The Memory Painter: A Novel Read online

“Finn, talk to me.”

  “I need a minute here. Find the keys and unlock the door. I’m pretty sure we have a gas leak.”

  The lab had several natural gas sources: gas spigots, a gas line to the chemical fume hood, and a row of canisters used to fuel the burners. Diana tried to stay calm as she rifled through drawers looking for the keys. Conrad must have taken them all.

  She reached for the phone to call the police. “The phone’s dead,” she said as cold dread began to take hold of her. “You need to get out of there. I’m going to try and break the glass.”

  Finn ordered, “No, don’t. Just come unlock the door. I think I found the leak.”

  Ignoring him, she grabbed a high-back desk chair with metal legs and managed to lift it chest level—just as the explosion shattered the glass wall into a thousand pieces.

  The blast threw her into the air and launched her backward. Her body smashed against the wall of the control room and crumbled to the floor.

  It took her a moment to refocus. Her arms were bleeding and covered in shards of glass. The chair had shielded her from the brunt of the blast, and she didn’t seem to have any other injuries.

  She stood up in a daze and saw that Finn was on fire. Without thinking, she jumped through the broken window and ran to the fire extinguisher. She fumbled with it and finally managed to spray him down. He lay on the ground unconscious.

  There was another deafening boom. The fire had found the sodium azide, a dangerous chemical used to synthesize drugs that became explosive under heat.

  Diana saw Michael, still immobile on the table. She screamed at him over the roar of the flames, “Michael!” But the fire was about to ensnare Finn again. With strength she didn’t know she possessed, Diana hauled Finn’s body to the control room window and managed to hoist him up and drop him on the other side.

  With Finn safe from the fire’s path, she ran to Michael before the flames could separate them. She shook him as hard as she could. “Michael? Wake up.”

  Nothing.

  She struggled to detach the sensors and slide him off the table, but she couldn’t pick him up. His body was too heavy. They both collapsed in a heap on the ground. She wrestled with his dead weight and squirmed out from under him.

  Grabbing his feet, she pulled him across the room as the fire stalked them. A wall of flames blocked the path to the control room. Her only option was to get to the lab door.

  “Come on! Come on!” she shouted at him, even though he couldn’t hear her. With superhuman strength, she half carried, half dragged his body to the door and then crumpled against it. Unable to breathe, she took off her shirt and wrapped it around her hand and tried the doorknob. It was still locked.

  First she banged on the window, then she tried to break the glass with her foot. “Help! Somebody get us out.”

  With a sob she realized no one would come. The smoke had encased them like a tomb. They were both about to die.

  She cradled Michael in her arms and watched him sleep, wondering where his mind had gone. Was he remembering the life in Egypt that he had yearned for? She was just thankful he would never remember this.

  Numb with shock, Diana looked at her feet—her shoes were on fire. She put her lips to Michael’s and whispered, with her last breath, “Find me.”

  * * *

  When Linz opened her eyes, she was gasping for air, suffocating on Diana’s memories—she and her husband just died. Cries came from deep within her soul. She had remembered too much too quickly.

  She was sprawled on her bathroom floor. Forcing her muscles to move, she picked herself up. Her hands and body shook uncontrollably as she splashed water on her face. She put her head on the edge of the sink and left the water running. Her chest heaved as she struggled to breathe. Her father … she couldn’t even think about her father right now, or she would lose every last shred of sanity she possessed. She needed Michael—no, Bryan … her mind was so confused.

  Unable to drive, Linz took a taxi to Bryan’s place. She ignored the elevator and ran blindly up the stairs. But as she approached Bryan’s door, she slowed. It was already open.

  “Hello?” She walked in and found the place was trashed. Michael and Diana’s boxes were gone, the Super 8 projector had been smashed to pieces, and all of the films were missing.

  But the worst was the studio. Every canvas had been splattered with black paint—the paintings had been destroyed.

  Linz sank to her knees in despair. Only one painting had been spared, a magnificent lifesize portrait of an Egyptian goddess. Linz had never seen it before. It was a masterpiece, clearly the best Bryan had ever done.

