Chapter 16 #3
“She didn’t say anything, so I didn’t push it.” Cherry paused, sucking in a deep breath. “Of course, I had no idea what was coming. I mean, I knew Roman wasn’t a good guy, but not like that. I thought he might lie, cheat, or break her heart in some other way. I never thought he’d kill her.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not blaming you in any way,” I said, lifting a palm. “I know you had no idea how far he’d go.”
She was quiet for a moment. Then she wearily shook her head.
“You should blame me,” she muttered. “I should’ve sat her down and bluntly said: ‘Cal, I know you’re seeing Roman Valcourt, and it has to stop.
He’s a bad guy. Block him and never speak to him’.
But I never did. I was too concerned about being seen as a bad friend. ”
“You have to stop blaming yourself,” I said, shaking my head. “You couldn’t have predicted what would happen.”
“I know that logically,” she said, voice low.
“But emotionally? It’s just impossible to stop feeling like it’s my fault.
The others feel the same way. We all keep thinking about what we could’ve done differently.
Like, if we’d done more to warn Cal away from him.
Or if we’d just stayed at the motel that night instead of leaving her there alone… ”
Her voice broke, and I reached over, squeezing her shoulder. “It’s really not your fault, Cherry,” I said softly. “And honestly, we better stop talking about this now, or else we will be redoing all this makeup.”
“Good point.” She cleared her throat and inhaled deeply. “Save the tears for later.”
I nodded, forcing a shaky smile before I turned to look out the window. A sign on the edge of the road informed us that Lakeside Psychiatric Center was only five miles away now.
The road curved through a stretch of dense woods before opening up to reveal a sprawling complex of gray stone buildings set back from the highway.
A wrought-iron fence enclosed the property, and as Cherry turned into the long driveway, I caught sight of the name carved into a granite marker: LAKESIDE PSYCHIATRIC CENTER - EST. 1962.
“Well, this looks cheerful,” Cherry muttered as we pulled into the visitor parking lot.
The main building loomed ahead; three stories of weathered stone with narrow windows. A few sparse trees dotted the lawn, their branches bare. The whole place had an institutional grimness that made my skin crawl.
I climbed out of the Jeep, tugging my jacket tighter against the cold wind that swept across the parking lot. Cherry grabbed her purse, and we made our way toward the main entrance.
The automatic doors slid open with a pneumatic hiss, and we stepped into a lobby that smelled of industrial cleaner and stale coffee.
“Reception's over there,” Cherry murmured, nodding toward a desk on the far side of the lobby.
We crossed the linoleum floor, our footsteps echoing in the cavernous space. Behind the desk sat a woman in her fifties with reading glasses perched on her nose and gray hair pulled back in a severe bun. Her name tag read MARGARET PERKINS - INTAKE COORDINATOR.
She looked up as we approached, her expression professionally neutral. “Can I help you?”
“Hi,” Cherry said, her voice taking on a friendly brightness. “We're here to visit Jennifer Albright. We have an appointment at four o'clock.”
Margaret's fingers flew across her keyboard. “Names?”
“I’m Caroline Albright,” Cherry said smoothly, then gestured to me. “And this is Charlotte Albright. We're Jennifer's cousins.”
Margaret’s eyes flicked up to us, taking in our similar hair, makeup, and the 'C' necklaces glinting at our throats.
“I'll just need to see some ID,” she said.
Cherry pulled the fake driver's license from her purse and slid it across the desk. Margaret studied it for what felt like an eternity before setting it down and turning to me. “And yours?”
My stomach dropped. “I, uh…” I fumbled for my purse, mind racing. “Sorry, just give me a second.”
I made a big show of looking for it to no avail.
“Oh no,” Cherry muttered, playing along. “You must have left it back at the hotel.”
“I’m sorry,” Margaret said. “We require valid identification for all visitors.”
“I understand, but—” Cherry leaned forward, her voice dropping to something more pleading.
“We already drove so long to get here, because our hotel is an hour away, and that’s not even counting the flight we took from Seattle yesterday.
So… please. We just want to see our cousin. We haven’t for so long.”
The silence stretched between us. I could hear my pulse pounding in my ears, could feel sweat prickling at the base of my spine beneath my jacket.
Finally, Margaret sighed. “Well, the appointment’s already in the system, and Ms. Albright's doctor approved the visit,” she said. “But this is a one-time courtesy. If you visit again, you'll need proper ID.”
