by HMC
‘Karl, I will use this information to save your daughter.’
He nodded. ‘When Clancy came across Freeman and Watts’ Psychosurgery, back in ’48, he became obsessed. He spent hours studying. Anyway, after a while he started searching for like-minded people. I, myself, was interested. All night and day he’d talk about it. When you listened to someone so passionate, someone you knew was in it to make a difference, like yourself, you began to listen. We were both eager and I trusted his judgement.’ He took another sip of his tea.
‘The more Clancy searched, the more he found. Finally, he found a faction of people who were hooked on the movement.’ Jade already knew where this story was heading.
‘We were swept up in a new and exciting endeavour. Well-known, established people were associated with the group. Wealthy men were pouring money into the discipline.
‘You must understand that I was a young nobody – a child of the Great Depression, who had lost both parents and a sibling. One who had nothing and had almost died of starvation. I inherited a large sum of money from an uncle who was good enough to take me in. There couldn’t have been a more definitive time in my life.
‘Anyway, I’m getting off track. The point is: I always felt like I had bought my way in. Lucky to be standing, let alone hanging in the academic quarter and surrounded by those people. I was lucky to be noticed. If it weren’t for my associated late uncle, I would never have gotten to where I was. In fact I may have died at a very early age, which, in hindsight, should’ve been my true destiny.’ It was becoming obvious to Jade that Dr. Karl Phillips regretted most of his decisions, except perhaps adopting his daughter.
‘If I was to do this work with Clancy, perhaps it meant I could prove my worth. I needed to prove it, not only to them, but to myself. I’m not trying to make excuses, but I was mesmerised by it all. If so many people believed, then how terrible was it for me to consider it?’ Karl took a long breath in. ‘We began to practise.’
‘Lobotomies?’ Angus’ voice was strained and high pitched.
Karl continued. ‘Moniz and Hess had won a Nobel prize in Leucotomy in 1949 and that put the last nail in the coffin for me. We thought we were on to something huge.’
Angus was white, and Jade felt sick to her stomach. Although she suspected Green wanted to cut into her that day, the man sitting before her was confirming it. It was all real. In this day and age, with all the advancement of medical science – it was real. They were actually physically damaging humans for the sake of science.
‘Not so long after that Clancy and I were initiated into the Maine Society, named after the founder and key investor: Joseph Maine, a talented Neurologist. We had known the society had existed and it was a prestigious honour for a scholar to be asked to join. I’m pretty sure Clancy was yearning for it from the start, and his pursuit of this feather in his cap surpassed his wishes to help others. I ignored the changes in him.’
‘The Maine Society. Clancy built Maine Hospital?’ Jade asked. The pieces were starting to fit together.
‘Yes, from deep underground and up. Clancy had more money than he knew what to do with. He was able to buy the right people off, which wasn’t difficult to do back then.
‘This is a small division, Jade. The Society started in Switzerland, Portugal, and then the U.S. and so on, and so forth. It has remained secret for over fifty years and there is a protocol in place to keep it that way.’
Jade shuddered to think what that ‘protocol’ might be. She assumed that Martha-Jane’s death and the fire had been a direct result.
‘Now you understand. My Samantha was drawing too much attention to herself for their liking. The only way Green could get rid of the ‘mischief-makers’ was by throwing them all together. It seems his plan is back-firing. Fortunately, Clancy has become sloppy and miserly in his old age. He should’ve retired years ago.’
Green hadn’t only tried to kill them all, when he’d failed, he tried to turn Jade into another one of his experiments. This was bad. Not only was Green nuts, he was organised nuts. He was protected by an immense administration of nut cases.
Jade shifted in her chair. ‘When Green tried to have Sam killed, why didn’t you do something then?’
‘Like what? I pleaded with Clancy. There is no one to go to.’
‘You just gave up.’
‘There was nothing more I could do.’ Karl hung his head.
‘If Green had hired actual trackers, we’d all be dead.’
Angus interrupted. ‘What are trackers?’
‘Men and women hired by The Society to do their dirty work.’
Trackers. Is that what Freddy had called his monsters?
Something didn’t quite fit yet.
‘But lobotomies were there to assist with those who were already suffering. Why would Green want to operate on healthy patients like me?’
‘A very good question. Clancy thought he’d discovered something even more exciting. When changing elements of the brain, through whatever means necessary, he could pinpoint sections that related to certain psychoses. He began writing up experiments. This was when I came to my senses and realised he’d gone too far.
‘He brought in people who weren’t sick, and made them sick. If he damaged a certain area of the brain and the patient showed symptoms of a certain disorder, then he could assume the damaged area was responsible for the symptoms. Revolutionary, he called it. The idea hadn’t come from him, of course. It had come from The Society. He was just easily led. They tried it on all of us – tried to make us believe that the experiments were ethical. The brainwashing that went on … I wasn’t completely immune. The ones who didn’t comply, well, let’s just say you wanted to comply.
‘The worst part, the part that changed our relationship forever, was when he started tapping the orphanages.’ Karl Phillips stopped for a moment. Jade could see him holding back tears and he seemed to be trying to swallow the knot in his throat.
