The Killer Among Us

Chapter 38

Four days left

Jacob

Her office was small and yet carefully decorated with soft, personal touches. The moment she had closed the heavy door behind her, the eerie sound of the institution ceased. Dr. Garzia sat behind her dark mahogany desk and crossed her legs. The stacks of files and documents that were spread out on the table before her added to her professionality.

Confidently, she gestured for me to sit down opposite her, and her soft gaze was fixed on me, analysing my every move, and I did as she asked. Once I sat, I looked up to her, meeting her stare and something about the way she held herself proved to me that she cared.

Judging by the fine smile lines on her face and the way she dressed beneath the lab coat, she was a few years older than me and yet she seemed to not have lost her faith in humanity. I can't imagine what would have moved a beautiful woman like her to work in a place like this, except for genuine care.

"So," I moved forward in my chair slightly, "Tell me what you know."

The doctor leaned back in her chair, searching for the right words.

"The," she paused briefly, "patient you're looking for, may I ask what you need from him?"

Something about the way she pronounced the word patient put me on alert.

I chuckled softly, "Judging by the way you reacted, you know exactly why I'm looking for him."

She inhaled a sharp breath, "Tell me anyway."

No matter how carefully she chose her words or carried her posture, something about our conversation felt like playing an intense game of poker. My instincts were too numb, too worn out, to decipher whether I could trust her, and the stakes were too high.

With my best poker face on, I answered, "He has something of mine. And I need it back."

She nodded softly, breaking our eye contact for the first time since we entered her office. Her poker face wasn't as good as mine and yet she checked, "He- I am looking for him, too."

I tilted my head, showing my confusion. Blinded by her status, I had simply assumed that she was the one to help me and not the other way around.

"Wait a minute," I scoffed, "So, you're not his doctor?"

Slowly, she shook her head and pursed her lips, an expression of sorrow appeared on her face.

"Who are you then?" I finally asked, leaning in even closer. Something inside of me enjoyed having the upper hand in that moment.

Dr. Garzia swallowed hard, avoiding my eyes at all costs. Before I could ask again, she leaned her head back slowly, closing her eyes, before staring right at me and admitting in a soft hushed voice, "I am his sister."

A million questions raced through my mind and yet I couldn't form a single sentence in response.

She cleared her throat, "Judging by your reaction, you know who - what he is."

I leaned back in disbelief, running my fingers through my dark hair.

Finally, I had grasped that I had been fooled by her pretty face and innocent smile, ignoring the severity of the situation. If she really was his sister, she knew of his crimes, she could have stopped him, leaving me with no other assumption than that she is helping him.

I shook my head and moved to get up from my chair, when she cried out, "Wait, please! Don't leave. I need your help."

Still, I rose from my chair and took a fast step towards her desk. Her mouth was agape, her eyes darting back and forth in bewilderment.

My jaw clenched as I laid both of my hands flat on her desk confidently. The muscles in my arms stiffened as I stared her deep into her eyes and commanded, "Tell me everything. Now."

A look of fear flickered in her eyes and yet it was hard for me to feel sorry for her. I couldn't find it in me to care for his sister, when he held mine in captivity.

Her chest rose each of her shallow breaths, "Okay, I'll tell you what I know."

She held up her hands in defeat, "But, I need your help as well. I - I need to find him."

I glared at her, chuckling softly, "No. You are going to do as I ask or, I swear, refusing me will be the last thing you do."

"Yes," her eyes welled up with tears, "Of course." Her voice was unsteady and yet she tried to maintain composure, earning a little bit of my respect.

Then, she told me everything, how Ian was always a troubled kid, how she was in college, studying psychology when he first got admitted into Tree of Life, how she yearned to fix him, but he never let her in. She explained that she had a different father, which is why they didn't share a surname. Finally, she confessed that she always felt like there was a darkness in him, as if his mind was poisoned, but even if she was erudite enough to help him, he always refused. The last straw for her was when he left Tree of Life against his doctor's advice, and she never heard from him since.

"I couldn't bring myself to call the police, you know?" she sniffed, "I am his older sister. It was my job to take care of him. Yes, he is a diagnosed psychopath, but I never thought he was a killer! You need to believe me."

Slowly, I began to understand. If anyone could resonate with the feeling of having failed their sibling, it was me.

"Do you know where he is now?" I asked, when she had nothing to add anymore.

She shook her head, "I haven't heard from him in years. I have his files, but he didn't leave an address or a phone number."

Fed up with coming up with nothing, I asked, slightly annoyed, "Do you have a picture of him?"

She squinted her eyes, "No." She sounded confused by the answer herself.

I let out a sigh, "Do you have anything, anything at all?"

She flinched at my accusing tone, looking down on her desk in defeat, "The only thing I have is his file. But he never talked to his doctors. He talked to no one, actually. The only thing I know is that some guy visited him every now and then."

"What guy?" I asked mindlessly.

"Uh -" she flipped through the pages, "Tate, Tate Hartley."

The name sounded familiar to me and then suddenly, it hit me. Tate Hartley. It felt like a bullet was fired, setting me into motion.

I sprang up from my chair, not looking back as I swung the door open and ran down the long corridor. Dr. Grazia's heels hit the tiled floor hard as she tried to run after me, but I was already too far gone. "Wait," she yelled after me, making the nurses turn in curiosity. All in vain. I got what I came for and I had no time to lose.

The name repeated in my mind like a mantra, Tate Hartley, Esther Hartley's brother.

Why would the brother of the last victim visit The Solemn Serpent in a mental institution, years before the first murder had ever even occurred? I hungered for answers and a burning curiosity came alive in me as I left Tree of Life Sanatorium, without ever looking back.

Dare I say, I had hope. Hope that I wouldn't end up living out the rest of my life in that institution, behind the brick walls and cut off from sanity, after all.

My engine revved, and so did my heart, with the urgency to find Tate and finally get some answers.