  Linz gazed at the goddess’s face, at the beautiful being created by Bryan’s hand. Sobs racked her body. She covered her face with her hands, unable to look anymore. She knew who had done this—and it meant he had Bryan.

  There was only one person who could help her find him. And now that she had her memories back, she understood why he had been so afraid.

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  Ten o’clock on a Friday night was too late to be knocking on Finn’s door, but Linz didn’t care. She rang the doorbell repeatedly and kept rapping with the brass knocker until the door finally opened. It was Finn who answered, dressed in a robe and dark-tinted eyeglasses.

  Her words barreled out at once. “Finn, Conrad has him. I didn’t know where else to go. Michael—Bryan’s missing. He has him. He—Conrad—he locked the door. It’s happening all over again. I barely got you out.” She gripped her head in agony and sank to her knees. “Oh God. I’m going crazy. What have we done?” Her body began to shiver.

  Finn knelt beside her and took her pulse. “How long have you been taking it?” Linz couldn’t stop trembling. He held her arms and asked again, “Linz. How long has it been?”

  “Today. Four doses.” She realized how she must look to him and started to stand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.”

  Like a hurt animal she turned to leave. But instead, Finn guided her inside to his study. When he spoke, his voice was soothing. “You’re adjusting. Trying to assimilate another lifetime with your own—perhaps several. It’s incredibly difficult to do. We asked ourselves the same questions.”

  He sat her on the couch and wrapped a blanket around her. The fireplace was lit, and the room felt warm and safe.

  Linz gazed at the flames and shuddered. When she spoke, her words were quiet. “How do I live with what’s in my mind?”

  Finn studied her a long time, as if weighing a decision. He went to his desk and returned with photographs. “This would have been Diana’s last memory.”

  Linz gasped when she saw them. They were photographs of the lab after the accident, identical to her vision.

  Finn hesitated. “I never thought I would be given a chance to thank you for pulling me from the fire,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

  Linz looked at him, remembering how he had been before the accident … such a beautiful man. She couldn’t begin to imagine his devastation.

  They sat together in silence. Tears ran down Linz’s cheeks. “I’ve been fighting my heart. I’ve been fighting my heart my entire life—keeping it dead so I wouldn’t recognize the truth. How can I face him?” She couldn’t even bring herself to call Conrad her father anymore. “I’m his daughter, but Diana’s memories are mine now. And I’m imagining the worst for Bryan. I know he has him.”

  Finn squeezed her hand. “We’ll find him. Think—where would Conrad take him? Someplace safe, where no one would ask questions.”

  Linz shook her head. She had no idea.

  Finn kept pressing her, “What hospitals and research centers does Medicor work closely with?”

  Linz answered easily. “Medicor owns St. Mary’s, Forest Green, and Park Plaza.”

  “Medicor owns Forest Green Psychiatric Center?” Finn asked, sounding alarmed.

  “It was one of the first facilities he acquired. Why?” Then it hit her. “Our test patients. They were all from there.”


  Finn brooded. “It’s also one of the only facilities that perform psychosurgery and other experimental studies.”

  “If he’s there…” Linz tried not to panic. “How do we even find out?”

  Finn tapped his fingers on the desk. Linz remembered the gesture well.

  “Assuming he is,” she said, “I can’t just waltz in and sign him out. I’m not a physician.”

  “Then we need to find one.”

  Something clicked in Linz’s mind—Bryan’s file. “His mother.” Finn gave her a questioning look and she explained, “Conrad had Bryan investigated. I remember reading that his mother is a psychiatrist, a very prominent one. She even does psychiatric screenings for the Boston Police on high-profile cases.”

  “Then she could help,” Finn said. “But what will you tell her?”

  * * *

  Linz drove Finn’s Navigator to Bryan’s parents’ house. The GPS system instructed her to turn right and indicated that the car was almost at its destination. Luckily, Linz had remembered the address from the file. She remembered everything from it.

