“Says you,” he muttered. “This is … this is beyond anything I’ve ever considered.”

  “Maybe, yet we don’t really have a whole lot of choice. Some of this is pretty stupid stuff.”

  “Yeah, you’re not kidding,” he muttered. “Look. I know that you shouldn’t be making any decisions right now,” he stated, “so maybe just talk to Dr. Maddy and toss some ideas around.”

  “Maybe, but I think at the moment I’ll go have a cup of tea.”

  He hesitated. “Tea?”

  She laughed. “Yes, with a patient. I was invited.”

  “Good,” he replied, a bit of relief in his voice. “Please stay in touch.”

  “What’s the matter, Mr. Big FBI Agent?” she asked in a teasing voice. “Are you worried about me? Or is it just my patient?”

  He hesitated and then replied, “It was never just about your patient. I was there six months ago. Remember?”

  At that, her laughter fell away. “I suppose you want me to go for a psych eval too then.”

  “What? Did they actually suggest that?” he asked.

  “Yes, but don’t worry, I told them that I would be happy to join them in the line, since, if they require that of me, they would also have to include the staff and the board. Otherwise it was clearly an attempt at intimidation. Believe me. Nobody liked that idea much either.”

  He burst out laughing. “But, as a volley goes, it wasn’t a bad one to fire.”

  “Won’t do me any good though,” she said. “At this very moment, I’m sure they probably actively trying to figure out how to get rid of me.”

  “What will you do then?”

  “One of the things I need to do … You any good with computers?”

  “Sure I am. Why?”

  “Can you log on to my system remotely?”

  “If you give me access. What are you thinking?”

  “I better download my patient files, not to mention my own research, just in case I get walked out of this place very quickly.” Even as she voiced that thought, she felt an urgency rising within her. “I mean, as of right now.”

  She quickly gave him access to her computer, and she went to her file cabinets and started pulling everything out. She had left a lot of it behind last time because she hadn’t had a chance to do otherwise. But now she had this feeling that everybody here would have something to say, one way or another, about her staying or not staying.

  She highly suspected she wouldn’t have the option and may get moved out by security very quickly, even within a matter of hours. The rising, bubbling feeling put her idea of tea with Sadie on hold. By the time Cressy had packed everything up into boxes, she sent Gray a text, asking if he could come collect the files she had in her office, just in case.

  When he asked when, she wrote Now, please.

  He immediately sent a text back. Be there in five.

  With that, she kept her door locked and made sure that, aside from the boxes, absolutely everything in her office was okay to stay, if she were forced to walk out. She had no idea what the hell was going on, but something had been brewing, and obviously her return had kicked it into high gear. She had all her files in boxes, topped off with her laptop. Now her desk was emptied too, just as she heard people outside, knocking on the door, only to have them go away after a few minutes.

  What she didn’t want was security to come in and unlock the door to remove her. That would have been one step too far. She had really hoped they would give her time to collect herself and evaluate her position, especially after that obviously disruptive meeting.

  She couldn’t even believe that she was at this point. But she was, and that’s all there was to it. Then she thought about little Adam and frowned. This wouldn’t be good for him, but what was she supposed to do about it? She immediately phoned Stefan.

  He answered with “Not sure what’s going on, but it sounds big.”

  “I think I’m being maneuvered out of my job right now,” she replied. “I had an unpleasant ambush-style meeting with several of the board members this morning. I’m actually getting Gray to collect all my files online, and he’s coming to help me with my physical files that I’ve packed up in boxes here. But I’m really worried about little Adam and several of the other patients.” She reminded him about Sadie. “She is definitely a candidate for you. There is a young woman here who is suicidal, who desperately needs help before she succeeds in her next attempt.”

  “Any idea what’s happened to her?”

  “Yes. Trauma of the criminal kind, but, even though her stepfather has been arrested and is doing jail time, he only got a few years, and a couple have already passed, so she’s sliding every day because she knows he’ll get out.”

  “Great,” Stefan muttered. “And you think he’ll come after her?”

  “I don’t think he can live without her. A very weird obsessive energy is around her.”

  “Names please,” he said immediately.

  She gave them to him and then added, “I have a few more, but, on the whole, some of these patients will be fine here, and then there are those who I need to be sure get out of here relatively quickly.”

  “You’re talking about Adam, I presume?”

  “Adam is just one of them but yes. He’s a ward of the state, and I am not certain how to ensure he can come with me, wherever it is that I go. Right now he trusts me, and we’ve gained some ground, but—”

  “Got it,” Stefan interrupted. “Let me contact Grant, and we’ll see what we can pull together.”

  Just as quickly, she said, “I’ve got to go.”

  She hung up, looked at the doorway, and frowned. Whatever was coming toward her had an energy she did not like. Not sure she was up for any other confrontations, she walked to the window, wondering how long it would be before they brought in security. At the window, she opened it wide, seeing Gray racing toward the front door.

  Just then she heard keys in the door.

  She quickly grabbed her bag and her purse and stepped out the window, closing it partially in the hopes that they wouldn’t see it right away. Then she booked it out of sight.

