The Memory Painter

Within minutes of his arrival at the museum, a jackhammer had starred pounding in his head. Even the exhibit’s dim lights were difficult to bear, and he had staggered out of the building in serious agony and hailed a cab home. He took four aspirin and crawled into bed, pulling the blanket over his eyes, unable to move. Then he slept, dreaming of nothing as his body tried to right itself.

Thankfully, now he could function again, but barely. Slowly, he slid out of bed, afraid that the slightest movement might bring back the migraine. He gingerly made tea and microwaved the leftover Greek takeout after realizing it had been a while since he had eaten. Maybe that’s what had caused it.

Moving over to his computer, he figured he could at least research Conrad and Finn, but he kept a bottle of aspirin nearby just in case. He still wanted to pay them a visit at some point, though he was unsure if he should take Linz. Maybe meeting her old team would trigger a recall for her. It was worth a try.

Part of him felt guilty that he wanted her to suffer the same pain of remembering, but he also couldn’t stop the feeling that it was imperative she did. It was apparent that the Renovo experiment was still very much alive, and he needed Linz to remember Diana’s life if he had any hope of understanding his own. Somehow, Michael and Diana had altered the chemistry of their brains and the effects had carried over into this lifetime—it was the only explanation that Bryan could come up with. By taking the drug, they had opened their minds and their minds had stayed open.

Bryan was obviously more affected than Linz was—he remembered multiple lives and countless languages. But then Michael had taken larger doses of Renovo and for a much longer period. Linz’s recollection of Juliana’s death and her willingness to acknowledge that she could, in fact, speak Greek were steps in the right direction. Now Bryan was gripped by a new urgency to pick up the pieces and move forward.

*

The next morning it hit her—she was taking Bryan to a company function, and she needed help. In a panic, Linz called Derek, who then called the owner of the most exclusive salon in Boston. She managed to squeeze her in for a haircut, manicure, pedicure, and makeup.

Linz was a little embarrassed by all the pampering, but when she looked at herself in the mirror, she had to admit she’d been transformed.