  She turned into a charming residential neighborhood called Newton Highlands, and her thoughts returned to her most immediate problem—what in the world she was going to say to Bryan’s mother. No one went knocking on doors in the middle of the night asking people if they could help rescue their son from a mental institution. Especially on a street where every family probably had two perfect children who made lemonade stands in the summer. It was hard to even visualize Bryan growing up here.

  The brass plated number on the antique mailbox signaled that she’d found the right address. As she pulled up in front of an immaculate 1920s Colonial with clapboard siding, she noticed the glow of a light upstairs. At least they were still awake. Still not quite sure what to say, Linz got out of the car and went to the front door. She rang the doorbell twice.

  A minute later a light in the downstairs hall came on, followed by the porch light. A woman’s voice asked, “Who is it?”

  “My name is Linz Jacobs. I’m a close friend of Bryan’s.” She could feel herself being scrutinized through the peephole. “I realize it’s late. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t urgent. Bryan’s in trouble.”

  The door unlocked and swung open. Holy shit. Linz’s mind went blank with shock. “Barbara?” she gasped.

  “Yes, I’m Barbara Pierce, Bryan’s mother. What is this about?”

  Linz covered her mouth—she couldn’t believe Bryan’s mother was Michael’s ex-girlfriend. She remembered that Diana and Barbara had met a few times, always with civility. Sometime after Michael and Barbara had broken up, Barbara started dating Michael’s best friend, Doc. For obvious reasons the four never did any couple’s outings. Now here she was thirty years later.

  Linz tried to stop gawking, knowing she must look crazy. “I’m sorry to call so late. May I come in?”

  Barbara hesitated a moment and let her in.

  Linz entered, still unsure of how to explain herself. She decided to keep things simple. “Bryan is missing. His apartment’s been vandalized.”

  Barbara gasped and headed to the phone.

  “Wait,” Linz stopped her. “Don’t call the police. I know where he is.”

  “Where?” Barbara demanded, her hand hovering over the phone.

  “Forest Green Psychiatric Center.”

  Barbara didn’t put the phone down. “What in God’s name is he doing there?”

  “I don’t have all the answers, but let’s just say a very powerful man has taken an interest in Bryan’s dreams and is holding him against his will.”

  “That’s unbelievable. How are you involved in all this?” Barbara looked at Linz as if she was the one who had taken him. “I am calling the police.”

  “Barbara, I need you to trust me. I would never hurt your son. I love him.” Linz took a deep breath, somehow managing to hold her emotions in check. “The best way you can help him is to come with me right now to Forest Green and get him out before they can do anything to him. You have privileges there.” Barbara seemed to be sizing Linz up. Linz pleaded, “You have to believe me.”

  Barbara hesitated only a moment and grabbed her purse.

  * * *

  Linz tried to concentrate on driving while she listened to Barbara on her cell phone. “No, stay at the bar. I’ll call you when I know more.” She could hear Doc’s voice on the other end. He sounded distraught, but Barbara interrupted him, “Honey, I will call you when I know more. We’re almost there.”

  She hung up. The two women drove on in silence. They had already discussed their plan. Now they just needed to see if it would work.

  * * *

  A simple wooden plaque marked the entrance to one of the country’s largest psychiatric hospitals. Linz had never been inside Forest Green, but she had driven past it every day when she had interned at the Health Alliance the summer after her freshman year in college. The serenity of the winding drive and the quaint guardhouse was all an illusion, though. The place was more of a prison than a hospital. Only the most difficult patients ended up there, people in advanced stages of psychosis or mental disease who had no hope of a cure, and were admitted either by their families or law enforcement agencies. The idea that Bryan could be somewhere inside filled her with horror.

  Barbara pointed. “Take a left here.”

  “I know,” Linz murmured. A minute later she coasted up to the guardhouse and rolled down her window. The young guard on duty motioned for her to stop.

  Barbara leaned over. “I’m here to see a patient.” She handed him her ID.

  The guard logged her into the computer. “Thank you, Dr. Pierce.” He looked questioningly at Linz.

