Twisted Screams

by Sheri Lewis Wohl

  “You know it, my beautiful bride-to-be. I don’t honestly know best. I just know what would make me more comfortable and able to concentrate better. I can’t give Lorna my best if I’m worried about you and the baby.”

  She put her hand on his and squeezed. “I don’t want it going to your head, but sometimes you do know best. As much as I hate to admit it, I really am feeling a little tired. Closing my eyes for a little while doesn’t sound all that bad.”

  He leaned over and kissed her. Resting his forehead against hers, he said softly, “Thank you. I love you, baby mama.”

  She touched her lips to his. “Back atcha, baby daddy.”

  When Merry was settled in the Yukon and leaning back with her eyes closed, he shut the door and turned again to Lorna, Renee, and Anna. It was a lot easier to concentrate when he didn’t have to worry about Merry. Something tickled his subconscious, as if to let him know they weren’t here alone and now he could give it his full focus. “I’m pretty sure we’re all on the same page with Lorna on this one. Sadie’s around here somewhere, so let’s check this place out and get her home.”

  The building was old but in pretty good shape, considering the years of weather that had ranged from flaming hot to glacial cold. It had been built to last, and indeed it had done just that. The ravages of Mother Nature had not been enough to take it down. Even given its refusal to bend to harsh weather conditions, the four-story red-brick building had the sad look that structures earned when they were out of use for long periods of time. Shingles curled on the roof, moss clung to bricks in the shady areas, and the windows were caked with years of dust and rain. Despite its tired, neglected appearance, he could sense something alive and disturbing beneath the façade. It was time to let Lorna work her magic, and the best way to do that was to give her some space. That meant doing so without the distraction of Anna.

  He turned and spoke to Anna. “You come with me.” He shifted his gaze to his sister. “Lorna, we’ll start on the west side of the main building if you and Renee want to start on the east side.” He would have Anna out of sight in a minute, and that would leave Lorna space enough to do her magic.

  Lorna’s eyes were narrowed and her body suddenly very rigid. If he hadn’t been feeling the juju in the air already he’d have known by one look at his sister that they were on to something. All she had to do was tune into those invisible vibes, and that would give her a clearer vision. Then they’d be in business. She was already one step closer, and if he got Anna away, she could take it all the way.

  He laid a hand on Anna’s arm, the tension in her body making her feel as hard as stone. She’d never been his favorite, yet he didn’t wish this one on her. No one should have to deal with something like this, even selfish, self-centered heartbreakers. “Come on, Anna. Let’s get to looking.”

  From all appearances, Anna wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about leaving Lorna to go search with him. At first he found her attitude irritating. They’d come hundreds of miles to help, and after what she did to his sister, that was saying a lot. Then again, as he thought about it, he realized she was exhausted both mentally and physically. It was more than possible her reluctant attitude was far from personal, and so he needed to not take it personally.

  It wasn’t just Anna who was emotionally weary. All of them were still feeling the pain of their last trip across the mountains. The journey back to Spokane to help find Lorna’s childhood friend Alida had left them reeling when they did, in fact, locate her. They’d hoped to find her alive, but she’d fallen victim to a serial killer who’d been infatuated with her and had embraced the if-I-can’t-have-you-nobody-can philosophy. He prayed they wouldn’t find themselves faced with a repeat situation here.

  He might not have the psychic skills of his sister, but he was beginning to understand that he possessed his own bit of magic. The upside to that was he didn’t believe Sadie was dead. The vibes he was picking up here seemed to embody life, not death. It was almost as if he could feel her heart beating, which was encouraging. She was alive, for now.

  Anna finally overcame her reluctance and followed him around the back of the building. The grass was brown and sparse, crunching beneath their feet as they walked. They peered into grimy windows as they worked their way down the long building. The interior was dim and their vision hindered by the decades of wind, rain, and dirt that covered the wavy glass. The few doors they encountered were not just locked but chained and padlocked. The county was going to make darned sure nobody used the place for squatting, parties, or any other unauthorized use. Great for security, not so great for trying to locate a missing person.

