Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
I couldn’t sleep. Not just because of the nightmares. But because of the dread that settled in my stomach.
I played our last session over and over in my mind. And had to come to terms that something terrible had happened to Emery. And that someone had hidden the truth of those awful things.
I looked over the information I had in his file. There was no trace of a doctor or medical professional who had taken him and his sister in the records. But that didn’t mean it didn’t happen.
There was no doubt in my mind that he was abused by someone who wasn’t the liquor store owner, that what he told me wasn’t just some delusion of his mind.
Someone had adopted him in secret and deleted the records. And I wanted to know why.
But knowing meant learning a truth that could break me.
When soft gray light began to filter through my window, I knew I had to get out. To leave for a while and clear my head.
As the sun came up, I went down to the main part of Bayville, to their historic city center and walked along the marina. It was quiet and mostly empty. The bay wind nipped at my skin. Down in the deep murky water, I could see only a dark nothingness and the ghost of my reflection along the surface.
He said I was sick…always so sick…But he made me sick.
I closed my eyes, the dread tightening my throat.
I took out my phone and went into my contacts, hesitating for a moment, then tapped the name I wanted to call.
The cell rang twice before being picked up.
“Eve, what a surprise, everything okay?”
“Hey, Uncle Wes, I’m fine. I’m not keeping you from work, am I?”
I heard the closing of the door on his end and a shifting of a seat. “No, no, you caught me at a good time actually. Just finished an early meeting. How’s school?”
“It’s fine,” I said with little enthusiasm.
“I know it’s only the beginning. Have you started your thesis yet?”
I pursed my lips, watching a pair of seagulls fly by. Uncle Wes didn’t know I was writing about Emery. “I have.”
“Got some good material, I hope.”
“Yeah, about that. I actually might need your help. A part of my thesis is about the effects of certain medications to aid in the recovery of specific subjects I’m researching. I was thinking maybe I could come by and we could talk about it…”
“Of course. I’d be happy to help you any way I can. Are you coming by the house? May is making her chili, and Megan will be home this weekend too.”
I smiled even though he couldn’t see it. “I’m just going to stop by the office. I have a lot of schoolwork to catch up on this weekend.”
“I get it. Come by around four then, I’m leaving early.”
“See you then.” I hung up and stared at the screen, my smile fading as my hand tightened around my phone. I could hear in Uncle Wes’s voice the tinge of disappointment at not coming home. It’s true I hadn’t been back much since I started uni. Even in the summer, I didn’t stick around, either going out camping or staying with Jamie. I just always felt weird living with Wes and his wife. Their daughter was a few years younger than me and had started college. Wes was dad’s best friend and colleague for years, so it was no surprise he didn’t hesitate to take me in. I was grateful, but there was always this small distance between us that I couldn’t shake. I always blamed myself, since I had closed myself off since the death of my family, but Wes never turned me away. He’d been patient even on my worst days.
Uncle Wes, as I always called him, had worked with my father, leading a different department. Now, with my dad gone, he was co-head of the research facility.
A facility that involved testing in several medical fields. Neuroscience and pharmaceuticals particularly.
I couldn’t deny any longer that Emery’s past might be connected to my family and their company. It was too big a coincidence now what he had told me and the kind of research they might have been doing. I didn’t want to believe it, the very idea was what put dread in my heart, but if there was any evidence, I was determined to find it.
I walked along the marina and grabbed myself a coffee and bagel before heading back to the hotel. For the rest of the morning and early afternoon, I worked on my paper while doing a little of my research.
Storm clouds threatened to the north east across the water as I left the hotel and headed down toward Detroit where the main office was located. Just because I was the daughter of the ex-owner didn’t grant me access to anything. But I was confident I could get Uncle Wes to grant me some.
As I turned onto the main highway, my phone went off. I glanced down to see it was Jamie.
I almost let it go at first, then before the last ring, I picked it up.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Are you coming home this weekend?” Jamie asked.
