Fever Dream

by Douglas Preston

  Instantly, the shooter kicked backward, tumbling from the truck bed and into the cab. As another bullet whined past, he started the engine and threw the rifle onto the passenger seat, where it fell atop another weapon: a shotgun, its double barrels sawn off short, sporting an ornately carved stock of black wood. With a grinding of gears and a screech of tires, he took off down the old logging path, trailing Spanish moss and dust.

  He took one turn, then another, accelerating past sixty despite the washboard condition of the track. The weapons slid toward him and he pushed them back, throwing a red blanket over them. Another turn, another screech of tires, and he could see the state highway ahead of him. Only now, with safety clearly in sight, did he allow the frustration and disappointment to burst from him.

  “Damn it!” Judson Esterhazy cried, slamming his fist against the dashboard again and again. “Goddamn it to hell!”

  42

  New York City

  DR. JOHN FELDER WALKED DOWN THE LONG, cool corridor in the secure ward at Bellevue, flanked by an escorting guard. Small, slender, and elegant, Felder was acutely aware of how much he stuck out in the general squalor and controlled chaos of the ward. This was his second interview with the patient. In the first he had covered all the usual bases, asked all the obligatory questions, taken all the proper notes. He had done enough to satisfy his legal responsibilities as a court-appointed psychiatrist and render an opinion. He had, in fact, reached a firm conclusion: the woman was incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong, and therefore not liable for her actions.

  But he was still deeply unsatisfied. He had been involved in many unusual cases. He had seen things that very few doctors had seen; he had examined extraordinary presentations of criminal pathology. But he had never before seen anything quite like this. For perhaps the first time in his professional career, he felt he had not touched on the core mystery of this patient’s psyche—not in the least.

  Normally, that would make little difference in a bureaucracy such as this. Technically, his work was done. But still he had withheld his conclusion pending further evaluation, giving him the opportunity for another interview. And this time, he decided, he wanted to have a conversation. Just a normal conversation between two people—nothing more, nothing less.

  He turned a corner, continued making his way down the endless corridors. The noises, the cries, the smells and sounds of the secure ward barely penetrated his consciousness as he mulled over the mysteries of the case. There was, first, the question of the young woman’s identity. Despite a diligent search, court administrators had been unable to find a birth certificate, Social Security number, or any other documentary evidence of her existence beyond a few genteel and intentionally vague records from the Feversham Institute in Putnam County. The British passport found in her possession was real enough, but it had been obtained through an exceedingly clever fraud perpetrated on a minor British consular official in Boston. It was as if she had appeared on the earth fully formed, like Athena sprung from the forehead of Zeus.

  As his footsteps echoed down the long corridors, Felder tried not to think too much about what he would ask. Where formal questioning had not penetrated her opacity, spontaneous conversation might.

  He turned a last corner, arrived at the meeting room. A guard on duty unlocked the gray metal door with a porthole window and ushered him into a small, spare, but not entirely unpleasant room with several chairs, a coffee table, some magazines, a lamp, and a one-way mirror covering a wall. The patient was already seated, next to a police officer. They both rose when he entered.

  “Good afternoon, Constance,” said Felder crisply. “Officer, you may remove her handcuffs, please.”

  “I’ll need the release, Doctor.”

  Felder seated himself, opened his briefcase, removed the release, and handed it to the officer. The man looked it over, grunted his assent, then rose and removed the prisoner’s handcuffs, hooking them to his belt.

  “I’ll be outside if you need me. Just press the button.”

  “Thank you.”

  The cop left and Felder turned his attention to the patient, Constance Greene. She stood primly before him, hands clasped in front, wearing a plain prison jumpsuit. He was struck again by her poise and striking looks.

  “Constance, how are you? Please sit down.”

  She seated herself. “I’m very well, Doctor. How are you?”

  “Fine.” He smiled, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other. “I’m glad we’ve had a chance for another chat. There were just a few things I wanted to talk with you about. Nothing for the record, really. Is it all right if we speak for a few minutes?”

  “Certainly.”

  “Very good. I hope I don’t seem too curious. Perhaps you could call it a liability of my profession. I can’t seem to turn it off—even when my work is done. You say you were born on Water Street?”

  She nodded.

  “At home?”

  Another nod.

  He consulted his notes. “Sister named Mary Greene. Brother named Joseph. Mother Chastity, father Horace. Am I right so far?”

  “Quite.”

  Quite. Her diction was so… odd. “When were you born?”

  “I don’t recall.”

  “Well, of course you wouldn’t recall, but surely you know the date of your birth?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t.”

  “It must have been, what, the late ’80s?”

  A ghost of a smile moved briefly across her face, passing almost before Felder realized it was there. “I believe it would have been more in the early ’70s.”

  “But you say you’re only twenty-three years old.”

  “More or less. As I mentioned before, I’m not sure of my exact age.”

  He cleared his throat lightly. “Constance, do you know that there’s no record of your family residing at Water Street?”

  “Perhaps your research hasn’t been thorough enough.”

