As the nurses settled me into the bed, one of their hands stopped moving and I knew. My heart launched into my throat. I started to sweat. The overhead light was nearly blinding me, but I kept blinking in hopes that I could see their faces clearly and remember them. They were all going down.
“She’s wearing a recording device,” one of them said.
“The little light is blinking,” another said, the pressure on my neck tightening. My eyes began to roll. My limbs began to relax.
“Fuck.” That was Debbie.
And then—nothing.
Chapter Forty-Two
Adam
I got a call in the middle of Astronomy: Intro to General Relativity, a class I wasn’t required to take, but chose as an elective because I figured there was no better place to learn about the subject than the place where Carl Sagan once taught. I grabbed my things and stepped out, answering Officer Riley’s call before I reached the hall.
“You’re not going to believe this, but Eva is in the hospital. She was found not far from The Institute.”
“Found? What do you mean found?”
“She went to The Institute wearing a wire, something she’d set up with Detective Barry, and they threw her out when they realized they were being recorded.”
“She . . . what? Where is she now?”
“Down at Cayuga.”
I hung up the phone and rushed down the hall. The only reason I’d left Eva yesterday was because she’d been staying at Dr. Thompson’s rental home with Stella and Karen. I figured she couldn’t possibly not be safe there. As I was leaving Dr. Thompson’s house, I made sure to speak to Karen so she’d keep an eye on Eva and not let her do anything stupid like go after Dr. Maslow. Somehow, I knew she’d try that. I knew she couldn’t live without getting answers. It was what drove her to The Manor in the first place, but I had people working on it. I’d hired lawyers and investigators and promised her to stay on top of it. When I got to my car, I took a moment to close my eyes and take a breath. Why did she have to be so stubborn?
By the time I reached the hospital, all of the anxiety that I thought had been erased by The Swords had rushed back. I couldn’t stop imagining the worst. Karen was walking out of the hospital room when I reached it. When she saw me she ran over and gave me a quick rundown.
“She’s fine. I don’t know what possessed her to go to The Institute after we had such a long conversation about it.” She shook her head. “They’re only allowing two visitors at a time. Stella’s in there now. You can go ahead. I’m going to go get coffee.”
“Thank you.” I walked into the room and found Eva sitting in bed with an IV coming out of her arm. When she saw me, she smiled and I felt my annoyance diminish, just a little. “What the hell were you thinking?”
She sighed, lowering her head as I reached her and sat on the bed, holding her free-of-IV hand in mine.
“I just don’t understand. What were you doing? Why would you go in there alone? Why were you wearing a wire? Why would you keep this from us?”
“I wasn’t keeping it from you.” She looked up again, meeting my gaze. “I just . . . didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. Detective Barry and Officer Toby were outside, waiting for me. They even had an FBI lady with them. I was fine.”
“You were fine?” My voice rose. “If you were fine then why are you here?” As I spoke, I spotted a bruise beneath the sleeve of her oversized hospital gown and lifted it. The anger rose again. I looked at her. “Fine? This is fine?”
“They tossed her out like she was a rag,” Stella said behind me. I watched as she drew near and stood on the other side of the bed. “They tried to hold her there but when they realized she was wearing a wire, they tossed her out. Literally tossed her out into the woods behind the hospital.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” My voice trembled.
I’d been furious before, but this was the last straw. If those officers hadn’t been there, waiting, surveilling, who knows what would have happened to Eva inside of those walls. I said that aloud and watched as Eva swallowed before shooting me a small smile.
“Nothing that hasn’t happened before,” she said.
“That doesn’t make it any better.”
“It’s not meant to, but it’s the truth. They’ve gotten away with so much already.” She shrugged a shoulder.
“We can’t let them keep getting away with it,” Stella said.
“We won’t.” I stood and placed my hands on my hips, shutting my eyes briefly as I tried to gather my thoughts.
“That’s why I went,” Eva said. “All the evidence we have against them was stuff we’d gotten by hacking into their system. I spoke to Detective Barry about it and he said he’d been in contact with the FBI and they were making a case, but that if I wanted to add any information that would be helpful, they’d be glad to take it.”