Part 15 (1/2)

Slade stared at him. ”Done?”

”For Lorraine. Obviously, there wasn't anything I could have done for your mother or Lorraine's son Roy at that point. But Lorraine...”

Lorraine Vogel. The mother of the young man who'd allegedly killed Slade's mother.

The doctor must have seen Slade's confusion. ”I was afraid Lorraine wouldn't complete her training after everything that happened. She was training to be a nurse here at the Inst.i.tute. But she did finish. Now she works part-time here-and part-time at the hospital.”

It took Slade a moment to find his voice. Lorraine worked at the Inst.i.tute? And Slade's mother- ”You knew my mother?”

Dr. Parris seemed surprised by the question. ”Only to say h.e.l.lo in the hall really.”

”Here at the Inst.i.tute?” Slade asked.

Parris realized he'd made a mistake, but it was clear he didn't know how. ”Yes.”

”She was a patient here,” Slade said.

Dr. Parris smiled and looked relieved. ”Yes.”

His mother was a patient here? How was it possible that he and his sister and his father hadn't known that? He couldn't remember even one day his mother hadn't been at the stove on his return from school or from playing in the neighborhood with friends.

”Back when Evergreen was a fertility clinic,” Slade said, trying to put it together. ”Back when Dr. Allan Wellington was running the place.” He felt something like a flash go off in his head and wondered if it was like this for Holly. A thought. A memory? A piece of knowledge just appearing in a bolt of crystal-clear bright thought. ”I was pretty young then, but, that's right, she came up here every Tuesday and Thursday.”

Dr. Parris beamed. ”That's right. She always had a kind word and a smile.”

Stunned, Slade was still trying to make sense of it. His mother had come up here every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. No affair? But what had she come up here for? It couldn't have had to do with infertility-and his mother didn't drive. She'd been in a near-fatal car accident and had a deathly fear of driving. Norma always drove her wherever she wanted to go. Or Slade's father, Joe.

Who had driven her to Evergreen twice a week? Not Joe, the person she'd said in her letter she didn't want to know about her afternoons away from home. So who had driven her? Not Norma. Dr. Wellington? Was he also the man who'd had Marcella Rawlins in his arms the day Norma had seen the two of them at the house?

Slade felt sick, all of it coming too close to home. ”You have a very good memory, Dr. Parris. You probably remember that my mother didn't drive,” Slade said as they moved out of the office and into the empty hall.

”Why, that's right,” Parris exclaimed. ”I think that's why she came up on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so she could ride with Lorraine on Tuesdays and Dr. Delaney on Thursdays. My, but that has been years ago. My memory serves me well.”

Slade fought to breathe. Dr. Delaney?

”Give yourself some time,” Parris was saying to Holly. ”You're a strong young woman. You're going to be just fine.”

”Thank you, doctor,” she said.

”I didn't realize that Dr. Delaney worked here,” Slade said, interrupting Holly.

”Only on special projects anymore. A fine man and a wonderfully compa.s.sionate doctor,” Parris said. ”Let me know if there is anything else you need. It is always nice to see you, Holly, and nice meeting you,” he said again to Slade, then turned and disappeared back into his office.

Slade took Holly's arm as they started down the hall toward the exit. ”Are you all right?”

”Yes. No. Inez lied about the sessions.”

He nodded, wondering why Inez had done that. Unless it had been a test. A test to see if Holly was remembering.

”And she lied about where I was last Christmas Eve,” Holly said, sounding angry and scared. ”Unless she knew I was with you.” she lied about where I was last Christmas Eve,” Holly said, sounding angry and scared. ”Unless she knew I was with you.”

”Yes,” Slade said. ”I thought of that. Or maybe she just didn't want the staff up here looking for you. Any idea why you left here in such a hurry? You didn't even have a coat on when I found you.”

She shook her head. ”You said I thought someone was trying to kill me. Do you think it was just the pills?”

”Dr. Parris swears you weren't taking them while you were here,” he pointed out. ”Nor were you taking them when you were with me.”

A door opened off to the right ahead of them. A woman in a business suit and heels came out carrying a large cinnamon bun and a mug of something hot. She headed down the hallway in front of them without looking back, her high heels clicking on the hardwood floor, turning off one of the many hallways.

Through the gla.s.s window in the office door, Slade spotted a desk and computer. Seeing no one else around, he quickly pushed the door open before it could shut completely. He pulled Holly into the office and closed the door behind them.

”What are you doing?” she whispered in obvious horror as he grabbed a straight-back chair from in front of the desk and stuck it under the door so it couldn't be opened from the outside.

”Buying time.” He hurried around to sit down at the computer. ”I want to see your file. And my mother's.”

”Here, let me do that,” she said after a moment of watching him try to call up files.

He moved to let her sit down and, standing behind her with his hands on the back of her chair, watched in awe as she quickly maneuvered her way through the system. ”I didn't know you knew anything about computers.”

She let out a quiet chuckle. ”So, there is at least a little something about me that's still a mystery.”

Her joking tone stirred old memories deep within him of the way it had been between them. ”You will always be a mystery to me,” he said softly.

She leaned back, waiting for the computer to respond, her scent filling him. Her hair brushed the tops of his hands, reminding him only too well of the feel of it against his bare skin.

He could see her reflection in the computer screen as her eyes came up to meet his. For the first time, he didn't see fear, but something just as familiar. A look that made him ache inside.

His hands slipped from the chair back to her shoulders. She pressed against the pressure of his fingers and closed her eyes. Slowly he moved his hands down her arms to her elbows as he bent over her, breathing her in, wanting to envelop her. She felt warm and solid, strong.

Her eyes opened and her gaze met his in the screen. Her lips parted, her look softening, deepening. He would have kissed her. The chance of getting caught be d.a.m.ned.

But just then the computer screen flashed. No Holly Barrows found.

He straightened, releasing her.

She typed in Holly Wellington. ”Look at this,” she said. Under Medications, it read, None. ”And this.” She pointed to a notation at the top of the file: Genesis Project. When she clicked on it, the screen flashed: Enter Security Code. She tried several. None of them worked.

He heard the sound of high heels tapping down the hallway. They grew louder as they approached. ”See if you can get Marcella Rawlins's file.”

Holly typed in the name. ”I can't find her. How long ago was it?”

”More than twenty years ago,” he whispered, watching over her shoulder.

”Let me try something else.” She hurriedly clicked at the keys. ”Wait, I've got it.” He watched her type in Keyword: Inez. What came up on the screen was a list of patients under Genesis Project. She scrolled down to Wellington, Holly. File: Current.

”What is the Genesis Project?” Slade asked.