hell is the real Mary Louise?â
Jagger glared at me.
For a few seconds I only stared back. It was so easy to mindlessly stare at Jagger. I used to enjoy it. But now, being deceived like this kinda took away the fun. Damn it!
Then he touched my arm, and I didnât pull back. Not that I didnât want to, but suddenly his touch was comforting. Jagger may have gotten me into this, but in my heart I knew he wouldnât let me get hurt. After all, he could have let me get killed several times before on other cases and never had.
âLook, Sherlock, we need to find out more about the guy from the airport. Be on the lookout for him. His name is Vito Doran. Works as an orderly.â
âWhat if I see him?â Okay, with Jaggerâs hand still on my arm, my temper had defusedâfor now. Hey, Jaggerâs touch could work miracles . . . and he knew it.
And I knew I couldnât fight it.
âIf you see him, tell me.â
âOh, sure, Dr. Dick. Iâll phone you pronto. How the hell am I going to get in touch with you? They donât exactlygive me phone privileges around here. They donât even give me my clothes.â
Jagger shook his headâonce. And then he grinned.
I mentally slapped myself in the head. Of course, Jagger would always be around or at least popping up when least expected.
I chose to look at that as a bright side to my incarceration.
He let my arm go and turned toward the door.
âOkay. Iâll watch out for Vito.â Before Jagger stepped out, I said, âOh, hey. Whereâs the real Mary Louise?â
He paused and said, âMissing.â
âMiss . . . missing!â
Jagger stopped, turned and shook his head.
âSorry. I didnât mean that to come out so loudly. But, I mean, missing ?â
âYes, Sherlock, she disappeared at the airport.â
Now I shook my head, this time in disgust. âGreat. Iâm trapped here. The male ânunâ is on the loose, and your client is missing. Some case we got here.â He didnât move, so I said, âSpeaking of cases, what about mine? Number three? How am I going to do it while here helping you?â
âItâll get done.â
That was it. Short and sweet. Itâll get done. And, it probably would, because Iâd make damn sure that Jagger paid me back by helping me out. I needed money real soon.
âYouâre going to pay me for this, too.â I said it with as much bravado as I could muster, knowing I couldnât force Jagger into doing anything he didnât want to.
He merely looked at me.
For a second I thought I saw disappointment in his eyes as if I was accusing him of trying to cheat me. Then, I realized Jagger had every intention of paying me, and really didnât stick me here for any other reason but his case.
What a guy.
I groaned. From behind Jagger I could see Sister Liz approaching. Yikes! She was coming to get me. âJagger, do something.â
He looked at me. âAbout?â
Through clenched teeth I said, âThe treatment. My treatment. The brain-zapping thing. My brain.â
While he looked at me the nun came closer.
âAre you finished, Doctor?â
He nodded.
âFine. We need to get you upstairs, Pauline, before you are late. No one wants to be late for that technician.â
I looked toward Jagger. Make that looked toward where heâd been because now it was an empty hallway. Gone. He was gone like some magical creature.
And me on my way to get my brain zapped.
Sister Liz took my arm to guide me upstairs. We never had to leave the patient unit. There was a locked stairway that she opened and, I assumed, if I ran down instead of up, the doors would all be locked too.
No means of escape.
âUm, Sister Lizââ I paused on the stairway and looked at her. âCan I call you Sister Liz?â
A ruddy hue spread up her cheeks. âOh. My. I guess that will be all