The Phoenix Society

Chapter 26

I ran, a pace behind Banks, as he flew through the vinyl hospital floors, a look of determination written all over his face. Elias and Marley were trailing behind us. We rushed here as soon as Tyler told us the news. They had found her. Alive.

This was perhaps the biggest lead we had on the Phoenix Society this entire time. I hurried to keep up with Banks as he pushed through a set of double swinging doors. After a quick glance around, he made his way over to a nearly empty hallway, where a woman in a dark pantsuit and broad shoulders stood talking to a doctor in a hushed tone. She looked serious; her thin eyebrows were pressed together as she listened intently to what the doctor was saying, stopping every so often to scribble something down in her notepad.

"-I'll have an officer placed outside her door." The woman told the doctor, who nodded agreeing with her. The woman's face shifted slightly as she saw us approach. She nodded at the doctor, finishing their conversation, as he turned in the opposite direction leaving us in the hallway.

"Ethan Banks." She said. It caught me off guard a bit hearing Banks' first name. She slid her notepad into her jacket pocket and pulled him into a small hug, which I had to admit looked slightly uncomfortable. I couldn't help but wonder how he knew this woman. "I see Tyler got my message."

"What happened?" Banks asked, releasing his arms from around the women, who I had now determined was a detective. No one else stands with as much authority as detectives do, that, and the god-awful pantsuit. I was pretty sure my guess was spot on.

"Its not good." She said finally, her eyes meeting each of ours. "It's a miracle they found her when they did. She shouldn't be alive."

"Where did they find her, Detective Amaro?" Marley asked stepping past me and closer to the detective. We started down the hallway. I gave myself a mental pat on the back, proud that my assumption of the women was correct.

"She was left in an ally," Detective Amaro led the way through two swinging double doors. "The same ally where we found Phoebe Richards."

"They went back?" I questioned, mostly to myself. It didn't make any sense. Why would the Phoenix Society risk going back somewhere they knew we were watching? It was careless and messy. They weren't careless and messy. "That's not like them."

"I agree." Detective Amaro took a turn, leading us up a set of stairs. "It's unusual for them to hit the same place twice, especially with as much police activity we have there at the moment."

"Why would they do that?" Elias asked.

Detective Amaro shrugged, glancing back at the two of us. "We think it's to send a message. To let us know that they can see us."

I frowned. That didn't sound anything like the Phoenix Society. Monroe was smart. He would never risk them getting caught by the police. Especially not to send a silly message. He didn't care about that sort of stuff. All he cared about was his power. We stopped in front of a door. Detective Amaro placed her hand on the metal doorknob. She looked at each of us.

"She's heavily sedated. I couldn't get much out of her. Maybe you'll see something I missed. I'll wait out here." Detective Amaro pushed the door open, then stepped aside, letting us pass.

The room was weakly lit with soft yellow lights shining above us. Besides a recliner in the corner and a rolling chair for the doctors, the room was empty. I couldn't help but think that if the curtains were open, allowing in the sunlight, this room would look much livelier.

Lydia Dune lay peacefully at a slight incline in her hospital bed. I coughed as I peered closer at Lydia, doing my best to back the bile that rose in my throat. Now I knew what Detective Amaro meant when she said Lydia should not be alive.