking from one file to the next.
I close the lid on the last box and blow the air out of my nostrils. Her file isn’t here. I knew it wouldn’t be but I had to check. I play with the set of keys in my hands and pull out my phone. I’m going to have to take a chance. I look up Elliot’s name.
I need you to get Dr. Y out of his office for 5 minutes.
I shift my weight from foot to foot waiting for an answer.
Why?
The frustration bubbles up inside me. Why doesn’t he understand that I can’t tell him anything, especially not over text. I mash the keys as I respond.
Please just do it, I’ll explain everything I promise.
My heart is hammering in my chest as I wait for him to answer. My ears are straining against the door, trying to hear anything in the hallway. Finally my phone buzzes again.
On my way.
Relief floods me for a second before my nerves kick in. If Dr. Yates catches me in his office, I’m dead. I put my ear against the door to try to listen. I hear Elliot’s door opening and a knock on another door. Muffled voices filter through and then get closer to my door. My heart starts beating. What is he doing? He can’t bring him over here.
The voices get louder and I can make out a few words. Elliot’s deep baritone voice enters my ears.
“I’m not sure what’s happened, I think the fuse might have blown. Just thought you might want to have a look at it before I call the maintenance man.”
“I don’t see how I’ll be able to help,” Dr. Yates whines.
Their voices fade and I exhale. He’s taking him to the utility room down the hall. I count down in my head, wanting to make sure they’ve turned the corner. Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six…
The seconds crawl by but I force myself to count all the way to zero. I open the door a fraction of an inch and peek down the hallway. It’s empty. I look the other direction, toward his office. No one.
Within seconds I’m flying down the hallway, checking over my shoulder with every hurried step. I try the door to his office. It’s unlocked. I breathe a sigh of relief. I leave it ajar as I go inside, scanning around the room. Where would he have hidden the file? It could be anywhere.
I make my way around his desk and glance at the paperwork on top of it. No Melodie Sanders. I open the top drawer and see only bits of stationery. I close the drawer and it slams shut. I wince at the sound. I try the drawer below it – locked.
My hands are trembling as
I look at the keychain he’s given me. I don’t even know if the right key is one here. All I know is that he guards these keys with his life. I flick through them and try one at random. It doesn’t even go in a fraction of an inch. I keep looking through the keychain and feel panic rising inside me. I glance up, trying to listen for voices and footsteps. Finally I see a small key with a round head. I try it and breathe a sigh of relief as it slides into the lock effortlessly.
I turn it quickly and slide the drawer open. It’s full of papers. I reach down and flick through, looking for the standard blue manila folder that all patients’ files are in. At the very bottom of the pile I see it.
Melodie Sanders.
Her name is written on a neat label on the edge of the folder. I pull it out and open it, scanning the documents. They’re exactly what I remembered. I grab the papers and stuff the empty folder back at the bottom of the pile. The papers get folded and stuffed down the front of my skirt. I tuck my shirt back in, checking for the telltale rectangle. If I move too suddenly it’ll make noise but it’ll have to do. I have to get out of here.
My hands are trembling like never before. The roar of my heartbeat is deafening in my ears, and the seconds tick by as I try to lock the drawer again. Why won’t this key fit inside the hole?
Finally it slides in and I turn it. I practically run around the desk and slip out of the door, instantly colliding with a body coming the other way.
59
Emma
“Whoa, Emma! Watch where you’re going.” A voice booms into my ears. It takes me a few seconds to register whose voice it is over the overwhelming panic that assaults my senses.
“Dave,” I breathe, feeling relief wash over me. Thank fuck you’re not Dr. Yates, I add to myself. I glance down the hallway and see Elliot and Dr. Yates rounding the corner. My heartbeat is so fast it can’t be healthy.
Doctor's Orders (Complete Series) Page 33