Delirious

by Daniel Palmer

  When I’m out of here, I’m going to finish the job. One down, three to go. Mac and Yardley die next. The last is still my surprise. I can’t wait for the killing to begin again.

  She looked most carefully at the word surprise. The u did in fact have distinct markings and characteristics. It was, as Charlie had said, different from the other letters. But she had nothing against which to compare it.

  Her clinical mind couldn’t equate murder with the man she had grown to know and in many ways admire. On more than one occasion she had thought if the situation between them had been different, she could actually see herself with a man like Charlie. Determined, intelligent, not to mention strikingly handsome.

  At Walderman, Charlie had shown her his more vulnerable and available side. It was a part of him she believed he kept hidden, not only from his closest relations, but from himself as well. His harsh words their last day together had stung and left her unsettled. But she understood now why he had been so cruel: he’d been preparing to escape, and her presence must have jeopardized those plans. She felt almost relieved to realize it wasn’t personal. What bothered her so? She believed in her heart that Charlie was a sick man. That wasn’t really even a question. But was he a killer? She was a woman accustomed to black and white, turning the sick into the healed. Shades of gray she found most unsettling.

  “Charlie didn’t kill anyone,” Joe said. “I know it in my soul.”

  His words took Rachel by surprise. It was as if Joe had been reading her thoughts. She folded her arms across her lap. “It’s not for us to decide,” she said. “We’re breaking the law here.”

  “So why did you come?” Joe asked.

  “Because I wanted to make sure you didn’t get hurt, or worse,” she said.

  “Is that all?” Joe asked.

  More police drove past. They had seen the wreck outside the Revere Beach Station from a distance. Neither bothered to confirm it was Charlie’s BMW. The police presence alone suggested this was much more than a routine traffic accident. It had taken them only twenty minutes to drive from Belmont to Revere, thanks to the reverse commute traffic. The last location the InVision GPS had provided for Charlie’s car before his signal went dark was right outside this station. With all the police swarming about, Joe didn’t dare step outside his car.

  “Charlie has been threatening to kill SoluCent employees for weeks now,” Rachel said. “He escaped from our facility, and since that time at least one high-ranking employee of his company has died. Do you want to have others on your conscience?”

  “I want the truth,” Joe said. “I want my family back. My mother is still in a coma, and my brother will be shot on sight if I don’t help him.”

  “You can’t control everything, Joe,” Rachel said. “Life doesn’t work that way.”

  “I’m going to get my brother,” Joe said. “I can control that. If you’re not going to help me, then you have to get out of the car, Rachel. It’s not negotiable.”

  Rachel paused. Technically she hadn’t yet broken the law. If she did find Charlie, she could find some way to turn him in. If she didn’t go, Joe’s life could be in danger. He wouldn’t stop until he found and rescued his brother. She knew that. Would Charlie even turn on his own brother? A Cain and Abel tragedy. Knowing Joe, he would stand by his brother, even if it meant him getting killed. He was stubborn that way. Once his mind was made up, it was made up.

  “Charlie told us where we could find him. He’s at Wonderland,” Joe added. “He’s somewhere where he can hide. And I’m going there now. Are you coming with me?”

  Rachel unfolded her arms. She looked into Joe’s worried eyes. She thought of Charlie. She felt awash with uncertainty. After a moment that seemed almost eternal, she spoke in a low voice.

  “Drive,” she said.

  Chapter 58

  It was impossible for him to lie any lower on the floor of the Chevy Lumina, but Charlie tried. Garbled voices crackling from police radios and scanners broke the silence of an otherwise noiseless part of the parking lot. He had crawled inside the car from the driver’s side passenger door. As a result, Charlie’s head was closest to the voices outside. He couldn’t believe how near the police were to him. They were close enough for him to hear their radio conversation without having to strain.

  “Unit Seven, Unit Seven, requesting a ten-twenty,” said a staticky voice.

  “Unit Seven, we’re on-site at Wonderland. Over.”

