All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire(56)

 

He exited, holding a piece of paper in his hand, and met her out of range of the surveillance camera. He stuffed the paper into the pocket of his leather coat.

 

"What was that?" Toni asked.

 

"A job application. Now here's the layout. The receptionist is behind the information desk. There are two locked doors on each side of the lobby, leading into the east and west wings. The back wall of the lobby is glass, looking out onto the courtyard. There's a door, but a guard is sitting in front of it."

 

"So there's no way into the courtyard?" She sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter, since I'm sure the wards are locked up tight."

 

"The courtyard is accessible. You're forgetting the well-placed shady oak."

 

She grimaced. "I can't get up that tree."

 

"You don't have to. I will, and hopefully I can distract the guard and the receptionist in the lobby. That's when you check the patient list I saw on the receptionist's desk. If you find Sabrina's name, make sure you get the ID number. We won't be allowed to even talk to her on the phone without her ID number."

 

"Okay." Toni stomped the mud and snow off her boots. "I'm not entirely comfortable with this espionage stuff." And how come Carlos was so good at it? "So how are you going to distract them?"

 

Too late again. Carlos had already taken off. He sprinted around the corner of the complex, headed no doubt for his favorite tree.

 

"Good grief." Toni marched in place to warm up her feet. She'd give him a few minutes to start whatever he was planning to do. She exhaled, letting the air rush out with a cloud of icy vapor, then strode into the lobby. Showtime. The automatic doors swooshed behind her, and the guard and receptionist both looked at her.

 

It was long past visiting hours, so she was all alone.

 

"May I help you?" the receptionist asked, studying her over her black-rimmed reading glasses.

 

Toni glanced around quickly. She could barely see the courtyard through the window. The gazebo was dimly lit, and the shadows of patients milled about. Their cigarettes flared with little orange lights whenever they took a puff.

 

The receptionist cleared her throat.

 

"Ah, I was wondering…" Toni edged over to the information desk and spotted the patient list, pinned under the receptionist's elbow. "How does someone get admitted to this hospital? I have a friend with a serious problem."

 

The receptionist gave her a wry look. "And what exactly is your friend's problem?"

 

Toni realized the woman thought she was talking about herself, so she played along. "Well, I—that is, my friend is addicted to…sex. Lots of sex. All the time. She can't get enough."

 

"I see." The receptionist pursed her lips. "Normally your psychologist would refer you here. You are seeing a psychologist, aren't you? I mean, your friend."

 

Toni grinned sheepishly. "Okay, you got me. And yeah, I was seeing a therapist, but his wife caught me giving him a hummer in the backseat of his Hummer, so—"

 

The receptionist pulled off her glasses. "You had sexual relations with your therapist?"

 

"Sure. I sleep with all my therapists. And my doctors, my teachers, the plumber, the pigeon guy on the roof." Where the hell was Carlos? "You know, it's a disease."

 

Screams suddenly erupted from the courtyard, and the guard jumped to his feet to peer through the window.

 

The receptionist stood. "What's going on?"

 

"I can't tell," the guard answered. "The patients are running all over the place."

 

The screams increased in volume and terror. What the hell was Carlos doing? Toni jumped when a patient slammed against the plate-glass window.

 

"Help!" he shouted. "Let me in!"

 

The guard punched a keypad to open the door.

 

"You're not supposed to let them in the lobby," the receptionist warned.

 

Just then, a loud roar filled the air and shook the glass windows. The screams from the courtyard intensified.

 

A woman flung herself against the glass. "Help me! It attacked me!"

 

The guard opened the door, and the two patients scurried inside.

 

"Look what it did to me!" The female patient showed off her down jacket. The sleeve was ripped open so that the stuffing was falling out. "It's a monster! A black monster with glowing eyes!"

 

"Doris, take them to the clinic," the guard ordered the receptionist. He removed a Taser from his belt. "Don't worry, folks. I'll take care of this…monster." He cast an amused look at Doris. No doubt he suspected the patients at the mental hospital were crazy.