He glanced at the expression on her face, which was intense, as if thinking hard would bring everything back.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

“The hospital. I want you checked out.”

Frost kept driving through the residential neighborhoods, which were empty of traffic. The up-and-down hills made a roller coaster, and the Suburban nearly left the ground as he shot over each peak. He made good time. He was already turning toward the emergency room on the east end of the park when Lucy suddenly grabbed his arm and said in an urgent voice, “Frost, stop!”

He swung the SUV sharply to the curb opposite the University of San Francisco campus. “What is it? Are you okay?”

Lucy unhooked her safety belt and scrambled across the seat. She threw her arms around him and leaned into his neck. He could feel the heat of her skin. Her body shivered, and her breathing was crazy fast. “Frost, I’m scared. What did he do to me? What did he put in my head?”

“You tell me. Is there anything? Any memories? Any feelings?”

“No! It’s all blank! I need to know what he did. We can’t wait. Whatever it is, we need to get it out.”

“I can call Dr. Stein and ask her to meet us there. She’s the expert.”

Her reaction was volcanic. “No! No, not her, not her, I never want to see her again, ever. Ever. Don’t make me see her again, Frost. Please, I never want to look at her face.”

She burrowed closer to him and held him tight, as if she were hanging from a bridge and he could keep her from falling. Her fingernails dug deeply into his flesh.

“You don’t have to see her,” Frost said. “Don’t worry. We’ll talk to someone else.”

“Take me home,” Lucy said. “Not the hospital. Just take me home.”

“Your apartment isn’t safe.”

“Then take me to your place. Please?”

“I’m sorry, Lucy, the rule is, you see a doctor first. We don’t know what he did to you. We need to make sure you’re okay.”

Lucy slid back to her seat with a wild look of despair. Panicked tears rolled down her cheeks. She shook her head over and over, and she wrung her sweaty hands together. Blood smeared her mouth where she’d bitten through her lip. She was disintegrating before his eyes, and he wanted her with a doctor now. He put the Suburban into gear, but as the truck lurched forward, she took him completely by surprise. Without warning, she punched open the passenger door of the SUV. She practically fell into the street as he jammed the brakes, and then she took off at a sprint across the intersection.

Frost recovered from his shock and threw open his own door. “Lucy!”

He reached for his phone, but he realized that she’d grabbed it from the seat.