  By the time the four of them covered the entire exterior of the main building, he was as confused as ever. Anna had been right that there wasn’t a trace of Sadie’s car, and she was also right when she’d said it would need to be here. When they’d first arrived, it hadn’t concerned him much, though now, he began to question its absence. This place was too far out of the city for Sadie to have gotten here any way except in her car. So where was it?

  It didn’t really matter because the feeling wasn’t diminishing. Car or no car, Sadie was here.

  Chapter Nine

  This was frustrating. Sadie was here; Lorna could feel it all the way to her toes. They’d covered the entire exterior of the main building and then moved to the three nearby smaller buildings. There was no trace of Sadie or her car—no open doors, no broken windows, no signs of recent visitation by anyone human or otherwise. It was an old blank slate that seemed to be mocking her strong belief that they weren’t here alone.

  Now they all stood at the front door of the main building, including Merry, who’d made it clear she was done sitting around in the car. She’d almost laughed when Merry had come bounding out of the Yukon. If their child had even half the spunk Merry did, Lord help them both. It was going to be fun watching them run after that child.

  They stared at the locked door. The dust on the entrance was undisturbed except for the tracks the four of them had just made. How could that be if Sadie was inside? Surely they’d see some evidence of her presence. It was like everything else they’d run into, locked up and seemingly untouched for years.

  Everything intangible screamed “she’s here” to Lorna, and at the same time everything concrete screamed “liar.” It didn’t make sense if she looked at it rationally. That thought almost made her laugh out loud, given that lately rational hadn’t been in her toolbox. Since she’d reached the conclusion that her reality was forever changed, she was beginning to get the hang of looking at things through eyes open to mystery. The lack of physical evidence wasn’t going to deter her. This place, and she was becoming even more confident about this building, was the key to finding Sadie. All they needed to do was get inside.

  Unfortunately, the building had other ideas, and the old heavy lock set refused to budge. It had been designed to last, and indeed it had. She stood back and stared at it, trying to decide what to do next. She wanted to kick the shit out of it and get inside, but good sense kept her from taking that course of action because she had no desire to see the inside of a jail cell. Whether this was state-owned or private property, they didn’t have permission to go inside. Without it, they would be guilty of breaking and entering. There was a way to do this right, even if it cost them a little bit of time. She was pretty sure that wasn’t going to sit well with Anna, who would more than likely be all in favor of the kick-the-shit-out-of-it tactic.

  “What next?” Jeremy asked as he trotted around the side of the building and came back up the front steps, taking them two at a time. He’d decided on a second run around the exterior just to give it another once-over, though Lorna suspected he’d wanted to do it without the company of Anna this time. “All the exterior doors I could find are not only locked tight, but they’re also secured with chains and padlocks. Somebody was making sure nobody gets inside.”

  Lorna grabbed the door handle and tried to gain entrance again, even though she knew i
t was a wasted effort. It was kind of like hitting the elevator button over and over, hoping it would come a little faster. Didn’t work on elevators and it wasn’t working with the door. “We can’t break our way in.”

  “Why not?” Anna said as she pushed Lorna aside, grasped the brass door handle, and violently shook it. Or tried to anyway. It didn’t budge, wiggle, or open. “If you say she’s here, then we’ve got to get to her. We can break a window, something.” She kicked the door as she continued to try to shake the handle.

  Lorna reached down and gently took Anna’s hand away from the door handle and moved her a step away. “We can’t break and enter. We’re not going to be able to help Sadie if we’re sitting in jail. We have to do this right. And if you kick this very solid door again, you’re likely going to break your foot. We don’t need to call emergency services for you on top of everything else.”

  As she spoke she realized how true her words were. They had to do this legally, and that meant they had no legitimate way to enter the property. Not right now, anyway, but she had an idea. Not to mention, she didn’t want to take the time to fix a broken foot if Anna kept kicking it the way she was.

