Asylum (Asylum, #1)(23)

“Look—this one burned down his own house with his family still inside,” Abby said.

“They certainly didn’t mention this in the admissions packet.” Jordan reached for another of the cards, inspecting it closely. “This guy killed three wives before he was caught and sent here.”

Dan’s brain was racing. As Jordan and Abby pulled out more cards, he ducked under them and opened a middle drawer in the file cabinet. Maybe he could find a card on Dennis Heimline, a card that might say what had ultimately happened to him. He flipped through the cards quickly. Gabler, Gentile, Gold. Ah, here was H. Hall, Harte, Heimline . . . He reached out to pull it—

—and a hand gripped his shoulder.

“Got you!” a voice said.





Dan shouted in surprise. In the glare of a new flashlight, he couldn’t see who had grabbed him. He thought his heart would burst.

“Hey! Chill out! Someone’s going to get hurt down here.”

It was Joe, the redheaded hall monitor from the orientation meeting. Shit. Dan felt a bead of sweat slip down his temple.

“A sign and a big lock on the door weren’t enough? How did you get in here anyway? Come on out, it’s not safe. There’s water damage everywhere. Not to mention the rats.”

Dan swallowed hard. “There wasn’t— We didn’t—”

“Didn’t what? Think? Now come on, get out of here.” Joe turned around, and in a flash, Dan pulled out the index card on Dennis Heimline and shoved it into his pocket.

“Shit,” Jordan groaned. “I am so burned.”

“I’ve got this,” Abby whispered. “Just follow my lead, okay?”

How could she be so calm? Dan’s hands were shaking, and he was full-on sweating. This was not him. He was not a troublemaker. He was a reader, a studier, and rule follower. Who was this person who broke into offices and stole things?

Joe waited for them all to get through the passage in the wall, shining his flashlight directly at their feet. When Dan stood up on the other side, Abby looked like she was rubbing her eyes furiously, getting dust all over her face.

“Is she okay?” Dan asked Jordan softly.

Jordan shrugged.

Joe motioned them all into the old reception area. As he corralled them back into the first floor hallway, Dan frantically tried to think of a way to pretend this was all part of his classwork for Professor Reyes. Every excuse sounded more implausible than the last. Joe paused at the door to redo the padlock and said, “Okay, this is what’s going to happen. I’m going to . . .”

Suddenly, Abby burst into tears.

Jordan immediately put an arm around her, and she collapsed against his side.

“W-we’re s-so sorry, Joe,” she sobbed, wiping her tear-stained face. Her tears left actual streaks down her dusty face. “We d-didn’t mean to b-break any rules. We w-were just so curious. . . . Please . . . I’m so s-sorry!”

It was, in Dan’s honest opinion, too theatrical, and Joe seemed to pick up on that, too, rolling his eyes at her. But then Abby inhaled deeply and burst out with the rawest, most heartbreaking sob Dan had ever heard. Joe looked dismayed, and Dan could see his authority cracking before their eyes. Joe was thinking about what a monster he would be if he reported her.

“It’ll be all right,” Dan said softly, patting Abby’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. . . .”

“For the love of . . . Just don’t do it again, all right? I mean it. Don’t.” Joe shined his flashlight into each of their faces in turn. Abby nodded furiously when the light was on her. “Now get back to your rooms. Now.”

He marched off, muttering under his breath.

“Sweet Enola Gay, that was amazing,” Jordan whispered when Joe was out of sight. Then he turned and pulled Abby into his arms, spinning her off her feet. “An Oscar moment if ever there was one!”

“Thanks,” she said, using the back of her hand to wipe the last of the tears. Without another word, she set off for the stairs. “That was too close.”

“Close? Closer than close. We got caught,” Dan said, feeling as if he was resurfacing from the murky depths of a swamp. And to think, he’d been on a date with Abby just hours before. A nice normal date . . .

They reached Abby’s door.

“Jeez, I need a shower,” she said. She sounded like she wasn’t even a little bit fazed.

But a shower did sound great. Dan itched from the dust and dirt that had settled over his skin, and the more he thought about it, the more it itched. He’d be clawing at his skin soon, but he wanted to talk to Abby one last time alone before he went back to his room. He looked at Jordan, trying to signal with his eyes that he wanted some privacy to say good-bye to Abby, dusty or otherwise.

“Okay, on that note,” Jordan said breathlessly. “I need to go pray. A lot. I will pray to every freaking god there is in thanks that I did not just get my ass kicked out.”

Jordan trotted off up the stairs, one hand in his pocket, the other pulling out his trusty die. Dan heard him whistle a little song as he went, the tune floating up and up before fading away.

When he was sure they were alone, Dan said, “I had a really great time tonight. Before the getting-busted thing, obviously.”

“Yeah,” Abby replied. Something was distracting her, though. Her eyes went to his shoulder, then to the floor, and then finally to his eyes. “I had fun, too.”