Chapter 84

The meeting room was cold.

The air conditioning was on full blast as the summer had officially begun a week prior with high temperatures virtually unknown by northwestern Montana.

That room was the last place I wanted to be, but it wasn't because of the chilled air that came through the vents overhead.

I could still see where the pool of blood had blemished the concrete floor where an unconscious Bates had laid two weeks earlier. It looked like someone had tried to scrub it with bleach, but a deep maroon stain was still visible.

Bates sat silently in the chair beside me, Dr. Witt standing behind him sterilizing the tool she was about to use to remove the medical staples from his scalp.

There were five of the small, silver staples running vertically up the back of his head where it had split into a deep gash.

He stared at the table as she gently pushed his head forward.

"You should just feel a little tug," she warned him.

He closed his eyes tight, wincing as she wiggled the first one l