  “Roger, Unit Seven. What’s your nine-five-two?”

  “Situation unchanged. Over. Suspect remains at large.”

  “Ten-four, Unit Seven. Over.”

  “Over and out.”

  Charlie felt the weight of the vehicle shift left and noticed the light inside the car unexpectedly turn darker. It wasn’t at all like shadows cast from a passing car or even a cloud. The patrolling officers were directly outside of the Lumina’s passenger-side door. If they simply turned and looked down, the wide, fear-filled eyes of Charlie would be there to greet them. One of the officers had apparently leaned up against the car and caused it to shift on its axles. It was his girth that partially obscured the morning light, which prior had filled much of the interior. From inside the car their voices sounded muffled but were also easily understood. It was no different than a conversation overheard from behind closed doors.

  “Fuck this, Gary,” one of the officers said. He had a low baritone voice that suggested an innate meanness.

  “Yeah. This asshole could be anywhere.” Gary had a thick Boston accent, much more pronounced than his partner’s.

  “Anywhere,” Gary’s partner agreed.

  “So do we check every car?”

  Charlie heard the sound of knuckles banging loudly against the windshield just above his head. The officer had knocked on the glass for emphasis. For a moment it felt as if Charlie’s heart had stopped beating. It was a feeling more terrifying than holding a loaded gun to his temple.

  “Look around,” the baritone voice said. “There must be two hundred cars in this lot. Not to mention at least fifty stores within a ten-minute walk.”

  “And are we sure the guy went outbound?” Gary asked.

  “We’re not sure of shit,” his partner said. “Train logs show two trains arrived at Revere Beach Station at the same time this asshole booked it down the stairwell. We must have every cop in the city and then some out looking for him. The staties and SWAT are coming in, too. You better believe that.”

  “Fucking guy,” Gary said.

  “Yeah. Great way to start the day.”

  Charlie hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath until the officers moved away from the Lumina. The interior filled again with sunlight. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing, either. It meant it might be easier to spot his body sprawled out on the floor in the back of the car. Hopefully grimy windows from what the stench suggested was a voluminous number of cigarettes would help conceal him. He listened as their footsteps faded.

  Then he heard the sound of a car approaching. Tire wheels crunching against loose stone and asphalt. The car came to a stop not far from where Charlie was hiding. Next, Charlie heard three short beeps. Three car beeps, Charlie thought. Joe!

  Not chancing a look, Charlie listened to confirm his hopes.

  “Hey there,” he heard his brother’s voice call out.

  It’s him, Charlie thought. Thank God for Joe. Thank God.

  Charlie tried to gauge how much Joe had taken from their conversation. If he understood everything, he would know where Charlie was hiding. It seemed a good possibility. Joe knew Charlie was at Wonderland. He also knew the signal. Three beeps. Smartly, Joe had used it to get the attention of the police. For what, Charlie wasn’t sure. What he did know was that it didn’t draw their attention to the Lumina, and that was a good thing. There was no way Joe could know which car he was hiding in, but he could take a guess as to his general vicinity. Charlie had given him that much to work with.

  “What do you need?” Charlie
heard one of the two police officers ask. They were too far away for him to tell which it was. Whoever spoke didn’t seem too enthusiastic about having a morning chat with Joe.

  “What’s going on?” Joe asked. “There’s a lot of activity here.”

  “We’re looking for someone,” a different voice said. Charlie recognized that voice as the more Boston of the two. The man named Gary.

  “Is he dangerous?” Joe asked.

  “Yes. Why?” said Gary

  They now sounded suspicious.

  Joe, don’t do anything stupid, Charlie thought.

  “Well, I did see something … It’s probably nothing, though….” Joe let his voice trail off.

  The tenor of Gary’s voice changed. He sounded interested. “Oh? What did you see?”

