for the amount of damage it did, it might as well have been root beer.”
The intercom on Malone’s desk suddenly crackled, and the voice of Arthur Wiseman filled the room. “Mark, it’s Arthur. Have you happened to see Sally Montgomery anywhere around the hospital?”
Malone glanced quickly at Sally, who shook her head vehemently. “No.”
“Damn. Okay. If you see her, talk to her, and keep talking to her until I get to you.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
There was a short silence, then he said, “She’s been having some problems, Mark. Her husband and I have decided she needs some help, but she doesn’t agree. I’m afraid we’re going to have to take the decision out of her hands.”
Sally was on her feet and at the door to the parking lot by the time the intercom fell silent.
“Sally?” She paused and turned back to face him. “If I’m going to help you, I have to know where you’ll be.” She stared at him, and he knew that even now she didn’t quite trust him. “Just a name,” he said softly. “Don’t argue, and don’t waste time thinking. Just give me a name and get out of here.”
“Lucy Corliss,” Sally said.
“I’ll be there tonight,” Mark promised. “We have a lot to talk about” But by the time he’d finished speaking, Salty was gone. He moved to the window and watched as her car skidded out of the parking lot and disappeared down Prospect Street. Only then did he unlock his office door and hurry down the corridor toward Arthur Wiseman’s office.
Louise Bowen paused for a moment on the lawn of the Academy to watch the three boys playing some kind of game with a ball. Although she didn’t quite understand the point of the game, she could see that it was rough. The idea seemed to be to retain possession of the ball, but with the odds two against one, the game had the appearance of a constantly shifting wrestling match in which there could be no winner until all but one of the boys dropped in exhaustion.
Only Randy Corliss was not playing, and it was Randy in whom Louise was primarily interested.
She knew that what had happened yesterday afternoon was preying heavily on Randy’s mind. He had been quieter than usual at breakfast. Then at lunch, while the rest of the boys wrangled about how to spend the afternoon, he had remained completely silent, his expression blank, as if he were somewhere far away, in a world of his own. And then, after lunch, he had disappeared. Now Louise was looking for him, determined to do what she could to assuage his fears.
Randy was in the woods. After lunch he had ignored his friends’ pleas for him to join in their game and gone off by himself.
But it wasn’t that he wanted to be alone.
He was looking for a way out.
For an hour he had worked his way along the fence, searching for a tree that had a limb extending beyond the strand of barbed wire that topped the barrier.
There was none.
All along the perimeter of the property the trees had been cleared away. Here and there a remaining tree that might once have had long lower branches showed the scars of some long-ago chain saw. But nowhere was there a place where the fence could be scaled without touching it. And then, when he had only fifty yards to go to the gate, he found it.
It was a stream flowing through a culvert that carried it under the fence. The pipe was small, but Randy was almost sure that if he hunched his shoulders together, he could get through. He scrambled down the bank of the stream and tried to peer through the culvert At the far end, he thought he could see traces of light.
Should he try it now?
He glanced around, wondering if anybody was watching him.
He wasn’t sure. At first, he had always felt the eyes on him, and it had bothered him. But after those first few days, he had grown used to the watching. That odd sixth sense had become dulled, and now that he needed to know if he was truly alone, he had no way of telling.
But one thing he was sure of. If he tried to run now and got caught, he wouldn’t have another chance. Reluctantly, he turned away from the stream and started back toward the main building. If he was going to try to escape, he would have to do it at