The Remedy (38 page)

“Case study for what?”

Arthur straightens his back and adjusts the buttons on his jacket. “Things are changing, Mr. Hatcher,” he says, sounding suddenly clinical. “There is a shift going on in our society, one with momentum. An epidemic. I can’t control it. I can’t stop it. At least not yet. I need to know if this is a viable course of treatment.”

Deacon scoffs, incredulous that this man came to him in the first place. Arthur closes his eyes, sighing heavily before steadying his gaze on Deacon once again.

“I want what’s best for her,” Arthur says. “And I know you do too. All I’m asking is for you to watch her and let me know if there are any changes. This is privileged information, so I would need you to sign a confidentiality agreement. In return, I will pay you the full amount of your closer contract along with a lump-sum payment.” Arthur takes out a small notepad from his jacket, a pen from his front pocket. He writes a number on the paper and rips it off. He outstretches his hand to Deacon.

At first Deacon doesn’t acknowledge the motion, but then, mostly out of curiosity, he takes the paper. The dollar amount makes his breath catch, twists his stomach in anxious knots, like he’s already guilty of something.

“This . . . ,” Deacon starts, not finding the words to attach to his feelings.

Arthur nods. “Understand, if there was another way to get the truth, I would take it. But as it stands, Quinlan is not being honest with her advisor; her advisor is not being honest with us. You’re the only person who can do this job.”

Deacon’s eyes well up. The money is more than he could have imagined—he’d never have to work as a closer again. He could buy a house, go back to school, maybe even college. He could have a future—something he never really dreamed was possible. But at what cost?

“No,” he whispers. Deacon crumples the piece of paper in his hand and tosses it violently aside. Tosses his dreams aside—for her. Always for her. “I can’t do it,” Deacon says as tears spill onto his cheeks. He shakes his head, helpless. “I love her,” he breathes out.

Arthur is quiet for a long moment, his brow pulled together in sympathy. But then his expression brightens, and he steps forward to put his hands on Deacon’s shoulders, leveling their gaze. Arthur Pritchard smiles sadly.

“I know you do, son,” he tells him. “And that’s exactly why you’re the perfect person to be her handler.”

ALSO BY SUZANNE YOUNG

The Program

The Treatment

The Recovery

Just Like Fate

with Cat Patrick

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

SIMON PULSE

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition April 2015

Text copyright © 2015 by Suzanne Young

Author photograph by Dawn Goei

Jacket photograph of couple copyright © 2015 by Michael Frost

Jacket background photograph copyright © 2015 by Thinkstock

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

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Interior designed by Michael Rosamilia

The text of this book was set in Adobe Garamond Pro.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Young, Suzanne.

The Remedy / Suzanne Young. — First Simon Pulse hardcover edition.

p. cm.

Companion book to: The Program and The Treatment.

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Quinn provides closure to grieving families by taking on the short-term role of a deceased loved one, until huge secrets come to the surface about Quinn’s own past.

[1. Death—Fiction. 2. Grief—Fiction. 3. Identity—Fiction. 4. Memory—Fiction. 5. Science fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.Y887Re 2015

[Fic]—dc23

2014039699

ISBN 978-1-4814-3765-3 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-4814-3767-7 (eBook)