Page 12 (1/2)

Evidently Gibson agreed with me, and it made me think better of him

"Does Alex know about your condition?" I asked him

"No I haven’t told anyone here at work They’ll find out soon enough In the avecase open"

"And you think I can help?" I deliberately kept my voice neutral, my expression pleasant but noncommittal "What sort of case is it?"

He didn’t answer "What do you re I’ve lost all of yesterday" I sighed "It was bats, so I’ the attack took place after dark And I’ure it took place just a few uesses based on logic I’ until I woke up strapped to the zoaveIf only I’ve been trying, struggling to find anything, but nope Pisseshours were soave ht" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little blackone Recent rulings had caused evidence to be thrown out because digital recording devices were too easy toold-fashioned tape Flipping the switch, he set the recorder on the table between us before reaching for the reht, we’ll start at the beginning With your pers that happened earlier in the day We’ll stop at sunset, so as not to risk triggering any trauh the mundane stuff first helps people remereee Number 45236, Santa Maria de Luna Police Department It is eleven AM on October 14" I only half-listened as he droned on, giving all the details necessary to make the statement official I’d done this before I knew the drill In just a few seconds he’d askthis state hiave the appropriate answers Slowly, patiently, he led h the previous day I remembered a lot of it with crystal clarity It was Vicki’s birthday and I had worked really hard to find her a superspecial present

Good afternoon, Ms Graves If you’ll pull over to the guardhouse we’ll co through the speaker It was Gerry, the supervisor of day shift security at Birchwoods It was an executive position, and I iined the pay was impressive It should be The people who checked into the facility illing and able to pay exorbitant sums to make damned sure that no one knew they were here or why In all the years the place had been in business, not once had word leaked about a celebrity patient--much to the frustration of the press, who hovered at the required legal distance from a psychiatric facility

I slidback intoI heard the click of lock tu of electronic equipate rolled sas The Miata positively leapt forward I’d had it tuned up a couple of days earlier, and I still wasn’t quite used to the upswing in power Still, it was better to rid before the gate slammed shut It took a ate back open I knew this because I’d been caught once behind a ditz who’d decided to ru rather than drive on in

I pulled the car into one of four spots in front of a s with a red tile roof As I turned off the engine, Gerry stepped out the front door I was surprised to see hie IDs Still, there he was, big as life and twice as ugly He earing an electronic device clipped to the waistband of his suit trousers, with a cord connecting it to the wand he carried in his left hand Behind him was a woman in the standard navy and white security uniforular crew After all this time I know pretty much everyone orks at Birchwood, whatever the shift And "Lydia" (according to her little brass nae of some sort I’d have bet on it Their talents erous as soifts" but are by far the ood look at her Probably in her htly back fro bone structure made even more harsh by the lack of makeup or jewelry It was the kind of face that would look better in photographs than in person

The wo es on the front seat Yup Definitely afroelass, the administrator required I have thee" She gave a slight nod but didn’t take my word for it Instead, she withdrew a palan running it over the outside of the package as she murmured words I couldn’t quite catch Gerry,the plates of ainst the VIN number posted on the dash just inside the windshield on the driver’s side Next he’d run the wand over n the visitor’s form with a silver pen--probably charnature The coainst all of nature on my driver’s license Last, but not least, I’d be checked for illusion charms and sprinkled with holy water toht and any normal vamps were still safely asnooze in their coffins, dead to the world

We went through it every ti the presents was unusual but not unexpected

Since I visit three to four tiauards I know most of them by name and a little bit about them--from those tiroup therapy session ended, or for whatever other reason Today, however, everybody was acting grim and businesslike

"What’s up, Gerry?" I asked softly, while the feuard went over the outside of my trunk I wasn’t sure he’d answer, even if she couldn’t hear, but he ht

"We’ve had an incident"