Chapter 12 - The Locked Door
The patrol car pulled across the marina exit. Its lights washed the water red and blue.
Priya got out first, identified herself, and ordered the driver to keep his hands visible. Grant held me back until the officers secured the men in the front.
"There's a patient," I said. "She may have been drugged."
One officer opened the rear door. A second stood ready with medical equipment.
Mara was strapped to a gurney beneath a thin blanket. There was a bruise under one eye. Her hair, once long and dark, had been cut crookedly to her chin. But when she turned toward the open door, her expression broke open with recognition.
"Evan?"
I climbed in only after the officer waved me forward.
"I'm here."
"Don't let him tell me I'm confused."
"Nobody gets to speak for you now."
I wanted to unfasten every buckle myself, but the paramedic needed to assess her first. I made myself obey. Being her husband didn't give me the right to take over her body when other people had already stolen enough of her choices.
Mara touched my cheek with trembling fingers.
"I kept trying to call."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"They said you signed a form."
"I signed something without reading it. That's true. The rest was a lie."
Her eyes filled.
"I thought you chose them."
That hurt, but I deserved to hear it.
The paramedic said Mara needed urgent hospital assessment and asked whether she consented. She nodded. The officers recorded her refusal to return to Briar Glen.
From the driver's pocket they recovered a transport order naming a facility in another state. The signature on the order belonged to Dr. Quill.
The second driver, a broad man with an anchor tattoo, demanded a lawyer and refused to answer questions. Priya photographed his wrist and had the vehicle secured for further examination under the applicable process.
As the ambulance doors closed, Mara caught my sleeve.
"The proof isn't at Briar Glen," she whispered. "I hid it before the crash."
May you like
"Where?"
"Ask your father what happened to the little blue room."
