CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I called the Chief when I returned home, even though it was late. “I met with Eliot.”
“Was he helpful?”
“At the moment, no. He claims he’s no longer with The Society and that he didn’t know that Hayden and I were together. He wants us to meet again tomorrow.”
“Why?”
I was about to say that he needed my help, but my instinct told me to keep my mouth shut about that, at least until I learned more. “I’ll know more tomorrow. Did you meet with Agatha?”
“Yes. She didn’t give me any helpful information, but she did insinuate I was wasting my time.”
“Did you try to pressure her?”
“I know how to do my job, Jonah.”
Sitting on my couch, I leaned my head back, not surprised that Agatha had kept her mouth shut. That left Eliot as my only shot. “Are there any other leads?” I asked. “What about his aunt? Did you try speaking with her?”
“I won’t be doing that.”
“Why not? She can help with the investigation.”
“There is no investigation, and it makes no sense bringing more people into this damn mess.”
I got up and paced around, fighting to keep my temper under control. “She’s his aunt, and she was with the FBI. It’s not like you’ll be speaking with the press.”
“I don’t trust her. She’s unpredictable.”
“This isn’t about her or you .”
He took a breath, his annoyance almost telepathic. “I understand you’re upset, but you need to start accepting that this isn’t likely to have a happy ending.” Before I could respond, he added, “Meet with Eliot tomorrow and let me know how it went.”
He sounded like he wished I wouldn’t contact him at all.
*
Thanks to LA traffic, it took me nearly three hours to reach the address Eliot had given me. I drove with my window down, a nice summer wind blowing. I was aware of the risk I was taking by leaving LA’s borders, but I believed Hal’s assessment that I wasn’t being tracked around the clock and that the tracker wasn’t completely accurate.
I drove past a billboard for the latest X-Men movie. I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of bitterness every time I passed by one of those things, as if the world was rubbing my face in what I almost had. I had no way of knowing what would have happened if things had played out differently; I might have been a washed-up actor regardless of ever meeting Eliot, but since I couldn’t know for sure, the uncertainty still tasted sour.
“What the hell?” I slowed down as I reached my destination, which turned out to be Innerjoy Hospice Care, a two-story building. I eased my way into the parking lot as Eliot got out of his car. My stomach tightened at the sight of his beautiful turquoise convertible, Gloria. The memory of our time on the cliff resurfaced, followed by the memory of my last night of sanity at Eliot's house. He’d made a wonderful meal for me before I recited to him my favorite line from Death of a Salesman : “ Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be… when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am?”
I shoved the memories to the back of my mind and exited my car. Eliot walked toward me, wearing a simple button-down shirt. The touches of gray in his jet-black hair suited him. Everything suited him.
“I’m glad you’ve made it.”
“This is a hospice.”
“Indeed.”
“Why am I here?”
“Please follow me.”
Of course he’d drag the mystery. I followed him inside, where the AC was downright freezing. The elderly receptionist stood up and smiled broadly at Eliot. “I didn’t expect to see you here today.”
“Hello, Debbie. This is my dear friend, Jonah Carter.”
I hated the thought of anyone thinking I was Eliot’s friend, but I nodded and kept my mouth shut.
“Nice to meet you, Jonah. It’s the first time I’ve seen Eliot bring a friend with him. Why don’t you two go right ahead?”
I once more followed Eliot as he led me through quiet hallways. The photos of flowers on the walls weren’t enough to make the place any less depressing. The unpleasant scent of cleaning products mixed with fresheners made me queasy.
Eliot stopped next to a room at the end of a hallway. He opened the door and gestured for me to go inside. I had barely taken two steps when my body locked up. A man was lying on a bed, but I saw two versions of him. One was little more than a skeleton, his skin wrinkled and ashy, an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose. The other version was of the man I once knew as The Director. With each passing second, the man from my past deteriorated, leaving behind this feeble form.
An oxygen machine filled the room with a monotonous humming sound, yet I could still hear my drumming heart. Eliot closed the door and walked past me, stopping next to the bed. “How are you, old man?”
I held my breath as a thin arm rose. Eliot held The Director’s hand, which seemed like it might snap under a bit of pressure.
“I’m the same as yesterday.” His voice was an echo of his former self, breathless and weak.
“I brought someone special to see you.”
My head spun. I wanted to flee the room, but I couldn’t move.
Eliot turned to me. “Please come say hello.”
This is not about me , I reminded myself, gathering the courage to move. Four heavy steps brought me to the foot of the bed.
