The Memory Painter: A Novel (31 page)

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.

“Bryan? Can you hear me?”

“Dreaming,” Bryan mumbled.

Linz gave him a gentle shake. “Wake up! This isn’t a dream.”

He smiled. “Yes it is.”

Barbara crouched down too, her voice loud and firm. “Bryan, honey, this isn’t a dream.” She picked up the straitjacket with a repulsed look on her face and threw it in the corner. “We’re here to get you the hell out of here.”

Bryan’s eyes flew open. He was beyond stunned to see them both. Then he looked at Linz and saw a new light in her eyes, and he realized what she had done. She kissed his hand and nodded. His questions would have to wait.

“I need you to act unconscious,” Barbara instructed him. “An orderly’s on his way.”

A minute later a big hulk of a man arrived. His skull and bones tattoos were hardly reassuring. Barbara squeezed Bryan’s leg in warning and he closed his eyes, letting his body go limp.

The orderly’s face was a stamp of indifference. “Transport?” he asked.

“We’re parked at the service entrance,” Barbara snapped. “What’s he been given?”

“Midazolam. You don’t need the jacket? He gave us problems earlier.”

Midazolam was a potent sedative normally used on patients who were going into surgery. Barbara looked ready to wrap the straitjacket around his throat. “No. Let’s go.” She marched to the elevators and gave the nurse a curt nod. Linz followed the orderly and tried not to look over her shoulder.

The nurse watched them leave. As the elevator doors closed, Linz saw the woman looking for something in Bryan’s file—most likely the phone number that she should call if anything unexpected arose.

*   *   *

Downstairs in the parking lot, the orderly eyed the SUV with a perplexed look on his face. “You sure you don’t want secure transport?”

Linz knew she sounded rude, but their time was running out. “He’s unconscious. Can we hurry this up?”

The orderly lifted Bryan like a baby and put him in the backseat. Linz jumped behind the driver’s seat and started the car.

Barbara hurried to move the gurney and got into the passenger seat. “Thanks for your help,” she said to the orderly, before shutting the door quickly. She turned to Linz and whispered under her breath, “Go, now.”

Linz drove just over the speed limit, trying to get past the guard station. His phone started to ring, but he had already gone to lift the rail. By the time he picked it up, Linz had already gunned it out of the drive.

She looked in her rearview mirror and saw him frantically trying to wave her down. She found little comfort in the fact that he didn’t pull his weapon or pursue them.

It was far more dangerous that her father knew.

THIRTY-NINE

“Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Barbara erupted.

Linz continued driving, checking the rearview mirror every few seconds. Bryan leaned forward and reached out his hand to his mother. She squeezed it tight. “I have never been so scared in my life. Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”

“I’m fine. I promise.”

But Barbara didn’t seem to hear the words. She was on the verge of hysteria. “The nurse was talking about some procedure. What in God’s name were they going to do to you?”

“I don’t know,” Bryan lied. The less she knew, he thought, the better.

“Well, they just messed with the wrong family. I’m shutting that place down.” She turned to Linz. “And your father is going to jail for a very long time.” She got out her cell phone.

“I agree with you,” Linz muttered. Seeing Bryan inside that room had broken something inside of her and removed any doubts she had about her father.

Bryan reached out for Barbara’s phone. “Mom, wait. No calls.”

Barbara gaped at him. “You were kidnapped, Bryan. I’m calling the police and then our lawyer.”