  Barbara said, “This is my daughter. I can’t drive at night. It’s all right if she waits in the lounge, isn’t it?”

  Linz tried to give him her most flirtatious look. He smiled back and said, “Of course,” and hurried to open the gate.

  Inside, the nurse at reception logged them in and gave each of them a badge. She looked annoyed at having been interrupted from the show streaming on her iPad. “Which patient are you here to see?”

  Barbara quickly glanced at Linz. “He’s a John Doe. Brought in yesterday, I believe. We’re still working with the police on identifying him. I just got the request for the psych eval, so I’m not sure what room he’s in.”

  The nurse looked even more annoyed now that she had to get on her computer. She scrolled through the log. “Nope, sorry, no John Doe.”

  Barbara didn’t miss a beat. “Then perhaps his identification was found, and I wasn’t notified of the status change. Could you look at the list of check-ins for yesterday? White male, age 30.”

  The nurse gave them a pained look, but she checked the database again. “Sorry, I—” she stopped. “Wait, there’s someone unregistered in Room 450, came in yesterday. It has to be him.”

  Barbara and Linz glanced at each other. Barbara gave the nurse a smile. “Thank you. You just saved me a trip back tomorrow.”

  She put on her badge and led Linz to the elevators. They stepped in and waited until the doors shut before they said anything to one another. Barbara physically sagged when she spoke. “I could lose my license for this, or worse. This better be my son.”

  Linz wasn’t about to admit that their whole rescue attempt was based on a gut feeling.

  The elevator doors opened. Barbara nodded for Linz to wait by an assortment of chairs and sofas that served as a lounge. The hallway was a long row of windowless doors, each equipped with a serious-looking keypad and a small surveillance monitor that allowed visitors to see inside the room.

  No one sat at the nurses’ station. A chilling silence pervaded the entire floor. Barbara hurried to room 450 and pressed the view button on the monitor. Whatever she saw made her cry out, but she quickly recovered.

  Barbara took a second to fully compose herself and walked back to the nurses’ station. On her way, she locked eyes with Linz and nodded yes—
Bryan was here. She reached the station and hurried behind the desk. She began rifling through the patient files and managed to find the one marked “John Doe: 450” just as the nurse on shift rounded the corner with a medicine tray.

  “What are you doing?” the nurse demanded.

  Barbara turned around, flashing her badge. “I’m here to check out my patient in 450.” Flipping open the file, she scribbled something in the comments section and signed.

  The nurse took the file from her and looked at it in confusion. “But he’s scheduled for a procedure in the morning. I need authorization.”

  “A procedure?” Barbara said. “On whose goddamn authority?”

  “Conrad Jacobs’.” The nurse put her hands on her hips.

  Linz could see the situation spiraling out of control. Barbara was about to blow it. She hurried over, pulling out another badge, and said, “Dr. Pierce is coming late to the table. We’ve decided to postpone the procedure. My father asked me to handle this for him personally.” She handed the nurse her Medicor ID.

  Barbara looked at Linz’s card with as much surprise as the nurse.

  Linz added, “Please call an orderly to assist us with transport.”

  But the nurse continued to hold Linz’s card in her hand. She didn’t pick up the phone.

  Linz snatched her card back and tried to infuse her voice with icy displeasure. “If you have a problem, you’re welcome to contact my father, but I can guarantee he will not be happy to hear from you.”

  The nurse looked angry, but she was too intimidated to argue.

  Barbara held out her hand. “I need the keycard to the room. Have the orderly bring a gurney.”

  The nurse handed over the keycard and watched them walk down the hallway. Once they were out of earshot, Barbara hissed, “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

  Linz settled for the truth. “Because I knew it was my father who was holding him and I needed you to trust me.”

  “He’s going to have hell to pay.”

  “Believe me, I want nothing more. Let’s just get Bryan out of here first.”

  They reached the door and unlocked it. Bryan was asleep on the cot, using the straitjacket as a blanket. Linz rushed to his side.