Reunion (15 page)

Lelly’s chin began to quiver again. “I didn’t pick it. He gave it to me,” she said, pointing toward the trees.

He?
Marie pivoted, staring intently toward the place where Lelly Dean was pointing, but there was no one there. She stared down at the rose in the little girl’s hand as thoughts of child molesters sprang forth. And then something clicked, and her mind made the jump from child molester to serial killer. Dear God! A rose! It was Prince Charming’s signature.

She gasped and spun around.

“Children! Hold on to your partner’s hand and don’t move! I’ll be right back!”

She called out to a co-worker to come watch her group and then started to run toward the pay phone at the entrance to the park. It was a parent’s worst nightmare, but for a day care worker who was in charge of many parents’ children, it was even worse. Within minutes of Marie Smith’s call, the park was swarming with officers and Lelly Dean was more important than she might ever have wished.

But the man who’d caused all the uproar was nowhere to be found. There was nothing left to mark his passing except the one single rose dangling from Lelly Dean’s small fist.

Dr. Harry Wallis drove through the gates of Reed House, grimacing slightly as he maneuvered along the winding road and up to the employee parking lot. He kept telling himself it was good to be back, although right now, he wasn’t so sure.

After being away from this place for the better part of two months, he’d almost forgotten how beautiful Reed House was—and how different the lives of the people who lived here, although none of the patients who resided in Reed House came from indigent families. On the contrary. Reed House was the kind of place where the wealthy put away their family embarrassments. It wasn’t just a home for the aged, nor was it a place where people with broken bodies or hearts went to heal. Only those missing necessary bits and pieces of their minds need apply.

Harry considered it a privilege to work with the mentally challenged, and on that rare occasion when one of his patients took the initiative and did something without being told, he rejoiced. However, the job and the people who lived at Reed House were a considerable source of wear and tear on his own gentle mind.

The vacation had been his first in over ten years and from the shape he’d been in when he left two months earlier, long overdue. But now he was back and well-refreshed from a cruise. He parked and got out, telling himself it was good to be back and trying not to think about the fact that yesterday he’d been in the Caribbean.

“Good morning, Dr. Wallis.”

He looked up. A gardener was waving at him from behind the hedge he was clipping.

“Morning, Alfred. Long time no see.”

Alfred grinned. “Got yourself quite a tan,” he teased.

Harry waved as he headed inside. “Almost as good as yours,” he called back.

Both men laughed aloud.

Alfred’s skin was a dark chocolate brown, compliments of his African ancestry. Harry’s tan was closer to red than brown, but such was the fate of fair-skinned, redheaded people.

As he entered the building, he was struck by a scent he had never noticed before. In spite of the perfectly designed interior, there was a slight smell of decay, the likes of which one might encounter in a fine old home. He sighed. No matter how finely turned out Reed House might be, there was no way to disguise the depth of disappointment that hung within these walls.

He continued down one long hall and then turned the corner. Two doors down and to the right and he would be in his office. If he was lucky, he wouldn’t have to greet the administrator until after he’d had another cup of coffee. Only a few more steps and he—

“Good morning, Dr. Wallis. I see you finally deigned to make an appearance. We were beginning to wonder.”

Damn.
He pasted a smile on his face and turned. “Good morning, Althea. I trust you’ve been well in my absence.”

She sniffed and then tilted her head, eyeing him in a semijudgmental manner.

“You’re sunburned,” she said shortly. “Staff meeting in half an hour. See you there.”

His smile was sharp, but he didn’t bother to respond to her cutting comment. Yet when he entered his office, he slammed the door behind him just loud enough to make a statement. He glanced in the mirror beside the door and frowned. It wasn’t a sunburn—at least not anymore. Damn Althea Good and her opinions anyway.

An hour later, he was leaning on a pile of papers and trying not to yawn. It wasn’t until Althea Good shifted topics and began referring to the list of recently released patients that he came to. He shuffled a few papers and then found the page. Around here, no one was ever released.

There were the exceptions, but in those cases, the patients weren’t actually released, but rather moved. Sometimes when people’s jobs and lives took them elsewhere, they moved their family members to other facilities similar to this. But because of the problems and conditions of the patients who resided in Reed House, the only people who actually left here were the ones who died.

Harry skimmed the names on the paper with absent interest, and then one name caught his attention. He bolted to his feet and then leaned across the table, unable to believe what he’d just read.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asked, pointing to a name halfway down the list.

She glanced at the name, hiding a quick surge of anxiety. There was no way they could be allowed to know.

“Meaning of what?” she asked.

“Releasing my patient without my consent.”

“You were gone a long time. Things happen.”

“Like what?” Harry asked.

The answer was pat, one she’d used countless times before. “In his case, the parents were killed in an auto accident. I suppose the executors of the estate had their reasons. At any rate, they had him sent elsewhere.”

Harry felt sick to his stomach. “Did you read his file? Did you make sure they knew of his special problems?”

Althea picked up her pen. “That’s their responsibility now, not ours.”

She pointed to the next item on the agenda, but Harry Wallis wasn’t satisfied. “Althea…do you know what that man was capable of doing?”

She shrugged.

Harry groaned beneath his breath as he headed for the door.

“Where do you think you’re going? This meeting is not over,” she called.

“It is for me,” Wallis said. “I’ve got to find out what happened to him.” He reached the door and then paused, making no attempt to hide his disdain. “I don’t suppose you’ve done a follow-up, just to make sure he settled in okay?”