  Renee must have been thinking along the same lines because her face brightened. “We could call Katie, couldn’t we? She could get us access to the inside pretty quickly.”

  Katie Carlisle was a deputy sheriff here and the girlfriend of Lorna’s friend Thea. Thea’s twin sister, Alida, had been murdered by a serial killer, and Lorna had used her gift to stop him. Katie would certainly help them now. She came from a long line of cops and knew everybody who was anybody.

  Nodding, Lorna said, “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Katie’s our ticket inside this place.” She glanced up at Anna. “Legally.”

  Anna frowned. “I still say we force our way in.”

  “Legally,” Lorna told her again.

  “Fine.” Anna stepped back and stared at the door with tired, sad eyes.

  Lorna pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and punched in Thea’s number. She didn’t have Katie’s number programmed into her phone, not that she was worried about getting ahold of her. Her faith was rewarded when Thea answered, and she wasn’t a bit surprised to find the two of them together. Her conversation was quick once Thea put Katie on the phone. When she slipped the phone back into her pocket the news she shared wasn’t what any of them wanted to hear. Hell, it wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear either.

  “Katie will be able to secure permission for us to enter the grounds, but it’s not going to happen tonight.”

  “What?” Panic vibrated through Anna’s single word, and her face went even paler than it already was. Lorna felt bad for her, and if she could do more to help ease her worry, she would.

  “She’ll get us inside as quickly as she can tomorrow. The State of Washington owns this whole complex, and she’ll have to jump through a fair amount of hoops before she can get us inside.”

  Anna was shaking her head. “She can make calls. She can rattle some cages. Give her another call and nudge her some more.”

  Lorna shook her head and put a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “It won’t change a thing. She’s doing what she can for us as fast as she can. Katie understands how important this is and will make it all happen as quickly as possible.”

  “Maybe I should try,” Merry offered. “You know, lawyer to cop? Sometimes the professional-courtesy thing comes in handy.”

  It wasn’t a bad idea, and maybe under different circumstances she’d say “Go for it.” But this wasn’t one of those times.

  Lorna shook her head again. “It would be a great idea if Katie was reluctant to help. That’s not the case here. She’s working to get us in as soon as possible, so I say let’s let her do what she needs to make sure once we’re in, we won’t have any problems. This is not an official search so we have to tread carefully. I know it’s not ideal. It’s just the best we can do. Okay?”

  Merry nodded and took Jeremy’s hand. “You’re right, of course.”

  “Yeah.” Jeremy agreed. “It sucks to wait, but I don’t see that we have a better option.”

  They all silently accepted the situation, even if Lorna could tell no one was happy, particularly not Anna. She certainly wasn’t thrilled that they would have to wait until morning. Given the way she was feeling, she really wished she could get into this place tonight. But it simply wasn’t going to happen.

  “Come on,” she said gently to Anna as she turned her in the direction of the Yukon. “Let’s get some rest, and as soon as Katie calls to tell us she has the keys, we’ll find Sadie. Trust me. She’ll be calling before you know it.” They were big words that sounded hollow. Even if it took only an hour for Katie to work her way through all the red tape, it would seem like an eternity in a situation like this.

  She expected more of an argument from Anna and was quite surprised when it didn’t happen. In fact, Anna’s body language radiated defeat as she trudged back and silently climbed into the passenger seat of the Yukon. Part of her resented the attitude; they were doing the best they could. Another part of her understood. She’d feel the same way if Renee was missing. No one else spoke as they drove back to Anna’s house. Not surprising, as there was little to say.

  When Jeremy pulled into the wide driveway, Lorna felt like they’d come full circle. In so many ways they were right back where they started. For a moment after the car stopped, no one moved and they sat in silence, each apparently wrapped up in their own thoughts. She suspected she wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

  Anna finally opened her door and got out. She stopped before closing the door and leaned back in, addressing all of them at once. “You’re welcome to stay here.”

