Page 94 of The Other Lady Vanishes

“Unfortunately, you seem to have a number of enemies,” Raina said.

“Hard to figure out which of them is number one,” Jake added.

“I’ve done all I can do for him,” Dr. Skipton said. He looked at Adelaide, who was standing next to him. “You’re sure you don’t want me to give him a sedative?”

She shook her head. “You’re right, there’s a good chance that it would make things worse. The drug he took is very unpredictable. A sedative might not be effective at all, or it might put him into a coma that could last for days. It might even kill him. There’s just no way to know.”

“If he goes into a coma or dies, we’ll never get any information out of him,” Jake said.

“I’ll try to get him to drink the antidote,” Adelaide said. She glanced at Brandon. “I brought the herbs with me but I’ll need hot water to make the tisane.”

“We’ve got a kettle in the lunchroom,” Brandon said. “I’ll be right back.”

He disappeared down the hall.

An officer appeared at the door. “Call for you, Dr. Skipton. It’s your wife. She says Mrs. Ortega has gone into labor.”

“Tell Betty I’m on my way,” Dr. Skipton said. He hoisted his black satchel and turned to leave. He paused to give Adelaide a stern look. “Promise me you won’t take any chances. There’s no telling what Massey might do in his current state. You heard what Mr. Pell and Mr. Truett said. He lashed out at them when they tried to save him. He might lash out at you, too.”

“I’ll be careful,” Adelaide said.

Jake looked at Skipton. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Massey doesn’t get his hands on her.”

“I’ll be off, then,” Skipton said. “Good luck with that tisane, Miss Brockton. Do let me know if it works.”

“I will,” she said.

Detective Brandon returned with a steaming teakettle and an empty mug. “Will this do?”

“Yes,” Adelaide said.

She went to a nearby table, opened her handbag, and took out the small packet of herbs that she had brought with her. She emptied the packet into the mug and added the hot water.

“Now to see if I can convince him to drink the antidote,” she said. “I’m going to try to get into his nightmare.”

She carried the mug back to the cell and looked at Conrad through the bars.

“Conrad, can you hear me?” she said softly.

He flinched at the sound of his name but he did not respond. He did not make eye contact, either. He appeared transfixed by the shadows under the bunk.

“Where are you, Conrad?” she asked

He jerked again. “Hiding. I have to hide.”

“You don’t have to hide from me. I’m very naïve, remember? I trustyou. Remember how easy it was to make me fall for you? I really believed you loved me.”

Adelaide heard Jake swear softly under his breath. She shot him a warning glance and mouthed the wordquiet.

He subsided but his expression was grim.

In the corner of his small cell, Conrad was struggling to focus on something other than whatever he saw under the bunk.

“You tricked me,” he said at last.

“We were both tricked by Dr. Gill,” Adelaide said. “He lied to both of us, didn’t he?”

“Yes,” Conrad said eagerly. “Gill insisted that you had to go to Rushbrook. He said it was for your own good. He tricked both of us. That’s exactly what happened. The bastard tricked me.”