“Oh my.” The Director removed his oxygen mask, gawking at me through milky eyes. “Have I traveled back in time?”
“Not quite,” Eliot said, “but this is as close as it gets.”
“Hello, Jonah.”
My tongue lay dead in my mouth, my lips glued together. Eliot cleared his throat, and I managed a feeble, “Hello.”
“I can tell by your face that you weren’t told what to expect.”
“No.”
“Well, I’m sure my brother has his reasons.”
Eliot smiled. “I always do.”
“Why am I here?” Now that my shock had somewhat dwindled, anger took its place. “You promised me answers.”
“Answers?” The Director coughed. “What answers can you possibly want after… after so many years?”
“Things have been happening,” Eliot said. “It seems that The Society has been reckless.”
The Director let out another bubbling cough. “You’re making no sense. Start from the beginning.”
I waited quietly, looking at anything but The Director’s face as Eliot filled him in.
“Putting that video online makes no sense,” The Director said. “But they’ve been falling apart for years. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone made a mistake. Still, snatching a detective… that’s the kind of risk they wouldn’t normally take. He must have come close to finding out something if they’ve taken such an… such an action.”
Eliot placed the mask over The Director’s face, waiting for him to take a few deep breaths.
“Do you believe this detective of yours is alive?” The Director asked once he’d removed the mask.
“Yes.”
“Is this your brain speaking or your heart?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
His cracked lips stretched into a smile, revealing yellowish teeth. “You were always stubborn, but maybe you should walk away from this before it’s too late.”
“I came here for answers, not advice. Who replaced you after you left?”
“We don’t know,” Eliot answered. “Mr. White and the rest of the High Council agreed to let Thomas and me leave after his cancer worsened, but we never learned who took over instead—nor did we care.”
“Then how can I find out where they took Hayden?”
The Director turned to Eliot. “They brought down the old place years ago. Do you know where they moved to?”
“No, but I will steer Jonah in the right direction.”
“That’s kind of you. You always had a soft spot for him.”
“As did you, eventually.”
The Director looked at me with fondness. “True.”
I gripped the bed’s railing hard enough to hurt. “Why the hell am I here?”
“You are here to do what I am too weak to do myself,” Eliot said quietly, almost like an apology.
The Director frowned, then his eyes flashed with understanding. “You wicked devil.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m ready. Hell, I’ve been ready for a long time. The question is, are you? ”
Eliot opened his mouth, then closed it and covered his face. I stared numbly as he sobbed, beginning to understand why I’d been brought here.
“No.” I took a step back. “Forget it.”
Eliot wiped his face. “Does this mean you agree?” he asked his brother.
“Yes, and I’m proud of you. You were always the strong one.”
Eliot chuckled bitterly. “That’s the morphine speaking.”
“I’m not fucking doing this!”
“You are.” Eliot met my gaze, determination in his eyes. “This is the only way I’ll agree to help you.”
“It isn’t worth it.”
“Then leave.” He gestured with his head to the door. “Go and find Hayden on your own.”
In my head, I stormed out and left this madness behind me, but in reality, I didn’t move an inch. It had been over a decade since I last saw these people, and the moment I stepped back into their domain, their darkness once more consumed me.
“You owe me this help,” I said through gritted teeth. “I gave you enough!”
“I know, but I must be unfair to you one last time.” He came to stand behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders. “I need you to be strong for me, Jonah. I have no right asking you for anything, but I am begging you to show me and my brother this mercy.”
Like the mercy they have shown me?
My stomach swirled, sweat breaking across my skin. Knowing that the dying man in front of me deserved it didn’t make it easier, though I wished it had. “How… how should I do it?”
“I have a syringe. Inject him with—”
“No.” The Director cleared his throat. “No evidence. We can’t risk anyone finding out what happened. Use a pillow. I have barely any air left in my useless lungs as it is.”
Eliot sighed behind me. “Jonah?”
I gave a stiff nod. The decision had been made; the details were irrelevant. I would be leaving this room with blood on my hands, and if Eliot ended up lying about helping me find Hayden, I might have more blood on them soon.
Eliot went to kiss The Director's forehead. “Until we see each other again, brother.”
“Take your time. I can wait.”
Eliot went to the closet and pulled out a pillow, staring at it before saying, “Oh my. This is really happening.” He looked at me with glossy eyes. “Please take this pillow, Jonah. I’m afraid my feet are refusing to move.”
My own feet were also not cooperative, but I managed the few steps I needed. I took the pillow from him and walked to stand next to the bed. The Director tried to meet my eyes, but I hissed, “Don’t look at me.”