“As in to my apartment? I wasn’t planning on it, why?”
He made an exasperated noise. “Lena’s having another party again. I figured since you didn’t make the last one...you should come.”
“I got a lot going on.”
“All the more reason to say fuck it and hang with us, let loose. Lena wouldn’t stop whining to me about you ghosting her.”
“I didn’t—” I sighed, gripping the wheel. “I didn’t ghost her, I texted her and told her I was busy and I would get back to her later.”
“Well, you didn’t get back to her quick enough and now she’s all bent about it. She’s telling everyone you hate her.”
I threw up a hand in annoyance. “Seriously?”
He chuckled. “No. Well, sort of. She was joking…I think. Listen, I know what’s happening to you.”
“What’s that exactly?” I asked.
“You’re getting obsessed again. I get it, I disappeared for three days after studying the Savanna Killer, too. Crazy sonofabitch used a set of bear traps to mangle his victims and make it look like a wild animal ripped them apart. I was fucking riveted. You know what I did to keep myself sane? I drank. With friends!”
“I’m not—” I almost said obsessed. But then thinking about the last couple weeks, I realized I hadn’t seen or talked much to anyone. Except for my family's murderer. How fucked was that?
“You're obsessed,” he concluded. “You’re fixated and spiraling out of control and need someone to pull you out.”
“I don’t. Listen, I’m sorry, but…it’s just not a good time. There’s a lot I need to figure out.”
“Like what?”
“Just…things about—about Emery.”
I could practically hear his shit-eating grin. “There’s a name for that, you know.”
“I know! Fine. I’m a little obsessed but I have good reason to be right now. I’ve learned some things and…I need to look into it.”
“Like what?”
“I…I can’t get into it right now. But I promise I’ll call you later, okay?”
He was silent for a moment. “Alright, I get it. Seriously, I do. Just don’t lose yourself in that guy, Eve. Not him. There’s too much history, too much personal shit at stake.”
I gripped my phone. “I know.”
“Be safe out there. I’ll talk to you later, and I expect to hear more about what you're learning, got it?”
“Got it.”
I let him go. I couldn’t tell him yet. Not everything. Not until I knew more.
I got into Detroit as most of the people there were leaving. The city without its workers was practically empty. Detroit might have had a hard past, but there was beauty in it too. One could see it in the old buildings. The Paris of America they had once called it. And I believed that to be true. Though now the old buildings were shadowed over by the new. Gothic churches, beautiful classic theaters, and abandoned mansions stood among cold tech centers, skyscrapers, and the occasional casino. Dad’s company was on the outskirts of Tech-town not far from the hospital. The facility was a contradiction of the old and new. One half an old medical building from the 1920s, the other side brand new and built only a decade or so ago, made up mostly of concrete and glass.
I parked on the old side because that’s the side I remember the most whenever I visited as a kid. As I got out, I peered up past the four levels of ivy-covered brick and small arched windows to the little figures carved along the underside of the tilted roof—at the little designs of dragons and lions making a pattern along the upper half but beginning to crack in a few parts.
I then noticed the crest over the door. Some old design the doctors used back in the twenties. Dad had told me that part of the building had once been used for studying cadavers back in the day. Once, when I was in middle school visiting, I swore I saw a ghost with no head drifting from one door to another down a dark hallway. The building had chilled me but made me curious ever since.
When I got inside, I stopped in the center lobby, studying the dark green marble and ivy floors and a high ceiling with an old lantern light hanging at the top while giving the security at the desk my name and license.
“Here to see Dr. Stevens,” I mentioned.
“Dr. Stevens is in the new building,” said the thin, graying man at the desk, giving me back my driver’s license. “You could have parked on the other side. This is the long way.”
“I know, I don’t mind.”
The security guard swiveled in his chair pointing to a set of double doors, one side kept open. “Through there, straight down till you get to the elevators, then take a right.”
