Captives (Nightmare Hall) by Diane Hoh

people will say? Macho baseball player sees shrink over an allergic reaction to his new baseball uniform. Anyway, he wasn’t helping me. That’s why I only saw him twice.”
    “I saw him more than that,” Elise volunteered. “For my insomnia. And he did help. Arthur recommended him.”
    Simon laughed rudely. “Arthur? You did something Arthur recommended?”
    “It helped.” Elise began nervously running her fingers through her cropped hair. “I was off my game because I wasn’t getting enough sleep. Arthur said he never went a single day without seeing Dr. Leo, so I thought I’d give it a try.” To Simon, she said with dread in her voice, “You think that we’re all suspects? Just because we were patients of his?”
    Simon shrugged. “Looks that way.”
    Ernie began pacing back and forth in front of the rain-streaked window. “What really bothers me,” he said in a low, urgent voice, “what is really driving me nuts, is that Molloy is out there and they haven’t caught that guy. I mean, isn’t he going to be looking for a ride out of town? The state police said there was almost no one on the road. If Lynne got stubborn, and kept going when she shouldn’t have, and if they’re just about the only car on the road, they could come across that maniac and he’ll want their car.”
    Simon frowned. “Molloy’s not here yet? I thought you told me she was supposed to be here by six. We,” he said glancing toward Elise, “were going to take you two out to eat. Although after practically swimming over here from my dorm, I think we’ll have to settle for the cafeteria downstairs, gruesome though that prospect is.”
    “She was supposed to be here by six. I just wish I knew for sure that they’d stopped somewhere, a motel or something. Maybe she tried to call and couldn’t get through.”
    “It does seem like she’d have called to tell you where she is,” Elise said.
    “The phones are really bad. Some of the lines are down and even where they aren’t, there’s so much interference, you can’t hear the other person. I know because I just talked to Molloy’s mother.” Ernie forced a wan grin. “Nobody I’d rather be talking to when the line goes dead.”
    Simon laughed. But he was serious again almost immediately. “So, what are you going to do? About Molloy, I mean?”
    “I don’t know.” Ernie was a writer. He had a very vivid imagination. That imagination had dredged up a terrifying image of Molloy sitting in a car stranded in high water as some crazy maniac with wild eyes approached from behind. “But if I don’t do something, I’m going to go nuts! Any ideas?”
    “State police.”
    “Already called them. They said no reported accidents. So at least I know she’s not lying in some emergency room somewhere.” Ernie had resumed his pacing.
    Simon moved to stand behind Elise’s chair. “Maybe they’ve finally caught the guy. I’d kind of like to get a good night’s sleep, know what I mean?”
    “Wouldn’t have to be a guy,” Elise said, as if she were thinking aloud.
    “What?”
    “I said what makes you think it was a guy? Why couldn’t it have been a girl? I’m not Leo’s only female patient. There are others. Girls who saw him a lot more often than I did. Becca Turnbull, for one, and she acted like she hated him. And Corinne Summerson. She’s an athlete, and big enough and strong enough to bash in someone’s skull. Except I think she had a crush on Dr. Leo. She couldn’t wait to see him every day. Like Arthur.”
    Simon reached into an open box of cookies Ernie’s mother had sent, sitting on top of Ernie’s stereo. “I’ve been thinking about Arthur,” Simon said.
    Ernie stared at him. “Arthur? Arthur Banks?”
    Simon took a huge bite out of the cookie. “Um-hum. He’s pretty weird, Ernie. You gotta admit that. I mean, how many other guys do you know who wear suspenders even with shorts?”
    “We’re going to hang this guy on the basis of his