‘These children are already lost,’ he’d say. ‘They are already a burden on the populace. Why not give them a purpose?’ Karl lost control and sobbed. It was a whole-hearted catharsis.
Jade and Angus sat as Dr. Karl Phillips expressed some long overdue remorse. But Jade felt nothing for him. Not an ounce of pity.
‘Decades,’ she said.
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘You’ve done this to people for decades and it’s still going on. Did you feel so guilty about it that you decided to adopt a little girl you’d messed up, to make yourself feel better? Not only that, but she’s now stuck in that hole in the ground. Are you just going to leave her there? What kind of a life is that? What kind of an evil, black-hearted, sick bastard are you?’
He cringed, as if he’d been slapped. She wanted to do more than that.
‘It’s still going on and you’ve done nothing to stop it.’
‘You have every right to be angry with me, Jade. I did try to get out. There were times I tried to escape. I’ve seen what was done to those who were caught trying to leave the country. I’ve witnessed brutality.
‘I thought of ending my own life, many times. I had my wife and Samantha. They depended on me. I had to be a man and do my duty. I don’t expect you to understand.
‘I know that I made some appalling decisions when I was young, and I’ve had to live with those decisions for the rest of my life. I’ll never forgive myself. Never.
‘I know I should’ve tried to tell someone who would listen and realise now that I should’ve had the principles and moral character to be willing to sacrifice my life in blowing the whistle on them. It was, and is necessary for the greater good.
‘Samantha was my last. That was thirteen years ago. I promised that if I could save just one, then I could undo some of the hurt. But I’ve even failed at that. The story needs to end here. I can’t live with it anymore.’
‘W
ell, I’m so happy you freed yourself today!’ Jade did little to hide her anger. Tears flowed down the old man’s face and after a few moments Jade finally felt a slight pang of compassion. He was frightened and miserable and yelling at him wasn’t going to help anyone. Yes, he was despicable, but she needed his help and so took a deep breath and settled down.
‘The story will end here, Karl. I’m going to end it. Your daughter is important to me, too. If it weren’t for her strength, I’d still be stuck in that hellhole of a hospital myself.’
He looked up and across the table at her. ‘Don’t go to the police. They have people everywhere. Constable Travis Bourke is the only one on the force you should talk to. Other than him, only trust each other. They’re going to come for me.’
‘How do you know that?’ Angus shifted.
‘You escaped, Jade. They’re coming for you, too. You’ll need to make a plan and rely on each other.
‘I have a good feeling about you two. I want you to give this to Samantha.’ He pulled a letter out of his pocket.
An ache pulled tight on Jade’s heart. Too little, too late. He could’ve saved so many more people.
‘I would like for you to read it when you have a quiet moment. There’s more information in it which you will find useful.’
She took the heavy envelope and slipped it into her pocket. Jade had never felt more uncertain about what to do next. A car drove up the gravel road out the front of Karl’s property and Angus shifted uneasily in his chair.
Dr. Karl Phillips jumped up and dashed to the window with seemingly renewed vitality. ‘No one would be calling at this time of morning unless they were looking for you two.’ Karl peeked out through the white lace curtains then turned towards them.
‘Why would they know that we came to you instead of the police?’
‘When The Society finds out about an escapee, they are quick to fix the problem. They’re here.’
Angus Thatcher bounded off the couch, without hesitation. He pulled out his weapon mechanically, ready for the worst.
Karl Phillips gasped, but changed his mind about the idea of drawing weapons. ‘Well, that’s very good, I suppose. Come with me quickly.’ Jade regarded him and had to assume his intentions were honourable. After all, he did seem remorseful and what other choice did they have?
As Karl rushed out, they followed through an old style kitchen that reminded Jade of her late grandmother’s house. They ventured through a hidden door, around the back of a small fireplace. All three of them needed to bend over to squeeze through the door and they clattered down a rickety set of stairs. Old cobwebs brushed Jade’s face and she snatched heatedly at them, looking for spiders.
Karl seemed to be the most poised of the three and it was lucky that someone had any idea what on earth they were doing. Jade was ready to die in a hail of bullets if it was called for to publicly denounce these perpetrators, however it looked like the old man was well prepared. A call to arms might not be necessary, just yet. She wondered who it was at the gate, but had a pretty good idea.
‘Who’s up there, Karl?’
‘People who want to talk to you. We don’t have much time.’ The door ahead of them opened up into a garage, or more like a dugout hole in the ground, with a couple of camouflage double doors. In the middle, and taking up almost all of the space in the dugout, was a customized, off-road Mercedes Brabus. Max horsepower and torque. This was one fast car.
‘Who’s driving?’
Angus looked like a little boy on Christmas morning, and she smiled in spite of their situation. Karl handed the keys to Jade and she passed them directly to her brother.
‘Don’t roll out of the garage until you hear them talking with me. When you get to the trees’ edge, put your foot down. You know how to drive it?’
Angus grinned.
‘Good. You’ll be needing this type of alertness and fervour if you want to live.’
If you want to live?
