Free Captives (Nightmare Hall) by Diane Hoh

supermarket.
    Watch out girls, here I co-ome!

Chapter 14
    E RNIE NEEDED TO TALK to Tanner Leo. He knew it was a really crass thing to want, when her father had just been murdered, but he was going to try, anyway. Tanner might know something about the killer. She might be able to say to him, “Yes, I’ve already told the police who it is, but I have to tell you, Ernie, I know this guy and I promise you, he’s long gone. He isn’t the type to hang around waiting to get arrested.”
    That was what Ernie Dodd needed to hear. That the creep was long gone, and therefore no threat to Molloy.
    Of course, Tanner would already have shared any information she had with the police. He should go to them instead of to the bereaved daughter. But as someone who had sought the services of Dr. Leo, Ernie Dodd was on that list of suspects, so he wasn’t about to present himself to the police. It had to be Tanner he talked to.
    Tanner played second base on the baseball team, and Ernie liked her. She was friendly and seemed helpful. Would she help him out now? Could she?
    Ian Banion had said on the radio that “Dr. Leo’s only survivor, his daughter, Tanner, is recovering from the news at the campus infirmary.”
    Ernie made his way across campus, sloshing through deep puddles as if they weren’t even there.
    Tanner, a tall, thin, dark-haired girl who reminded Ernie a little of Molloy, was sitting in the infirmary waiting room with Charlie Cochran, her boyfriend. He had an arm around her shoulders and was talking to her quietly, comforting her.
    They looked up in surprise when Ernie walked in. He declared his condolences, which Tanner accepted with quiet gratitude, and then, sitting down, said, “Tanner, I really hate bothering you like this. I know you must be really upset.”
    “They gave me something,” she said, gesturing toward a nurse standing behind the counter. “They tell me it’ll help me sleep. I’m staying with Jodie for a few days.” Jodie Lawson was Tanner’s best friend. Tanner shuddered. “I couldn’t go back to that house even if the police let me.”
    Ernie felt terrible. He shouldn’t be here, bothering her like this. Then he saw a police officer in a small room off the hall, talking to a doctor. Already asking questions. They’d be coming to Ernie Dodd sooner or later to get his answers. Might even keep him from looking for Molloy.
    He couldn’t give up on Tanner. “Look, I’m sorry, Tanner. I know you must be wrecked, but I have to ask you something. I’m worried about Molloy.”
    Tanner knew who he meant. He had talked to everyone on the team about Molloy. “Your girlfriend? Why?”
    Ernie explained. “And with that guy out there …”
    Tanner paled.
    “I thought maybe you might have some idea about who it is, and then you might also know where he might be hiding out or, better yet, where he might have escaped to,” Ernie asked desperately. He knew he was grabbing at straws, but he didn’t know what else to do.
    “Oh, Ernie,” Tanner said softly, “if I knew who it was, don’t you think I’d tell? My father and I didn’t get along very well, I guess, but …” She bit her lower lip.
    Charlie patted her shoulder and squeezed her hand,
    “Think, Tanner, okay? Isn’t there anything that you can think of that would help the police find this guy? I mean, he’s out there, and for all I know, so is Molloy.”
    “It might not be a guy,” Tanner said slowly. The sedative was beginning to hit her. “My father had female patients, too, Ernie, and some of them didn’t like him very much. But I’ll tell you what I told the police. If I were going to look for a fugitive, I know the first place I’d look. Nightmare Hall.”
    Ernie stared at her. “Nightmare Hall?” That old, gloomy brick place out on the highway, sitting up on a hill under huge, black trees. “Why there?”
    “Because it’s off-campus, it’s out of the way, and it’s empty right now. I know the housemother has gone on