A Contemporary Fantasy Adventure Book Series
Beyond The Veil by Linda Thackeray
Series Excerpt
Dan drove back to the hospital, numb.
Thoughts of Stuart Farmer, his best friend since college, filled his mind. He remembered the all-night keggers and the girls they dated. During their first year of college, Dan made it his business to loosen up the tense English lit major. Stuart was one of those people who left notes on everything. Against the fridge door reminding you to buy milk. On the wall above the trash, so you remembered to take it out. A dozen texts telling you he was coming in late that night. Dan could not even remember the number of arguments during their four years at college about the edibility of day-old pizza stored under beds.
He drove trying to see through the windshield as tears filled his eyes. His best friend was dead, and he might well be responsible for it by refusing Sandra Collins. The woman stated she did not threaten and with Stuart's death, she proved she hadn't lied.
It was a lesson he would have preferred to learn without Stuart losing his life. Now he knew without doubt, if he did not allow them to take Moses, worse would happen.
Dan wanted to go to the police, but he had no proof the woman orchestrated Stuart's death other than a veiled threat.
A hit-and-run accident did not prove Malcolm Industries' guilt in the eyes of the law, and millions in New York had the initials of S.C. Through Maggie's deluge of tears, he learned a black sedan came out of nowhere and ended Stuart's life with a loud thud while he was en route to his Chevy. He died instantly, Maggie said. As if a speedy end made it any better. Stuart's life ended without his even knowing why.
He and Dan shared that much in common.
They wanted to get Moses and would stop at nothing to make it happen. If Dan permitted it, he would never find out why. In the space of a few hours, Stuart's death had shredded his safe and comfortable reality. Instead, a shadow realm where corporations erased people from existence had taken over his life.
The simplest solution to regaining his lost security would be to cooperate with Ms. Collins and let Malcolm Industries take charge of Moses. No one would blame Dan if he surrendered the old man to the tender mercies of the corporate giant. Moses was his patient for only two days. Ms. Collins promised Moses would receive the best care at a proper facility. To walk away and let Moses be someone else's problem, he only needed to sign the release.
It would be the smart thing to do. Dan almost considered it. However, he also remembered the promise he made to his patient, to help Moses regain his memories and the connection Dan defended with such determination to the menacing Ms. Collins. He could not do it. Dan refused to betray Moses and let him fall into the hands of Malcolm Industries or allow Stuart's murderers to go unpunished. The safer solution might be to let them have Moses, but Dan would never be able to look himself in the mirror again if he did.
All these points ran through his mind as he drove back into the city, determined to deny Malcolm Industries their prize. His grief now became anger, and while a plan of action eluded him, one thing needed to be done before anything else. Ms. Collins believed killing Stuart would scare him into obedience. Instead, it got him mad. Maybe he was just a psychiatrist, a powerless nonentity they thought they could intimidate by taking away his best friend.
Dan intended to show them the error of their arrogance.
________________________________________
The hospital slipped into the evening shift as Dan strode down the quiet halls of the psychiatric ward. Most of the staff had already left for the day with only a handful remaining on duty. The head duty nurse at her station, Brenda Watts, glanced up at him from behind her book.
"Doctor Ellis." She gave him a smile. "What are you doing here? I thought you went home for the evening."
"Something came up," Dan answered, not really in the mood for pleasantries but feigned the sentiment for her benefit. "Brenda, I want you to get an orderly and have Moses ready to leave."
"Leave?" She stared at him. "You're discharging him?"
"I'm taking him to Gracie Square. Malcolm Industries wants him transferred. By the time you get him ready, I'll have the papers ready for processing."
Brenda, an experienced nurse, raised a brow at the irregular request. Still, as the head of the psychiatric ward, Dan had the authority to make it. Brenda returned to her station to carry out the task, the suspicion on her face barely concealed. Mindful of her doubt, Dan retreated to his office to fill out the papers to release Moses into his custody. He did not doubt the request might fall under scrutiny by hospital administration if Brenda queried it, but right now, Dan had more significant concerns. John Malcolm wielded sufficient influence to use the bureaucracy to get his hands on Moses if Dan didn't remove him from the hospital first.
When Dan emerged from his office, he sighted Moses already waiting in the lobby. He paused at the pharmacy long enough to requisition some supplies, including the drugs he would need to treat Moses's condition. While Moses remained medicated, the old man was manageable. Without it, he might become more than Dan could cope with, and neither of them had the luxury of that complication right now.
"He's ready, Doctor Ellis," Brenda announced. She still appeared a little confused by the transfer. Carl, the orderly who helped Moses get ready for his departure, showed similar hesitation.
"Thank you, Brenda," Dan said, ignoring the confusion in Moses's expression for now. "I know this is all very unusual, but I believe the patient's life might be in danger. I'd appreciate it if you left it for an hour or two before you queried this, Brenda."
She opened her mouth to object but fell silent when she noted his serious expression and realized he was not exaggerating about the urgency of the situation. "Are you in trouble Doctor Ellis?"
"No," he said, owing her the honesty. "But I think our patient is, and if I'm going to help him, I have to get Moses away from here while I still can. I'm asking a lot, but I need you two to trust me."
Carl, who often sat with Dan at the cafeteria where they talked about fishing and sports, answered first. "You do what you have to Doc. I won't say nothing until they ask me."
"I trust you Doctor Ellis." Brenda, a long-time colleague, admired the man for the care he gave to patients most would not bother with. If he really thought a patient was in danger, she believed him. "You do what you have to, we'll do what we have to on this end."
"Thank you," Dan answered and then turned to the patient. "Come on, Moses, we're going."
