Criminally Insane: The Series (Bad Karma, Red Angel, Night Cage Omnibus) (The Criminally Insane Series)

by Douglas Clegg

  Floyd Nelson grinned. "You're gonna need a guard with you, Dr. Brainard. You see those strobes?" He pointed back down the hallway. "I think we're gonna be in lockdown any minute, and the ward's not even clear yet. Hope nothing too awful's going on."

  "It's nothing," Brainard said rather stiffly. "Someone accidently pulled it."

  "Accidents happen," Mary Chilmark smiled slightly.

  "Well, at least let me escort the two of you," Floyd said.

  "Yes," she said. "That's a good idea." Then, as if it needed to be added, "I'm a nurse from San Pascal General. We'll have a special place for him over there."

  "Lucky him," Floyd said, and then accompanied the two of them down the corridor to Doc Chilmark's room. He unlocked the door, and stepped inside before the others.

  Doc got up out of bed, standing before the guard. "Okay, Mr. Chilmark," Floyd said. "It's time to move on."

  But at the door on the way out, Mary Chilmark took the long ice pick she had in her hand, and swiftly jabbed it into Floyd Nelson's ribs, holding it there before cutting upward, using all her strength.

  Brainard grabbed her arm, but she pulled the pick out, and pressed it against the hand that held her, piercing the skin until Brainard let go.

  Doc Chilmark was already on Dr. Brainard, using all his force to push the man down to the floor, ramming the doctor's head twice against the wall as he did so.

  After he'd subdued Brainard, Doc went to get the gun and the Taser from Floyd Nelson's body.

  3

  Trey and Jim took the walkie-talkies off two of the guards, who went running back down the hall to get some reinforcements. The strobe lights kept flashing, and Trey decided for the safety of others it would be better to not shut them down. "You go check out 28," Trey said, "get Floyd and Atkins, and maybe anyone else you can find. I'm going upstairs."

  He took the stairs two at a time, as he ran up to the second floor to check the psychiatrist offices where Lara had come down from. Either someone had gotten her on D – which didn't seem likely, given that the Ward at floor level was in pretty good shape.

  When he came out of the stairwell into the series of offices, he saw Dr. Hannifin standing at the elevator, trying to get her cell phone to work. Beside her were several boxes full of files.

  She glanced over at him, "What the hell happened to you?"

  He looked at his hands – covered in blood. "How long have you been up here?"

  "What?"

  "The strobe's going off downstairs," he said. "Lara's dead. Someone killed her. Someone got on the elevator and went down from here, with her in it."

  "Lara? Dead?" Hannifin gave him a puzzled look. "What the hell is going on? Are you bleeding?"

  "A patient is out. Someone. Running amok. Has a knife, maybe."

  "Christ," Hannifin said. "I saw her — Lara ten minutes ago. She and Robert got on the elevator."

  "Dr. Brainard? Just them? Anyone else?"

  Dr. Hannifin squinted at Trey as if trying to remember something. "Somebody else. A woman."

  "A patient?"

  "No," Hannifin said. "I don't know who. She looked like she was staff. I thought…I thought she was helping." Then, "Jesus, Lara's dead?"

  Just then, Trey heard a crackle along the walkie-talkie. He lifted it up and pressed the button. "Jim? What's up?"

  "In the Canteen," he said, his voice a whisper. "I see Brainard. He's got some people with him. God, Lance Victor's there with his camera. But one of them…one looks like Chilmark. What the hell does Brainard have him in the Canteen for? Hang on…hang on..."

  "Jim, is there a woman with them? Jim?" Trey asked. No answer. Just the crackle of static on the line. "Jim, Brainard went down on the elevator with Lara. And that woman," Trey said. "Jim?" He clicked the button several more times. It didn't work. He tried not to think of the worst that could happen. He tried to think that maybe Brainard and a nurse had gone to get Chilmark for the escort out of Darden. That maybe Lara had gone back to the elevator to go back up for files. That whomever had murdered the secretary had come after Brainard had gone to the Canteen. He tried to think of all the things that made the scenario work in Jim's favor.

