“Emma, you’re going to have to let us untie the restraints. But when we do, you need to relax and lie still. It will be a while before we want you to get up.”

She pulled against the restraints once more.

“Emma!”

The old woman laid her head back on the operating table and closed her eyes. She remained perfectly still. The room was quiet. After perhaps half a minute, Sutter spoke. “Emma? Are you ready for us to remove the restraints?”

Emma opened her eyes, a look of terror in them. “No! No! You didn’t tell me this would happen!” She pulled against the straps, her eyes darting around the room. “You didn’t say anything—”

Sutter leaned her face close to Emma’s. “Emma, what? What? Is something not working right? Speak to me.”

“No!”

Sutter turned to the nurse standing next to her. “We need to sedate her.”

“You didn’t tell me I’d lose—”

The nurse handed Sutter a hypo.

“Lose what, Emma?” Sutter asked. “Lose what?”

“Him!”

“Him? Who?”

“God!”

36

Special Agent Steele, I can show you those records.”

The robot walked down corridor B of the Massachusetts Center for Mental Health. Ben followed through a set of security doors.

When Ben had flashed his credentials at the center, demanding records on Raymond Caldwell, Director Brandt had miraculously discovered that Caldwell had indeed briefly been a patient. He gave Ben full access to Caldwell’s files.

The robot led him down another corridor. They passed a physician and two orderlies—all humans—on the way. They took a right into a room furnished with several long tables. The robot motioned for him to have a seat. “This will provide you privacy to view the records.”

The robot accessed the Grid. The first electronic file appeared on a visiscreen. “There is a refreshment bar at the back of the room. You are welcome to avail yourself. If you need further assistance, you can contact me.” The robot gave Ben his Grid contact code and departed.

In truth, Ben could have accessed the records from DC. Theoretically, he could perform almost his entire job from his office, accessing information on the Grid and contacting people in VR. But Ben Steele liked hands-on work. When investigating a case, he preferred to spend time at the scene rather than stare at records on the Grid.

Ben began wading through the files. Several oddities emerged. Dr. Leonard Thompson was the admitting physician. There was no initial screening report from Thompson, however. The next day Caldwell had been assigned to the care of Brandt. How many patients were under the care of a hospital director? Since Bryson Nichols had had Caldwell committed, perhaps the director felt he should handle the case personally.