Chapter 4 - THE WRONG AMBULANCE
I caught the bedrail before it cleared the doorway.
A man in hospital scrubs shoved me backward.
He was not one of Tanner’s nurses.
He wore no identification badge.
“Move,” he snapped.
I slammed my shoulder into him.
The bed struck the wall.
Tanner clung to the rails.
“Dad!”
Maeve emerged from the bathroom and drove her elbow into the stranger’s arm.
He released the bed.
The emergency lights pulsed over his face.
I recognized him.
He was one of the gray-uniformed attendants from my house.
He had changed clothes.
“Security!” I shouted.
The fire alarm drowned my voice.
The man ran down the service corridor.
Dr. Vale was gone.
So was Meredith.
The hospital administrator stood frozen near the door.
“What is happening?”
“Your patient was almost abducted.”
“It may have been part of the authorized transfer.”
“He was wearing stolen scrubs.”
Maeve locked the wheels on Tanner’s bed.
“We need to move him somewhere secure.”
The administrator hesitated.
I grabbed the folder from the abandoned chair.
“Call the police.”
“Now.”
She finally reached for her radio.
Ten minutes later, Tanner was moved to a restricted pediatric unit.
An officer stationed himself outside.
The toxicology physician arrived shortly before midnight.
He closed the door behind him.
His expression was grim.
“We found a sedating compound in his blood.”
My chest tightened.
“Could it cause the pain?”
“It could cause confusion, muscle spasms, panic, and altered perception.”
Tanner stared at the ceiling.
“So I wasn’t crazy?”
The doctor looked directly at him.
“No.”
“You were drugged.”
Tanner’s eyes filled.
Meredith had told him for weeks that his fear was proof he was losing his mind.
Now a doctor had finally said the truth aloud.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
“Can you tell when it started?”
The doctor checked his notes.
“The concentration suggests repeated exposure.”
Maeve closed her eyes.
“How long?”
“Possibly several weeks.”
My hands began to shake.
I remembered every morning Tanner had complained of dizziness.
Every afternoon Meredith had said he was seeking attention.
Every night I had allowed her to bring him warm milk.
I had thanked her.
I had kissed her forehead.
I had told Tanner to be polite.
The doctor placed the report on the table.
“We also found a second medication.”
“What does that mean?”
“It is commonly prescribed in psychiatric facilities.”
Maeve looked toward the door.
“Could it make a healthy child appear unstable?”
The doctor did not answer immediately.
“Yes.”
Someone knocked.
The police officer entered.
“We located Mrs. Pierce.”
“Where is she?”
“At your home.”
My disbelief turned into anger.
“You let her leave?”
“She claimed she needed medication.”
“She is destroying evidence.”
The officer’s face tightened.
“We have sent a unit.”
My phone vibrated.
A security alert appeared on the screen.
MOTION DETECTED: TANNER’S BEDROOM.
I opened the camera feed.
The image showed Meredith standing in Tanner’s room.
Gerald Voss was beside her.
The gray-haired attorney held a metal box taken from behind Tanner’s bookshelf.
Meredith opened it.
Inside were Tanner’s trust documents.
She began feeding them into the fireplace.
Then Gerald looked directly at the hidden camera.
May you like
He smiled.
And reached toward the lens.