  But he couldn't help but think of Doc Chilmark. And remember the photographs of the Flocks, torn apart as if by a lion.

  And now, was the woman with Brainard…Bloody Mary?

  Trey stared at Hannifin. "Dr. Hannifin, I want you to take the stairs with me. I'd like to ask that you leave those boxes here."

  "Trey," she said. "Why is Robert with her? What..." Hannifin seemed to be trying to puzzle something out. "What…he usually…when he left, I thought…this morning…" Then, she pulled herself together. "Okay. Let's get down there."

  "Whoever killed Lara is still in the building," Trey said. "The lockdown of the exits ensures it. I want to get you down to the security checkpoint. There will be other guards down there. The building is nearly empty. I can even send someone up here for these boxes for you. I just will feel better if I get you out of here. But we have to go now. Understood?"

  "Oh my god," Dr. Hannifin said. "Robert. She has Robert."

  Trey had a strange thought – one that seemed absurd in this situation – he had never heard Dr. Brainard called "Robert" by anyone on staff.

  4

  At the checkpoint at the entrance to Ward D, Jane Laymon had just come in from the outside. As soon as Trey told her about Brainard and Chilmark, Laymon said, "Trey, she's here. You know she's here. It's got to be her. And I think I can guess why she's in the Canteen."

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  "His mother's here? Chilmark's mother?" Dr. Hannifin asked. "Holy shit, you're kidding me." Susan Hannifin looked as if she were losing it. Watching the psych techs lose it was one thing – they were expected to go a little nuts giving the daily interactions with the worst of the patients. But seeing a psychiatrist of about thirty-six, who had always seemed so together and even on top of everything – watching her start to meltdown was unnerving. Trey wasn't sure whether to put his arms around her to keep her feeling safe, or to tell her to snap out of it.

  "Doctor," Trey said. "We're going to gather up some guards and get down there and get them."

  "Down where? Where'd they take him?"

  Even as she said this, Trey began to put two-and-two together.

  Dr. Robert Brainard was a career seducer. She was in love with him. She acted as if she were afraid for her colleague in a way that only lovers felt.

  And then he remembered little snippets of thoughts he'd had when he'd seen them walking out to their cars at the end of a work day. They walked a little too close. Brainard had grinned whenever he saw Susan Hannifin. Even Hannifin and Brainard both working on Doc Chilmark was unusual – the psychiatrists were territorial, and didn't often share patients.

  He began to feel more sympathy of Hannifin – and Brainard – than he had previously. They had a secret life together, one that they couldn't expose at Darden or one of them would have to leave and find work elsewhere.

  It all came to Trey in an instant, and he filed it away in his mind, but it made him see Dr. Hannifin differently than he had just seconds previous. The man she loved was in serious danger.

  Trey glanced at Jane. "The underground. The lockdown on the ward is in effect. Nobody can get in or out a door, except here. There's one exception. There are three exits from the underground. We don't know if Brainard knows of them, but if he does, he is likely going to help them get out."

  "He doesn't need to know," Jane said. "She knows, Trey. She had maps. She may even have keys. I'm not even sure she wants escape. I think she wants Brainard. I think she's wanted him for a long time. What's a Night Cage?"

  Trey was about to say something, when Hannifin interrupted. "They're cells. Special cells. Outfitted with operating equipment. They were used back in the '40s mainly. Some earlier, some later."

  "They're down below, correct?" Laymon asked.

  Hannifin nodded. "I took a tour back when I started here.
Darden was famous for them. More lobectomies, thoracic surgeries, and lobotomies were performed here immediately following the Second World War than any other hospital in California."

  "Do you know where they are?"

  Hannifin nodded. "Been there. Second level down. A couple on the first level, but most at the bottom."

  "All right, she comes, too," Jane said.

  Trey lip-farted. "No, she doesn't. This may end up being a violent take-down. I don't want anybody else's life at risk here."

  "I'm going," Hannifin said, shooting a stern look at Trey.

  "We have C.O.'s here. She'll be fine," Jane said.

