all the details yet – and hopefully never would – but anyone with an Internet connection, basic cable-television package or subscription to the local newspaper was now privy to an extremely well-researched synopsis of her colossally fucked-up life, including just how close her relationship to the Cleveland Slasher had actually been. Then again, she guessed that was the price you paid for being the supposed hero in two of the most sensational serial-killer stories of the past twenty-five years. For being the supposed hero who’d help bring down a trio of the most bloodthirsty killers this side of Jeffrey Dahmer.
For being the supposed hero who’d cost so many innocent people their lives.
Worse, the press was still out there digging for more information. Literally, right out there. From a helpful orderly, Dana knew that a small cadre of reporters had set up camp out in the hospital’s parking lot, just waiting for her to emerge. And the relentless media showed no signs of going home anytime soon, either.
Dana shook her head in disgust. Hopefully, they’d brought along plenty of coffee with them, because she had absolutely zero intention of speaking with any of them when she came out. Or with anyone else either, for that matter. Let somebody else’s name fill up the newspapers for a little while. Her name needed a break
Dana sighed again and felt the weight of the world resting on her shoulders. Above all else, she knew that she needed some alone time right now. Some ‘me time’. Maybe even a vacation somewhere warm. With Cleveland stuck in the grips of yet another brutally cold winter, Florida might be a nice change of pace, give her a chance to clear her head. Maybe even Hawaii. One thing seemed obvious: she needed some time to unwind, to decompress, to process all the horrible events of her life.
To run away from all the ghosts still chasing her.
A knock at the door mercifully pulled her out of the macabre inventory of deaths she’d caused over the years, either directly or indirectly. A moment later, Dr Aloysius Spinks entered the room. ‘Good afternoon, Agent Whitestone,’ he said in his rich baritone, holding her medical chart in his right hand. ‘How are you feeling today?’
He didn’t wait for Dana’s answer before making his way over to her bedside and laying down her chart on the table. Leaning over the bed railing, he ran his long fingers deftly through the recently re-grown blonde hair on Dana’s scalp, examining the long row of stitches laced into her skull like a blind man reading Braille. After a moment or two, he looked down at her and smiled. ‘What’s your secret, Agent Whitestone? If I could bottle this stuff I’d be a millionaire.’
Dana looked up and him and shrugged. ‘Not sure, doc. Just lucky, I guess.’
Spinks chuckled and straightened to his full height. Retrieving her clipboard from the table, he marked something down before flipping it shut again. ‘Any questions for me?’ he asked.
Dana pushed herself up straighter in bed and nodded. ‘As a matter of fact, yes, Dr Spinks. Any idea of when I can get out of this place? I’ve got a serious case of cabin fever going on and I’ve got someone at home who really needs me.’ It was true – even if that particular someone was a black-and-white cat named ‘Oreo’.
Spinks frowned. ‘Well, to tell you the truth, Agent Whitestone, I’m a little concerned about your psychological state right now. Your physical wounds have healed up beautifully, but how are you feeling mentally? You’ve been through quite a rough patch with everything that’s gone on lately, and I’ve got to imagine it’s been pretty tough on you.’
Dana pressed her lips together into a tight line. From the look of things, flimsy paper gowns like the one she was wearing right now was the only kind of privacy she could expect in the hospital. Then again, why in the hell should Fairview General be different from any other place in the world?
‘It’s been hard – no doubt about it – but I’m feeling fine psychologically,’ Dana lied. No way in hell she was telling the truth on this one. ‘So if my skull is ready to leave the hospital, then so am I. I’d really like to go home today, if that’s OK with you.’
Spinks frowned again, and Dana frowned back at him this time. From all appearances, though, the doctor didn’t plan to let her get away that easily. ‘We have