‘Trackers?’
‘Maybe.’ He pushed her gently towards the vehicle and stood back.
Clearly, Karl knew someone would be coming for him some day and he had planned this little getaway for a reason. As much as he was one of the bad guys, Jade didn’t want anyone having to deal with the likes of Dr. Clancy Green or his friends. Not if she could help it.
A sudden wind blew in through the gap in the garage doors and shook them, a warning signal from a higher place.
Karl unlatched the wooden doors and the bell upstairs sounded. Sun poured into the garage. They were facing the rear of the house, where the backyard edged onto a vast bushland. ‘Try to find my Samantha. You have a letter to deliver. Please look at it when you get a chance – it will explain things further. I know you owe me nothing. In fact, I owe you. But please find it in your heart to tell my story. It’s not for my sake.’
‘I will.’
Jade felt like she’d taken a vow. There was a gut-wrenching sense of duty; a passing of a torch from this man to her. This wounded old man who had carried it for so many years. She looked at him and saw a man who was ready to die. His wrinkled, weary face looked peaceful now.
Moments later, there was a hard thumping on the front door.
‘Go,’ Karl said.
‘Dr. Phillips!’ The shouts of a man came from above them.
Karl was desperate now. ‘Go!’
‘We know you’re in there.’ It was a cheesy line from an action movie, used in excess, when the fighting and the explosions were about to begin. As the Mercedes rolled from the garage, Karl called to his assailants from the top of the stairs.
‘Hold your horses! Bloomin’ hell.’ Karl put his hand up to his chest and pretended to hobble. He coughed as he opened the front door to the family home he had lived in for most of his life.
RECAPTURED
You’ve almost given a poor old man a heart attack!’ Two men pushed past the doctor and surveyed the living room, as if expecting someone to jump out from behind a piece of furniture.
The men were nicely dressed and professional looking. Definitely trackers. Karl thought perhaps Green had loosened up and spent a little money this time. He hadn’t expected actual trackers. In fact he’d only ever met a few in his entire lifetime. It meant the chances of his friends escaping had just decreased by a large ratio.
It also meant he wasn’t getting out of this alive. One of the men could’ve been no more than twenty. Starting them younger and younger.
‘Where are they?’ the older one demanded with a distinctly Italian accent.
Karl tried his best to fake fearlessness, which was when his heart pounded and his palms became clammy. Karl looked over his shoulder at his decorative Samurai sword – the only weapon at hand that he stood a chance of reaching. Not that it could do much in facing down fully trained Trackers. And he was no swordsman, anyway. He sighed. ‘My Reading Club members? Well, they’ve just finished their tea and left.’
The younger one was next to speak. ‘Angus Thatcher’s car is out front, Karl. Don’t try to bullshit us.’
Damn! That’s right. The doctor wasn’t as sharp as he used to be and there was nothing more intimidating than a cocksure, twenty-something with a loaded gun and a point to prove. The young one moved around the living room like a prowling night cat, brushing ornaments in the obvious hope of breaking them ‘accidentally.’
‘I have no idea what you mean, who you are, or who this Angie person is you’re talking about.’ He purposely turned his back on them as if unaware of the danger he was in. ‘I bought that car two days ago off a nice young man who only wanted four hundred for it. What was his name again? Common courtesy really has diminished these days.’ Dr. Phillips hunched over and shuffled towards his chair. He took a seat and made himself comfortable. ‘I would offer you some tea but I’ve recently run out. Now, who is it again you said you were looking for?’
/> The ducks and chickens scampered out of the way of the vehicle, as it rolled down the open hill. A straight line led them from the garage to a gap in the bushland, on the edge of Karl’s property.
The opening was just large enough for the Mercedes and Jade could see it was cut precisely with the car in mind. The plan had been well laid out so far, but it wasn’t meant to be her escape. Karl had handed over his well-planned escape to two complete strangers. She hoped the old man would be okay.
When Angus was far enough away from the house, he started up the engine. As he pushed the accelerator, the machine responded with a velvety rumble. They continued along a rough bush track.
‘What a car,’ he purred.
‘It wasn’t meant to be ours.’
‘No use worrying about the choices he made, Jade. He did it because he needed to.’
Angus was right; if Karl had wanted to live he would’ve come, too. But Jade knew that he didn’t. He wanted freedom from his pain. If he could do so while saving someone else, someone who could potentially change things, then she supposed it wasn’t such a terrible choice.
Alternatively, if they didn’t kill him, they might take him to Maine, and that was a fate far worse than death.
The so-called straightforward lines of good guy versus bad guy really were a blur. Jade tried hard to push the thought from her mind. Nobody’s all black or all white – everyone has shades of grey, too.
The foliage around them grew thicker and the wind raged through the trees, as if giving chase. Angus remained awfully calm and once again, she was grateful to have made the decision to go to her brother. Watching him helped her to quiet her thoughts.
An idea suddenly came to her.
‘This Constable Travis Bourke Karl was talking about? Sam spoke about him, too, quite often actually. They’ve been friends since childhood. I think he needs to be the next person we look for.’