Chapter 30
Anna
“Are you sure you’re okay? I can stay.”
Dr. Patron cocked his head to his friend. “It’s a few stitches, Bill. It’s nothing. Besides, I’m in good company. You can go. I’ll call you later.”
“Yes, please do. I can’t thank you enough for being there for my wife. These out-of-town trips leave me away from home so much. I was just lucky to come home when I did. She was a bit disoriented when we found her, but Julia was kind enough to stay so I could check on you. Linda is going to feel horrible for what she’s done.”
“It’s my fault, Bill. She seemed upset. I shouldn’t have pressed her to open up. Had I known she neglected her medication, I would have proceeded with more caution. Please make sure she doesn’t forget to take it again.”
“You have my word. I should be getting back to the house. Take care of yourself, and come see us when you’re better.”
“I will. Thank you.”
The man gave me a nod and headed for the door. For the life of me, I couldn’t believe how this had turned out. I was so sure the woman I was talking to was Lucy. I thought Dr. Patron was responsible, but I was wrong. So wrong.
I stood from the chair, stepping closer as my lips pursed through my thoughts.
“I can’t believe you slept with a married woman. And to be so friendly to that man’s face as if you didn’t do anything wrong…”
“I didn’t. It’s complicated. I assure you, he knows.”
“Does he? And he doesn’t mind?”
“He has his own life away from home. He and his wife have agreed on an open relationship. You’d be surprised at how just open they are.”
I shook the confusion away, moving in next to the bed. “I don’t want to know. I owe you an apology.”
“No. You don’t.”
“I do. I could have killed you. I thought about it.”
He smiled, groaning as he lifted his hand to the bandage over his cheek. With his other, he reached toward me. Caution led my fingers forward to pause just over his palm. He didn’t wait. He moved up to grasp them, even though it made me uncomfortable.
“You’ve been so driven to find Lucy. You thought I was the one who had her. It’s completely understandable. I actually admire you for it. You have such passion, Anna. It’s all over the spectrum, covering every angle of humanity. You leave me in awe.”
“You’re very odd. You know that, right?”
The laugh had me reaching to place my hand on the back of the one holding his face as he winced in pain.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you laugh. I should go.”
Dr. Patron left the bandage to hold both my hands. My mouth opened, and before I could break away, the door swung open. Boston jerked to a stop, not moving as he took in a deep breath and glared in our direction.
“Boston. I’m so glad you came to see me.”
Dr. Patron dropped his hold on both of my hands, and I immediately stepped back, putting distance between us. I knew how it must have looked, but there wasn’t anything I could have done about it. I shouldn’t have been so close to begin with.
“Yeah,” Boston said, looking between us. “Hope I didn’t intrude on anything.”
“No. Not at all. I was just telling Dr. Patron I should go.”
“Were you now?”
“Yes. I was.” I grabbed my purse while Boston stepped in front of the door.
“Stay with me, Anna. I won’t be long. I just wanted to see if everything was okay.”
Dr. Patron eased the bed into more of a sitting position, but it didn’t draw Boston’s attention. He kept his eyes one me. It was only when I put my purse back on the chair that he turned to the doctor.
“You seem okay. What happened?”
“Just a patient off her meds. I’m seriously done for a while. After the last week, I’m in major need of a vacation. I’m getting too old for this.”
“Are you leaving then?”
At Boston’s question, I turned to Dr. Patron.
“Oh, no. I just meant I’m done with taking cases while I’m here. You always have me, Boston. You know that.”
Concern and care were laced with every word. It matched the sudden emotion in his eyes. I didn’t doubt his declaration. It let me relax as Boston seemed to calm as well.
“Good. I’m glad you’re staying. So, she got you good, huh?”
“Yeah. With a ceramic lamp. I tried to calm her down, but our scuffle caused the end table to fall over. The lamp shattered, and she managed to get my wrist and cheek. Pretty deep, but I’m alive. That’s what matters. I guess I passed out at some point and she took off and called Anna. It was a mess.”
Boston blinked a few times, grabbing his phone from his pocket. “Wait…” His brow drew in. “I got a few calls from you. I think she might have tried to call me too.”
“Did she?”
At Dr. Patron’s nearly breathless question, my heart jumped to my throat.
“Yeah…there are a few of them. There’s even a voicemail.”
“What? I mean, lord knows what it says,” Dr. Patron rushed out, laughing nervously. “You should have heard the story she told Anna. Pretending she was Lucy. It was cruel actually, but you can’t hold schizophrenics accountable for the things they say or hear.”
“Excuse me? She was acting like Lucy? My Lucy?” Boston’s head shook forcefully, and his hands trembled as he hit a button on his phone and brought it to his ear. Dr. Patron threw the sheet back, moving to the edge of the bed.
“You shouldn’t listen to that. You’re not stable enough. It’s—”
His hand shot toward the doctor, and I moved in, hearing nothing but inaudible screams. One sounded like Boston’s name. Wind drowned out most of her words, but still, she came through. Boston took a ragged breath, going pale as sobs merged with more screams.
“She’s sick. Please don’t hold this against Linda. She would never, and I mean never, intentionally do something to hurt anyone. One of her personalities is a victim. She goes by the name Lydia, but after my mention of Lucy and needing to cancel next week’s appointment, I think it might have triggered her episode.”
“Shhh!” Boston replayed the message, turning up the volume as he put it on speaker phone.
“Boston? B—ston! H—me! He has—Help...Boston!”
