Jonathan Kellerman - Monster

"You ever find the chart?"

"No."

"What else?" said Milo.

"That's it. I saw Frank, Peake was gone, I locked the door, put out a Code Three alert. Easy, we were already in lock-down. Mr. Swig came in, we brought outside guards onto the wards, and a bunch of us searched everywhere. He's got to be somewhere, it makes no sense."

"What doesn't?" said Milo.

"Peake disappearing like that. You don't just disappear at Starkweather."

Milo asked for a key to Peake's room, got Swig's, closed the door and locked it, then moved out of earshot and used his cell phone to call the sheriff. He talked for a long time. None of the guards or techs budged.

The silence seemed to amplify. Then it began to falter- with sporadic knocks from behind some of the brown doors; muffled scuffs, faint as mouse steps. Cries, moans, escalating gradually but steadily into ragged shards of noise that could only be human voices in distress.

A chorus of cries. The guards and techs eyed one another. Swig seemed oblivious.

"Shit," said the bearded tech. "Shut the hell up."

Swig moved farther up the hall. No one attempted to stop the noise.

Louder and louder, frantic pounding from within the cells.

The inmates knew. Somehow, they knew.

Milo pocketed the phone and returned. "Sheriff's crime-scene team should be here shortly. Squad cars will be searching a five-mile radius outside the hospital grounds. Tell your men in front not to hold anyone up at the gate."

Swig said, "We need to keep this under wraps until- What I mean is, let's find out exactly what happened before we jump to-"

"What do you think happened, Mr. Swig?"

"Peake surprised Frank and cut his throat. Frank's a strong man. So it had to be a sneak attack."

"What did Peake use to cut him?"

No answer.

"No guesses?" said Milo. "What about Dollard's own knife?"

"None of the techs are armed," said Swig.

"Theoretically."

"Theoretically and factually, Detective. For obvious reasons we have strict-"

Milo cut him off: "You have rules, an ironclad system. So tell me, are techs and doctors required to check in weapons at the guardhouse the way we were?"

Swig didn't answer.

"Sir?"

"That would be cumbersome. The sheer number of…"

Milo looked over at the three techs. No telltale evasive gestures. The big bearded man stared back defiantly.

"So everyone but staff is required to surrender weapons?"

"Staff knows not to bring weapons," said Swig.

Milo reached into his jacket, pulled out his service revolver, dangled it from his index finger. "Dr. Delaware?"

I produced my Swiss Army knife. Both guards tensed.

"No one checked us tonight. I guess the system breaks down from time to time," said Milo.

"Look," said Swig, raising his voice. He exhaled. "Tonight is different. I told them to facilitate your entry. I had full knowledge-"

"So you're willing to bet Dollard wasn't carrying the blade that killed him?"

"Frank was very trustworthy."

"Even though he tended to forget things?"

"I've never heard that," said Swig.

"You just did," said Milo. "Let me tell you about Frank. Hemet P.D. fired him for malfeasance. Ignoring calls, false overtime-"

"I had absolutely no knowledge of-"

"So maybe there are other things you have no knowledge of."

"Look," Swig repeated. But he added nothing, just shook his head and tried to smooth down his filmy hair. His Adam's apple rose and fell. He said, "Why bother? You've already got your mind made up."

Milo turned to the techs. "If I frisk any of you guys, am I going to turn up something?"

Silence.

He walked across the hall. Bart Quan's feet spread, as if ready for combat, and the other two men folded their arms across their chests-the same resistant stance Dollard had adopted yesterday.

"Tell them to cooperate," said Milo.

"Do what he says," said Swig.

Quickly, efficiently, Milo patted down the techs. Nothing on Quan or the tech who hadn't spoken-an older man with droopy eyes-but the jeans of the heavy, bearded man produced a bone-handled pocketknife.

Milo unfolded the blade. Four inches of gracefully honed steel. Milo turned it admiringly.

"Steve," said Swig.

The heavy man's face quivered. "So what?" he said. "Work with these animals, you take care of yourself."

Milo kept examining the blade." Where'd you get it, Home Shopping Network?"

"Knife show," said Steve. "And don't worry, man, I haven't used it since I went hunting last winter."

"Kill anything?"

"Skinned some elk. Tasty."

Folding the knife, Milo dropped it in his jacket pocket. "That's mine, man," said Steve. "If it's clean, you'll get it back."

"When? I want a receipt."

"Quiet, Steve," ordered Swig. "You and I will talk later." The bearded man's nostrils opened wide.

"Yeah, right. If I even want to stay in this dump."

"That's up to you, Steve. Meanwhile, the state's still paying your salary, so listen up: Go down to A and B Wards, make sure everything's in order. Complete foot circuits, constant surveillance including door checks. No breaks till you're notified."

The bearded man gave Milo one last glare and stomped around the left side of the nursing station. "Where's he heading?" said Milo. "Staff elevator."

"We didn't see any elevator when we toured."

"The door's unmarked, staff only," said Swig.

"We need to keep searching. Can I free these guards?"

"Sure," said Milo.

"Go," Swig told the uniformed men.

"Where?" said one of them.

"Every damn where! Start with the outer grounds, north and south perimeters. Make sure he's not hiding somewhere in the trees." Swig turned to the two remaining techs. "Bart, you and Jim search the basement again. Kitchen, laundry, every storage room. Make sure everything's as tight as it was the first time we looked."

Barking orders like a general. When everyone had dispersed, Swig turned to Milo. "I know what you're thinking. We're a bunch of civil-service bumblers. But this is absolutely the first time since I've run this place that we've had anything close to an escape. As a rule, nothing ever-"

"Some people," said Milo, "live for the rules. Me, I deal with the exceptions."

We walked up and down C Ward as Milo inspected doors. Several times, he had Swig unlock hatches. As he peered inside, the noise from within subsided.

"Can't see the entire room through these," he said, fingering a hatch door.

"We've gone over every room," said Swig. "First thing. Everything checks out."

I said, "That unmarked staff elevator door. I assume the inmates know about it."

"We don't make a point of explaining it," said Swig. "But I suppose-"

"Reason I mention it is that yesterday Peake and Heidi came from that direction. It was the first time anyone remembers Peake leaving his room for any length of time. I'm wondering if he saw someone enter the elevator, got an idea. Does it stop on every floor?"

"It can," said Swig.

"Has anyone checked it?"

"I assume."

Milo bore down on him. "You assume?"

"My orders were to check everywhere."

"Your orders were not to carry weapons."

"I'm sure," said Swig, "that- Fine, to hell with it, I'll show you."

Brown door, slightly wider than those that sealed the inmates' cells. Double key locks, no intercom speaker. Swig keyed the upper bolt and a latch clicked. The door swung open, revealing yet another brown rectangle. Inner door. No handle. Single lock in the center of the panel. The same key operated it, and a flick of Swig's wrist brought forth rumbling gear noise that vibrated through the walls. A few feet away was a smaller door, maybe two feet wide and twice as high.

"Where's the car coming from?" said Milo.

"No way to tell," said Swig. "It's a little slow, should be here soon."