he was damn persistent. I think we’ll hear from him again.”
“That’s not an emergency. Troublesome, but not a danger. I’ll take care of it in the morning.”
“The only way you’ll be able to take care of it is to find that damn woman and bring her back here. It’s been three days. Why haven’t the police been able to do it? It’s not as if it should be that difficult. I’ve seen her, and she’s almost a vegetable.”
“I said I’d take care of it.” He tried to keep the edge out of his voice. “Keep calm and let me know if you hear from him again.” He hung up, then dialed Drogan. “We’ve got a problem. How close are you to finding her?”
“She took a bus from Santa Barbara and got off in San Francisco.”
“Great,” Pierce said sarcastically. “Since San Francisco is such a tiny city, you should be able to locate her with no problem at all.”
“She took another bus from the same station south again. She’s doubling back for some reason.” He paused. “And where did she get the money for that bus? Could she have stolen it?”
“Maybe from one of the nurses. No one is careful around her. She’s harmless.”
“She’s not harmless. Find out where she got the money. If it wasn’t stolen, then someone had to have given it to her. If that’s the case, then we may be in luck if you can zero in on her source.”
“Don’t count on it.”
“I never count on anything. Just furnish me with a list of the people who had the opportunity to help her, and I’ll do the rest.”
“I’ll see about getting it for you. But you said you’d find her yourself, do it.” He added, “Keep in touch. I may have another job for you. Things are coming apart here at the hospital.”
“And you want me to fix it for you. Why doesn’t that surprise me?” He hung up.
Son of a bitch.
“Trouble?” Stella was smiling maliciously. “You always seem to be having trouble with Drogan. You can’t handle him, can you? I’d like to meet him. I bet I could handle him.”
“I might send for him and let you try. I couldn’t lose either way.” He was thinking. “Tomorrow, drift around and see if any of the nurses have been missing any money from their purses or the petty-cash drawer in the desk. Be tactful.” He grimaced at the thought of “tactful” and “Stella” in the same description. “Or at least don’t throw up any red flags.”
She nodded. “Are you going to tell Nelda about the call from this cop?”
“Not if I can help it.” He was beginning to feel the same panic he had heard in Piltot’s voice. They had kept the story of Beth Avery’s escape very quiet, with absolutely no media coverage. How had the story leaked to a cop in Atlanta? Keep cool. He’d manage to do damage control. “Tomorrow I think I’ll pull one of the women patients out of the ward and put her in a solitary room. I’ll tell the police it’s Beth Avery, and she came back on her own.”
“And you’ll have me taking care of her and covering for you. Boring.”
“You’ll do what you’re told.” He frowned. “I’ll tell Nelda the same thing I’ll tell the police until I actually find Beth Avery. Though I may still have to break down and tell her that the situation isn’t contained. It may be necessary to have Nelda check into who filed that report in Atlanta. She has the political clout to do it.”
“But that would annoy her, and she’s already angry with you.” She lay back down on the bed and stretched lazily. “Maybe she’ll hire Drogan to take care of you, too. I think I envy her. I’ve often wondered how it would feel to be able just to lift a finger, and someone dies.”
“Well, you don’t have that power,” he said roughly as he came over her. “I’m the one who is in control.”
“And you want to show me right now,” she said. “Go ahead, I don’t mind. Screw me. Hurt me. But no matter how many times you do it, I’ll still know I’m the one who is really in control.” She smiled up at him. “Someday, you’ll realize that, Harry. If you live long enough…”
8:15 A.M.
Charleston, South Carolina
“PIERCE.” NELDA AVERY’S LIPS TIGHTENED as she hung up the phone. “He said they’ve found Beth, but the situation is too volatile to take any final action now.