EVELYN TURNER

From their hiding spot behind the dumpster, Evelyn and Gandalf watched the two women as they walked from the car to the loading dock door.

“That’s Iris,” Evelyn said, beginning to stand. “She looks all right!”

Gandalf put one finger to her lips, and restrained Evelyn with the other hand. “Wait,” she whispered.

Evelyn nodded. “Who’s the woman with the cat?” She looked vaguely familiar, but Evelyn couldn’t identify her in the poor light. They stood at the door watching the street. Within a few minutes, a third woman joined them.

“That’s Lexi,” Evelyn said, relaxing her tight shoulders.

The metal door creaked open and the three women entered the dark building. As the door started to close, Evelyn knew what she had to do. Quietly, she grabbed a broken two-by-four sticking out of the dumpster and slipped it into the doorway, preventing the door from closing completely. Then she returned to the shadows.

“Why did you do that?” Gandalf asked.

“I don’t know who that is with Iris and Lexi. I want to make sure Iris is really safe.”

“She’s with her daughter. Why wouldn’t she be safe? Who brings a cat when committing a felony? Besides, do you think the daughter kidnapped her own mother?”

“You think people never harm the ones closest to them?” Evelyn said. “In my work you see all sorts of awful things done by the nearest and dearest.” She hesitated. “Besides, I’m nosy. I’m sure you’ve heard that about me. I want to know what’s going on.”

“So, what are you waiting for?”

“Let’s give them some time to get wherever they’re going. Then we’ll go in.”

Gandalf shook her head. “I’m not sure I want to get involved.”

“You are involved. You offered your help when I needed you. Let’s see this through together.”

“I don’t know. Breaking into a deserted hospital is not the same as listening to a person.”

“True, but we have to help Iris.” She touched Gandalf’s hand. “You helped me already. By not just walking by. Thank you.”

Gandalf didn’t pull her hand away.

“Oh, what the hell. I’m no damn good at waiting,” Evelyn said. “Let’s go in.”

They opened the door just enough to slip inside, hoping the three women were already far enough away to not hear the screech. As it closed, Gandalf returned the board back into the doorway to prevent it closing.

“Why did you do that?” Evelyn asked.

“So we can get out.”

“These kinds of doors open from the inside.”

“This was a mental hospital,” Gandalf said. “People were locked up in here and they couldn’t escape. I want to be certain we can get out.”

“Makes sense.” Evelyn turned on her phone flashlight, and they started walking down the hallway.

“I was locked up once.” Gandalf spoke into the dark. “It was a civilian detention center in Maine, and I was held prisoner. I couldn’t stand to be confined like that again. Ever.”

“For real?” Evelyn shined the flashlight at Gandalf’s face. “What did you do?”