Moses's bewilderment at the whole scene showed on his face, but he remained silent until they neared the elevators. His tattered old clothes, no doubt from some surplus store, looked a little more respectable after being laundered during his stay at the hospital. Dan wondered fleetingly just how long Moses suffered this condition. Years perhaps? He shuddered at the thought this man might have been wandering around the streets for decades with a hole in his memory and no idea a life awaited his return.
Only when they had cleared the main doors of the hospital with the night sky above their heads, did Moses deign to speak.
"Is this an aggressive form of therapy?"
"No," Dan replied as they crossed the parking lot to his car. "I just needed to get you out of there."
"Not that I am ungrateful to escape that wretched place, may I ask why the sudden urgency?"
Dan did not reply until they shut the doors of the RAM and drove out of the hospital parking lot. Once on the street, Dan realized he had no idea where to go, mostly because he never imagined he would get Moses out. Now that he’d overcome that hurdle, Dan realized taking Moses home was impossible. It would be the first place they looked once they discovered his actions. For the moment, Dan just wanted to put some distance between them and the hospital. He would figure the rest out later.
"Someone from Malcolm Industries came to see me today," Dan spoke after his nerves settled.
"Did they now?" Moses's demeanour shifted from a frail old man to someone formidable and in control of his situation. "Please continue."
Once again, the same sense of foreboding gripped him as surely as it did Moses at the mention of Malcolm Industries. It occurred to Dan that perhaps John Malcolm had something to do with the state in which Moses found himself. Their determination to retrieve the old man proved he possessed something they desperately wanted. More than ever, Dan realized the key to this mystery was Moses's hidden memories.
"A woman called Sandra Collins came to see me. She said she was an associate of John Malcolm."
As Dan spoke, a surge of hatred bubbled inside him at the memory of the mercurial female who most likely ordered Stuart killed on behalf of her employer. "She wanted me to release you into their custody. Gave me some bullshit story about paying all your medical expenses and sending you to a private sanatorium where you'd get the care you needed."
"I take it you refused."
"I did.” Dan shot him a brief glance from the wheel. "You're my patient, and I promised to help you. I take that responsibility pretty seriously."
"It may cost you dearly."
Dan didn't look at Moses when he spoke again, his voice wavering a little.
“It already has. When I got home this evening, I found a note from Sandra Collins under my door. She told me to call my friend Stuart. We've been buddies since college. He’s my best friend. Stuart is dead. I found out from his secretary he died in a hit-and-run accident tonight. It happened not long before I called."
"Oh Dan." Moses let out a heavy sigh of sympathy. "I am sorry."
"It's not your fault," Dan declared, sucking in his breath because saying it out loud brought the anguish to the forefront once more. For the duration of this mess, Dan wanted no part of it. To get to the truth, Dan needed to maintain focus despite the grief in his heart. "You didn't kill him." Dan threw a quick glance at Moses to show he meant it.
"Neither did you," Moses countered, proving to be just as kind. "I am sorry I brought this on you, however."
The old man fell silent again, choosing to stare at the bodies moving up and down the pavement along the darkened road. Anonymity in the flotsam of human tragedy was possible. It might serve the doctor trying to help him if he disappeared into it. Moses hoped Dan could help him because even if he remembered nothing about his past, his instincts were still intact. His emotions were just as capable of aiding him as his lost memories.
From the moment he met Dan Ellis, the doctor's presence comforted and assured him. Moses was convinced it had little to do with the doctor’s healing and everything to do with Dan himself. Moses did not know why, but he sensed Dan would never disappoint him if he entrusted his life to the doctor. Still, Moses had no wish to be the harbinger of doom for him, either.
"Perhaps you should just let me go, Dan," Moses whispered, no longer thinking of the man who risked himself as just his doctor but as a friend. "Let me go before it becomes any worse for you."
Dan shifted his gaze from the road long enough to show the old man his incredulity.
"No." Dan shook his head, not needing to think about it any further. "I will not let you disappear hoping they won't find you. I will not walk away just to make things easier for me."
"You've already lost your friend. I do not wish you to lose your life."
"Bullshit!" Dan snapped, feeling a burst of anger spill out of him at the statement and the situation. "My life is already in danger! And it's not up to you. It's my choice, Moses, because I want to know what is so goddamn important it's worth Stuart's life just to get to you! I think they're terrified of what's in your head and they're doing everything they can to get their hands on you to make sure I don't find out first."
"I wish I could tell you. I sense things even if I cannot remember them. My instincts tell me we mean a great deal to each other, though I cannot understand how. When you speak the name of John Malcolm, I am filled with fear and loathing. I cannot explain it to you any better. I wish I understood why my memories remain as elusive as my name. Each time I try to remember it, my mind rebels against the desire and I am plunged into an abyss. I am sorry for your friend. I wish more than anything I could have prevented it, but I cannot even help myself."
The sorrow in Moses's voice touched Dan and prompted a surge of guilt in the doctor for raising his voice. Moses was as much a victim in this as Stuart and it was Dan's choice not to cooperate with Sandra Collins. Moses had little to do with that decision. The psychiatrist understood he was displacing his anger, taking it out on his patient. The person he should be angry at sat in a penthouse at the Monolith, a place Dan was starting to believe was evil.
"It's not your fault, Moses. I don't blame you and I sure as hell don't want you to deal with them on your own. I said I wanted to help you, and I still mean it. Except now, I also want to help you because I need to understand why Stuart died. I need to know so I can do something about it."
"It is a dangerous path you seek to travel with me, but I am grateful for the companionship."
The man's words affected Moses more than he cared to admit. Moses suspected he spent too many years in the wilderness, and to have companionship, even if it was fleeting, was not unwelcomed.
Who knew how long he had been alone?
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