Her eyes were a cold, distant green, but the high flush of color on both cheeks gave away her emotion. She was as angry as a woman could get without screaming.

“You aren’t the only competent doctor on the face of the earth. You’re behaving as if he were some unpredictable animal. I’m sure that, wherever he is, he is in capable hands.”

Harry Wallis’s face was as red as his hair. His voice was shaking with pent-up fury when he said, “Without that medicine he’s been taking for the past twenty-odd years, he
is
an animal. If anything bad has happened, it will be your fault.”

At that point, Althea Good began to panic. This needed to stop before it went any further.

“Look, Harry, come back and sit down. I’ll make a few calls and let you know personally.”

Harry shook his head. “If anyone is making calls, it will be me.” Then he started out the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To the Connor home to pay my respects. Regardless of what happened to their son, they were fine people. I’m sorry I was gone when they died.”

Althea paled. This was going too far. “But that’s silly,” she argued. “There’s no one there. I told you, they died.”

But Harry was through listening. He was too worried to delay any longer. Until he knew for sure that his patient was receiving the finest care, he wouldn’t be able to rest. Surely someone there could give him some answers.

With the address in his pocket and his cell phone at his side in case he got lost, he took off in haste. Almost an hour later, he arrived.

It was obvious to Harry Wallis as he turned through the gates that the Connors’ worth was substantial. But why, he wondered, would they have left orders for their son to be moved? Reed House was the only home he’d known. If they were dead, it only stood to reason that they would want him where he would be best cared for. None of this made any sense.

Matty put the finishing touches on the salad she’d just chopped. The roast was in the oven and warming. Scalloped potatoes and new green beans were cooked and ready for reheating whenever Gabriel and Laura got hungry. A few more minutes and then she would be on her way home, and none too soon.

She glanced over her shoulder, making sure she was still alone. Ever since the Connors’ deaths, there had been many strange things happening in this house. Things that didn’t make sense—like small objects being moved from room to room, and the lingering scent of Angela Connor’s perfume when it shouldn’t be there. Add a psychic to the picture and Matty was very unhappy.

So when the doorbell rang, she jumped in sudden fright and then made the sign of the cross as she scurried toward the front of the house. Too many things were going on in this house. Too many things she didn’t understand.

Preoccupied with her own set of troubles, she opened the door and glowered at the stranger on the doorstep.

“Yes?”

Harry took a deep breath. The sooner he asked his questions, the sooner this meeting would be over.

“I’m Dr. Harry Wallis, chief of staff at Reed House. May I speak to—”

Matty blanched and then started to cry.

Stunned by her behavior, Harry took an instinctive step backward, hoping that distance would give her a measure of reassurance.

“Please, I meant no harm. I was only—”

The door swung suddenly inward. Harry and the maid were no longer alone, and Harry could do nothing but stare at the man looming in the opening. He was tall, well over six feet, and his dark skin and black hair were terribly familiar, as were the shape of his face and those piercing green eyes. Harry had the feeling that the man would happily deck the first person who dared come any closer.

Gabriel’s expression was cold. The glint in his eyes a warning. “What’s going on here?”

Harry Wallis took one look at the man in the doorway and exhaled. “My God,” he said softly. “I never knew.”

Gabriel frowned. “Have we met?”

“I’m sorry,” Harry said, extending his hand. “Dr. Harry Wallis, chief of staff at Reed House.”

That meant nothing to Gabriel. He remained silent, waiting for the man to explain further.

Matty glanced nervously at the men and then scurried away.

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know what I said to upset her, but whatever it was, I’m truly sorry.”

Gabriel nodded, reserving forgiveness.

“I came to express my sympathy for your loss,” Harry said, “and to inquire about your brother’s welfare.”

Gabriel frowned. “You must have me mixed up with someone else. I don’t have a brother.”

Harry felt like a drowning man who’d been tossed into a lifeboat without any oars.

“I was referring to Garrett,” he said. “I’ve been his doctor for some time now. Surely your parents mentioned me?”

Gabriel shook his head, then he heard footsteps and turned. It was Laura.

“I’m sorry,” Laura said. “I didn’t know you had company. I’ll just—”

“No, don’t go,” Gabriel said, and held out his hand.

Laura slipped her fingers through his, smiling as he pulled her close.

“Dr. Harry Wallis,” Harry said. “I work at Reed House.” Again he was surprised by their lack of recognition.

Gabriel was tired. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with more business, but it was obvious this man wasn’t going away.

“Dr. Wallis, I appreciate your condolences, but I’m afraid you have my family confused with someone else.”

Harry shook his head, like a dog shedding water. He’d known plenty of families who wanted to ignore the kind of people who resided in Reed House, but he’d never met any who denied knowing them to the patients’ own doctor. When he answered, his voice was louder and more defensive than normal.

“There’s no need pretending with me,” he said shortly. “You forget, I’ve been responsible for his care. In fact, that’s partly why I came. I respected your parents very much, but I cared deeply for your brother, as I do all of my patients.”

Laura was standing quietly within the shelter of Gabriel’s arm, but the moment she heard the doctor say
brother,
she flashed on the image she’d had of an angel with two faces. Suddenly it all made sense. She grabbed Gabriel by the arm.

“My God…of course! Two! There are two of you.”

Gabriel stared at Laura as if she’d just lost her mind.

She wanted to hug the doctor. This was the best news she’d had in her life.

“They’re not just brothers, are they, Dr. Wallis? They’re identical twins, aren’t they? That’s why I kept seeing Gabriel’s face. But why, Gabriel? Why didn’t you know?”