Part 61 (2/2)

”No, she's not all right.” Don't mention the kidnapping she told herself. Play dumb and see how he behaves. ”I want to know what happened to her when she was here.”

He paused, then took a deep breath. ”I told you everything I know this morning. She was a very troubled young person. Her treatment seemed to be going well, but she couldn't accept that. She began to believe there was some kind of conspiracy against her. In a word, she became completely paranoid.”

Well, Ally thought, there's ”paranoid” and then there are times when somebody really is out to get you. So which was it in Kristen's case?

She glanced over at Stone, who appeared to be trying to act as though he didn't know what on earth she was talking about. But she could see him efficiently taking mental notes.

”When you can't remember who you are,” she said turning back to Van de Vliet, ”and then someone who does know who you are gives you a new, fake ident.i.ty, I think it's enough to justify paranoia.”

He was rolling the wheelchair toward the elevator but abruptly paused

”Is that what she's claiming? Good G.o.d I told you she was paranoid and that should demonstrate it better than anything. Letting her discharge herself and leave the program, to go off unsupervised was a truly bad idea, but nothing short of physical restraint could have stopped her.”

”And do you have any idea where she is now?” Ally asked.

”I told you ... Look, if I knew her whereabouts, don't you think I'd do everything I could to contact her, find out how she is?”

”Right.”

She reached out and took Stone's hand as they all moved onto the elevator. She could sense his excitement at finally being inside the Dorian Inst.i.tute, but at that moment her concentration was drifting and she felt as though she were slowly beginning to drown in a sea of white.

”Stone, please don't leave me. Don't let me out of your sight.

Something funny is happening and I don't know what it is.”

Van de Vliet bent over. ”Alexa, look at me. I want to see your eyes. I think they may be dilating.” He waved a hand across her face. ”Can you see me?”

”It's the fluorescent lights,” she mumbled ”There's too much glare.

Could someone please turn them down? I think that's what's wrong.

They're giving me a headache.”

”Ally,” Stone said, ”the lights are not very bright in here. We're going down in an elevator. There aren't any fluorescents.”

Then the elevator chimed and the door opened. They were in the bas.e.m.e.nt now, where the research lab and the office and the examination rooms were. Debra, wearing a white lab coat, was standing there silently looking at her.

Now there really were fluorescent lights, and she turned away and tried to s.h.i.+eld her eyes.

”G.o.d, turn them off. It's so painful. It's like they're s.h.i.+ning into the back of my skull.”

”She's started hallucinating,” Van de Vliet whispered to Debra. ”I've got to draw blood for a test and give her an injection. We need a gurney now. We've got to take her down to the IC. Her condition is progressing much more rapidly than I expected.”

”Ally, is this what you want?” Stone demanded. ”You don't have to do this.”

Her breath was coming in rapid pulses now and she was cringing from the light even as she struggled to rise out of the wheelchair.

”I want ... to get ...”

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