Chapter Two
"My roommate is creeping me out," Parker whispered.
"Then go talk to her. Patients know about everything that goes on around here. I have to go, don't leave that room before talking to her," Sophie said before joining her patient in her office.
Parker turned to the pale woman. "Alice," she said.
"Remy," her voice matched her ghostly appearance.
"So, what do we do around here to stop from being bored?"
She shrugged. "Besides cutting ourselves. We can go to the dayroom? They show movies around this time if you want to watch one."
Parker smiled at the woman's dark humor, nodding at the invitation. The two of them joined everyone in the spacious day room. A nurse was putting on an appropriate movie for the group. Remy took two empty seats for them.
"What are you here for?" Parker asked the woman.
"A lot," Parker waited for an answer. "I killed my family. They did test after test to figure out why. They evaluated I was clinically depressed, bipolar, and a long list of other things. Instead of spending time in jail, I was sent here. Indefinitely," Remy said sadly. "You have that multiple personality thing?"
Parker nodded, turning to the screen as a Disney movie played. "I was diagnosed, but refused to take my medication. Then I had an episode at work which landed me here. Why did you kill them?"
Remy shrugged. "I don't remember anything that happened. The doctors said I was there physically, but not mentally."
"Were you on drugs?" Parker asked bluntly.
Remy smiled slightly at her blunt question before shaking her head. "No, I was normal until that day."
"What happened that day?"
"I don't know. The entire day is gone. My psychiatrist tried everything to help me remember, but nothing. Right now, I'm set on having everything under control. What about you, do you know anything about your other identity?"
Parker shook her head. "No, just that I have one." Remy turned her attention to the TV. "Sophie," Parker whispered.
"Yes, Parker," Sophie answered.
"Remy talks as if she's been here for a while. Maybe she knows about Audrey."
"Parker, don't come out and ask her. Build a relationship with her. If something is going on in the hospital, then she might not want to tell you right away."
Remy turned to the thief. Parker gave her a small smile until she turned back towards the movie.
"Okay," Parker turned her full attention to the motion picture playing.
"I'm Dr. Laura Tanner," Sophie said, using an Australian accent. She turned to her left to Parker. "Why doesn't everyone introduce themselves and tell me their goals?"
"I'm Alice, and I want to understand more about why I have another identity," Parker said.
Sophie turned to the pale woman after the thief.
"My name is Remy, and I'd like to be happy," her voice matched her ghostly appearance.
Next to the ghostly woman was the opposite of Remy. She looked energized and full of life. She gave Sophie a warm smile. "I'm Casey Narberth. I love dancing and singing. I can perform for you if you like? Oh, and I don't really have a goal other than to get to go outside. I love the outdoors," Casey said.
"That's an admirable goal. Why don't you show me your singing during your personal session," Sophie said before turning to the man that was shifting uncontrollably next to Casey.
"Warren," he said quickly.
"What are your goals, Warren?" he shrugged. "You think later today, you might know?" he shrugged again. "Why don't you think about it until then."
Sophie went to the thin man after Warren.
"My names Connor and I would love to get the point added to
my name."
Sophie nodded. She focused her attention on the right of her, the last person in the group.
"I'm Adam, and I would like to trust people more," he was soft-spoken.
Sophie took in all the names on her notepad, then dismissed everyone for free time so she could search for her blonde grifter. She found the woman flirting with one of the other guards. Sophie frowned.
"Can I speak to you, 'Maddie'?" Sophie asked Tara.
Tara smirked at the other guard. "I'll meet you later, and you better pass that drug test," Tara said before following Sophie.
"Have you found out anything new?"
The blonde woman shook her head. "What about you?"
"Not much. I need you to check the lockers of the guards. Look for anything we can use for evidence."
"I'll do a routine check. I'm pretty sure some of the guards aren't actually passing their drug tests. I can use it as an alibi."
Nate heard the blonde grifter as he mentally crossed off the list of things everyone had to do for the plan to go smoothly. He looked over Hardison's shoulder. Nate checked the cameras Hardison had set up, making sure no one was coming.
"Don't get distracted, Hardison. Watch Sophie," he says as he checks the time.
Then Nate got out of the van and started to walk the block to the mental hospital. The guards checked him from anything the patients can steal to hurt themselves or others. He sat down for his evaluation.
Hardison recorded the process as he drank his orange soda. He watched as Sophie left one of the psychiatrist's office with some files in her hand. He checked the surroundings to see if anyone was coming. He choked on his drink when he saw Cowl coming towards the grifter.
He shoved in his earbud. "Sophie, Cowl heading your way."
The grifter ponders all the excuses she could use, settling for a simple one. The administrator raised an eyebrow to her. He peered down at the files in her hand.
"I don't think going through your peer's documents will make you any friends," Cowl said.
"I was collecting files from Dr. Crane, I believe. He had some files on my patients. However, I'm making friends quite fine," she smirked as she maintained her Australian accent. "What about you, why are you here?"
The man grinned though he stayed where he was. Sophie tried to remain calm. "Why do you need files of Rebecca's patients?" Cowl asked.
