“Interesting,” another man said. “I should certainly like to witness this.”
The door was pushed open and a large florid man in a white coat came into the room. “So this is the next candidate for our little experiment, it is?” he said jovially, and I realized what the syringe on the table was for.
I struggled to stand up. “Wait. No. Listen to me. I am not insane. Ask Nelly Bly. She’s coming to get me out today—”
Then I heard the words, “Gott im Himmel. Miss Murphy?”
The first doctor stepped aside and Dr. Birnbaum was standing behind him, staring at me in disbelief.
“Miss Murphy. What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“I was trying to rescue Jessie,” I said, still gasping for air. “They said you’d gone away. They wouldn’t let me see her, so this was the only way.”
“My dear Fraulein.” Dr. Birnbaum came over to me.
“Watch her, doctor. She’s a lively one,” the orderly said.
“I believe I can handle her, thank you,” the doctor said. “My dear colleague, this young lady is as sane as you or I. I can personally vouch for her.”
Hands released me. Soon I was sitting in Dr. Meyer’s office, explaining my presence. Even as I said the words I realized how ridiculous and impatient I had been. “I didn’t know how long you’d be away,” I concluded lamely.
“So you took matters into your own hands.”
“With the help of Nelly Bly.”
“Nelly Bly?”
“The famous reporter. She went undercover in an insane asylum once. She was my co-conspirator. She was supposed to come and release me by now, but everything went wrong. I found Jessie and one of the men started fondling her. I tried to pull him off her. They gave me some kind of injection and that’s the last thing I remember.”
“So our girl is here?” He looked pleased. “How is her condition? Any improvement?”
“She can speak,” I said. “And understand. I didn’t have a chance to talk with her, of course, but she came to my defense so she might now be in a cell like the one I was in.”
“Which girl is this?” the other doctor asked.
Dr. Birnbaum explained and someone was sent to fetch her.
“I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you,” I said to Dr. Birnbaum as the other doctor left the room. “I thought you’d gone away, maybe back to Europe.”
“Europe? I told the hotel I had been called away for a few days, that’s all. Dr. Meyer invited me to come and stay with him and witness his latest experiments.”
“You’ve been staying here all the time?” I looked at him and started to laugh.
Soon after that Jessie was brought to us in a pleasant sitting room. She came in looking terrified, and the look in her eyes when she recognized me and Dr. Birnbaum was wonderful. I embraced her and she started to cry. We stood there clinging to each other and crying. I believe even Dr. Birnbaum wiped away a tear.
“You’re safe with us now,” I said. “We’re going to take you home.”
We were treated very differently on the return voyage to Manhattan and helped ashore into the arms of a very worried Elizabeth.
“Molly, I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you,” she said. “They told me you had been taken to the wing for violent patients and there was no way they were going to release you to me. I was just on my way back to round up some reporters and a police escort. I thought we might have to storm the place.”
“All is well,” I said. “And this is Jessie.”
“The girl in the snowdrift?” Elizabeth beamed at her.
“I remember now,” Jessie said slowly to me. “There was snow. Lots of snow. The whole world was white. You carried me out of the snow.”
“What else do you remember?” I asked.
“Not very much. Bad men. Horrible things, but all a blur, like a nightmare. I know that I was very afraid.”
“Those men are now locked up in jail,” I said.
“When did your power of speech return?” Dr. Birnbaum asked.
“When I saw those men again, suddenly things started to come back to me. I knew they were bad and I was afraid of them,” Jessie answered in no more than a whisper, like one who is surprised to discover she has a voice. “But I knew I had to pretend to be witless if I wanted to stay alive. My plan was to get strong enough to run away. But then they lost patience and decided to send me to the asylum until my wits returned. Then I truly despaired, until this lady came for me.”
“Molly,” I said. “My name is Molly.”
A cab took us back to my house. Dr. Birnbaum sat and talked with Jessie while I made us all a good meal.
“What I don’t understand,” I said, “is why they wanted to keep you alive and wait for your memory to come back.”
She frowned for a moment and then she said slowly, “Because I am the only one who knows where the loot is buried.”
By the next day we were able to piece it together.
Tell Me, Pretty Maiden (Molly Murphy Mysteries, #7)
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