The wind was so bad, combined with the panting as she fought to catch her breath, but that didn’t seem to affect Boston. One minute, he was by the door, and the next, he was lunging for the bed. Dr. Patron moved so fast, it was clear he was ready as he began to wrestle Boston.
“It’s not her. It’s. Not. Her!”
“It is! You took her. You took Lucy! I’ll kill you. I’ll fucking kill you!”
My arms wrapped around Boston’s waist, and I pulled with everything I had to try to break them apart.
“It’s not her,” I yelled. “Boston, it’s not Lucy.”
“It is! I’d know her voice anywhere. That’s Lucy!”
He thrashed, trying to get a grip on Dr. Patron, but the doctor managed to keep them from around his throat.
“Listen to me,” I said, jerking hard. “I thought so too, but I was wrong! Linda’s husband was here. I met him Boston...stop!”
I let go, kicking just above his calf and putting him in a choke hold from behind as he crashed to his knees. He could have easily thrown me off, but the action left him spinning to bury his face in my stomach. Crippling sobs left him as he harshly dug his fingers into my back.
“It was her. I swear, it was Lucy. Anna, please. You have to believe me. That was Lucy.”
“No. Boston, it was really hard to understand what she was saying. I know you want it to be Lucy, but it was Linda. Her husband even said so. He came by to check on Dr. Patron. It wasn’t Lucy. She convinced me too, but I was wrong. This woman is sick. It’s not her fault.”
“It’s Lucy.”
“No.”
The sobs grew, and Dr. Patron frowned as he stared at us.
“You okay?”
The doctor gave me a quick wave, and I held tighter to Boston as he broke down further.
“Let’s go home, okay? We all just need to sleep this off.”
“I want to see her. I want to see this Linda.”
“It’s late, and she had a hard night.”
“Tomorrow then?”
Dr. Patron’s mouth opened, only to close. When Boston looked over his shoulder, the doctor gave him a nod. He stood, holding to me like a vice as we headed over to grab my purse. He was mess of increasing emotions. All the way to the car, he swore it was Lucy. And…a part of me wanted to believe him. But that was the problem. We wanted her found so badly, we were willing to grasp onto anything we could in hopes she was still alive.
“Ride with me. You’re in no condition to drive.”
“Not yet. Just…”
We were standing at the passenger side of my car, and Boston had me facing him again as he held me in a bear hug. He was sniffling and so tense.
“What’s going on with you and Dr. Patron? When I walked in…where have you been, Anna? Is there something I should know?”
“Know?”
“Yeah. Let’s start with the first question. Before you got the call, where were you? There was no meeting tonight. Braden already uncovered that. What were you doing?”
“Nothing. I…” My mouth closed. “Running. I needed some alone time. I usually run every night. It helps with the nightmares. They’ve been getting so bad lately, I thought maybe if I went for a good run, I could sleep.”
Fingers pushed through the hair at the nape of my neck, tugging until my head eased back. Boston met my stare with a looked that kept me frozen. There was knowledge there—unexplainable knowing that turned my blood cold.
“Try again.”
“It’s the truth.”
Tighter, the hold grew. The look deepened, sucking me in, speaking to the killer within. Something in that moment changed, and I had no idea what it was.
“Again.”
“I…”
“Anna. Who is it? Who are you after?”
Jerking hard, I broke his hold. “It was a run, Boston. Nothing more.”
“Then what is that?”
He was staring into my back seat. With the way the light was shining down directly next to my car, it gave perfect view to the open duffle bag. Rope, duct tape…my knife. Anyone could have seen. And yet, I had been so consumed by Dr. Patron and his constant rambling, I hadn’t given the bag a second thought.
“Honesty, Anna. Given that, I’m guessing you never got your chance. The call distracted you. Who is it? Do you know them? Or were you searching for a random person?”
“Leave it alone, Boston.”
“You’re unraveling. Helping me isn’t helping you.”
“You’re wrong. It is helping me. Lucy…” My hand came to my mouth, and the woman’s fear from the phone was all I knew. It joined my own, feeding the crazy woman inside me who was never far away. I swallowed the lump in my throat, continuing. “We will find Lucy, and then the two of you can move past this.”
“I’m not talking about me and Lucy. I’m talking about you right now. You’re good at hiding the truth, but you’re not okay.”
“I am not your concern.”
“Whose concern are you? Braden’s? Dr. Patron’s? I saw the two of you getting cozy in that room.”
My hand lifted to slap him, but I quickly fisted my grip, stepping back.
“How dare you even insinuate something like that.”
“Am I wrong to assume something is going on between the two of you? The secrets aren’t helping your case.”
“Nothing is going on between us. Nothing.”
Boston glared toward the building, but came back to me.
“Good, because I told you to keep your distance. I apologize for misunderstanding the situation. I…am also sorry for pushing you for an answer on your bag. I don’t blame you for not wanting to talk.”
“Thank you.” I gestured toward his car, wanting to end our conversation. “You seem to be feeling better. Are you following me home or getting a hotel?”
“Braden is waiting for you. I have things to do anyway.”
I glanced at my watch. “At three in the morning?”
“Can you give me the address where Linda lives?”
“Boston, you need to wait for Dr. Patron. He said he’d take us.”
“I just want to drive by.”
“It wasn’t her.”
A frustrated sound left him, and he threw me a look, opening the passenger door and climbing into my car. I went around, getting in and starting the engine. He stayed quiet as we pulled out of the hospital, but his energy left me on edge. We were both spiraling, and I feared if we didn’t find Lucy soon, we were only going to get worse.