I entered the main hallway, taking my time as I walked past the old offices and lab rooms, all dark now. Ever since the expansion, they had slowly started to move into the new area, vacating the old. After my family's death, most of the old building was now unoccupied, used now mostly to house supplies and hold the occasional meeting room. Though I heard recently Uncle Wes was opening up parts again for rental offices.
I came to one room near the end. The door plate read Dr. Martel.
I hovered by the door of my father’s office, the blinds pulled down, making it hard to distinguish shadow from object. I took a quiet step inside before flicking on the light.
The office had been emptied out, except for a bare desk, a chair, and file cabinet. Though they did leave dad’s degrees on the wall to collect dust.
Quietly, I walked over to the filing cabinet and opened each drawer. All were empty except for a letter opener on the bottom. I sighed, closing it up. Not that I should be surprised, Dad wouldn’t have kept important documents here just to sit and be read by anyone, especially anything that might hold secrets.
I returned to the hall and continued on, making a right past the elevators. Uncle Wes’ office was closed. From a little window, I could see he was speaking to someone inside, but they must have finished their meeting because he got up from his chair while the large man in a lab coat he spoke to opened the door. We exchanged nods before he disappeared down the hall.
“I was just about to call you,” Uncle Wes said, sliding his hands into his coat pockets.
I glanced at the clock on the desk. Ten minutes late.
“Sorry.” I smiled. “Got caught in some traffic.”
He nodded as if that was a good enough excuse. “Well, come in, I just finished up.”
I stepped inside but didn’t take a seat right away. “I just wanted to ask a few questions.”
His dark eyes considered me, his thin lips curling to one side. He slicked back his dark, now graying hair as a lock got in his face. “Well, ask away.”
I drew close to the empty chair, clutching the back of it, trying to consider my words carefully. “I know that…Dad’s research involved mostly neurological work, nerves and such. But he didn’t do any kind of work with pharmaceuticals, did he?”
Raising his brows, he leaned back to sit on the edge of his desk. “Well, I don’t know about him working in that area specifically, but we do have a lab dedicated to medicine and drug research if that’s what you mean.”
“Do you do certain experiments on these drugs?”
He looked at me confused, then chuckled. “Of course, that’s part of the research, Eve.”
“Right, but I mean, do you do tests on people?”
He frowned. “Not at first. We’ve got the lab in the back for animal subjects. If they prove effective there, then we would find volunteers for clinical trials but only after thorough tests and approval from the FDA.”
“Where do you get volunteers?” I asked.
Uncle Wes gazed at the ceiling as he thought. “I’d say through adverts mostly.”
“Are any of them ever children?”
Concerned, he said, “It would depend on the type of medicine we are testing and only if a parent or guardian gave consent.”
“And only if the medicine was safely tested first and the children were healthy and willing?”
His brows furrowed. “Are you doing your thesis on child subjects, Eve?”
“Not specifically but it’s part of it.”
“I see. Yes, of course the child would be willing and as able-bodied as possible, with a thorough exam beforehand. And the parent would be present and aware for every stage of the trial.”
I nodded, wishing I could feel relief but feeling none. “Did Uncle Pete or my brother work in the drug research lab at all?”
“If they did, it was only brief. Pete usually helped your father. Your brother was placed wherever they needed him.”
I held his gaze. “What about you?”
He smirked. “My work is similar to your father’s. I have others managing that department.”
I looked down in disappointment. But should I have expected Uncle Wes to know anything? Or to tell me if he did?
“Let’s go down and see it,” he said, standing.
“The lab?”
“Sure. You can see what’s going on there yourself. Since you’re so curious.”
The new building was brighter and admittedly cleaner as we headed down to the lower level lab. The first thing I noticed was the smell. A heavy scent of bleach, chemicals, and wet grass. When Uncle Wes pushed open the door, I had to squint my eyes at the bright lights and white washed walls.
Cages. That’s what drew my focus the most. All the cages.