  Keeping her eyes on Trey, Hannifin said, "Doc Chilmark is under my supervision, and if you believe his mother is also there, I intend to be on hand. Surely, the guards – with guns – will prevent any mishap."

  "No," Trey said. "No way in hell. Dr. Hannifin, you may have been involved in take-downs, but this is not the same thing at all."

  "Two people who are sick are exactly my business," Dr. Hannifin said. "And you still report to me on Chilmark," she added. It felt like a slap in the face to Trey, but he didn't give a damn. All he thought about was Jim, and he hoped the reason that the walkie-talkie didn't work was simply because of a malfunction. He imagined that all Hannifin was thinking about was Dr. Robert Brainard.

  When he led them back down the corridor, toward the Canteen of Ward D, he had a sick feeling in his stomach before he reached it.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The Canteen was empty. The tables were stacked up in a corner as they always were when meals had not been served. Chairs piled up by the doors to the kitchen.

  Jane and three Correctional Officers went through the kitchen, followed by Trey and Hannifin.

  The entry to the underground was open wide.

  The light on the stairs was turned on.

  Inside the staircase, Jim Anderson, his legs over the edge of the stairs, his head back on the landing.

  His throat was slit so far open that only a thin layer of skin connected it to his body.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  When Trey saw his friend's body, he said to Jane, "I think we need more than three guards to stop these guys." He had to work had to keep his emotions back. They threatened to take him over at any moment. But he was good in an extreme crisis. That was why had had his job. That's why he could do it. He could momentarily put aside those feelings; the adrenaline pumped through him; he could put it in a compartment somewhere in his mind. He'd always been able to do this, at least for the length of time it took to handle what needed to be handled. He was an endurance guy. He could take it in and hold it, and keep it safe until the crisis was past.

  But this was different. This felt as if it threatened every atom of his being.

  He had loved Jim like no other friend. He had wanted Jim to always be in the world with him.

  Always be there. Had taken for granted that Jim would be there. That he and Jim, at Darden, could laugh off any situation that rose up to meet them.

  They'd worked side by side for more than a decade.

  But Trey swallowed the feelings. For now. Later, he would let them take him over and crush him.

  Jane turned back toward him, touching him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Trey. I'm sorry."

  Dr. Hannifin backed up slightly, pressing her hands against her eyes as if willing herself to blot it out.

  Trey crouched beside his buddy's body, and put his hand on his forehead. He closed his eyes and wished he were thousands of miles away. Wished that Darden State had never held criminal psychopaths.

  Wished that he had never passed the walkie-talkie to Jim at all.

  Please God, let Jim be in heaven. Let him be someplace better. Please. Please.

  After a few seconds, he rose up, wiping at his eyes. He said to Jane, "Let's get them. Now."

  "Trey, I want you two to stay up here. We'll be fine. We will. But I can't risk your lives next. We may have to do any number of things to stop the two of them. Do you understand?"

  Trey nodded.

  Jane glanced over at Dr. Hannifin who had sunk to the floor, her face in her hands. "She needs you up here. This is no longer a take-down situation. We have to assume that they're going to kill Brainard and anyone else they have."

  "Who else could they have?" he asked.

  Then, he saw the large video camera, set behind the door back into Darden's Canteen. "Fuck," he said. "Jim mentioned who else. They have Lance Victor. The reporter. They have at least two people with them. Brainard and Victor."

  "Okay," Jane said. "Well, we've got guns. We'll stop them any way we have to. They're delusional. It can be handled, if we're careful. If we take it slow and easy. We'll get the two guys back. They've had it easy so far, Trey. Don't worry. They're using knives right now. We'll get them." Then, to the guards that flanked her on the stairs. "Okay, boys, let's go."

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Doc Chilmark held the gun he'd taken from Floyd Nelson holster against the small of Lance Victor's back. "Keep going."

  "Please," Lance whimpered. "Please."

  "You making a movie?" Doc asked. "You better be making a movie. Make a movie with your eyes. Everything you see, just put it in the movie."

  Lance glanced about the corridor which was poorly lit. In various rooms, he saw a shadowy darkness. "Where are you taking me?"

