Sleep No More (13 page)

But she had also enjoyed life to the max. Eve recalled her shining eyes, her lips slightly parted.

I’m still drunk with the sensation.

You have to concentrate and let the senses come alive. You should try it sometime.

Joe was lying naked in bed when she opened the door of the room. “It’s about time. What kept you?”

“I ran into Kendra. We talked a little.”

“Too long.” He held out his hand. “Come here.”

“In a moment.” She started to undo the buttons on her blouse. But only a moment. She could feel the tension mounting every second. They had waited too long already. “What did you find out from the resort?”

“That Beth had gone skiing alone and the resort sent a team out to investigate when she didn’t come back to the lodge. They found her unconscious at the bottom of a hill next to a tree and assumed she’d hit her head. They airlifted her to a clinic near Boston for treatment.”

“Clinic? Not the local hospital?”

“Family request. Later, the personnel at the resort heard that she was in a coma and had been sent to California for more tests.”

“So there was a serious legitimate injury.”

“There was an injury,” Joe said. “We still don’t know how serious.” He paused. “Or how legitimate. The rescue team said that the head wound was to the back of the head. If she crashed into that tree, wouldn’t the injury have been to the front of the skull?”

An attack from behind? “Strange things happen in accidents. I suppose a back skull wound is possible.” But it was another red flag. “What about the clinic?”

“I checked. It went out of business ten years ago. All records on Beth Avery were sent out to Santa Barbara. Everything seems to be centered around that hospital on the hill.”

“Then it’s good that we brought Kendra to help make some sense of what happened here.” She was naked now and walking toward him across the carpet. “I think we may be lucky to have her, Joe.”

“I wasn’t lucky to have her keep you away from me so long tonight.” He made a face. “Evidently, you may be on board, but I’m beginning to think that she may not be as valuable as I first thought.”

“Oh, she’s valuable. There may be a lot we can learn from her.”

You have to concentrate and let the senses come alive.

Joe’s eyes were suddenly narrowed on her face. “Such as?”

Concentrate. Heighten every sense, the scent of him, the sound of his breathing. She reached out and touched his shoulder, the warmth of his skin, the play of muscles beneath her fingers. The sensation was almost too intense.

He inhaled sharply as he sensed something new, something different. “What are you doing?”

“Concentrating…”

She climbed on top of him and slowly rubbed her breasts against his chest. She tried to isolate every separate sensation, the warmth, the faint roughness of his hair against her nipples, the tensing of his muscles. She felt an explosion of heat. More. Give more. Take more. “Slowly. Think about it.
Feel
.”

He shuddered as his hands grasped her shoulders.

Don’t ignore one motion, one feeling, build on it, share it.

Maybe you’ll get busy and think it’s not worthwhile. But that will be your loss.

No way, Kendra …

*   *   *

“YOU LOOK VERY SUBDUED, EVE,”
Kendra said as she strolled toward the car at eight the next morning. “And those glasses are a good touch. I knew they would be.” She tossed her duffel and guitar in the backseat of the car and got into the passenger seat. “I’ll try to keep attention off you, but stay in the background.”

“I’m hardly a riveting personality,” Eve said dryly as she started the car. “It’s not as if I was flamboyant before.”

“But people look at you, then look again.” She was studying her face. “Particularly this morning. There’s a glow…”

Eve gave her a forbidding glance. “Don’t go there.”

She grinned. “I wasn’t. I’m more subtle than that.” Her gaze shifted to the hospital in the hills, and her smile faded. “And, besides, it’s time I got down to business.”

“And start to concentrate?”

Kendra nodded soberly. “That’s the name of the game.”

Eve smiled faintly. “Oh, I definitely agree.”

*   *   *

“DR. MICHAELS, DELIGHTED TO MEET YOU.”
Harry Pierce’s smile was a flash of white in his tanned face as he crossed the marble foyer at the hospital to shake her hand. Late forties or early fifties, he had a shock of excellently barbered thick gray hair, gray eyes, and slightly heavy but regular features. “Such a pleasant surprise. We had no idea we were under consideration for a grant. We do our best, but mental health always seems to be at the bottom of the list.”