Sophie smiled inside, making a mental note about the use of the name he used. "I wanted to see if the current patients were friends with old patients."
"Why?"
"It helps build our relationship if I know who their friends and family are. I could explain the process to you if you'd like, though I do have to get back to my patients."
She pushed past him, waiting until she was out of earshot before speaking. "Parker, if you could get the chance, I need you to go to Dr. Crane's office and search through his locked drawer. Hardison,"
"Yep?"
"Cowl used the first name of a doctor that used to work here. I need Hardison to find everything on Rebecca. I need to know why she left and where she is now."
As Hardison typed away on his computer, Sophie went to check another doctor's office. She rambled through the papers on the man's desk. Sophie groaned when she found another locked drawer. She frowned and left the room to go to another office.
Parker watched as Crane left for his break. Once he was out of view, she slipped inside his office, making sure her com was on. She grabbed two paper clips, biting her lip as she started to work on the locked drawer. A smile grew at the sound of pins clicking. She looked through the files, organizing the patients who left and the ones who died. She placed the ones who left, back in the drawer, and then made a pile for accidental deaths and suicide deaths, leaving her with only three files. She quickly put all the other papers back, locking the drawer, and walked calmly out of the room.
She found Sophie struggling to open a locked door.
"Do you know what you're doing?" she chuckled to the grifter. Sophie moved out of the way as the thief got to work. "Hardison, can you see if the family of Dorothy Elise, Olivia Sanchez, and Takeshi Henry were part of the cases who made accusations," Parker said.
Hardison typed away on his computer. "The names of the people who accused are sealed, some were anonymous tips. I looked up Dorothy Elise next of kin, and they got a large donation from Lilly's Sanctuary to a cause under her name. Someone paid them to keep quiet about something. As for the others, it seems to me that they're drowning in hospital bills," he looked over at the security cameras before pulling up what he found on the name Rebecca. "There's only two Rebecca's that worked there that also left recently. One lives abroad in Japan, and the other isn't listed."
Parker opened the drawer and handed the files to Sophie before closing the drawer.
"The one who isn't listed might be living with Mr. Cowl now. Put all her information in a file, I'll read over it after the day is over," Sophie said as she and Parker went to the next psychiatrist's office.
Eliot held down a patient as the mentally insane man frantically clawed at him. Another doctor shoved a sedative in the frantic man's neck, then wiped the sweat from her face.
"This would've been a lot easier if you actually held him down," Rita spoke with agitation.
"I didn't want to hurt him," Eliot said as he lifted the man.
The two of them carried him into one of the quiet rooms. Eliot laid him down on his bed and strapped him down.
"As long as they don't hurt us, we won't hurt them. We use the necessary force to get the job done. It's either that or the patient will cause harm to everyone else in the ward, including themselves. If you can't handle that, then maybe you should find a different profession."
"I got it," Eliot growled as he closed the door to the padded room.
He and Rita went back to the primary office. Other doctors crowded to help the dozen complaining patients.
"Everyone," Rita says, "Our friend Dr. Abernathy has volunteered to 'help' take care of all these patients for us. Isn't that nice," Eliot glared at Rita. "I hope you can handle this job, Dr. Abernathy, because it's going to get a lot harder. But it's okay, I'll have some of the guards make sure you don't hurt the patients," she grinned.
As the other doctors went on break, the patients started to become distressed. Eliot grumbled foul words about the woman as he checked on his first of many patients.
Tara shook her head at the porno magazines and food in one of the guard's lockers.
"You're clean. You should never put personal belongings in your locker when we have a routine check-up. Spare yourself the embarrassment. Everyone back to your posts," The guards disbanded. Once the room was empty, she turned back on her comm. "There's nothing in their lockers. Nothing obvious anyways. No rope, no cord, nothing that could have been used to hang Audrey. I guess they're smart enough to destroy the evidence."
Sophie waited for Hardison to give the all-clear before she left out the last office with Parker stealthy trailing behind her.
"We found a total of fourteen suicides going back five years, including Audrey. Dorothy Elise and Olivia Sanchez overdosed. Takeshi Henney stabbed himself. Everyone else drowned. While Audrey hung herself," Parker said.
"That's a lot of drowning going unnoticed," Sophie chimed.
"How can something like this go unnoticed?" Nate whispered to himself from his abandoned room.
He laid across his bed, his head on an uncomfortable pillow. His face wrinkled as he tried to think of anything that would make anyone victims of murder. Money. Nate thought. Everything is always about money, but whose? The victim's kin is in piles of debt except for Dorothy Elise's. It would cost the hospital more to pay for lawyers and cover-ups than for a few lawsuits.
So why kill fourteen people?
Nate sighed at the headache that started to form. He sat up.
"Hardison, I need you to give Eliot some trackers to give to Parker. We need to make sure at least Sophie's patients don't get killed. Tara, I need you to work a night shift and patrol to make sure no one turns up missing."
"What if they do?" Parker asked.
"Then we'll find them," the mastermind said before going back into his thoughts.
Thanks for the review really appreciate it. Hope my improvements are shown in this rewrite.