Her Last Day (Jessie Cole #1)(53)

Olivia grabbed the leash and shut the door just before Jessie felt her body go limp, and everything went black.





THIRTY

Zee stood motionless at the door of her cell. She had given up trying to break the weakened rebar for now. Her arms still hurt from the effort. The voices in her head had finally calmed, but the howling in the enclosed cell next to her had started up again. She looked at Natalie. She was sitting on the ground, her back and shoulders leaning against the wall, her head tilted forward so that her chin rested on her chest.

Zee wasn’t sure if the woman was awake, but she talked loud enough to be heard over the din. “Do you think that’s man or beast making all that noise?”

“Man,” Natalie said without looking up.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” After a short pause, Zee said, “We need to find a way out of here.”

The woman lifted her head. “Agreed.”

“Sorry if I went a little crazy earlier. Without my medication, it’s not easy being me.”

“Do you have an illness?”

“I have schizophrenia,” Zee said. “A disease of the brain. The doctor told me there are abnormalities in my brain’s structure and function.”

“Then it seems we’re both in a bit of a pickle.”

“You have schizophrenia?”

“Type 1 diabetes. I wear a device that pumps insulin into my body, but he must have taken it.”

“You don’t look too good. You’re not going to die and leave me here alone—are you?” For the most part, Zee didn’t like being around people, especially strangers. But the woman was sick. She looked deathly pale. And nothing bonded two people faster than having a creepy man lock you up in his basement.

She’s probably a spy. You better be careful.

“I’m not going to leave you,” Natalie said. “I promise.”

Zee wasn’t sure how Natalie could make such a promise under the circumstances, but she let it go. What would be the point of arguing with her? Since the woman was naked, Zee thought about taking off her coat and handing it to her through the bars, but the voices in her head stopped her.

What if you need it later? It might get cold, and you hate being cold.

Zee had to stifle a giggle by slapping a hand over her mouth. Not because there was anything particularly funny going on, but because she just couldn’t help it. If she started laughing, though, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself.

The howling stopped. Abruptly. Like a faucet being shut off.

Thank you, Jesus!

“I wasn’t laughing at you,” Zee found herself saying. “Sometimes I just laugh at inappropriate times.”

“I understand.”

Zee narrowed her eyes. “You do?”

Natalie nodded. “Stress will make people do things they wouldn’t normally do.”

“What are you, some sort of therapist?”

“A psychotherapist.”

“No shit?”

Natalie smiled.

“Maybe you can help me while we’re stuck in here?”

“Maybe.”

“Do you think he’s going to come back?”

“I do.”

“He seemed like a nice guy when I met him at the park. Sure, I thought he was a bit off and sort of quirky, but aren’t we all?”

“You know him?”

Zee nodded. “I met him six months ago. I’m not a big fan of people in general, but we hit it off, talked about everything. He used my Polaroid camera to take pictures of me but wouldn’t let me take a picture of him. Now I know why.”

“Why?”

“Because of all this,” Zee said, opening her arms wide. “It makes sense that a crazy man wouldn’t want any record at all that he even existed.” She paused before adding, “He was supposed to meet me at Rainbow Park, but when he didn’t show up, I decided to go looking for him.”

“So you know where he lives?”

Zee grunted. “On a small farm in Woodland, at least ten miles from Rainbow Park. That’s all I know.” She scratched her leg. “I should have been paying better attention, but I wasn’t. After he didn’t show up at the park, I headed toward the wooded area. I’ve never wandered that far before. It’s not like there were road signs and streets,” she said defensively. “There was nothing but trees forever and ever, it seemed. Once the trees disappeared, I crossed over a lot of farmland and tall grass.”

Zee liked the way Natalie looked at her when she talked—as if she really was interested in what she had to say. One thing she’d noticed in her lifetime was that nobody listened. “It got dark,” Zee went on, “and cold real quick. That’s when I started seeing strange things.”

“What sort of things?”

“Mostly circus people. But also an elephant and a tiger, and all the usual stuff you would expect to see at a traveling show. It was the clowns, though, who kept pointing and telling me I was almost there, so I kept going. I walked for days.”

“You spent the night in the woods?”

Duh. She’s not a good listener, after all. Hasn’t she heard a word you’ve said? How do you walk for days without spending the night in the woods?