  “A man,” Joe began. “Maybe thirty-five, definitely under forty. White guy. Thin. Short hair. He looked a bit cut up, now that I think about it. Like he’d been in an accident or something. Anyway, I thought that I saw him breaking into a car back there. That’s why I drove over. It’s probably not the guy you’re looking for, though,” he added.

  “White guy, you said?” Gary’s partner asked.

  Joe nodded. “Yeah, white. It was funny because he looked more like a businessman, you know? Commuter type more than a criminal. That’s what really threw me off. I didn’t see if he had actually broken into the car. But now that I know you’re looking for somebody, I kinda think he was acting suspicious.”

  “Which car?” Gary asked.

  Charlie didn’t hear anything for a moment. He assumed it was because Joe was scanning the lot. Charlie couldn’t believe how calm and in control Joe was acting. If he didn’t know what was going on, Charlie would have easily believed Joe had in fact just witnessed a crime. It was almost comical that what Joe was really doing was preparing to commit one.

  “Well, I can’t be sure now,” Charlie heard Joe say. “It was definitely on the other side of the lot. Closer to the road. I guess I could walk over with you and take a look, if that would help.”

  “That would be good,” Gary’s partner said.

  “But you’ll need to stay at least fifty feet away from the car once you identify it,” Gary added. “Do you understand?”

  “Sure. I understand,” Joe said. “Jackie, do you mind driving over to meet me? I’ll walk these officers over to where we thought we saw that guy.”

  “Sure. Not a problem. Anything to help.”

  Charlie’s pulse jumped a beat. That voice, of the woman Joe had called Jackie, it was Rachel’s. Charlie listened as Joe’s voice faded as the officers followed him. Charlie could tell they were continuing to question him, but out of earshot.

  A minute passed. He hadn’t heard Rachel start the car. Charlie finally dared to lift his head. When he did, he saw Rachel exiting Joe’s Camry. Then she walked around the front of the vehicle and sat down in the driver’s seat.

  Charlie saw that Joe and the police were a good hundred yards away. Other officers had joined in the search as well. Joe was pointing in a direction that was exactly opposite to Charlie’s physical location.

  “Genius,” Charlie muttered. “Simply genius.”

  Like a snake, without raising his body more than an inch off the floor, Charlie shifted position until his head was at the driver’s side passenger door and his feet were where his head had been before. Then, with extreme caution, he lifted the door handle and slowly pushed open the Chevy Lumina’s passenger door, slipping outside undetected and onto the ground. He closed the door silently with his foot. Some shards of shattered glass rubbed against his arms, face, and chest. The shatterproof glass was irritating, but at least it didn’t break the skin.

  Lying flat on his stomach like some Army Special Forces guy in the midst of a dangerous mission, Charlie crawled along the pavement toward the front of the Camry. Joe had parked the car in front of the car next to the Lumina. Joe’s car would have to turn around or back out to exit the lot. The driver’s side door to the Camry was open. The Camry was in as good a location as he could have hoped.

  Charlie saw that Rachel was just about to close the Camry door. He made a pssst sound with his mouth, and Rachel looked in the direction of the noise. She spotted Charlie’s head extended past the hood of the Lumina. He used the side of the Lumina to conceal most of his body. Her eyes widened with an expression that seemed to suggest both relief and anger. She made a move to get out of the car, but Charlie held up his hand.

  Rising to his knees, he extended his body a bit farther out in front of the Lumina’s hood and pantomimed the motion of opening a door. Rachel nodded and, without exiting the car, stretched her long arms and torso, reached behind and pulled on the driver’s side rear door handle. When he saw the door open a crack, Charlie motioned with his head in the direction of Joe and the police. Rachel looked behind her. Turning back toward Charlie, she made urgent motions for him to make his move.

  Charlie crawled on his hands and knees the twenty feet to Joe’s car. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground and resisted the powerful urge to stand and sprint toward the car. Once alongside the Camry, Charlie pulled the rear driver’s side door open with the tips of his fingers. Again using snakelike movements, he slithered his body inside the car and sank low to the backseat floor. There were blankets in the backseat of Joe’s car. They had been there for years. Charlie pulled them down and used them to cover as much of his body as he could.

