The lab coat-wearing woman rushed up the two flights of stairs in her light green running shoes. Malachi glided his hand along the railing as he climbed behind her. She led him to a dark metal door. She rummaged her hand in the coat's front pocket and produced an ID card. She held the card to the pad and the door's lock clicked open. She swung the door open wide enough so the both of them could walkthrough.
The room they entered had six tables surrounded by four chairs.
"Take a seat, he'll be right in." She told Malachi. "Get him to his room!" She demanded an orderly tending to a patient in the back of the room. She left Malachi alone with the struggling orderly and the out of control, large patient.
"You can see them tomorrow." The orderly said trying to persuade the patient with false hopes of future family visits.
The hairy patient balled his fist and began swinging, "Today is my visit day! Today! You promised today!" He screamed over and over in the back corner then shoved the orderly, overpowering the orderly.
Malachi uneasily took a seat at the middle table. He wiped his hand on his legs. It was a year and a half that he was in that same position. Only back then he was in South Carolina at Holsten Meadow Behavioral Hospital and not an asylum.
The squeaking door hinges brought him back to the present. He turned around and saw Benny being escorted by an orderly. Still, in his street clothes, Benny took a seat in front of Malachi.
Benny stared at the table so Malachi started talking, "I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You have a record. The son of the Russian Ambassador is in a coma and not to mention two other deaths they'll pin on you." Malachi scooted his chair closer to the table trying to get Benny's attention. "Your father can't pay off a judge and claim you had a psychotic break, like last time."
"I know," Benny spoke softly.
"You were supposed to leave this shit alone." Malachi pounded his fist on the table. "I'm sorry they killed your girlfriend but you can't solve her murder, yourself."
"I didn't go looking for them!" Benny's head popped up as he shouted back at his brother. "She found me! She roped me in again. Along with Isabeth and Faith."
"What are you saying?" Malachi rolled his fist up a little tighter. "They know about The Psychopath Maker, too."
"Yes," Benny affirmed. "She going to take everything away from me if I don't do her will and she'll take them too." Benny sat back in the chair defeated. "The Mime stalked us, Aubrey and I. The Mockingbird drove Aubrey crazy; the weeks without sleep." His eyes began to water. "The apothecary drugged me." His voice broke. "I slept next to her as her blood drained from her body." Tears rolled from down his face as Malachi held his in. "Isabeth and Faith think they can just give her what she wants and she'll move on." His voice died and he looked through the glass of the visiting room. "Where's Isabeth and Faith?"
"They went to the restroom," Malachi answered.
The patient in the back corner threw the orderly against the Plexiglas window. The orderly that escorted Benny in rushed to the back and put the crazed patient in a chokehold.
****
The elevator came to a slow stop and the doors open. Isabeth and Faith took a second before they stepped out into the blinding white hallway. They walked to the door at the end of the hall, side by side. Hand in hand. They drew on each other's strength as they did what they thought was right. Their journey came to a halt as they stood in front of the white door.
"I guess that's what the card's for." Isabeth gestured to the card reader.
Faith let go of Isabeth's hand and pulled the card they found at Fulton's cabin out of her jean pocket. "Here." She gave the card to Isabeth. "You do it."
Isabeth flipped the card around in her hand, "Are you sure this is the right thing?"
"No." Faith weakly answered. "But if we don't Benny goes to jail or worse...locked up here.
Isabeth swiped the card through the reader and the white door slide open.
"Let's get this over with." Isabeth entered the dim hallway. Faith said a prayer silently then followed behind her.
It seems like Benny wasn't completely honest with Isabeth and Faith. Will his lack of complete honesty cost him?