“C’mon, you must have some opinion,” Jesse prompted.

“I’m sorry, but that’s really not my bailiwick. My focus is on administration. A counselor would have a better perspective.”

“Then can we talk to a counselor?” I asked.

“I’m afraid not. Again, that would violate patient confidentiality.”

I felt an irrepressible urge to put my hands around the sagging skin of Zelda’s wrinkled neck and squeeze. There was something in her prim demeanor that made me feel like she was enjoying the process of yanking my strings. Given her eroded, frail body, maybe psychological torment was her only source of fun.

“Now look here,” Jesse said, but I interrupted him.

“You have a holistic wellness program here, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes,” said Zelda. “We believe in addressing mental and physical wellness, and in integrating the two.”

“Which is why you provide yoga.”

“That’s correct,” said Zelda. “It has been beneficial to so many of the girls who have come to stay with us.”

“Who certifies your yoga instructors?”

Zelda blinked. “Certifies? Ah…” There was a pause. “I believe…” There was another pause. Zelda opened the file drawer of her desk and rifled through it. She pulled out a manila folder and opened it up. “Here it is. Gillian was certified by Spirit Tree.”

Gillian Kendall, I read, upside down. Her address was on a street called Kemble. Kendall on Kemble? That was a ready-made mnemonic trick. “And Claudia participated in the yoga program?”

“Oh, yes,” Zelda nodded and closed the file. “We encourage all of our girls to do so.”

“Claudia told me Trina Greene got her into yoga,” I said. I knew Zelda wouldn’t tell me anything about another Idylhaven patient, so I tried to work Trina’s name in naturally.

Zelda’s mouth moved as if she had tasted something very bitter. “Trina,” Zelda said, her pale blue eyes narrowing at me. Her dislike of the woman was obvious. From personal experience, I knew that addicts were difficult to deal with, but hadn’t Zelda signed on for that job? She straightened her spine. “I’m afraid you’ve caught me on a very busy day. I’m sorry I can’t spend more time with you. You do have my hope that Claudia will return safely and soon.”

It drove me crazy, to be so close to information about my sister and yet come up empty. What if I pulled the fire alarm? I thought, my eyes scanning the wall for a red lever. I could clear the building and search for Claudia’s file. I glanced over the bookcase and stopped dead.

“Alec Gorevale,” I said, spotting his book.

“What? Oh, yes, Alec.” Zelda glanced over her shoulder at the books. “A great mind.”

“Did you know him?”

“Of course,” said Zelda.

“Did he have anything to do with Idylhaven?”