“Thank you so much,” Cherry gushed, relief flooding her features. “We really appreciate it.”
Margaret handed us each a visitor badge.
“Clip these to your shirts and keep them visible at all times. Ms. Albright is in the Wellness Wing, third floor. Take the elevator at the end of that hall.” She pointed to a corridor branching off from the lobby.
“When you get off, check in at the nurses' station. They'll direct you from there.”
“Thank you,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
We clipped on our badges and headed for the hallway, and I didn't dare speak again until we were out of Margaret's earshot.
“Oh my god,” I muttered. “I thought we were totally screwed.”
"Me too." Cherry's hand was trembling as she pressed the elevator call button. “I'm so sorry. I should've hassled James to work double-time and make an ID card for you. I just didn't think they'd be that strict about it.”
“It’s okay. It worked out in the end.” The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. “Let's just hope the rest of this goes as smoothly.”
Unfortunately, it didn’t.
The third floor opened into a wide corridor painted in muted blues and grays. A nurses' station sat directly across from the elevator—a semicircular desk where two women in scrubs were hunched over paperwork.
We approached cautiously, and one of them looked up. Her name tag read LISA ROEDIGER, RN.
“Hi,” Cherry said. “We're here to see Jennifer Albright. Margaret said to check in here?”
Lisa's expression softened into a smile. “Oh, yes. Caroline and Charlotte, right? Jennifer will be so happy to see you.”
My stomach twisted with guilt. This woman seemed genuinely pleased that Jennifer was getting visitors, and here we were, lying through our teeth.
“We’re excited to see her too. It’s been ages,” Cherry said, smiling. “What’s her room number?”
“It’s okay, I’ll take you to her,” Lisa said, standing and coming around the desk.
My heart sank, and I shot Cherry a panicked look, wide eyes silently conveying my question. What the hell do we do now?
We’d hoped to see Jennifer alone, because that gave us a chance to explain why we’d lied to get in and see her.
But now that we were accompanied by Lisa, Jennifer would probably tell her right away that we weren't her cousins, and then we'd be thrown off the premises.
Or worse, detained by security guards and questioned about why we'd lied to get in. They might even bring in the police.
Cherry returned my panicked expression with equal horror, giving a tiny shake of her head that said, I have no idea what to do.
We couldn't refuse the escort without looking suspicious. We couldn't suddenly decide to leave, either, because that would look even more suspicious. All we could do was see how things played out.
“This is a low-security wing,” Lisa explained as she led us down a hallway lined with doors.
Some were open, revealing small rooms with single beds and minimal furniture.
Others were closed. “Our residents are allowed to wander throughout the day, including the grounds, so it may take us a few minutes to find her. But we'll check her room first.”
When Lisa turned to gesture at something ahead, Cherry caught my eye and mouthed, We are so fucked.
I nodded, my lips pressed into a grim line.
“Here we are,” Lisa said, stopping in front of a door marked 312. She knocked softly. “Jennifer? Your cousins are here.”
A muffled voice came from inside. “Come in.”
Lisa pushed the door open and stepped aside, gesturing for us to enter first.
The room was small and sparse, with a single bed, a desk and chair, and a narrow window that looked out over the grounds. Sitting cross-legged on the bed was a young woman with long brown hair. She wore gray sweatpants and an oversized green sweater, and her face was pale, almost gaunt.
Jennifer Albright.
She put down the book she was reading as we entered, and for a moment, she just stared at us, blue eyes moving from Cherry to me and back again.
This was it. This was where she'd blow our cover.
But then her face broke into a smile; wide and genuine and almost childlike in its joy.
"It’s about time!" she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “I haven’t seen you guys in ages!”
Before either of us could respond, she scrambled off the bed and threw her arms around Cherry, pulling her into a tight hug. Cherry stood frozen for a split second before returning the embrace, and I could see the confusion in her eyes over Jennifer's shoulder.
Jennifer released Cherry and turned to me, pulling me into a hug just as tight. “I've missed you both so much,” she murmured against my shoulder.
Lisa beamed from the doorway. “See? I told you she'd be happy,” she said. “I'll leave you three to catch up. Just come find me at the nurses' station when you're ready to leave, okay?”
“Thank you,” I managed, my arms awkwardly wrapped around Jennifer.
The door clicked shut, and Lisa's footsteps faded down the hallway.
Jennifer pulled back, and the smile on her face faltered. The joy in her eyes had dimmed, replaced by something sharper. More aware.