The Dysfunction Of Evan: Books 1-3 Collection

60. The Whole Story

*(Tom)*

As soon as I landed in London, I rushed to baggage claim, where Luke was waiting for me. I didn't even greet him, just told him to get me to Astrid as quickly as possible. 

"I have a lawyer meeting us there." Luke said as he weaved through traffic. "He's been doing his best to dig up the facilities legal history. He hasn't found anything as of yet, but he is prepared to file with the courts to have her released into your custody. He said everything is ready, he just needs a release refusal from the doctor. He has a judge on stand-by." 

"Good." I said. The last update I'd gotten from Frannie was that she was being refused access to Astrid. 

"Frannie said the nurses reported an increase in aggressive behavior, it's conveniently not on camera, but a nurse told her Astrid spit on him and tried to bite him." I told Luke. "This is a top rated hospital, how does shit like this happen?"

"I don't know, Tom. I don't know what they are trying to do, but they are doing it to the wrong person. I'll see this place close down before I let the lawyer put anything to rest." Luke looked over at me. "Even if Astrid had started the fight, she doesn't deserve to be treated like this. No one does." 

"We don't even know how bad it is yet." I said in a defeated voice. Before leaving set, I had called Kevin, and told him what was going on. He was supportive, and said he'd work with production if I needed an extra day or two. He also agreed that bringing Astrid back with me was the best option at the moment, and said he'd work to make arrangements, saying he'd do everything he could to help me. I asked if he could get ahold of Jake and Grady to keep her company while I was working. I passed on their information to Kevin, and as we pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, I got a text message from him. 

---So far, the only news I have is that Jake will be on hand to help. He should be calling you today.

I sent a quick reply of thanks before getting out of the car. Luke and I walked into the main lobby. As we entered the building, a man in a dark suit jumped to his feet and ended a phone call.

"Mr. Hiddleston, I'm Silas Fintcher, from Haverton Law." He held out his hand. I shook it and nodded. He looked to Luke and nodded his head. "Mr. Windsor." 

I went up to the reception desk. 

"I'm here to see Astrid Long." I said in the calmest voice I could manage. The young woman behind the desk worriedly looked from me, to Luke, to Mr. Fintcher. 

"I'll call the unit and let them know you're here, Mr. Hiddleston." She quickly grabbed the phone and I stepped away. Intimidating her would not help. 

Several minutes later, the visitor door opened, and Frannie emerged. Without saying anything, she ushered us back to her office and closed the door. 

"In trying to help Astrid, I may have made things more difficult. As soon as you told me you were bringing a lawyer, I hatched a plan." Frannie said. She leaned against her desk while we stood. "This place hates lawyers. As soon as I mentioned that you were bringing one, suddenly keeping Astrid in restraints wasn't the best option. They released her from them within hours of my saying something. As I predicted, she calmed down. However, they are still refusing me access to her. She has seen her doctor, and she is eating. She was given a shower and a book to read. That's all I know."

"How does this make things difficult?" Luke asked.

"They can claim that they acted in her best interest when she refused to eat. Yes, they had her on a tube, but they can claim having the line was a risk that they didn't want to keep taking. They clean her up, make her as comfortable as they can on an isolation unit, and you have no reason to pull her from the program or get a lawyer involved." Mr. Fintcher stated. "I'll call my aide. I prepared for this. I'll have her send over the petition for the release of all camera footage of Astrid starting the day of the altercation. We probably won't have access until tomorrow, but its a start."