2031 - Downers Grove, Illinois - The walls are a bright white and the floor is mint green. Diego feels foggy and sleepy.
"Diego. Diego! Are you up, Diego?" said the voice.
He was not amused. "Well, I'm up now. I should be working my case. Why am I here? This looks like a hospital."
"This is a hospital. Okay, tell me what you remember. It can be extremely basic like your name," said the voice. It was coming from a white speaker.
"I'm Diego Sanchez. I'm an FBI agent investigating the murder of Adelina Lopez. She was a high school student. I've been interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence," said Diego.
The voice said, "Okay," then paused, "the only true part of that is that you are Diego Sanchez."
"That's ridiculous. I trained for years to become an agent. My badge is right here, right here," he trailed off as he realized he was wearing a white hospital gown with no pockets.
"Do you remember learning anything about schizophrenia?"
"Uh oh," he thought. "It's a severe mental disorder characterized by some, but not necessarily all, of the following features: emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations." Why was that so easy to remember? And why was the voice asking about that?
"The doctors of this institution have spent considerable time with you and they all believe you have schizophrenia. As for your Adelina Lopez, there is some disagreement but you are not ready for that yet," said the voice.
"Because you think I killed her," said Diego, with a shadowy confidence.
The voice became grave, "We do not know and we are not interested in who killed Adelina Lopez. We are interested in making Mr. Sanchez an integrated whole personality. And it is essential that we do that work."
"That means I was already tried for Adelina's murder," Diego turned pale.
"Yes. You pled not guilty by insanity. And so, you will remain at Sacred Samaritan until we can cure you."
YOU ARE READING
Aurora, Illinois
Mystery / ThrillerIt starts with a shocking crime. Kids at the local high school collapse into grief. The police try to unravel the mystery, but this one may be more than they can handle. Meanwhile, criminals are bringing drugs and sex workers into a town that can't...
