caller phoned them, refused to give his name, but told them to get her out of the hospital because it wasn’t safe for her.”
“What?”
“Annie ran the number he said the call came from, and it was made from inside the hospital.”
“Then why would Dr. Kilgore and the nurse deny her presence when it’s very obvious her family knows she was there? And what did the caller mean she wasn’t safe?”
“Her father didn’t know but said they went to get her and had her admitted to the VA psychiatric ward because she was suicidal. I asked her father if he could think of a reason she wouldn’t be in the system and he had no idea. Said there must be a glitch or something.”
“Right. A glitch.” Sarah pressed her lips together. “Can they—or we—ask for an investigation into the hospital?”
“We could, but I’m not sure our argument would be taken seriously. I mean, there could be a very valid excuse why she’s not there. Or if there’s something more sinister behind it, the hospital would just come up with some plausible lie. I’m not saying I want to let them get away with it, should there be something they’re getting away with. I’m just saying I think we need more information to back up your belief that the hospital did something wrong.”
He was probably right. “So, where’s Brianne now?”
“Her father said she took a turn for the worse mentally, even as she was healing physically. She started hallucinating and having paranoia.”
“She was in restraints. She thought they were trying to kill her.”
Caden nodded. “Her dad said she was in bad shape for the next two days. She was kept sedated, then like I said, was moved to the psych ward. Over the next several days, she got on some different meds, spoke to the psychiatrist twice a day, and seemed to do a complete turnaround. Her outlook was brighter and she was hopeful about going home. In fact, she insisted on it.”
She’s better off where she is. Maybe that’s all they meant. It made sense. “That fast? I thought it would take longer than that for the meds to make a difference.”
He shrugged. “Apparently, it’s rare, but not completely unheard of.”
“Is she still on the psych ward?”
“No. The doctor said it was fine for her to go home as long as someone was with her at all times. She has a small house on a lake outside of town. Her dad said it was her happy place—a place where she could relax and heal. She has a friend staying with her, but he said she’d probably welcome a fellow vet if you wanted to visit.”
“I do.” She rubbed her eyes. “Do you have her number?”
He handed her a piece of paper. “I figured you’d need it.” He glanced at Gavin. “You’re going with her?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Sarah protested.
“You just got shot at and you’re still recovering,” Gavin said. “If you want to do it on your own, fine, but I’d prefer it if you let me tag along.”
“Or me,” Caden said with a raised brow, “because you still can’t drive, remember?”
“No, I keep forgetting that small fact.” Sarah shrugged and looked at Gavin. “Fine. I don’t mind the company, but don’t you have a business you need to be running?”
“I have people I trust helping me out. And remember, those bullets could have killed me too. I have a personal interest in whatever’s going on.”
She couldn’t argue with that. “Okay, then. I’m ready when you are.”
“We can take my truck.” Gavin stood and pulled his truck keys from his pocket. “She might be scarred, but she still runs like a dream.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Why are trucks always a ‘she’?”
“Because while they respond well to tender loving care, they can still be high maintenance and temperamental.”
Caden choked on a snort and Sarah narrowed her eyes. Oh no, he did not just say that. He did. He really did. That was going to cost him. As soon as she could think of an appropriate way to extract payment.
On the drive across town, Sarah decided that spending several hours on the couch had been a good thing, because at the moment, she had only a slight twinge in her side and her energy level seemed to be sufficient for the visit. Gavin parked his truck on the row of gravel at the top of the sloping front yard. An older model Honda and a newer Toyota sat in the drive