  *

  Gray walked in and headed straight for her office, just in time to see several people in her office, men in business suits, staring around in confusion. He stepped in and growled, “What’s going on here?”

  All of them jumped, as if he were the last person they expected to see. A look of chagrin crossed Dr. Mendelsohn’s face. “We thought she was in here. Honestly we were concerned she might harm herself.”

  At that, Gray faced the doctor directly. “Hogwash. So, you are part of the conspiracy too, are you?” Gray turned, took a note of all her boxes, and immediately made a phone call. “I need a team here to collect Dr. Cresswell’s files,” he ordered, stepping forward.

  At that, someone protested. “Hey, what are you talking about?”

  Gray gave him a flat stare. “As of right now, I am putting this institution under federal investigation,” he stated, low and clear, his tone calm.

  “No, no, no, nothing is wrong here at all,” one of the men replied in a soothing tone.

  He turned, stared at the man, and asked, “And your name?”

  The man frowned.

  “I asked you a question,” Gray snapped. “Do I need to remind you who I am?”

  At that, the other man flushed in anger. “You can’t throw your weight around here. We only allowed you here as a courtesy.”

  At that, one of the other men gasped. “No, no, no, no, that’s not true. Obviously we’re here to cooperate as best we can.”

  Gray nodded, his eyebrows raised. “Really? Is that what that meeting was all about this morning?”

  “Did she contact you?” One of the men gasped.

  He faced him. “She expected this and saw it coming. She is on record regarding some criminal activity here that is making her very uneasy. She predicted there would be a move to get rid of her very quickly, and here you all are, forcing yourself into her space, with no regard for her privacy or that of her patients, for that matter.”

  At that, one of the men paled.

  “Believe me. I will be looking into it,” Gray declared, his voice hard. “Not to mention, I have already found all kinds of irregularities in your staffing files.” Some of the men took several steps back, and he nodded. “That has been noted.”

  One of them shook their heads. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Scare tactics don’t work here. We have rights, and we know it.”

  “You do, indeed, and not a one of you is leaving here until I know the exact whereabouts of Dr. Cresswell, as well as who each of you are and your involvement in this mess that you’ve just created.”

  At that, Dr. Mendelsohn spoke up. “You already know who I am. I came here to try and stop them.”

  “Stop them from what?” When the doctor hesitated, Gray took one look at him and just knew. “You people really would walk her out of the building today, wouldn’t you?”

  Dr. Mendelsohn flushed. “Look. She was seeing things, acting strange in the hallways.”

  He snorted at that. “Are you suggesting she was doing anything different than before?”

  He frowned at that. “No, I’m not. It’s probably just that we haven’t seen that behavior for a while, so maybe it appeared a little more unusual,” he clarified, with half a smile.

  “So now because she’s back, and you’re all concerned about potential changes in your pocketbooks, you set out to get her fired, is that it?” Gray asked.

  Dr. Mendelsohn swallowed. “No, no, that’s not it. She’s one of the most gifted doctors I know, and her results are nothing short of phenomenal.”

  “So, help me understand why you are part of this movement to get rid of her?” Gray asked, his eyebrows raising.

  “I’m not,” he argued. “I’m one of the ones who protested against it. I’m also very aware that we’re quite likely to lose patients because of this.”

  “And that’s fine,” one of the other men snapped. “We’ll get other patients.”

  With that, Gray turned to look him. “Only if I don’t shut you down,” he added smoothly, “because all I’m seeing so far is a lynch mob.”

  At that came a commotion at the door, as several of Gray’s coworkers entered. He looked at them, smiled, and nodded. “I need statements from everybody here. I need names, full positions, and involvements.” He turned to look at Mendelsohn and stated, “I also need the full minutes from the meeting that you had earlier today.”

  “This has nothing to do with you,” one of the men snapped. “You’re only here because of the one patient.”

  “I’m also here because we’re opening an investigation into whoever installed a listening device in Dr. Cresswell’s office,” Gray stated. “You do understand it’s against the law to bug somebody’s office? Not to mention potential violations of patient privacy, which is also quite serious.”

  At that, Dr. Mendelsohn cried out, “What?”

  Gray nodded. “So, don’t go telling me what I can and cannot do, sir. Also, you have yet to produce Dr. Cresswell, which worries me beyond everything else.”

  At that, Dr. Mendelsohn looked around. “She’s not with you?” he asked.

  “No, I just arrived. You want to explain to me where she is?”

  “That’s why we came in because the door was locked. We thought she was in here.”

  Gray just gave him a flat stare again, and he flushed.

  Mendelsohn added, “Honestly it was easier to come in and try to deal with it, than to let them run wild.”

  “Really? You have quite an interesting system for staffing here.”

  At that, Dr. Mendelsohn hesitated and then asked, “What did you mean about staffing irregularities?”

  Gray began, “As if you don’t know, several of your staff members here have juvenile records, histories of drug abuse, drunk driving and DUI records, domestic violence, petty theft, and a half-dozen other infractions that should never have been cleared on a criminal background check for a facility of this nature.”

  The color left his face. He shook his head. “What? None of that should have happened.”

