Jack thought of the photo of the two little blond kids on the sled. Maybe something from the past would jog his memory.
When he presented the photo, Peterson startled. He leaned forward and stared hard at Jack’s phone. His smile drooped and he frowned in confusion.
“Fire,” he finally whispered.
With a sudden movement, Peterson swatted at the phone. That drew the attention of the orderly, who hurried toward them. “I’m going to need you to leave now,” he told Jack. “It’s time for his nap.”
“I’ll take him to his room,” Jack offered. That mention of fire had changed everything. They were on the right track. This was the right man, those two kids on the sled were his, and the age progression matched Adam Johnson.
“No, that’s against regulations. You go on now.”
Peterson clung to the orderly’s arm as the man helped him rise from the easy chair. Why did he have trouble walking? Jack thought suddenly. He didn’t have any physical injuries, did he? Maybe the medication had that effect, or maybe years of being in confinement, with only walks for exercise, had sapped his strength. Or maybe he had other diagnoses beyond paranoid schizophrenia.
“Where’s your friend?” the orderly asked Jack. “She’s not supposed to be wandering around.”
“Sorry, had to take a call,” said Tina, reappearing with impeccable timing.
“Ain’t no cell phones allowed,” the orderly said sternly. Jack discreetly slid his into his back pocket.
“Right, that’s why I went outside to take the call.” Tina tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She’d styled her hair in its usual professional knot today, but quite a few strands had come loose. Had she run into some kind of trouble?
Mark Peterson happily waved goodbye as the orderly steered him out of the lounge. His unworried smile had returned, and Jack saw no trace of the confusion that had gripped him at the sight of that long-ago photo.
“Let’s go,” Tina murmured.
Jack had never been so glad to leave a place, not even when he’d been forced to participate in the network upfronts.
“What happened? You look a little flustered,” he murmured to Tina as they strode through the lobby, nearly running in their eagerness to get out of there.
“The postcard was gone.”
“Damn it.”
“That’s okay. I got it, but I had to do a quickie search through a garbage bin. Someone interrupted with more trash and I had to hide behind the bin. It was one of those times when I give thanks for my size, and that doesn’t happen very often. Then I had to stop in at a bathroom and scrub my hands, because I didn’t have any gloves with me for that disgusting search.” She shuddered and picked up the pace even further.
“Who sent the postcard?”
“I just gave it a quick glance. Let’s get to the car and take a closer look. How was your conversation with Peterson? I can’t believe I missed the whole thing.”
“You didn’t miss much, except maybe you did.”
“Huh?”
They reached his Audi. He pulled out his fob and clicked it to unlock the door. “He thought I was Denver Black. He didn’t recognize Adam or Linette, but he had a strong reaction to the old photo from Sea Smoke Island. But the name Sea Smoke didn’t seem to ring a bell. The whole thing was really weird. Why wouldn’t he recognize his son who apparently visits often?”
“Any chance he was faking?”
“I didn’t get that impression. Is that a feature of paranoid schizophrenia, forgetting people?”
“Not that I know of, but we can look into it. From what I remember, they can believe family members are plotting against them, that sort of thing. But they don’t forget them.”
They got into his car, where they both sat for a moment, collecting themselves, as if they’d just journeyed through some strange land populated by unexplained dangers.
He sniffed. “You smell like medical waste.”
“Gee thanks. Exactly what a girl wants to hear,” she deadpanned. She tugged the postcard from her pocket and held it up so they could both see what was written on the back.
The message was simple. “Hope you are doing well. The month of September is beautiful here. It’s an international destination! Too many tourists for comfort, so we’ll move on very soon.” It was unsigned.
