The phone ringing unanswered downstairs interrupted Nell's frantic and unsuccessful search for the drug. For the past two hours she had covered and uncovered every conceivable hiding place with no luck. Now, she scurried down the long stairway and into the den to answer the phone before the party on the other side of the line had a chance to hang up.
"Hello, Brookdale Lodge," she panted, trying to catch her breath.
"Hello," replied a mild masculine voice. "This is George Colby, is Thea there?"
"Oh… Mr. Colby," Nell answered, a slight nervous tremor in her voice. "No sir, she's not. Took her niece away on a trip, but don't know exactly where…"
"That's strange," he said. "She was supposed to call me several days ago. I'm in Brookdale now, and Lisa's boyfriend, Mark is here with me… he's quite anxious to hear how Lisa is getting along. Do you suppose I could talk to Dr. Quinn?"
"Why… y-yes sir… Hold on. He's down in the lab, and I'll have to go get him."
Nell pushed the hold button and made her way quickly down to the lab, a mixture of panic and confusion ringing in her ears. She knew Dr. Quinn would not want Colby or anyone else snooping around Brookdale right now, and would leave it up to him to elaborate on the lie she had started to cover Thea's and Lisa's strange disappearance.
The lab door was locked, so she used a master key to let herself in and made her way to the back of the room. She was startled to hear strange animal grunts and moans coming from the animal section and tiptoed with caution to investigate what could possibly be going on.
The lewd scene that met her eyes as she peered around the corner, took her breath away. Ugly, hairy nude masculine bodies were ripping and screwing away at the two helpless females from every possible angle, with their large red pricks attacking the sensual points of their body, as she stood riveted to the spot and opened her mouth in a silent scream of protest, but she remained unnoticed, and the wild orgy continued undisturbed.
She ducked back around the corner and away from their view, leaning against the wall to catch her breath. Her hands twitched in nervous spasms and huge tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes as the shock gradually subsided in her body. She had to think of some way to rescue Lisa and to destroy Dr. Quinn, for she hated him so much now that her own welfare no longer mattered. Her mind raced with thoughts of a possible solution, but soon she realized in despair that she would not be able to successfully help Lisa escape without the aid of others.
By the time she had reached the den she knew what she would have to do, there was no other choice. She picked up the receiver with trembling hands, and paused a moment to regain some semblance of composure, then pressed down on the flashing hold button. "M-Mr. Colby?"
"Yes Nell," he answered with a note of concern in his voice. "Is something wrong, you sound upset?"
"I-It's about Lisa and Thea. I have to talk to you, but not here."
"What do you mean?" he asked, with growing astonishment. "Is something wrong? What is it Nell?"
"I-I can meet you in half an hour at the Brookdale Steakhouse. P-Please don't argue… I can't talk now."
Nell steered Dr. Quinn's limousine into the graveled parking lot just as George Colby was getting out of his car. He was with a young handsome boy and when they saw her pull up, they both rushed over to the car to meet her.
"Now what's this all about," George Colby demanded. "Has something happened to Lisa or Thea?"
"Let's go inside," Nell said. The hot sun burned at her eyes, still swollen from crying, and she knew she would have to have a stiff drink to gather up the courage to tell the tale of horror and of what she had just witnessed.
George Colby ordered a round of drinks and waited patiently for Nell to begin, while the boy, Mark, sat nervously on the edge of his seat, silently observing her with anxious anticipation. When the drinks were served, Nell grabbed her glass and gulped down the burning liquid as if it were ice water, then, in a low voice, began the story at the beginning, starting with the experiments. She knew that if she did not ten them all of the facts, they would never believe the horrible incidents that were now taking place at Brookdale.
As she spoke, she could see the expression on their faces change from shocked disbelief to anger, and when she got to the part about Lisa entrapped in the cage, Mark suddenly shoved his chair away from the table and ran for the door. Colby hurried after him, and finally caught up with him in the parking lot.
"Wait, Mark," he commanded. The situation was so grave that he didn't want Mark involved at all, if possible. He was too upset to be of any use. He moved in front of Mark, blocking his way to the door of the car.
"Get out of my way," Mark shouted, his eyes burning with rage.
"Not until you calm down. You're not going to be of any help the way you are now."
"We have to get her out right now," Mark said, shoving him aside. "Just how can you be so calm… Don't you care what's happening to Lisa?"
Colby grabbed his arm and spoke in a cold determined voice. "I care… about both of them. But I won't be able to help them with you storming in there and tearing up the place. You could get them both killed!"
Mark slumped reluctantly against the car, realizing that Colby was light. "What can I do," he asked in a low voice.
"Here's a dime. Call the Chief of Police… His name is Garrison, I've known him for a long time. Tell him, briefly what's going on, and to meet us with some of his men at the entrance gate to the lodge. I'll have Nell go ahead and unlock the gate, and we'll be ready for them by the time they get there." He paused, seeing that Mark was on the verge of tears. "Try to keep a cool head, Mark… with any luck, we'll have them out of that mad-house in no time."
Colby went back into the bar, and brought another drink over to the table where Nell was still waiting, nervously sucking on the ice at the bottom of her drained glass. He set the new drink down in front of her and pulled a memo pad from his coat pocket, placing it on the table in front of her.
"Alright, Nell, I want you to sketch me a rough layout of the grounds around Brookdale Lodge… and the interior of the lab. And while you're at it, tell me the rest of the story before the boy gets back… we've got little time to loose."
