Page 62 of I Will Mend You

I jerk forward, this new information hitting like a fist to the gut. We thought they were keeping Amethyst in a studio or a rented house converted for filming.

Jynxson grabs my arm. “This is big.”

“Tyler,” I say into the headset. “Are you listening?”

“Already searching for psychiatric hospitals within Helsing and its surrounding islands,” he replies. “Give me a minute.”

Heart pounding, I listen to their discussion, and piece together that Amethyst escaped her cell and is hiding in a four-story asylum set within acres of grounds. Dolly is tense because Father will use her for tomorrow’s shoot if Amethyst remains uncaptured.

“We need to get out of here,” I say.

Jynxson gives me a tense nod. “Tyler, have you found anything?”

“There’s three,” he replies with a sigh. “Two on Helsing Island. A third on Ravencliff.”

“Which of them is abandoned?”

“One second… Saint Christina was shut down nearly a decade ago. Let me pull up satellite pictures. Yeah. Here it is. A massive Victorian-style property, surrounded by woodland. Very isolated, with a single road leading to its gates.”

I close the laptop and rise. “Let’s go.”

“Should we steal that chopper?” Jynxson asks.

“Delta will get suspicious and know something’s wrong.” I walk around the roof’s perimeter, toward the back of a storage closet that opens into the public hallway.

“Wait. Don’t you at least want to take Dolly as a hostage?” Tyler asks.

That would be the sensible thing to do, but the investors will be the first to complain on their group chat if their starlet is missing. Plus, Father isn’t the type of man to give a shit when his wife is in peril.

That bastard watched me murder his entire family, never once telling me to stop. If I take Dolly, that will only endanger Amethyst.

As I pull on the door, the elevator opens, revealing a quartet of middle-aged men in suits. I draw back, letting them stream out into the hallway toward the penthouse’s entrance.

If we find Amethyst before the end of their soirée, I’m going to detonate those bombs.

“What about Thomas?” Jynxson whispers at my back.

“Camila,” I say into my headset. “Stay back to handle the reverend. He’s going in as planned. If we need any extra information from him, we’ll ask.”

The penthouse doors open, letting in the investors. I slip out into the hallway with Jynxson and take the fire exit.

“Tyler, do you have the asylum’s exact coordinates?” I ask as I charge down the stairs.

There’s no reply.

“Tyler?”

“We’ve lost connection,” Jynxson says.

My heart sinks. Without Tyler and his drones helping to pinpoint Amethyst’s location, our chances of finding her before the shoot are looking bleak.

THIRTY-ONE

Wednesday August 4, 2010

I’m still reeling. We had the most perfect night together as a family. After we ate the chili, Lyle took Dolly down to the kitchen, and they returned with the most ridiculous chocolate fudge brownie sundae.

They put an entire tub of ice cream in a bowl and layered it with chunks of brownies, whipped cream, hot fudge, and sprinkles.