She threw her arms around Amelia, who sank against her. “We have to save Sadie...”
“I called my deputy—he should be here soon,” Jake said, wondering why in the hell Mike hadn’t answered. If he was off with a woman, Jake was going to fire his ass.
He left Amelia with Ms. Lettie, then raced toward the grave site. He had to hurry.
Struggling to rein in his fear, he sped down the graveled drive leading toward the river, tires spitting gravel. By the time he reached the mill, sleet was pelting the windshield.
Gun in hand, he climbed out and searched the grave site, but no one was nearby. The crime scene tape flapped in the wind, and the sound of thunder was growing more ominous as storm clouds rolled in.
He punched his hand into his fist in frustration. Amelia was mentally ill. Could he believe anything she said?
Was he wasting time, following her lead? She could be lying to throw him off.
Still, Sadie was missing, and he had to check it out, so he slipped into the mill and shone the flashlight across the rotting wooden floor, the boards creaking as he crept through the building.
But just like the grave, the building was empty.
He rushed back to his car, his conversation with Amelia echoing in his head. She thought he’d take Sadie to the grave or the hospital.
He had to check the sanitarium next.
He phoned the hospital and asked to speak to one of the security guards. “Listen, have Dr. Tynsdale paged, and if he shows up at the nurse’s station, detain him.”
“What’s this about?”
“I’ll explain when I get there.”
He took us to the basement, Amelia had said. That’s where they hurt us.
The horror of what she’d said hit him like a fist in the chest, and the worst possible scenarios pummeled him.
Sadie being tortured. Drugged.
Dead.
At the hand of a man she had trusted and treated like family.
God, he’d been so angry at her, had felt so betrayed. But he didn’t want her to die.
His phone buzzed, and he snatched it up. “Nick?”
“Yeah, I’m at Tynsdale’s, but nobody is here.”
“Look around, see if you find any evidence of the experiments, or any signs of where he might take Sadie. Maybe he owns some other property somewhere.”
“Will do,” Nick said.
“I’m on my way to the sanitarium.” No way was he going to tell his brother Amelia’s accusations yet. Nick might be a federal agent, but he was still Jake’s little brother. Jake would protect him from her rants until he found out whether or not they were true.
Jake hung up, turning on the defroster as the hail grew stronger, making visibility difficult. He cursed, braking to keep from sliding into a ditch. Headlights nearly blinded him, and he passed a couple of truckers and veered to the right to avoid a car that crossed the line.
Darkness swallowed the winding road that led to the sanitarium, the miles crawling by as he sped into the parking lot.
Jake checked his weapon, pulled his coat around him, then headed inside. Amelia had told him there was a secret entrance, that the basement had been soundproofed so no one could hear their screams.
He hoped to hell he could find it. Every second counted.
First he checked with the nurse’s station. The security guard met him there, but Dr. Tynsdale hadn’t answered his pager.
Jake told him to let him know if they spotted Tynsdale, then slipped down a corridor to the right. He passed several rooms where the doors were ajar. Obviously those patients didn’t need as much supervision as the ones in the wing where they’d housed Amelia. He headed to the right, past a service elevator, then a series of swinging doors marked “Staff Only,” then down a gloomy, shadowed corridor that looked as if it hadn’t been used in years.
Praying Amelia hadn’t steered him wrong, he ran his hand along a corner of the wall, searching for the hidden button to open the door. He found it a second later, and was shocked when the metal door opened.
The entrance was dark, the strong scent of chemicals filling the air. He inched down the steps, moving as quietly as possible. The sound of a clock ticking reverberated through the narrow corridor, and down below he heard footsteps, so he removed his gun, bracing himself for the worst.
Another noise sounded to the right. Metal clinking. He slowly made his way through the space to the doorway. When he looked inside, he froze.
Sadie was strapped to a gurney, her face pale, her body jerking as she tried to free herself.
Dammit.
A man was hovering over Sadie, a hypodermic in his hand.
Then he saw the man’s face, and swallowed hard.
The man was his father.
Sadie twisted and fought against her bindings. She had to get away.
If she didn’t, Blackwood would find Amelia, and he’d kill her, too.