  Oh, hell no, she thought. “Thanks” was what came out of her mouth. Lorna spoke up before anyone else. Partly because it just burst out of her mouth and partly because she wanted to make sure no one said yes. “It’s really kind of you, but we’ve already booked hotel rooms.” The last part was a white lie. There were no reservations.

  While it was nice of Anna to offer her home, Lorna wouldn’t consider staying at her house under any circumstances. Her reconciliation with the past they shared did not extend to the sort of hospitality that included sleeping in Anna’s guest room. A hotel room would be just dandy, preferably on the opposite side of town.

  As they drove away, she discovered, much to her relief, that they were all of a like mind. Her posse didn’t want to stay at Anna’s house any more than she did. That made her feel better and less like it was all about her.

  They decided to splurge on rooms at the historic Davenport Hotel. Designed by famed architect Kirkland Cutter and built by Louis Davenport in 1914, the hotel had been fully restored in 2002. Just as it had been back in the early days of the twentieth century, when the likes of Mary Pickford, Clark Gable, and Babe Ruth had stayed in the comfortable rooms, it was once again one of the sparkling gems of downtown Spokane. In the midst of chaos and tragedy, a bit of elegance was soothing.

  Lorna wasn’t wrong either. The lobby’s Spanish Renaissance design was beautiful, as were the hand-painted frescoes, the marble, and the gorgeous woodwork. She loved the gold leaf that surrounded the lobby hearth. Yes, this was definitely a better idea than staying at Anna’s house.

  After they said good night to Jeremy and Merry, Lorna took Renee’s hand and they headed to their own room. Until the moment she shut the door to their room, she’d thought she was too tired to do much beyond falling into a heap on the bed. She was wrong. After she took one look at Renee, her heart thumped and her breath came fast. Suddenly she wasn’t tired at all. The term “second wind” took on a whole new meaning.

  *

  Sadie had watched Anna and the four people who’d come with her get back into the big white SUV and drive away. For a long time she stood staring at her hands as she turned them from side to side. Her nonstop pounding on the windows had caused bruises that were beginning to color her flesh purple. As hard and as
long as she’d beat against the glass, it should have shattered into dust, yet she didn’t see so much as a single crack. All she’d accomplished was to make her hands hurt.

  Not a single one of them had noticed her pounding or heard her. If she tried to talk now, her voice would be hoarse from all the screaming. She didn’t bother to talk; there was no one to talk to. From her vantage point on the fourth floor, she’d been able to watch as they tried doors and checked each building on the grounds. She’d hit the windows over and over as she yelled in an attempt to get their attention. When they’d disappeared around the corner of the building, she’d quieted, and as she strained to hear the sound of their footsteps on the stairs she felt certain they would come at any moment. Instead of what she hoped for, she was met with only silence, for not one of them had come to her rescue.

  The key that the woman at the state office responsible for the buildings had given her was still in her pocket. She wrapped her fingers around the cold metal so hard it bit into the flesh of her palm. The cuts it would leave would match the bruises, and at least the pain reminded her she was still alive. It shouldn’t have made any difference that the key remained in her possession, because even though she didn’t remember coming in, surely she’d left it unlocked. Why would she lock it up behind her? She was certainly the only one around, and it wasn’t exactly the kind of place people came to hang out.

  It had been unused for decades, and people throughout the local area knew of the stigma of its history as an insane asylum. Even Sadie had heard the stories, and she was a California transplant. Ghosts, random lights, noises, and screams. Those stories hadn’t deterred her and, truthfully, had intrigued her. A haunted hospital was perfect for her show, and she’d been excited to come and give it a look-over.

  It never occurred to her that any of those tales could hold even a grain of truth. They were simply stories evolving over the years until they were bona fide folk legends. That’s what she’d believed until she found herself an inmate inside the brick walls and witnessing replays of the past—until she’d watched her saviors drive away.