“Why’d you come after me today?”
He was silent for so long, she thought he wasn’t going to answer. Then his mouth edged up in a smile. “Maybe I’ll tell you. If you’re here in the morning.”
Chapter 5
“So, Mrs. Miller, how did you hear about our facility again?” Dr. Peter Brand asked. “I must admit, I don’t think I’ve ever had a referral come from so far away. Washington isn’t exactly a stone’s throw from Maine.”
Ivy had been so busy sorting through the myriad of scents, trying to find out if there might be hybrids in the building, that she almost forgot Miller was the fake surname she and Landon were using for this mission. She looked up from the pamphlets highlighting the mental health therapies at the Stillwater Psychiatric Center to see the attractive, middle-aged blond doctor regarding her and Landon curiously, if not a little suspiciously.
“My brother’s psychiatrist in Woodbridge—Gail Meadows—recommended you and your center,” Ivy explained. “She said that you’ve done some amazing work with patients who seem resistant to traditional treatment methods and thought you may be able to help my brother.”
Brand looked confused for a moment, but then he smiled. “Gail Meadows? God, I haven’t heard her name in years. We went to school together in Boston. I had no idea she was the one who referred you to me.”
Ivy almost sighed in relief. Score one for the DCO analyst who’d figured out there was a psychiatrist in the DC area who’d gone to medical school with Brand.
“Gail assured us she emailed you copies of my brother’s records,” she said, sounding suitably concerned. “Didn’t you get them?”
From where he sat in the chair beside her, Landon reached over and took her hand in a show of support.
“I haven’t seen anything yet. Let me check again.” Frowning, Brand put on his reading glasses and gave the computer mouse on his desk a little wiggle, then clicked it a few times. “Ah, here we go. They just showed up a few minutes ago.”
Probably because it had taken that long for Gail Meadows to fabricate a completely believable medical record for a person who didn’t exist. Considering that she and Landon hadn’t called John with the idea until well after two in the morning, Ivy was surprised they’d gotten the records here at all.
“Does that mean we need to come back later?” Landon asked.
“I don’t think that will be necessary, Mr. Miller,” Brand said. “As long as you don’t mind sitting here while I skim your brother-in-law’s record?”
“We don’t mind at all. We’re willing to sit here as long as necessary if it will help.”
Ivy only hoped the records were good enough to pass a detailed review. Walking in for an appointment like this had never been part of the original plan. After filling John in on their meeting with Thorn, they’d caught a flight up to Bangor, rented a car, then come straight to Stillwater. The plan had been to break into the facility after nightfall and confirm whether the place was conducting hybrid research.
But after getting a look at the huge four-story brick and clapboard building and the stone wall that surrounded it, she and Landon realized getting inside was going to be more complicated than they’d thought. Not simply because Stillwater was so large, but because the place had a security system that was better suited to Fort Knox than a private mental facility. Every window on every floor had wrought iron bars, and every door had at least one orderly and a camera posted on it. They weren’t sure if all the security was to keep people out or in. Based on the list of patients they’d been able to get their hands on before coming here, Ivy got the feeling Stillwater was the kind of facility where people with large amounts of money parked family members who suffered from embarrassing little mental health issues. At least it wasn’t the kind that housed the criminally insane, even if the security said otherwise. Regardless, there was no way to get into the place without being seen.
As plans went, pretending to be a concerned couple looking to commit Ivy’s brother wasn’t as good as snooping around under the cover of darkness while no one was the wiser, but at least Ivy could still use her nose to sniff around.
“I can see why Gail referred you to our facility,” Brand said without looking up from his computer. “Your brother seems to have gotten himself into quite a lot of bad situations.”
Ivy nodded, trying to remember what backstory the DCO had created for her fictitious brother. “I used to think that Miles was simply rebellious. He always seemed to be getting into trouble with someone—our parents, the neighbors, the police. But lately…”
“Lately, it’s getting worse,” Landon finished when she deliberately let her voice trail off. “He’s been committed to four different treatment facilities in the past two years. When he started working with Gail after getting out of the last one, we thought he was on the right path, but then he walked out of one of his sessions with her and right into another civil commitment.”
Brand nodded. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you the one taking such an active role in your older brother’s mental health, Mrs. Miller?”
Ivy started to answer, then stopped as if she couldn’t continue.
“Grace’s parents passed away a little while ago,” Landon said quietly. “Now it’s all on her to try to protect Miles from himself.”
Brand gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m so very sorry to hear that. How long ago did your parents pass away?”
Ivy nodded. “Thank you. Just over a year ago. Their death was quite sudden, and now all of the Walker family responsibilities have been left to me—including Miles.”
The doctor turned his attention to his computer, his fingers clicking rapidly over his keyboard. “I see. I’m very sorry for your loss.”
Brand’s eyes narrowed as he scanned something on his computer, and Ivy doubted it was her brother’s medical records. More likely he was checking out the Walker family name on the Internet and had discovered that she—or rather Grace—was loaded.
The DCO was very good at creating well-rounded and believable backgrounds for the undercover agents. In addition to a slew of high-society photos and stories featuring Grace and her parents, there would be articles about her mother and father’s deaths, some pictures from the funeral, and maybe even a few of James—Landon—marrying into the family shortly before the tragic events.
Brand fixed his gaze on her. “Has your brother’s lack of impulse control gotten worse since your parents’ passing?”
