Free True Deceit (Blindsided Book 1) by A.J. Carella Page B

leaving town.
    “Roughly, but don’t worry, the satnav will get us there.”
    “God, how did we ever manage before we had all this technology?” she chuckled.
    “I know, it’s making us all far too lazy.”
    “Ain’t that the truth.”
    They fell into a companionable silence and it wasn’t until they had nearly arrived that Sarah spoke again.
    “Have you ever been to a place like this?”
    “An asylum?” he asked.
    “Yeah.”
    “No, not exactly the kind of place you visit unless you have to.” He looked over at her. “You’re not worried are you?”
    She shook her head. “No, not worried exactly, more that I don’t know what to expect.”
    “I get that.” He nodded.
    “And scared a bit too,” she admitted.
    “Scared of what?”
    “Scared that she won’t be able to tell us anything and we’ll be right back where we started.”
    Michael didn’t reply. He didn’t want to tell her that it was exactly those thoughts that had kept him awake all night. The fact that his wife was out there somewhere, very possibly still alive, was torturing him. God only knew what she was going through and the fact that he couldn’t do anything about it was killing him.
    “We’ll find her, Sarah.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel. I won’t rest until we do, one way or another, he thought as the outline of the hospital rose from the horizon.
    ***
    The hospital was everything she’d imagined. Unfortunately. It seemed the sky got darker the closer they got, reinforcing the feeling of foreboding that crept over her as soon as she saw the building itself. If these places are supposed to help people, they could try and make them a bit more cheerful she thought taking in the box-like shape and the walls painted in battleship grey. As her eyes travelled up she saw that the windows were small and many were covered with iron bars.
    “Not exactly a resort hotel is it?” she asked wryly as they checked in with the guard at the gate before being directed to a visitor parking spot.
    “I think most of the guests are not here of their own choosing and, to be honest, I’m not sure how many of them even take in their surroundings.”
    He had a point.
    “Come on, let’s get this over with.” He climbed out of the car and waited for her to join him before they turned and walked towards the main entrance.
    There was nothing welcoming about the reception area, no comfortable chairs, no cheerful paintings on the walls. Rather it was completely sterile with a grey tiled floor and walls that were painted off white. Sarah immediately felt cold and was glad she’d brought her jacket.
    Along one wall was a reception desk, behind which sat a lone nurse who looked up as they approached.
    "Hi, we'd like to see Samantha Hathaway." Mike told her.
    "And you are?" The nurse smiled warmly.
    "We are old school friends. We went to see her father yesterday and he suggested she might enjoy a visit."
    “Ah, Mr Hathaway. That poor man has been through so much.” she gave a sad smile. “So, you’re aware of her condition I take it?” she asked.
    "Condition?" Mike asked, confused.
    "Well, rather, how unwell she is. Her behaviour can be quite extreme and quite disturbing if you’ve never seen it before.”
    “Yes, her father explained.”
    “Okay, good. Well if I could take both your full names I’ll issue you visitor passes and then get someone to take you through.”
    Taking turns they each gave her their details before clipping their passes to their clothing and taking seats on the hard chairs in the waiting area. Before long, a male nurse appeared. "You're here to see Samantha?" he asked coming over to them.
    They both nodded.
    "Follow me." They both stood and followed him to a door that led from the lobby into the main building. They waited while he tapped in a security code before holding the door open for them to pass through.
    “It will be nice for Samantha to have some visitors.” He smiled at them over his shoulder. “She