Blake Pierce - Once Shunned

A short silence fell.

Then the receptionist said, “I’m sorry, and I hope you understand, but I’m not very comfortable sharing information about a patient over the phone like this. Could you come and talk to someone on the staff in person?”

“We’ll be right there,” Chief Brennan said.

Brennan drove Riley and her colleagues across town to Wilburton House. As Brennan parked his car, Riley was impressed by the size of the facility, which looked like a tastefully designed small mansion.

As they all went inside, they were immediately greeted by a tall, willowy, smiling woman dressed in cheerful pastel colors.

She stepped toward the police chief and shook his hand and said, “You must be Clark Brennan. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Dr. Amy Rhind, and I’m the director of the facility.”

Riley, Bill, and Jenn produced their badges and introduced themselves to her. Dr. Rhind invited them to sit down in the comfortable lobby.

She said, “I understand that you’re here about one of our residents, Wesley Mannis.”

Her brow knitted with worry and she added, “I’m glad you’re here. Perhaps you can help us understand what has happened to him. I’m afraid it’s something of a mystery.”

That word jolted Riley a little.

A mystery.

She’d been hoping for answers, not questions.

She heard Bill groan softly.

A mystery?

This might not be so nice and easy after all.

Riley was beginning to feel worried. They had come here looking for a solution, not for another mystery. She couldn’t imagine what Dr. Rhind had meant just now when she’d said …

“Perhaps you can help us understand what has happened to him.”

Hadn’t the receptionist just told Riley and her colleagues on the phone that Wesley Mannis was in his room?

Riley asked, “Are you saying that Wesley is missing?”

Dr. Rhind shook her head. “No, he’s here, but …” She fell silent for a moment and said, “Could you please explain why you’re here?”

Chief Brennan said, “Dr. Rhind, we understand that Wesley is part of a program your facility has worked out with the city. He’s been working with a sanitation driver during an early morning shift. Is that right?”

“That’s right,” Dr. Rhind said.

Brennan continued, “Well, we caught him on a security video. He was right outside the home of a woman who was murdered that night. Then he disappeared from view.”

Dr. Rhind’s eyes widened.

She said, “Oh, no. Surely you don’t suspect that Wesley …”

Her voice trailed off and she glanced about uneasily.

Trying to sound reassuring, Riley said, “We don’t know what to think, Dr. Rhind. We just need to talk with Wesley.”

Dr. Rhind said, “I’m not sure whether it is possible. You see, Wesley is severely autistic. And like many autistic people, he has serious problems with social and language skills. He was making great progress for a while, and the work program seemed to be doing him a world of good, really drawing him out of his shell.”

With a sigh, Dr. Rhind added, “Then the night before last, the Public Works Department called to report that he’d gone missing. We were terribly worried, but he did show up here a couple of hours later. He apparently walked all the way back from wherever he’d been. But …”

She squeezed her hands together worriedly and continued. “He’s had some kind of terrible setback. He was getting along so well, but now he’s returned to being completely uncommunicative. We had no idea why, although we seldom do know why with our autistic residents. Their progress is often touch and go, and we have to deal with our share of disappointments. But from what you’re saying, maybe his setback had something to do with …”

Dr. Rhind looked deeply troubled now.

She added, “I really can’t believe that Wesley would ever hurt anybody. He’s not at all prone to violence.”

Jenn said, “We have no reason to think otherwise, Dr. Rhind.”

Bill added, “But we do need to talk with him if it’s at all possible.”

Dr. Rhind thought quietly for a moment.

Then she said, “His mother is with him in his room. She’s been trying to help him through this setback. Let’s go see how she’s doing.”

As Dr. Rhind led Riley and her four companions into the facility, Riley was surprised by her surroundings. She remembered all too well the last time she’d been to any kind of a care facility. It had been back in Mississippi when she, Bill, and Jenn had interviewed a man suffering from dementia.

That had been a home for the elderly, and the place had made Riley distinctly uneasy. It had all felt fake somehow, and more like a funeral home than someplace where living people were actually cared for.

But this place was entirely different.

For one thing, the people in the hallways were of all different ages, ranging from children to the elderly. And many of faces the were happy faces. Several residents waved and smiled at Riley and her companions.

Wait—are they residents or staff? Riley wondered.

No one seemed to be wearing uniforms of any kind, so Riley couldn’t be sure she could tell residents from staff members.

They passed by a comfortable sitting room where people sat around talking and playing board games and eating snacks, and a classroom where a small group of students took notes and listened attentively to their instructor.

As they continued on past spacious apartment-style rooms, Riley said to Dr. Rhind …

“I’m impressed. This seems more like a combination school and dormitory than a …”

Riley stopped herself from finishing her sentence, but Dr. Rhind smiled broadly.

“Don’t be afraid to say it,” she said to Riley. “You mean a mental institution.”

Riley nodded, blushing a little.

Dr. Rhind said, “We try not to treat our residents like … well, patients. Instead, we treat them as individuals, with their own problems, hopes, changes, challenges, abilities, limitations, and needs. We try to foster a feeling of family for residents and staff alike. This leads to positive networking and relationships that might last a lifetime, even after some of them leave here to live in the outside world. Our ‘alumni’ often come back to help others, to teach them valuable life skills and other lessons that they’ve learned. Above all else, we try to foster independence.”

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