Page 28 of Her Last Whisper

“No, not a guess,” he corrected. “An educated deduction.”

“I see.” Katie managed a pleasant smile. “I can always go to a judge, but I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“No, I don’t think that will be necessary.”

Katie remained silent.

“There’s really not much to tell—I reacquainted myself with her file after you contacted the hospital ahead of your visit. And I assume that you already know most of it.”

“I’d like to hear from you,” she said. “I’m sure there are things I’m missing.” She wanted to appeal to his expertise, pretend to be his subordinate.

“Well, she was brought in by two of your police deputies claiming she had been kidnapped and held against her will—but as luck was on her side she managed to escape.” He picked up a gold pen with his right hand and rubbed his thumb along the side of it, clearly an old habit. “Let’s see, she was highly agitated, coherent, fatigued. She was mildly dehydrated and needed a complete meal and fluids, but otherwise her physical health was satisfactory. We tended to her minor cuts and abrasions, but nothing needed stitches.”

“And her mind?”

“Well, as you can imagine, she was unstable because she had been through a trauma. She kept repeating the same word over and over…”

“Truth,” Katie said calmly.

“Yes! That was it. Ms. Payton whispered that word—truth.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, what we always do. I gave her a sedative and she eventually went to sleep. The next morning she had more cognitive ability and I didn’t think that she needed any further medication besides a mild sedative to take home. No use complicating things any more than they need be. I suggested that if she needed someone to talk to, she should come in for outpatient therapy.” He had a half-smile on his face as he watched Katie.

“I see. Was there anything unusual or something that alerted your attention?”

“I’m not sure what you mean—alerted my attention?” He toyed with her.

“Meaning… something she did or said that seemed out of the ordinary—under the circumstances, of course,” Katie said evenly.

He took a moment to think about it but Katie thought he was pausing for dramatic effect. “Nothing that needed to be notated.”

It was Katie’s turn to pause, but she thought about how it related to the perpetrator and not to Amanda. “One last thing.”

“Shoot,” he said.

“Has anyone else who has been admitted in the last six months claimed the same story as Amanda Payton, of being kidnapped and held against their will?” It was a spur of the moment question that popped into Katie’s head.

“None that I can recollect… wait, except…”

“Except?” Katie perked up.

“A woman that was brought in about two months ago shared a similar-ish story, but I don’t think she can help you much.”

“Why not?” Katie asked.

“She doesn’t know her own name and we still haven’t been able to identify who she is.”

Eighteen

Katie followed Dr. Smith down several hallways—each time he unlocked doors and then re-locked them behind him. She counted five in total, which made her edgy, feeling as though the walls were closing in around her. They passed several uniformed doctors and nurses who all seemed to avoid contact, not showing any curiosity about Katie’s presence. The farther they moved into the hospital the more patients Katie noticed; some watching television, while others worked at small tables with puzzles or games.

After making a quick left, Dr. Smith stopped at a door with a small viewing window, checked the clipboard on the wall and signed his initials.

“Well, here we are,” he said.

“Thank you.” Katie tried to force a relaxed smile.