The young intern stepped quietly into Room 104 and nodded to the nurse on duty, then studied the chart attached to the foot of the bed. His eyes expertly scanned the cold medical facts that were listed on the paper giving him the current status of the patient's condition. When he had finished, he set down the chart and studied the young girl sleeping on the bed before him. The chart bad no special blocks or spaces to list the personal tragedy caused by unthinkable tortures and degradation that the girl had most probably gone through, he thought. He remembered when they had brought her in through Emergency Receiving less than a week before, and the shock and anger that he felt when examining her body in the Emergency Room. At that time the girl had been semi-conscious and physically battered to a whisper of life, but now after his treatment of prolonged sedation and undisturbed rest, a faint tinge of color had slowly returned to her cheeks, and her breathing appeared to be normal.
He stepped to the side of the bed and gently pushed back the plastic name tag attached loosely to her wrist, counting the seconds from his watch to the beat of her pulse. When he glanced back again to his patient, he was mildly surprised to see her looking back at him with sleepy eyes.
"Well, Miss Carter," he said with a smile. "Have you enjoyed your rest?"
"W-where am I?" Lisa asked, looking around the room, trying to find an object which she could identify. The room had the unmistakable, sterile look of a hospital room, but the doctor and nurse were total strangers.
"You're at Brookdale General Hospital," the doctor said, "and you've been here for almost a week, young lady. How do you feel?"
"I-I'm sort of hungry… Do you suppose I could have something to eat?"
"Well now, I guess that answers my question, doesn't it," he said, smiling over to the nurse. "Nurse Benton, here will bring you a snack, and if you feel up to it later, there's a visitor outside that's been quite anxious to talk to you."
Forty-five minutes later Lisa sat relaxed against her propped-up bed pillow and greeted George Colby with a smile as he stepped into her room. The afternoon sun streaked down through the Venetian blinds and onto her shiney golden hair, now freshly brushed and tied back with a thin satin ribbon.
"You're looking your lovely self again Lisa," he said, leaning over and brushing his lips against her forehead.
"Thank you, Mr. Colby," she replied, "I do feel better, considering… considering what…" Her sentence hung suspended as the thoughts of the horrible nightmare reached her conscious mind.
"Never mind what happened Lisa," he interrupted gently, "all that's over with, and believe me with the charges slapped against Quinn and Holz, I doubt that they'll ever breath air outside a prison wall again."
Lisa breathed an audible sigh of relief, then listened to him without interrupting, as he told her the rest of the story.
"It was Nell who is really responsible for leading the police to the lab that day. Because of her cooperation, they were able to catch both Quinn and Holz before they had any warning or a chance for escape. Nell's in jail now because of her prior involvement, but I'm doing everything I can to see that she gets an even break. I promised her that much, and I think I'll be able to help her… but I'm not sure right now how much I can do for Thea."
"I-Is she alright?" Lisa asked.
"Yes, she's well enough now. As a matter of fact, she's just a few doors down from your room. Up until a couple of days ago, though, she was in a deep coma, brought on by a combination of drugs that had been injected in her body. Funny, at the peak of the coma, all she kept raving about was a blue glass vase, but when I asked her about it later, she said she couldn't imagine what the significance could be, can you?"
"No… not at all," Lisa said, "I saw very little of Thea while I was at Brookdale."
"Nevertheless, according to Nell, she had a deep involvement in the strange goings on around there. I'm afraid she'll be held as an accomplice, unless she can prove otherwise."
Nurse Benton interrupted their conversation and stepped into the room. "There's a call for you downstairs, Mr. Colby. It's Chief Garrison… He says its important."
Colby nodded to the nurse and turned back to Lisa. "I have to go now, but in case your interested, there's another visitor waiting to see you outside. He's been standing by your door like a sentry ever since they first brought you in, and now he wants to see how his girl is doing."
"M-Mark… Oh no I can't see him," she sobbed. "Does he know?"
"He knows you've been hurt, that's all, and now he wants to see you."
"Yes… I guess it's about time that I stop thinking so much about my own feelings, and start thinking about those who still care for me," Lisa responded with a new-found tone of maturity in her voice. "Thank you Mr. Colby," she said, extending her hand, "tell the nurse I'm ready to see Mark now."
Thea pulled at the edge of the bedsheet nervously, while George Colby talked to her in a lowered voice.
"I just talked to Chief Garrison on the phone, and I'm afraid you're in a lot more trouble than you think. Garth has just died from the overdose of a synthetic hormone… given to him with your knowledge."
"Garth… dead?" she said incredulously. "But I didn't know there was any danger in the experiments."
"Well, that's something we'll have to prove. There's one chance for a light sentence… Garrison wants to know if your willing to testify as a witness against Dr. Quinn."
"Y-yes, I will. Believe me, I had no idea that Garth was in any kind of danger."
"Ok, Thea. I'll do what I can for you, but first you've got to prove to me and the courts that you are willing to voluntarily commit yourself for drug addiction treatment."
"When?" she asked, trying to conceal the panic mounting in her drug starved body.
"As soon as possible. The doctor says he can release you in a few days, and if you are willing to sign yourself in, I can get you a room at a private clinic. That will at least prove to the courts that you're willing to cooperate… Well, what do you say?"
Thea shrugged her shoulders in apparent reluctant acceptance. "Alright, I'll go… but before I do, there are a few small things I'll have to pick up at the lodge. Is that all right with you?"
"I see no harm in that," he answered, standing up from his chair to leave the room, "Oh, by the way, did you ever remember what the connection was between the blue vase and your nightmares?"
"No," she said lowering her eyes from his gaze and smiling inwardly at the knowledge no one had found her secret hiding place. "Goodbye, George, I'll see you in a few days."