  He leaned forward. “Is there a reason why you’re concealing the truth from me? Please remember: I’m only here to help you.”

  A silence. He looked into those violet eyes, that young, beautiful face so perfectly framed by auburn hair, with the unmistakable look he remembered from their first meeting: haughtiness, serene superiority, perhaps even disdain. She had all the air of… what? A queen? No, that wasn’t quite it. Felder had seen nothing like it before.

  He laid his notes aside, trying to assume an air of ease and informality. “How did you happen to become Mr. Pendergast’s ward?”

  “When my parents and sister died, I was orphaned and homeless. Mr. Pendergast’s house at Eight Ninety-one Riverside Drive was…” A pause. “Was then owned by a man named Leng. Eventually it… became vacant. I lived there.”

  “Why there, in particular?”

  “It was large, comfortable, and had many places to hide. And it had a good library. When Mr. Pendergast inherited the house, he discovered me there and became my legal guardian.”

  Pendergast. His name had been in the papers, briefly, in regard to Constance’s crime. The man had refused all comment. “Why did he become your guardian?”

  “Guilt.”

  A silence. Felder cleared his throat. “Guilt? Why do you say that?”

  She did not answer.

  “Was Mr. Pendergast perhaps the father of your child?”

  Now an answer came, and it was preternaturally calm. “No.”

  “And what was your role in the Pendergast household?”

  “I was his amanuensis. His researcher. He found my language abilities useful.”

  “Languages? How many do you speak?”

  “None but English. I can read and write fluently in Latin, ancient Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, and German.”

  “Interesting. You must have been a clever student. Where did you go to school?”

  “I learned on my own.”

  “You mean, you were self-educated?”

  “I mean I learned on my own.�
�

  Could it be possible? Felder wondered. In this day and age, could a person be born and grow up in the city and yet remain completely and officially invisible? This informal approach was going nowhere. Time to get a little more direct, press her a little. “How did your sister die?”

  “She was murdered by a serial killer.”

  Felder paused. “Is the case on file? Was the serial killer caught?”

  “No and no.”

  “And your parents? What happened to them?”

  “They both died of consumption.”

  Felder was suddenly encouraged. This would be easy to check, as tuberculosis deaths in New York City were meticulously documented. “In which hospital did they die?”

  “None. I don’t know where my father died. I know my mother died on the street and her body was buried in the potter’s field on Hart Island.”

  She remained seated, hands folded in her lap. Felder felt a sense of increasing frustration. “Getting back to your birth: you don’t even remember what year you were born?”

  “No.”

  Felder sighed. “I’d like to ask you some questions about your baby.”

  She remained still.

  “You say you threw your baby off the ship because it was evil. How did you know it was evil?”

  “His father was evil.”

  “Are you ready to tell me who he was?”

  No answer.

  “Do you believe that evil is inheritable, then?”

  “There are suites, aggregates, of genes in the human genome that clearly contribute to criminal behavior, and those aggregates are inheritable. Surely you have read about recent research on the Dark Triad of human behavior traits?”

  Felder was familiar with the research and very surprised at the lucidity and erudition of the response.

  “And so you felt it necessary to remove his genes from the gene pool by throwing your baby into the Atlantic Ocean?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “And the father? Is he still alive?”

  “He’s dead.”

  “How?”

  “He was precipitated into a pyroclastic flow.”

  “He was… excuse me?”

  “It’s a geological term. He fell into a volcano.”

  It took him a moment to absorb this statement. “Was he a geologist?”

  No answer. It was maddening, going around and around like this and getting nowhere.

  “You say ‘precipitated.’ Are you implying he was pushed?”

  Again, no answer. This was clearly a wild fantasy, not worth encouraging or pursuing.

  Felder switched topics. “Constance, when you threw your baby off the boat, did you know you were committing a crime?”

  “Naturally.”

  “Did you consider the consequences?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you knew it was wrong to kill your baby.”

  “On the contrary. It was not only the right thing to do, it was the only thing to do.”

  “Why was it the only thing to do?”

  The question was followed by silence. With a sigh, feeling once again like he’d been casting a net into the darkness, Dr. John Felder picked up his notebook and rose. “Thank you, Constance. Our time is up.”

  “You’re most welcome, Dr. Felder.”

  He pressed the button. Immediately the door opened and the cop came in.

  “I’m done here,” he said. Then he turned to Constance Greene and heard himself say, almost against his will: “We’ll have another session in a few days.”

  “It shall be my pleasure.”

  As Felder walked down the long corridor of the secure ward, he wondered if his initial conclusion was correct. She was mentally ill, of course, but was she truly insane—legally insane? If you removed from her all that was sane, all that was predictable, all that was normal in a person—what did it leave? Nothing.

  Just like her identity. Nothing.

  43

  Baton Rouge

  LAURA HAYWARD STRODE ALONG THE SECOND-FLOOR corridor of Baton Rouge General, consciously keeping a measured pace. She had everything under control, her breathing, her facial expression, her body language. Everything. Before leaving New York, she had dressed carefully in jeans and a shirt, her hair loose, leaving her uniform behind. She was here as a private citizen: no more, and no less.

