But this was the only way he could make sense of what was happening. It was the only way he could survive it. He would never be able to put her in the ground and leave her. She needed to be home. She needed to be with them.
Chapter Seven Now
I know Sam suggested I get a shower in hopes that it would put me to sleep, but there’s no way that’s happening. There’s so much adrenaline rushing through me right now; nothing can stop the rushing of my brain and the sharp, acute awareness of every part of my body. It’s like I’m more awake than I ever have been before, but I know the time will come soon that exhaustion will hit me, and I won’t be able to keep my eyes open. I only have one choice. I have to drain every second for all it has to offer. Time is ticking. I can’t let it run out.
I stuff myself in a pair of stretchy black pants and a sweatshirt still in my dresser from before I left for Sherwood. It was hot then. I had no need for the heavier clothes and didn’t pack any. I had no reason to think then that so many months later, I would have made the decision to permanently relocate to my hometown. When I left this house, it was just before my birthday. June heat had burned the tips of the grass in the yard. I was looking ahead to a vacation that had just one purpose. To stop me from having to think about my birthday or have anyone try to celebrate it.
But that trip never happened. Sam needed me. The first time in seven years I’d even seen his face, much less had anything to do with him. I would only be gone a few days. That’s what I told myself as I filled a bag with clothes and headed out for the town I thought I’d never see again. My winter clothes were left behind. I figured by the time the chill rolled back in; I would be here. I’d be back home. Being here now isn’t the same.
Dean’s sitting on the couch in the living room when I walk in. The smell of coffee in the air is the promise he’s as committed to burning every bit of midnight oil as I am. Sam lurks in the corner. His posture is tense, and his eyes keep moving to the dark window. He’s waiting for something I know isn’t coming. My uncle won’t come here when there are two men in the house with me. Whatever it is he wants, he’s only willing to come close when there’s no one around.
“Show me what you found,” I say, sitting on the couch beside Dean.
“The hospital was pretty much what I thought it was going to be. Old and boarded up. It looks like it had been there for a long time before they decided to upgrade to new facilities, and like a lot of hospitals, when the day came for them to close up, they pretty much just walked out. There isn’t a whole lot of point in trying to transfer equipment or fixtures or anything from one hospital to another. When they are upgrading an old facility, there’s little if anything they can salvage, much less would want to. Everything at the new hospital is cutting edge and brand new. So they just walk out and board it up with everything inside. That includes things they don’t think are relevant anymore, like paper patient records,” he says.
“Isn’t that against privacy laws?” I ask. “Don’t they have to protect the information in these?”
“Technically, yes. But only if the patient is living. A person’s medical information belongs to them, even after death. It’s not like anything else they possess. It’s not a part of their estate, which is why they won’t give it over to somebody who isn’t a legal representative, like a power of attorney. It’s also why facilities often don’t care about medical records like this. They don’t want to have to deal with the hassle of transferring them; they don’t really have any use for them, so they just leave them behind and hope no one throws a fit about it.”
“I guess their laziness is a blessing in disguise this time around,” I note.
“In a way. I was able to get them because they were there… but so was he,” Dean points out.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“The only way Catch Me could get the scans of your mother’s medical records in the first place was by accessing them at the hospital. We should have known they would be there because they had to be. He would have no other way of getting them.”
I let out an exasperated sigh and raked my fingers through my hair.
“I can’t believe I didn’t think about that. Of course they were there. He knew we would go after them.”
“At least he thought you might. It’s like hidden treasure. He wasn’t just going to hand it to you. You had to actually look for it. Fortunately for us, I did. And what I found was pretty interesting.”
“I remember you telling me something about a nurse,” I say. “Everything’s a little fuzzy after that. But you said something about finding Alice.”
Dean smiles and nods.
“I did. Your mother visited Rolling View Hospital a few times. Not for emergency reasons, but for medical care. The hospital had a women’s center, similar to the one in the hospital where Greg is. Just much smaller. When she was seen there, she frequently had a nurse with a very familiar name. Alice Logan.”
The name makes my heart drop to the bottom of my stomach.
“Logan?” Sam asks. My eyes snap to him, and he glares with a violent edge to his usually sparkling eyes. “As in Jake Logan?”
“That’s his last name,” I confirm. “But I never