  "Not you. You're just along for the ride," Mary Chilmark said. "Just shut up. If you shut up, we'll all be fine."

  Mary Chilmark had already blindfolded Dr. Brainard using a strip of his jacket. She pushed him along, having him carry her large paper bag in his hands, which they'd bound up using wrist restraints she'd brought with her. His left hand, which had been jabbed with the sharp pick she carried, had stopped bleeding.

  "Mary, I want you to listen to me before this goes any further," Dr. Brainard said, his voice well-modulated, belying the sweat that poured from him and the slight tremble of his chin.

  "Just shut up," she said, pushing him along. "Just keep walking and keep it shut."

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Trey stood at the top of the long stairway down into the uppermost level of the underground, watching Jane and the guards go first through the main hall. The lights were fairly bright – a blessing for a hunt like this — and he could see them all the way until they'd passed down the end of the first corridor.

  Hannifin, behind him, asked, "There are so many tunnels down there. They could hide anywhere if they wanted to."

  "Jane'll get 'em. She's good. I've seen her in action."

  "I'm sorry about your friend."

  Trey turned around and leaned against the railing. "Thanks."

  "It's awful to lose someone you care about," she said, and then covered her mouth slightly, as if catching herself.

  "I'm sorry about your friend, too," Trey said.

  Hannifin looked at him as if startled. She didn't say anything for a few seconds. Then, "Oh."

  "Don't worry," Trey said, as warmly as he could. "They'll get them. They'll bring them back up."

  The doctor's face looked as if a cloud had passed over it, and she closed her eyes. Trey guessed that she was fighting back tears. "We just couldn't talk about it. Not to anyone here."

  "Sure. I understand," Trey said. "I've seen office romances before."

  "It's not like that."

  "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way it sounded." He reached over to her and rested his hand lightly on her shoulder. "It'll be okay, though."

  She glanced down over the railing. "Could you do me a favor?"

  "Sure."

  "When they bring them back up. If Robert's okay. Could we still keep it a secret?"

  "Of course," he said.

  "I don't talk about my love life," she said. "I guess now's not the time to start."

  Trey sat on the first step down, and looked out over the hall below, glancing up and down the first of many corridors to see what he could see. Old notes posted decade
s before still remained behind glass frames. Debris lay in the corners. Desks were piled up, and there old gray carpeting lay in rolls of mildew near the entrance to what was probably once an administrator's office.

  "It's funny."

  "What?" she asked.

  "I don't even hear footsteps."

  "It's the way sound goes. It's all…muffled down there. You've been through the whole thing?"

  "Some of it," he said. "Just a bit. I never liked going down there."

  "It's not so bad," she said. "It's like an archaeological dig of psychiatry's sedimentary layers. This level is mainly '40s and '50s. It's the second-level down that gives me the creeps. It's hard to believe what doctors used to do to people down there. I felt like I had found the ancient city of…Troy…or something the first time I went down. I felt I could practically see the people who worked there. And the ones who lived there."

  "I know you're scared," he said. "Me, too. But they'll come through this."

  "I know they'll be all right," Hannifin said, as if it was a prayer. "I know it."

  They remained there, looking down, and after nearly ten minutes, the lights below them went out completely.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Jane felt nervous as hell as she led the guards down the corridor. She glanced in the rooms – each well lit, and each containing what seemed to her to be fully stocked medical supplies. Now and then she glanced over her shoulder slightly to make sure the officers were with her. She didn't know them, and she sure as hell wasn't sure how good they were with their guns or Tasers. She just hoped it would go easy, and they'd get a good jump on Bloody Mary and Doc.

  Thick wires hung down from the pipes overhead, and there were stepladders and ceiling debris in some of the larger rooms. She assumed it was recent work being done. When she glanced up at the ceiling of one of the rooms that looked nearly like an operating theater, she thought she saw a running grate up top. Then, to the left, she saw a long room with several metal beds all stacked up against each other. If it hadn't been for the peeling paint on the wall and the bits of plaster that had dropped over time, she would've thought this was a fully functioning ward.