Beady red eyes stared back at me through them. Tufts of white fur clung to the metal sides. The rabbits didn’t look terrified at least as they hopped around inside their crates. Most watched me with a curious gaze, their little noses twitching as I walked by.
I followed Uncle Wes into the main lab room where the metal tables were topped with trays and vials. Machines whirred and clicked nearby. There were whole chemistry sets, tanks, and two giant refrigerators to one side. A white board took up a wall opposite the door filled with different chemical equations and a little diagram of all the elements next to it. At another corner was a small desk with a laptop and a set of cabinets.
“It doesn’t look like much for all the work we do,” Uncle Wes said, sliding his hands into his pockets. “We’re working on a new prototype now actually. For insomnia.”
I strolled around the room, studying everything I could. There was nothing suspicious—no other doors leading anywhere, no rooms or cages big enough to fit a person.
I walked over to the desk with the laptop, eyeing the cabinets. “This is where you keep your records of your testing?” I asked.
“Yes, data from the last two years.”
“And the rest?”
“It gets stored on a separate and secure server. Files and paperwork older than five years go to storage.”
“In the old building?”
Uncle Wes shook his head. “No, our warehouse actually. That’s where your dad wanted them. They were here before but he didn’t want them taking up room, which, funny enough, now we have plenty. But I didn’t transfer all those boxes back here. We're talking thirty years’ worth.”
The warehouse. Dad only brought me there once. A quick detour to grab some equipment for work before taking me and my brother out to Christmas dinner. I remember the place, located near the riverside, a rundown building with some of the windows boarded up, the paint on the sides fading, the door rusted on the edges. One of the street lights outside was always out, making the place so dark and unwelcoming. It smelled like something had died and rotted inside. Dad said it was probably a possum that got trapped somewhere, its corpse decaying in some vent or in the walls. That hadn’t made me feel better.
As if that place hadn’t given me the creeps enough, Dad had to take his gun because he warned us that it was also a place squatters liked to hang around, addicts looking for a place to shoot up. Dad said they got in through the broken windows somehow, trying to find a warm but unoccupied place. Why he then thought it was okay to bring his kids along was an astounding mystery. He had been right though when I found one of them hiding in the dingy bathroom, scaring me to death. Some girl who looked gaunt and decayed, like a corpse. Her hair mostly gone, her arms full of bruises.
She’d shaken her head at me, mumbling incoherently, her eyes wild, clearly looking around for the exit so she could get away without being found. I had screamed for my father and he had come around quickly, then commanded me to go back to the car and lock it. Then I got an ear full after for not following orders and staying in eyesight of him like he had asked.
It was safe to say the warehouse wasn’t a place I would have gladly visited again. It also seemed to make perfect sense it would be where he would keep anything of importance locked away.
Luckily, I had access to it. When Dad died, the estate went to me including any property within. The warehouse was dad’s personal property even if the company utilized it. Dad’s share in the company went to me as well. I hadn’t gone back to the old house or any of dad’s places since the incident because it only filled me with bad memories. I had planned to sell most of it, but Uncle Wes had convinced me to wait and let them sit since they were already paid off, then make my final decision after college.
I smiled at him. “Thanks for letting me see this. I realize I haven't been back in a while. Haven’t seen any of the new stuff.”
“It’s no problem, I’d be happy to show you more,” he said. “But I gotta get home. Maybe another time?”
“Sure. Of course.”
He nodded. I followed him out, eyeing the rabbits once more as we passed. They all looked healthy enough, not a single one with a missing eye or ear. Still, I felt sorry for them, and for a brief moment, I wanted to unlock all the cages. Watch them go wild as they bolted free, trying to escape.
Rabbits don’t last very long. They never do.
A chill ran down my spine. As we walked silently back toward Uncle Wes’s office I thought of Emery. When I said goodbye, I went back through the old building to my car. I sat there for a long moment staring at the crest above the door and the Martel name underneath it. When the daylight began to fade, I turned on my car and headed down toward the river.