“I’m proud of you, Jonah, and I am sorry for everything.”
I wanted to call him a liar, but I couldn’t because I believed him. I shut my eyes to control my nerves, and in the darkness of my mind, his old office emerged, with the fireplace and the long leather couch. The bottles of expensive wine and the chessboard he used to love. And among all those things was I, hating this man yet unable to deny the safety his presence had provided.
It made me hate him even more.
I opened my eyes, my throat tight. “You should’ve said no. When he asked you to take me, you should’ve said no.”
He looked away. “I know.”
Eliot moved to stand by the foot of the bed, his face pale and his palms gripping tightly to the railing. He was going to witness this.
There was nothing more to say. I wished for this to be easy, but it took everything I had to press down the pillow until it was over.
*
I sat on a wooden bench outside, waiting for Eliot to finish whatever one does in this situation. By the time he finally came out, the sun had begun to descend. I looked away from the hollowness in his eyes, pushing down the urge to say something comforting.
He sat next to me and leaned with his elbows on his knees. “Lovely people. They are sad to say goodbye to Thomas.”
I always knew his name, but it never felt right to call him anything other than The Director.
Eliot pulled out a thin metal box from his pants pocket. “Want one?” I took a cigarette and waited for him to light it for me. We smoked in silence as employees from the hospice began to leave, chatting like there wasn’t a corpse lying close by.
Once we finished smoking, I said, “I’m listening.”
Eliot turned on the bench to face me. He seemed exhausted yet focused. “Amanda’s your key.”
“Amanda?” My anger flared. “I already know where she is. I was going to speak with her anyway. Is that your help?”
“Calm down. What were you planning on doing?”
“Try to find out what she knows.”
“Didn’t Hayden try that?”
I hesitated. “He did.”
“And that turned out great. Now, be quiet and listen. Amanda is being watched. Ever since she got in trouble with the law, The Society has been paying staff members to keep an eye on her. Why they haven’t killed her is anyone’s guess, but I doubt it will stay that way for long after she got a visit from a detective. They might wait a while to avoid raising suspicion, but she’s living on borrowed time.”
“How will I get the information Hayden couldn’t?”
“By not trying to talk to a highly sedated woman.” He slipped his hand into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Take this.”
I peeked inside at the stack of bills.
“That’s three thousand dollars,” Eliot said. “Give it to a man named Frank. Tell him you need to speak with Amanda—the real Amanda. He’ll know how to bring her back to a somewhat functioning state, at least for a little while. Be there an hour before visiting hours close; that’s when Frank is the only employee with ties to the Society.”
“Maybe he changes his shifts.”
“I called yesterday to check.”
“You told him I was coming?”
“I didn’t speak with him; I pretended to be working for the hospital’s insurance company and asked for everyone’s schedule so I could set up appointments.”
“But why would Frank help? Doesn’t The Society pay him more than three grand?”
“Frank has no idea who pays him a few hundred bucks a month; he just knows what they expect of him. He’ll appreciate the three grand, especially if he’s still gambling like he used to. Once he helps you, he won’t snitch on himself.”
I glanced again at the stack of bills, my confidence slowly growing now that I had a plan to follow. “Anything else?”
“Yes. Amanda will still be hazy, so you’ll need to steer her to get anything of value. People like her were never told the location of the estate.”
“What? Then how—?”
“They get picked up from a motel and are not allowed to see the way. Once The Society moves their estate, they find a new motel and shut down the old one. Since Amanda worked with The Society until three years ago, she should know the location of the current motel. Once you find it, you’ll be one step closer to finding the estate.”
“Can’t you find out the location without having me bribe people in an asylum? You know about Frank, so obviously you’re still involved.”
“I am not involved; I simply make sure to keep track of those who might one day open their mouths about The Society, and indirectly—about me.”
“People like me?”
He smiled sadly. “My lingering interest in you has nothing to do with fear, Jonah.”
I leaned back and collected my thoughts in light of this new information. I’d hoped Eliot would provide me with clearer answers, but he was giving me the best he could.
“Is there anything else you think I should know?” I asked.
“Yes. You are a fool for not letting this go. Something is clearly happening over there, and this is not the time for you to go looking for them. Their decline started years ago—let them die on their own.”
In other words, let Hayden die with them.
I rose to my feet. “Please let me know if you hear anything else. Otherwise, stay away from me. That includes your anonymous emails.”
I walked away before he could respond.