The Memory Painter

Running to his car, Michael fumbled for the keys and got behind the wheel. Conrad came charging out of the apartment building. Michael started the engine and tore off. He looked back in his rearview mirror to see Conrad standing in the middle of the street, looking eerily still, and shuddered.

Whoever Conrad had remembered, Michael was terrified of him now. He drove away, his hands shaking on the wheel. Adrenaline coursed through his body. Suddenly everything had changed. He needed to go home and get Diana. They would meet Finn at the lab and pack up everything tonight. By morning they’d be gone.

*

Bryan woke up gasping for air. Within seconds it all came back to him in perfect clarity. He had dreamed of being at the Great Pyramid with the Egyptian goddess, and it had been Michael’s dream too. Not only had he remembered Michael’s confrontation with Conrad, he had experienced a full recall of Michael’s entire life—right up to the moment before his death. Finally the tidal wave of memories had come.

Tears coursed down Bryan’s face and he buried his head in his pillow. He had to see Linz. He no longer knew if the fact that she was Conrad’s daughter would be enough to keep her safe.

He jumped up from the bed. The smell of strong coffee and the sound of Claudette and Martin’s voices downstairs brought him back to reality. He sat back down in disbelief. Shit, I’m still in Canada.

After rushing to get dressed, he found paper and a pencil and re-created the symbol the Egyptian goddess had drawn. He went downstairs, but before he could say a word, Claudette started to greet him. “Bonjour! We—” She saw the look on Bryan’s face and stopped. “Something has happened?”

Without hesitating Bryan showed them his drawing. “Do you recognize this symbol?”

Martin and Claudette both studied it closely.

“I believe it’s Egyptian, and very old,” Bryan said, watching their faces.

Claudette shook her head and handed it back. “Sorry. This is not something I have seen before.”

Bryan’s shoulders drooped with defeat. He had been certain they would know.

“But there is someone who may have,” Martin said, smiling, “at Harvard.”

Claudette nodded, growing animated again. “Of course! Dr. Hayes. He is a wizard of Egyptology.”

“If he can’t recognize it, no one can,” Martin said. “His office is at the Peabody Museum. Tell him you’re a friend.”

Bryan nodded, his heart a little lighter.

Even in his hurry to leave, Bryan was surprised by how hard it was to say good-bye to his new friends. They exchanged e-mails and phone numbers as Claudette and Martin saw him to his car, and they all promised to keep in touch. A strong connection existed between them, which Bryan couldn’t explain. But if everything happened for a reason, he knew they were the reason he had come here.



TWENTY-NINE

As soon as Bryan’s plane touched down, he called Linz. She didn’t pick up. He hoped she was only avoiding his calls and that everything was all right.

“It’s me. I’m back. My plane just landed,” he hesitated. “Listen, I’m sorry I took off. I can’t explain it right now … there was something I needed to do. I hope you’ll forgive me. It’s critical that we talk. Please call me.”

*

Linz looked at her cell phone and shoved it back in her pocket, as she headed to her desk. The file from her father felt like a brick in her hand. She wanted to read it before she faced Bryan, but her plan stalled when she found Neil and Steve hovering over her computer.