Silent Run

but they certainly hadn’t shut any doors. It was quite possible she’d heard every word they’d exchanged.
    He strode quickly down the corridor, but there was no sign of her anywhere. He checked the waiting room. It was empty. He stopped at the nurses’ station, where Rosie was working at a computer.
    â€œIs there something else?” Rosie asked.
    â€œThere was a woman here earlier. She had brown hair. She was wearing jeans and a red sweater,” he said, searching his mind for the details. “Do you remember her? She said she was waiting for news about someone. She was standing about three doors down."
    â€œThere were a lot of people here during visiting hours,” Rosie replied with an apologetic smile. “She doesn’t stand out in my mind."
    He sighed. Of course no one had seen the woman. That would have been too easy. He walked back down the hall and paused to speak to the security guard outside Sarah’s room. “I’m Jake Sanders. I’m with the woman inside, Sarah Tucker. Will you let me know if anyone approaches you to ask about her condition? And make sure you check the ID on any hospital personnel. The man who attacked Ms. Tucker was dressed as a male nurse."
    The guard nodded. “Yes, I’m aware of the situation."
    When Jake reentered the room he found Sarah sitting on the edge of her bed, looking as if she were poised to flee. She hadn’t put on her shoes, but they were close by, and she was still dressed in her street clothes.
    â€œWhere did you go?” she asked.
    â€œI spoke to a woman earlier. She said she was waiting for news about someone, but I suddenly had the thought that maybe she was looking for information about you. She seemed to be watching me."
    â€œWhy wouldn’t she have come to my room?” Sarah asked.
    â€œEither she wasn’t looking for you, or she got the information she needed about where you were, what your condition was."
    â€œMy condition?"
    â€œDr. Carmichael spoke to me about your amnesia. I really have no idea if she heard anything or not, but she’s gone now."
    Sarah frowned. “Let’s see. There are at least two other people besides you who are interested in me -- the man who tried to kill me, and the woman who called to ask about me. I wonder if they’re connected or acting independently."
    He rolled his neck around on his shoulders, the tension of the past twenty-four hours tying knots in his muscles. When he’d jumped in the car to head south, he’d had no other expectation than to wrap his arms around his daughter and confront Sarah. Now the situation was far more complicated, and he was running as blind as Sarah was.
    Sarah played with the bed sheet, twisting her fingers in the white cotton material. She wore no jewelry, no watch, no rings, no necklace. He wondered what she’d done with the jewelry he’d given her -- what she’d done with everything. But there was no point in asking, not now, anyway.
    He glanced at his watch. It was almost four thirty. He’d spoken to his brother over an hour and a half ago. Dylan should have checked in by now.
    â€œYou want to be out there, don’t you?” Sarah asked. “In the search, looking for Caitlyn."
    â€œHell, yes, I’d like to be out there, but I can’t, because I don’t trust you not to run.” She didn’t bother to deny his statement, which only made him more certain that he had to stick close to her.
    â€œI’d like to be out there, too. It’s difficult to wait, to worry, to wonder."
    Her words sent his blood pressure through the roof, and all the anger he’d been holding back blew sky high.
    â€œYou think it’s hard?” he demanded. “You don’t know anything about what’s hard. I spent the last seven months in torture, wondering where the hell you were."
    â€œI’m --”
    â€œI don’t want to hear it,” he said with a wave of his hand. “You are responsible for everything bad that is happening. My daughter wouldn’t be in danger right now if you hadn’t left me without a word. I would know where she is. I would be protecting her, because I’m her father, a fact you conveniently seemed to forget. What you did was unforgivable. Indefensible. So don’t even try, because I will never, ever believe a word you say."
    Turning his back on her, he strode toward the window and stared out at the parking lot.