Suicide Epidemic

VI

A terrified Jessi held her breath, dreading the moment she was going to be caught red handed for snooping in Daisy's office. But just as soon as the door was opened, it was clicked shut. A faint jingling of keys can be heard from the main office and sound of someone humming a tune. She exhaled a deep breath in relief. It probably is the someone from facilities team closing up her office. Once her thudding heart slowed down to a normal pace, she pried her eyes open slowly and took a look around. Her gaze fell on a trash can nearby. As any other textbook detective, she believed that a trash bin could be a treasure trove, almost always containing something discriminating about the owner. With a distinctive sparkle in her eye, she picked through the items in Daisy's trash. Most of them were inconspicuous, not warranting a second glance. Just as she was about to give up scavenging, a small drug bottle caught her eye. The drug was labeled Bellergal-S. What is a drug bottle doing in a shrink's trash? She quickly pocketed it and made her way outside as discreetly as she came in.

Once in her room, she tried to find out more about the drug. But apparently, a wifi connection or let alone a cellular network is deemed as a hindrance to holistic healing provided here. Frustrated, she kept the internet digging to a later time and decided to gather as much information about Daisy as possible while she is here. By the time dinner time rolled in, she was ready to face the crowd.  With a beguiling smile, Jessi stepped into the dining hall, scanning the room for the weakest link. She spotted a girl her age sitting by herself with a dazed look. Sensing a prey to grill for information, Jessi approached her and greeted her with an overly enthusiastic hello. To say the girl was startled by her energy would be an understatement. She jerked herself from her stupor and blinked few times and continued to eat. When she failed to acknowledge Jessi's presence, she tried to grab her attention by snapping her fingers close to her face. Jessi felt a cold chill sweep down her spine when the girl looked up to face her. Her blue eyes were so empty, devoid of any emotion. The blank stare that she gave was so weird, Jessi had a feeling that even though she was looking at Jessi, she was not really seeing her. It was as if nobody was home as if she was a zombie. Her actions were mechanical. She picked at her food for a while. Since she failed to evoke any reaction from her, Jessi decided to find some other place and got up. As she was walking by a table, someone called out to her and invited her to eat with them. Shaking off the weird feeling from before, she put on her game face and smiled brightly at her new victim.

The voice that called her over belonged to a middle-aged lady with a bit too much make up on. Jessi assumed her alter ego persona and introduced herself as Hazel. The lady smiled and gave her name as Rachel. The gaudy and overly expensive dress coupled with the caked on makeup that Rachel wore gave off a new money vibe. With little to no effort, she managed to get Rachel to open up. When inquired about the weird girl in the corner, Rachel informed her that she was a loner and advised Jessi not to bother talking to her. She discretely questioned more about the girl.  Apparently, she joined the institute a week ago and as far as Rachel was concerned she had taken a turn for the worse since her treatment started. Furthermore, the day she had come, even though she had a haunting look, she was lucid enough to talk to people and make small talk. She had introduced herself as Jay. But as days went by, she had become more remote and closed off. Rachel claimed that she and few other inmates who had met her on her first day tried to talk to her doctor about her worsening condition. But the doctor brushed them off and was asked to mind their own business. Out of curiosity, Jessi asked who the doctor was. When she heard Daisy's name coming out of Rachel's mouth, an alarm went off in Jessi's mind. 

Similar behavior was also reported in the previous two cases as well. Both Monica and Mandy had been extremely disturbed and exhibited out of character behavior during the final few days before their death. Also, the change in character was observed roughly around the same time as their sessions with Daisy was scheduled. There was no doubt in Jessi's mind about Daisy's involvement in two deaths. But as these were all theories and circumstantial evidence, it was not enough to lock Daisy up. What, Why and How of this case still remains uncovered. But if her intuition is right, Jay is going to be Daisy's next victim and she needs to get to the bottom of this story before another girl's blood is shed.