“Not this time,” Kendra said with a smile as bright as Pierce’s. “Evidently someone thinks that your hospital deserves help, and musical therapy is the wave of the future.”

Pierce nodded. “I understand you’re responsible for much of the research in this field, Dr. Michaels. I have to admit I’ve always been a bit skeptical of its effectiveness since most of the success stories have been anecdotal. But I’m impressed with your evidence-based approach.”

“I’m not a believer in woo-woo. Music therapy is a scientific discipline even if some of its practitioners don’t look at it that way.” She waved a casual hand toward Eve. “My assistant, Lucy Coran.” She stepped in front of Eve before he could greet her or get a good look at her. “She’ll take my notes and give questionnaires to your staff. Could you assign someone to show us around right away? We’d really like to finish this job before the end of the day. We have another inspection in San Francisco tomorrow.”

“Joseph Piltot can do it.” Pierce waved at a thin man in a sleek navy suit who was getting off the elevator. “He’ll be able to show you the most likely candidates for your therapy. He has all their records on tap.”

“Excellent. But I also want to see the entire facility and the grounds. And I don’t expect to be limited to the dog-and-pony show you give families. I trust that won’t be a problem.”

“Of course not.” He smiled again, but this time it appeared pasted on his face. “If you need anything at all, please call on me. I’m at your disposal.”

“Thank you, but I doubt that will be necessary. As I said, this is just the first inspection. We only want to get a feel for the facility and your long-term patients.” She turned to Piltot after he was introduced. “Let’s start outside, shall we?”

“Certainly.” Piltot led them out the glass doors.

As they strolled through the beautiful, well-manicured lawns, Eve and Kendra only half listened to Piltot’s overly rehearsed spiel. He pointed out the faculty’s sleek structures, then stopped so they could watch a croquet match supervised by the predominantly youthful staff.

Eve and Kendra casually moved several yards away from Piltot, well out of earshot. “So what did you think of Pierce?” Eve asked quietly, her gaze on the croquet players.

“A total sleazebag,” Kendra said. “And a phony all the way. How much plastic surgery do you think he’s had? I’d bet at least an eye job and work on that chin.”

Eve smothered a smile. “You’re the expert on observation. My only impression was that I didn’t like him. But you were very tactful. I was surprised.”

“I can be diplomatic. Not often. It’s not worth the effort.”

Piltot walked over to them, smiling. “Ready to go inside?”

“Not just yet,” Kendra said. “I want to go around to the other side of the complex.”

“Not much to see there, I’m afraid. Loading dock, staff entrance, garbage Dumpsters … Surely your time would be better spent.”

“Just a quick look around,” Kendra said. “Then we can go inside.”

Piltot shrugged. “This way.”

He led them around the facility’s north side, where a keycard opened a tall iron gate. The concrete walkways, skillfully hidden from the nearby roads by bushes and tall trees, possessed a barren, institutional quality. Eve glanced at Kendra and saw the woman’s eyes flicking from the windows to the roofline, then down the entire length of the main building. What had that amazing mind latched onto now?

They continued toward the rear of the white stucco building where Kendra leaned over the railing to look at the hillside just ten feet below.

Piltot was frowning. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” Kendra looked up at the windows above. “I trust that patients get the ocean views and not the staff?”

“Absolutely. There are a few administrative offices facing this way, but those are mostly group areas and recreation rooms up there.”

“Very nice. It’s beautiful.”

They continued on their way, and true to Piltot’s word, they walked past a row of Dumpsters. “It smells,” Kendra said. “When is trash pickup?”

Piltot hesitated, probably wondering how in the hell this could affect the dispensation of a state grant. “Uh, Mondays and Thursdays, I think.”

Beth had disappeared from the facility on a Wednesday, which almost ruled out one method of escape. Neither night would have been for Beth’s escape, Eve thought, which was obviously Kendra’s motive for asking the question in the first place. And as they stepped closer to the Dumpsters, she noticed that each lid was secured by a large padlock.

Kendra obviously noticed it, too, and she shot Eve a look. No refuge for Beth there.

Piltot pointed to the employee entrance. “We can go inside here.”

