“You almost make it sound appealing.”
“You’d be amazed how far the science has come.”
“Save your enthusiasm for someone who gives a rat’s ass. I’ll take my chances. First of all, I don’t believe any of this. This is one of Creed’s bullshit scams.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“Where are you, Creed? Hiding under my bed?”
“Mr. Case, please.”
“Are you even a doctor?”
“I can assure you, I’ve been a surgeon here at Brightside since the hospital was established. I know you’re upset, and it’s clear I could have done a better job explaining your condition. But your current state of agitation demonstrates your inability to make a rational decision about revoking the release you signed. And since your wife has signed the authorization, I really don’t understand your—”
“What? My wife? Wha—what did you just say?”
“Your wife, Rachel. She signed the authorization form, agreeing to the surgery.”
“When?”
“We briefed her about an hour ago.”
“She’s here?”
“Of course.”
“You’re joking.”
“Mr. Case…”
From my office, I press Lou’s intercom and shout, “Come quickly.”
Sam says, “If Rachel really was here, she’d have come in to see me.”
“She wanted to wait until after the surgery.”
“Send her in. If Rachel’s here, send her in.”
Dr. Drake sighs and says, “Very well, Mr. Case. I’ll ask her. But if she agrees, it’s only for a minute. We need to get you prepped for surgery.”
As Dr. Drake leaves Sam’s room, Lou hustles into my office.
“What’s up?”
I point to the screen.
Sam and I, and Lou, are all straining to see what’s about to happen.
“What are we looking at?” Lou says.
“Shhh,” I say, pointing at the screen.
“But nothing’s happening.”
I hold my hand up to silence him, while keeping my eyes riveted to the computer monitor in front of me.
A minute goes by, then another. Then the door to Sam’s hospital room opens, and Dr. Elton Drake walks in, followed by Rachel Case.
20.
“Holy shit!” I say.
“Is Sam asleep?” Lou says.
“Look at the other screen and tell me. I can’t take my eyes off Rachel.”
“He’s asleep.”
Rachel rushes over to the bed and says, “Sam! Wake up!”
She pushes his shoulder. He begins to stir. Through thick lips he murmurs, “Rachel?”
“I’m here, Sam,” she says.
He lifts his hand in an attempt to touch her, but it falls to the bed.
“He’s out cold,” Lou says. “You think she fooled him?”
“She would’ve fooled me,” I say. “Except for the voice.”
“The voice still needs work,” Lou agrees. “But Hailey’s good. She’ll be ready when we need her.”
“I’m counting on it.”
Lou introduced me to Hailey Brimstone nine months ago. She was then—and continues to be—the best body double I’ve ever seen.
“Nice debut,” I say.
“Sam was so drugged out, I doubt his conscious mind will remember seeing her.”
Lou shook his head. “I hate dealing with geniuses. It’s a hell of a lot easier beating normal people into cooperating.”
“Yeah, but it wouldn’t be as much fun.”
We watch Hailey leave the room with Dr. Drake.
I ask, “Does Dr. Drake think Hailey’s his wife?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good.”
Lou and I watch the medical personnel enter the room. He says, “Do you feel bad about Sam’s leg?”
“No.”
“You’re a hard case, Donovan.”
“I gave him several chances to help me. And he refused.”
“But you still need him.”
“I do. But he needs to know I mean business.”
“I expect this will convince him.”
“You’d think so.”
Two orderlies and two nurses transfer Sam to a gurney. Then they push him out the door, to surgery.
21.
It’s late afternoon, and Rachel has been gone five days and approximately twelve hours.
I spend the next two hours running the perimeter of the Sensory Resources complex, which is far and away the most beautiful running course I’ve ever seen. I’d describe it in detail if I had the time, but I don’t. Because after a quick shower I get to my desk just as Sam is regaining consciousness for the second time. Deputies Caruso and Brightside are standing at his bedside. A nurse stands on the opposite side of Sam’s bed, taking a reading of his vital signs. Some words were exchanged between Dr. Drake and the detectives a few moments earlier, the result being that Drake refused to allow the detectives access to Sam without a staff member being present.
Thirty minutes ago they had to administer a sedative after showing Sam his stump.
A few minutes pass, then Sam begins moaning.
“You’ve had a rough day,” Detective Brightside says.
Sam looks at him. Then looks at Detective Caruso.
“Donovan Creed did this to me,” he says.
“Who’s Donovan Creed?” Brightside says.
“The guy with the snake. The guy who turned off my alarm. The guy who’s trying to force me to tell him about Rachel.”
“Rachel’s your wife.”
“Yes. Is she still here?”
“I don’t know. We just got here a half hour ago. She hasn’t been in your room, though. And according to the nurses, you’ve had no visitors except us.”
“She was here. I saw her. Spoke to her.”
“Well, it’s possible she got past the nurses. So what did Rachel do?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said this guy, Creed, is trying to force you to tell him about Rachel. What did she do, and why does he care?”
“She’s been kidnapped.”
The Genes look at each other. Caruso says, “You just said she was here.”
Sam looks confused. “I must’ve dreamed it.”
Caruso says, “What’s this about a kidnapping? Did you dream that, too?”
“No. She was kidnapped.”
“By who?”
“Whom.”
“What?”
“By whom.”
“That’s what I’m askin’ you, you prick.”
Sam looks at Caruso. “What happened to your eyebrows?”
“What do you mean?”
Sam focuses on Brightside. “Last time you guys were here, his eyebrows were gone. Now yours are.”
Brightside and Caruso look at each other. Brightside says, “Maybe we should come back after the drugs wear off. You’re not making much sense.”
“Do you have eyebrows or don’t you?” Sam says.
“I don’t,” Brightside says. “But I haven’t had eyebrows for three days. Gene’s always had eyebrows, long as I’ve known him.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Sam says, looking back and forth from one Gene to the other. To Brightside, he says, “What happened to them?”
“What do you care?”
“I have to know.”
Brightside shrugs. “My wife caught me cheating. We had a big fight, I got drunk, passed out on the couch. She shaved them off while I was unconscious. What’s your story?”
“What do you mean?”
Brightside asks the nurse if she has a mirror.
“Top drawer,” she says.
Caruso opens the drawer on the bed table, pulls out a hand mirror, holds it in front of Sam’s face.
“What the fuck?”
“Guess we both got caught cheating, huh?” Brightside says.
Sam looks at the nurse. “Why the hell did you people shave my eyebrows?”
She says, “You’ve had no eyebrows since you’ve been here.”
“Creed!” Sam shouts.
“You think this Creed character forced a snake to bite your nuts, then snuck into your hospital room and shaved off your eyebrows?” Brightside says.