  Doctors, nurses, and staff passed in a blur as she walked steadily on, toward the pair of double doors leading into surgery. She pushed through them, taking care to keep her pace slow and deliberate. The admissions kiosk was to her right but she passed by, ignoring the polite “May I help you?” from the nurse. She headed straight into the waiting room—and there saw a lone figure sitting at the far end, rising from his seat now and taking a step toward her, face grim, arm extended.

  She walked up to him and in one smooth motion raised her right arm, drew it back, and cold-cocked him across the jaw. “Bastard!”

  He staggered back but made no effort to defend himself. She hit him again.

  “Selfish, arrogant bastard! It wasn’t enough that you almost ruined his career. Now you’ve killed him, you son of a bitch!”

  She drew back and swung at him a third time, but this time he caught her arm in a vise-like grip and drew her toward him, turning and gently—but firmly—pinning her. She struggled briefly. And then, as quickly as it had come, she felt all the anger, all the hatred, collapse inside her. She sagged in his grip, utterly drained. He helped her to a chair. Somewhere, she was dimly aware of a commotion, the sound of running footsteps, shouts. She looked up and found them surrounded by three security guards shouting various contradictory questions and commands, the receiving nurse standing behind them, hand over her mouth.

  Pendergast stood up, removed his shield, and held it up at them. “I’ll take care of this. No reason to be alarmed.”

  “But there’s been an assault,” said one of the security officers. “Sir, you’re bleeding.”

  Pendergast took an aggressive step forward. “I will handle it, Officer. I thank you and these others for the swift response, and I bid you good evening.”

  After a few moments of confusion, the security officers departed, leaving one behind, who took a position at the waiting room door, hands clasped in front, staring hard and suspiciously at Hayward.

  Pendergast sat down beside Hayward. “He’s been in exploratory surgery for several hours. I understand it’s very serious. I’ve asked to be briefed on his situation as soon as they’ve got anything to—ah, here’s a surgeon now.”

  A doctor entered the waiting room, his face grave. He looked from Hayward to Pendergast, whose face was bleeding, but made no comment. “Special Agent Pendergast?”

  “Yes. And this is Captain Hayward, NYPD, a close friend of the patient. You may speak freely with both of us.”

  “I see.” The surgeon nodded, consulted a clipboard in his hand. “The bullet entered at an angle from behind and grazed the heart before lodging against the back of a rib.”

  “The heart?” Hayward asked, struggling to comprehend, even as she managed to collect herself, organize her thoughts.

  “Among other things, it partially tore the aortic valve as well as blocking the blood supply to part of the heart. Right now we’re trying to fix the valve and keep the heart going.”

  “What are his chances of… of survival?” she asked.

  The surgeon hesitated. “Every case is different. The good news is that the patient did not lose too much blood. If the bullet had been even half a millimeter closer, it would have ruptured the aorta. It did, however, do significant damage to the heart. If the operation is successful, he has an excellent chance of a full recovery.”

  “Look,” said Hayward, “I’m a cop. You don’t have to beat around the bush with me. I want to know what his chances are.”

  The surgeon looked at her with pale, faded eyes. “This is a difficult and complex procedure. We have a team of the best surgeons in Louisiana working on it as we s
peak. But even under the best of circumstances, a healthy patient, no complications… well, it’s not often successful. It’s like trying to rebuild a car engine—while it’s running.”

  “Not often?” She felt suddenly sick. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I don’t know that any controlled studies have been done, but my best guess as a surgeon would put a successful outcome at five percent… or less.”

  This was followed by a long silence. Five percent or less.

  “What about a heart transplant?”

  “If we had a heart, all matched up and ready to go, it would be a possibility. But we don’t.”

  Hayward felt around for the arm of the chair and sank down into it.

  “Does Mr. D’Agosta have any relatives who should be notified?”

  Hayward didn’t answer for a moment. Then she said, “An ex-wife and a son… in Canada. There’s no one else. And that’s Lieutenant D’Agosta.”

  “My apologies. Now, forgive me, but I need to get back to the OR. The operation will continue for at least eight more hours—if all goes well. You’re welcome to stay here, but I doubt there will be any more news until the end.”

  Hayward nodded vaguely. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it all. She seemed to have lost all power of ratiocination.

  She felt the surgeon’s light touch on her shoulder. “May I ask if the lieutenant is a religious man?”

  She tried to focus on the question, finally nodding. “Catholic.”

  “Would you like me to ask the hospital priest to come?”

  “The priest?” She glanced at Pendergast, unsure how to answer.

  “Yes,” said Pendergast, “we would very much like the priest to come. We would like to speak to him. And please tell him to be prepared to administer extreme unction, given the circumstances.”

  A soft beeping went off on the doctor’s person and in an automatic motion he reached down, detached a pager from his belt, and looked at it. At the same time the public address system chimed and a smooth female voice sounded from a hidden speaker:

  “Code blue, OR two-one. Code blue, OR two-one. Code team to OR two-one.”