Chapter 15 #2
“Yes, that’s what happens with her diagnosis.
Hallucinations are not unusual, and I’m afraid that she can become rather violent.
I don’t want to alarm you both, but I also think that it’s my duty to warn you.
I don’t wish for you to come to any harm, of course, but my main concern is Lily.
So if you would like to surrender her to me, I assure you I will take the utmost care to ensure that she gets everything she needs. ”
Oh, this guy. He was pure slime.
What the fuck was going on in this place? Why did he want Lily so badly? And how were they going to figure it out?
“How often does she come in for checkups?” Harvey asked.
“Every two weeks. And like I said, she’s several days overdue. I was becoming rather alarmed.”
“She didn’t get any reminders,” Harvey said. “No text messages or emails.”
He actually had no idea about her emails.
“Oh no, her mother took care of all of that. Lily isn’t able to handle that sort of responsibility.”
Jesus, she wasn’t a fucking child.
“So, if you could bring her in, we could take her immediately.”
“Most accommodating of you,” Paddy drawled.
Harvey decided to push him just slightly. “It’s interesting because she’s been having a lot of trouble sleeping. Nightmares. She’ll be hot one moment and shivering the next. She’s also been violently ill and had horrific headaches.”
“Oh dear, that does sound bad. She has been taking her medication, hasn’t she?”
“Well, actually, there was a bit of an accident and the pills ended up going in the garbage. Luckily, I’d already taken note of your name so I could come and talk to you.”
“That was certainly lucky.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing else you can tell us about her care?”
“I’m sorry, I really do think the best thing that you can do for Lily is to bring her here for me to look after her. I’m sure it’s what her mother would want. Have you asked her?”
“Of course, we’ll be speaking to Roberta.” Harvey rose and handed the doctor his card. “Thanks for meeting with us. My contact details, in case you need to get in touch.”
“Yes, right. Let me show you out.” The doctor looked irritated for a moment but led them out past the front desk. The receptionist wasn’t there.
“Where is your receptionist?” Paddy asked. “She works late, huh?”
“Yes, she does. But she’s now finished for the night.”
They left the building. Paddy was whistling as they strode toward his car.
“That was interesting, wasn’t it?” Paddy said. “Lily St. Clary, huh?”
“Yes, Lily St. Clary.”
“Isn’t that the woman who is engaged to Rick the Dick?”
“Yep,” he said.
“And she’s your ward, is she?” Paddy drawled.
“She certainly is and I’ll do anything to protect her. He was lying, wasn’t he? Seemed desperate to get me to bring her to him.”
“Oh, yeah. I don’t think there was a word out of his mouth that was the truth. And he wants your girl. He was practically salivating at the idea of having her back.”
Fucking asshole.
“Right, something’s going on in that clinic that we need to get on top of.”
“Oh, yeah. There’s got to be something dodgy. I looked at the appointment list for the week. There were only three appointments listed. That’s not normal,” Paddy told him.
“You saw that on the receptionist’s computer?”
“Yep.”
“You think there’s any way we can get into their computer system?”
“I think I’m going to have fun trying. If I can’t, we might have to do a spot of breaking and entering.”
Which wasn’t going to be easy. It was that or kidnap the doctor. But they’d need more evidence before doing that.
“What are you going to do next?” Paddy asked.
“Speak to her mother. I’ll do it tomorrow, though.”
“I bet you’re wanting to get back to your girl now, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I am.”
When Harvey arrived home, he crept carefully into the bedroom, not wanting to wake her up. But she rolled over and opened her eyes, staring straight at him. “Where were you?”
Shit. Had she woken up with a nightmare and needed him, and he hadn’t been here?
“I’m sorry, baby. Did you need me? Did you have another nightmare?” He walked over and sat on the bed, facing her.
“I didn’t have a nightmare. I just woke up and wondered where you were because you weren’t lying on the floor. I thought that maybe you’d decided you wanted to sleep in a bed. So, I snuck downstairs to check. But I couldn’t find you anywhere, and that’s when I began to get worried.”
Shit. He’d really fucked that up, hadn’t he?
“I’m sorry, Mo bhreáthracht. I’m sorry you were looking for me, and I wasn’t here.”
“It’s not like you owe me any explanations or that I have a right to know your whereabouts—”
He had to stop her right now. She was killing him with this.
Harvey placed his finger over her lips. “Shh. If anyone has a right to know my whereabouts, it’s you. I didn’t want to tell you where I was going because I thought you might want to come.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Where did you go, Harvey?”
Lily pulled herself up into a seated position, resting her back against the headboard.
“I went to pay Doctor Wallace a visit.”
“At his home?”
“No, he works late. At his clinic.”
“Oh. I can’t remember a lot about the clinic. Sometimes I’d wake up there without having any idea how I got there. It was so weird.”
Anger filled him.
Doctor Wallace was definitely guilty.
“Do you remember the first time you went?” he asked.
She nodded. “After the incident where I hurt Mother, she took me. I think that was just after I learned what she and Rick had told Clem.”
Made sense. Her mother probably started giving her those drugs to keep her compliant around Rick. To ensure she did as she was told.
But it still seemed a bit off. Devil’s Breath was expensive, and it would have cost a lot to keep Lily on them.
It definitely wasn’t adding up.
“Did you get any answers from him?” she asked.
“No, but I didn’t expect to. Not any straight answers.
I asked my brother to meet me there. Paddy’s like a human lie detector.
He said he was lying. And it was clear to see there’s something going on at that clinic.
There were hardly any appointments booked in and I’ve had someone watching them for the last week.
Less than a handful of people have gone in.
The doctor works some strange hours, and he seems to be the only doctor working there. ”
“I don’t know what that all means,” she said.
“Neither do I, baby, but we’re going to figure it out. I do know someone who can give us some answers.”
She stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. “My mother. She must know what’s going on.”
“I’m going to go and have a chat with her tomorrow.”
“I want to go with you,” Lily stated.
He’d expected that, and he was already shaking his head. “Not happening, baby.”
“She’s not going to give you a straight answer. But with me there, she might say something.”
“I’m not taking you anywhere near that bitch. You’re not leaving this cabin, not just because I want you here, but because it’s safer.”
“But I’m not in any danger.”
“I don’t like how much that doctor wanted you back under his grasp, and I’m not taking any chances with your safety.
I know that you’ve had a lot of choices taken out of your hands, that your mother forced you to do things that you didn’t want to do, and the last thing I want is for you to look at me and see her.
But I also know that if I don’t keep you safe, if something happened to you, I would never forgive myself.
It’s safer for you here. Physically, emotionally, mentally.
I don’t want that bitch anywhere near you, not within a hundred feet, let alone a few. ”
“What if she doesn’t tell you anything?”
“I can be persuasive. Come on, it’s time to go back to sleep. You don’t need to worry about any of this. I’m going to take care of it all.”
She nodded but looked rather confused. As she lay back down, he stood and tucked her in. A hand reached up and wrapped around his wrist.
“Harvey?”
“Yes, baby?”
“Will you climb into bed and hold me for a little while? I don’t think I’m going to be able to get to sleep otherwise. Your touch makes me feel safe.”
“Of course. Whatever you need. Just let me get ready first, okay?”
After he’d cleaned up, he drew back the covers on the other side and climbed in next to her.
Immediately, she rolled toward him.
Harvey gathered her in close, breathing in her scent.
If anything had ever felt this good, he couldn’t remember what or when. She settled in against him, her breathing growing slower.
And he knew he wasn’t going anywhere tonight.