“Actually, I’d like to continue around and go back through the front,” Kendra said.

“Well … sure.” He was obviously mystified by her insistence.

They completed the circle and reentered the complex through the main entrance.

“I’ll need to examine all the wards and private accommodations,” Kendra said brusquely. “Where do you suggest we begin?”

“The wards?” Piltot made a face. “That will be a bit chaotic. You may prefer to focus on the private patients. I’m sure they’ll be much more receptive to cultural stimulus.”

“People are people, and music bridges all gaps.”

“Just a moment, and I’ll see what the schedule is for group-therapy sessions. There are probably some going on now.”

“Take your time.”

Kendra lowered her voice as she spoke to Eve. “The private rooms are on the second and third floors. Beth Avery was on the third floor in Room 305. As soon as Piltot takes us up to the third floor, we’re going to need a distraction to get rid of him.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Eve was already taking out her phone. Actually, she was glad to have something positive to do. It was beginning to annoy her having to stay in the background and letting Kendra handle everything. She would just have to bite the bullet and look and listen and see if she could find a way to contribute. “I’ll tell Joe to call Piltot when I buzz him and start questioning him again. That should give us time.” She looked at Kendra. “But how much time will you need?”

“How do I know? It depends on how well the room has been cleaned. What kind of trace evidence has been left.” She grimaced. “For all we know, the room might have a new occupant.”

“True.” Eve hadn’t thought of that. “We’ll play it by ear.” She smiled slyly. “Or at least you will. You’re more qualified in that area.” She ignored Kendra’s disgusted groan as Joe came on the line. “Joe, we may need some help.”

*   *   *

AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT,
Piltot took them to the second floor first, and they spent over three hours meeting patients and checking over their medicines and prognosis. It was early afternoon when Piltot took them up to the third floor.

Eve’s gaze flew down the corridor as they got off the elevator. Clearly the hospital luxury quarters, she thought. Wide halls, modern paintings on the walls, and a nursing station at the far end of the corridor. The nurse at the cherry desk was on the phone, and she was smiling and chatting. Good, a distraction. They could only hope that she stayed absorbed in her conversation.

“At present there’s only one occupied suite on this floor. Room 302,” Piltot said. “The patient is a young actress who suffered a nervous breakdown two months ago. Patient confidentiality prohibits me from telling you who she is, but—”

“Lara Tagnon,” Kendra said absently.

Piltot blinked. “How—I can’t really confirm that—”

“On the nurse’s desk downstairs on the second floor, there were two DVD cases of Laura Tagnon’s most popular movies, along with a thin, silver inked Sharpie pen that one uses for an autograph on the case’s dark background.”

“Very perceptive, Dr. Michaels,” Piltot said.

Maybe
too
perceptive, Eve thought. But Kendra’s display didn’t seem to arouse any special concern on his part.

However, evidently Kendra was aware that she’d slipped up because she added quickly to distract him, “Not the most professional request for a nurse on duty to make, but I suppose there’s really no harm.”

Piltot smiled. “As long as you didn’t hear it from me.”

“I had no idea she was a patient here,” Kendra said. “The paparazzi have been scouring the country for her.”

“Privacy is important when you’re dealing with celebrities. I’m not sure that I can get permission from either her or her manager to have you evaluate her. Surely you don’t want to see her.”

“Surely I do,” Kendra said with a determined smile. “She’d be a valuable addition to the hospital profile. Why don’t you go and ask her? We’ll wait here.”

Piltot hesitated, then turned away impatiently. “Oh, very well. If you insist. But it’s a waste of time.” He strode down the hall and into a room near the end of the corridor.

Eve was instantly on the phone and beeping Joe. She jammed the phone in her pocket. “Joe is good, but I don’t believe we can count on more than ten minutes stalling, tops.” She glanced at the nurse’s station. The nurse was leaning back in her chair, still absorbed in her phone call. “Let’s go. Room 305 is two doors down.”

They had taken no more than two steps toward the room when Eve heard a male voice behind them.

“Excuse me, but I don’t believe you’re supposed to be here.”

Dammit, caught.

Eve stiffened and turned around.

A tall orderly had appeared in the hallway near the bank of elevators.