  “I should turn you in to the police,” Rachel growled at him.

  Charlie kept the blankets over his head. “But you won’t?” Charlie asked.

  “Not yet,” Rachel said.

  “Why?” Charlie asked.

  “I want you to prove to me that you didn’t kill that man. I want to see those notes myself. You have them?”

  “I do,” Charlie said.

  Rachel reached behind her and pulled the passenger door shut. She started the car and ran it in reverse.

  The car stopped a short distance later. Charlie listened to her step outside. He was still buried underneath the blankets in the backseat. He kept his body as still as the dead.

  “Well, I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help,” Charlie could hear Joe say. “I could have sworn it was that Grand Am.”

  “Don’t mention it,” someone said. It sounded like a cop but was not a voice Charlie recognized.

  “Yeah. Thanks for keeping an eye out.”

  That was Gary, Charlie thought.

  “Well, these days, with terrorism and all, vigilance is all of our responsibility,” Joe said with pride.

  “That’s right. If you do see anything suspicious, please let the police know right away. We’re going to get this guy soon enough,” Gary said.

  “I hope you do,” Joe said. Charlie imagined the smile on his brother’s face.

  Joe and Rachel got back into the Camry. Joe took the driver’s seat. Charlie felt the seat press against his legs as his brother adjusted it back to its usual position.

  “Well, Jackie,” Joe said. “How did you do?”

  “I did well,” Rachel said. She reached behind and with her left hand tapped on the blankets covering Charlie’s body. Her touch made Charlie flinch, and the blankets moved just a bit. Joe said nothing. From underneath the blankets Charlie listened as the engine roared to life. Joe backed the car up a few feet. Then he put it into drive. Within minutes they were going well over twenty miles an hour. It wasn’t until they were traveling at highway speed that Charlie dared to lift his head.

  Chapter 59

  Charlie didn’t say a word. He kept the blankets over him. The only voice speaking was the InVision system, directing Joe toward the MassPike and away from Boston. They were taking Route 16 and heading toward Route 1A.

  “Prepare to enter highway in ninety yards,” InVision directed.

  The car pulled up to a toll booth. Charlie held his breath. Were his feet completely covered? Joe barely stopped the car. Charlie heard the sound of a machine spitting out a turnpike
ticket and breathed again. All he wanted was to get distance between himself and Revere. Only then could he think clearly.

  “How far?” Joe asked.

  From underneath the blankets Charlie’s muffled voice said, “At least get us past Framingham. Then we’ll talk.”

  “To Framingham we go,” Joe said.

  Charlie couldn’t believe the man driving, who had just saved his life, was his brother. Joe, the person Charlie blamed for much of his youthful frustration, was far more of a man than Charlie had ever believed possible. It was then he realized how little he knew his brother. Aside from the descriptive labels that he could ascribe to him—schizophrenic, classic rock music fan, novice drummer, security guard—he had never really invested much time in getting to know him as a person. He had thought of him as a brother but never as a friend. And yet Joe didn’t think twice about risking his life to save Charlie’s.

  His mother had always seen the goodness in Joe, the compassion and loyalty that best defined him. Those were his brother’s traits that Charlie had never seen. But they had always been there, just waiting for Charlie to reach out and discover them on his own. Their mother had never once wavered in her love for Joe. No matter who he became, he’d remained forever her son, whom she loved dearly. She’d never believed the disease had robbed Joe of his spirit and soul. But that was what made mothers different: they had the power to see deep into the soul. What would she think if she looked inside his? It was an answer he didn’t really want to know, certain she’d be disappointed with the man he’d become. Charlie said a silent prayer for her recovery. God had never factored much into his life before. If he survived this ordeal, he decided, agnosticism might be a choice worth revisiting.

  “Is it safe?” Charlie asked from the floor of the backseat.

  “Safe,” Joe said.