  “Maybe not, but it did. So now I’ll find out how this place is running. You are charged with caring for some of the most vulnerable patients in society and are potentially exposing them to criminally negligent danger through your staffing process.” Gray repeated, “Now, if you don’t tell me right now where Dr. Cresswell is, there’ll be even more hell to pay.”

  “I don’t know where she is,” Dr. Mendelsohn repeated. “I thought she was here. We unlocked her door.”

  “Her private office? You unlocked her private office?”

  “We do have that right,” he protested.

  “Sure you do, as long as you had justification. What was your justification today?”

  At that, one of the men replied, “She was upset, so we thought maybe she was too delicate for the news that she got this morning.”

  He stared at him. “You thought what?”

  At that, every one of the men paled as they heard the tone in Gray’s voice.

  “Look. We were just trying to do what was right.”

  Gray turned to the FBI agents in the room. “As you can see, a huge mess is going on here, so let’s not get sucked into it. Go ahead and get to work on statements.”

  Ignoring their protests, each of the men were separated, as Gray turned to Dr. Mendelsohn. In a dangerous tone he stated, “Now, you tell me what the hell’s going on here, how long it’s been going on, and how does this affect Dr. Cresswell. But first, tell me where Dr. Cressy is, and I mean now.”

  It was all about finding Dr. Cressy.

  With everybody lined up for interviews, and the FBI taking care of the boxes she had asked him to grab, he headed out to do a full search of the facility. Twenty minutes later, when he stood by her car in the parking lot, he realized something was seriously wrong. He called Grant. “She disappeared,” he said in a panic.

  “Who disappeared?” Grant asked, clearly still distracted by whatever work he was doing.

  “Cressy!” Gray quickly gave him a short version of the events.

  “What?’

  “Yeah, exactly.” Gray rubbed his free hand over his face in frustration. “I don’t know where she’s gone. Her vehicle’s here, but there’s no sign of her, in the hospital or out. I’ve got the rest of the team here doing a full search room to room, but she didn’t have time to get anywhere.”

  “What are you thinking happened?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t have any proof either way. All I can tell you is that, … she’s missing.”

  “Put the place on full lockdown,” Grant ordered. “I’ll be there in five. She’s got to be there somewhere.”

  Chapter 13

  Cressy moaned softly, her hand reaching up to her aching head, only to find that her hands were tied and something covered her head. She shuddered in place, as pain racked through her. Yet all she could think of was that something was seriously wrong, and somehow somebody had attacked her. She called out into the ethers to Stefan and to Dr. Maddy. Not only did she get both of them answering her cry for help but several other voices replied as well.

  Immediately Stefan stepped in. Take it easy. Do you know where you are?

  “No,” she gasped. “I can’t see anything. My eyes are covered, and my hands are bound.”

  Tell us what led up to this.

  She quickly gave him as much as she remembered, finishing with, “The last thing I remember was going through the window.”

  But why? Were you trying to get away from Gray for some reason? Dr. Maddy asked.

  “No, not at all,” Cressy explained. “I thought I could buy some time for him to get in there and to secure my files. I assumed the board was coming in to escort me out for good, so I thought that, if Gray came in, and I wasn’t there, he might do something. When I heard the sound of keys, I knew they were trying to get through the door to me, so I wanted to escape quickly. The last thing I wanted was to get walked out and locked out. Then I wouldn’t have any access to what I needed to sort things out. I need to know what the hell is going on.”

  So you went out the window and then what?

  “I was headed toward my car, and … that’s the last thing I remember.”

  According to Gray, Dr. Maddy said, her voice calm, your car is still there, and the FBI assumes either you’ve been taken off the grounds by another vehicle or you’re still on the grounds.

  She groaned. “I honestly don’t know where I am.” She shifted and then gasped. “I’m in some sort of container, confinement unit, or something of the sort,” she whispered. ‘There’s not much room here at all.”

  Can you hear anything? Stefan asked urgently.

  She opened up her senses a bit wider. “No, it’s silent. Wait. There’s a weird hum in the background. Like machinery.”

  Like a furnace? Dishwasher? Laundry? Vacuum? What kind of a hum?

  She contemplated for a moment, wishing that the pounding in her head would stop. “Maybe a washing machine, but I can’t really tell.”

  No, but it gives me a place to send them to search for you, Stefan noted.

  She hesitated. “Do you think somebody stuffed me into a washer?” she cried out in horror.

  Let’s hope not, he muttered, since that would mean somebody could turn it on at any moment.

  She started to struggle, only to find herself held with golden bonds.

  Easy, Dr. Maddy told her. That’s me stopping you from struggling because we don’t know where you are.

  She gasped and relaxed back. “God, this is not how I thought my day would go.”

  No, I’m sure it’s not, Stefan agreed. On the other hand, you had some inkling, didn’t you?

  “Yes, that’s why I started collecting files and information, but I thought I had a few days. I didn’t think they would move in on me quite so fast.”

  Any idea why they’re moving so quickly?

  She hesitated, but then said, “In the past, I’ve always been able to rally the troops to make change happen. I presume they’re afraid I would do that again.”