“And that turned out great. Now, be quiet and listen. Amanda is being watched. Ever since she got in trouble with the law, The Society has been paying staff members to keep an eye on her. Why they haven’t killed her is anyone’s guess, but I doubt it will stay that way for long after she got a visit from a detective. They might wait a while to avoid raising suspicion, but she’s living on borrowed time.”
“How will I get the information Hayden couldn’t?”
“By not trying to talk to a highly sedated woman.” He slipped his hand into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Take this.”
I peeked inside at the stack of bills.
“That’s three thousand dollars,” Eliot said. “Give it to a man named Frank. Tell him you need to speak with Amanda—therealAmanda. He’ll know how to bring her back to a somewhat functioning state, at least for a little while. Be there an hour before visiting hours close; that’s when Frank is the only employee with ties to the Society.”
“Maybe he changes his shifts.”
“I called yesterday to check.”
“You told him I was coming?”
“I didn’t speak with him; I pretended to be working for the hospital’s insurance company and asked for everyone’s schedule so I could set up appointments.”
“But why would Frank help? Doesn’t The Society pay him more than three grand?”
“Frank has no idea who pays him a few hundred bucks a month; he just knows what they expect of him. He’ll appreciate the three grand, especially if he’s still gambling like he used to. Once he helps you, he won’t snitch on himself.”
I glanced again at the stack of bills, my confidence slowly growing now that I had a plan to follow. “Anything else?”
“Yes. Amanda will still be hazy, so you’ll need to steer her to get anything of value. People like her were never told the location of the estate.”
“What? Then how—?”
“They get picked up from a motel and are not allowed to see the way. Once The Society moves their estate, they find a new motel and shut down the old one. Since Amanda worked with The Society until three years ago, she should know the location of the current motel. Once you find it, you’ll be one step closer to finding the estate.”
“Can’t you find out the location without having me bribe people in an asylum? You know about Frank, so obviously you’re still involved.”
“I amnotinvolved; I simply make sure to keep track of those who might one day open their mouths about The Society, and indirectly—about me.”
“People like me?”
He smiled sadly. “My lingering interest in you has nothing to do with fear, Jonah.”
I leaned back and collected my thoughts in light of this new information. I’d hoped Eliot would provide me with clearer answers, but he was giving me the best he could.
“Is there anything else you think I should know?” I asked.
“Yes. You are a fool for not letting this go. Something is clearly happening over there, and this is not the time for you to go looking for them. Their decline started years ago—let them die on their own.”
In other words, let Hayden die with them.
I rose to my feet. “Please let me know if you hear anything else. Otherwise, stay away from me. That includes your anonymous emails.”
I walked away before he could respond.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Agatha was found dead at her apartment.
I learned about it while checking for news online, right before I was about to leave to see Amanda. The article didn’t say much, just that she was found by her maid, and her cause of death was assumed to be suicide. I watched her smiling face for a long time. The photo was taken at a red-carpet event a few years back, long after she’d sold me to The Society. I searched deep inside myself for any sort of emotion, but found only cold apathy.
My past was rapidly dissolving around me, and it remained to be seen if I was destined for a similar fate.
The Chief called as soon as I closed my laptop. I had texted him yesterday that I'd gotten a lead from Eliot about Amanda and The Society’s motel.
