Nancy Bush's Nowhere Bundle: Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide & Nowhere Safe. Nancy Bush

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СКАЧАТЬ he answered as Liv’s pulse began to race. He shot her a look. “Ah, yes. Talia’s right here . . .”

      Carefully, he handed Liv the cell and she said, “Dr. Yancy?”

      “Yes,” the doctor answered cautiously.

      Liv could visualize the woman in her mind: small, birdlike, with short, dark hair and narrow glasses that she looked over the top of. “I was just wondering if you could maybe help me with remembering a few things.”

      Dr. Yancy’s voice said, a bit uncertainly, “Did Hathaway House give you my number?”

      “No, I took a chance on F. Yancy. I knew your first name was Fern. I—um—”

      “You’ve been having dreams,” Auggie whispered. “About the doctor . . .” He moved his hand in the “go ahead” signal.

      “I’ve been having dreams,” Liv said. “About a doctor . . . at Hathaway House. I feel like it’s important somehow.” Auggie was nodding at her. Good. Good. Keep going, he mouthed. “A visiting doctor, maybe? He wasn’t there all the time. He kind of—stalked, if you know what I mean.”

      Dr. Yancy didn’t answer immediately. “Have you spoken to anyone else at Hathaway House about this?”

      “I wanted to talk to you first,” Liv said.

      “You know I’m retired?”

      “You helped me.”

      “But I wasn’t your personal doctor, Talia.”

      Liv swallowed hard. She’d forgotten that. “I always trusted you,” she stated honestly. “Do you know the doctor I mean?” she asked urgently. “Do you remember him?”

      “I think you mean Dr. Navarone.”

      Navarone!

      “Dr. Navarone,” Liv repeated for Auggie’s benefit. “He wasn’t one of the regular doctors.”

      “He was on staff at Grandview Hospital during that time,” she said. “He came to Hathaway when he could. We were always short-staffed.”

      Liv felt her senses swirl. “Grandview,” she said faintly.

      “You know the hospital’s no longer in existence,” Dr. Yancy went on. “Loss of government funding. Grandview’s now an elder-care facility.”

      “Oh . . . no, I didn’t know,” she murmured.

      Auggie was eyeing her with concern. She could imagine what she looked like: white face, pale lips, shadowed eyes. And she felt like she was going to faint. Gripping the receiver harder, she said, “I’d like to reach Dr. Navarone. Do you know where he is now?”

      “I’m sorry, I don’t.” A pause. “Are you all right, Talia?”

      “Fine.”

      “I know Hathaway House is for teens, mostly, but if you’re looking for a recommendation, I could give you some names, or make some calls—”

      “No, no . . . thank you, but no . . . I’m . . . I’ve got that handled. I just wanted to find Dr. Navarone.”

      She said slowly, as if thinking over her words, “I don’t know quite why you’re so interested in him, but he might not be the right doctor for you.”

      “Oh?”

      “His methods were unorthodox, and he was . . .”

      When she paused long enough for Liv to worry she wasn’t going to go on, she urged, “Tell me. Please.”

      “He was asked to leave Grandview. He was a fine doctor,” she added quickly. “His reputation was clean. It was just his methods weren’t in sync with Grandview.”

      “And Hathaway House . . . ?”

      “He was never accused of any wrongdoing, you understand. But he was . . . his methods were deemed unacceptable at other facilities as well.”

      “What kind of methods?” Liv asked.

      “What are you looking for, Talia?”

      The doctor’s voice had grown ever more cautious. Time to hang up. “I think he was the doctor of a friend of mine who really felt he’d helped her,” Liv said, lying through her teeth. Her voice was starting to shake. One of those “I cannot tell a lie” idiosyncracies that cropped up unexpectedly. “I just was hoping to find him.”

      “Well . . .” There was censure in her tone. “I’m not sure I would recommend the man.”

      “If I asked at Hathaway House, do you think they’d know where he was?”

      “Are you still getting treatment?”

      “I’m seeing someone privately.” She glanced around the room wildly, her gaze falling on Auggie. “Dr. Augdogsen.”

      “I don’t recognize the name,” Dr. Yancy said, and Auggie shook his head in disbelief.

      “He’s not from the Portland area.”

      “Well, if you need anything, please call again, now that you have my number. I’d be happy to help.”

      “Thank you. I will.” Liv hung up quickly, her hands trembling.

      “Augdogsen?” Auggie repeated, picking up the cell phone where she’d set it down.

      She ignored that. “The zombie doctor is Dr. Navarone. I recognize the name. He’s the stalker in the photos, I’m almost sure of it. I never paid that much attention to him at Hathaway House. He looked different than in the photo, but I’m almost positive he’s the guy.” Liv hugged herself, suddenly cold even though the room was warm. “The killer.”

      “So, where is he now?”

      “She didn’t know. He used to be at Grandview Hospital, but now it’s an elder-care center, and he was asked to leave anyway, something about his methods of treatment.”

      “Electric shock therapy? Lobotomies? Kumbaya?”

      “None of the above,” she said automatically. They looked at each other, and for some reason both of them cracked up. “I don’t know why I’m laughing,” she said after several moments of hilarity. “Hysteria, I guess.”

      “C’mere.” He pulled her to her feet, amusement still lurking around the corners of his eyes. “You can’t keep this stress up without some laughing. You’ll go crazy.” She lifted a brow at him, and he made a sound. “I wasn’t gonna say it.”

      “You thought it.”

      “You’re the one who thinks you’re crazy. I’m just here to listen.”

      “My dad’s the one who thought I was crazy,” she corrected him. “And Lorinda. Later, they sent Hague away, too, though I was out of Hathaway by then.”

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