Faithful Heart by Al Lacy

Author:Al Lacy [Lacy, Al]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-60142-304-7
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Published: 1995-08-26T04:00:00+00:00

Dottie Harper was sure she would find the City Mental Asylum loathsome and unpleasant. She had heard plenty about insane asylums and their unsanitary conditions, mistreatment of patients, bad food, and the wailing and screaming of the inmates.

When Dr. Carroll escorted her through the main door into the lobby, she learned quickly that what she had heard about the wailing and screaming was true. Hideous sounds, though muffled, assaulted her ears.

She saw nothing that appeared unsanitary. The lobby was clean, well-lighted by large windows, and decorated with paintings of still life and countrysides.

Dr. Carroll introduced Dottie to the male receptionist and a big husky man in white who worked as an attendant. He then guided her through a pair of double doors into an open area with a counter, and long, narrow halls that went in three directions. The building was constructed of stone and mortar, and the depressing, colorless stone was visible on the inside also.

Dr. Carroll paused near the counter and said, “Mrs. Harper, as we tour the building, I want you to notice that our place is not like other asylums. We keep it scrubbed clean. And I assure you, the food is good and nourishing.”

“That’s nice to know,” she said with a faint smile. The wails and screams were not muffled now, and they sent cold chills down her back.

“The worst patients are in that section.” Carroll pointed to the hallway on their left. “We’ll tour the other two first.”

Dottie wasn’t sure she wanted to go down that hallway at all. In fact, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go down any hallway. She suppressed the desire to turn and run. She had to know what Jerrod would face if he ever came here.

All three halls were busy with white-clad male attendants moving in and out of the rooms that lined both sides. Dottie spotted two nurses carrying trays, their feminine forms looking out of place among the muscular attendants. She shuddered to think of Jerrod in this place at the height of one of his spells. She was sure it would take three or four men to subdue him.

“Take a look in here,” Dr. Carroll said as they approached the first cell door.

Each cell had a steel door with a small open window. Dottie glanced down the hall and saw a man’s arm reaching through a window, as if he were trying to grasp something. She hesitated before going any closer to the first door.

“Why don’t they have glass in the windows?” she asked.

“The inmates would ram their fists through the glass and cut themselves.”

“What about wire mesh? I mean, should they be allowed to reach into the hallway like that?”

“There’s no harm done as long as you don’t get close enough for them to grab you. We have to have the windows so we can see inside at any time. They would only cut themselves on wire mesh, too.”

Dottie steeled herself and peered through the small opening of the first cell. Two elderly women sat at a tiny table, drawing on pieces of cardboard with chunks of charcoal.

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