While You Slept

18

The flight to Boston was not as stressful as she had imagined. Heck it was not stressful at all. She stared out the window throughout the flight and only turned to sip her Chardonnay. She thought of what Allen said some minutes ago. He was right, she had to admit, Richard had been acting strange lately. But it still did not mean he was up to anything. She forgot about it; right now she wondered what she would say to her grandfather other than the list of questions she had for him. It had been so long since she saw his face. That face filled with age and wrinkles. She began to recall when she was younger and how he used to make her laugh. She always looked forward to his visits. How he would bring her gifts and play with her. But everything else happened so quickly. He began to spend longer hours in his lab and stopped making jokes. He became so absorbed with his work. When he was sent away to the mental institute she felt so sad but she knew it was for the best. Once he had tried to use her for his experiments and she got away just in time but she was still fond of him.
As the plane began its steady descent she finished the last of her drink and pushed the tray back into its position. When she was safely out of the plane and in the arrivals section, she was escorted by two FBI agents to a black stretch limousine. She was offered coffee which she declined and asked for water instead. The drink she had on the plane made her feel a bit queasy. A couple of minutes later they were at the entrance of Medora mental institute. Bryce Greene was already at the reception waiting for her. Upon approaching him, he stood and she said,
“Captain Greene, good to see you.”
“Good to see you too Agent Preston.” He replied.
“Let us get this over with. I hope you are sure about this.”
She nodded. “I’m positive.” He gestures to one of the guards to lead them to where they would wait for William to be brought to them.
Before then she called Allen to inform him she was about to see William.
“Good. Do not forget to get everything he says. Some other agents and I going to arrest Silver to bring him in for questioning.”
“That’s sounds like fun. Is Richard there yet?”
“Yes he is. Thankfully.”
“Well you guys be careful. I will call you if there is anything.”
Now sitted, Sloane could not recognize the man sitting in front of her. He’s once brown hair was now grey and thinning. And he looked worn out. Sloane turned on the chip in her ear; as it recorded she began to say,
“William, I was hoping you would have some information that might be able to help us.”
After a long pause, he managed to say “And what might that be Sloane?”
When he mentioned her name her mouth went dry. She had not anticipated that he would remember her name. He was still saying something,
“My how fast you have grown. It has been ages since I saw you.” He leaned over the table that was between them and whispered,
“I still sing your favorite song every night”
His voice sounded rough and he smelt like he had not had a proper bath in months. He still remembered her favorite childhood song and that made Sloane’s heart melt.
“Ok William. I would like to know about a weapon used by some thugs to break into a high quality security vault and left no signs of entry.”
“From your records you specialized in weapons too, so any ideas?”
William’s eyes darted around the room, like a small child afraid of seeing a mouse in the corner of the room. Sloane called his attention but instead of answering her question he said, “The pudding here is … is… dreadful and the guards are mean.” Then his voice became angrier,
“They do not know the difference between brilliance and madness that is why they locked me in here.”
Sloane tried to calm him down before he created a scene and her visit would be cut short. He drank the water in a plastic cup beside him that was placed on the table.
“So you mean here was no forced entry or any signs of it?” he asked her.
“No there was not. As a matter of fact it did not look different at all.” Sloane answered. He was gently tapping on the table like he was tapping rhythmically to a song only he could hear. Sloane waited patiently for his answer.
“I think I know what you are looking for but I need to see it… I… I need to touch it by myself. In fact let me get my instruments now.” He abruptly got up and after a moment sat back down and drank some water once more. Sloane watched him. For a moment he forgot he had been in a mental institute for ten years and he had no instruments any longer. He had just asked to leave the mental institution to see the vault. What was she supposed to tell him? He was eccentric she had to agree. You do not just forget you were locked up for ten years. She turned to the glass window where Bryce was watching them and she asked, “Did you hear that?”
“Loud and clear. Step outside for a minute.”
She excused herself and got up and left the room. She glanced back over her shoulder at William and he looked like he was muttering something to himself.
“We cannot grant that.” Bryce said dryly.
“And you do not have jurisdiction over that either.”
“I know I don’t but you do. How else is he going to answer us if he insists on seeing the vault?” Sloane asked with an eyebrow raised.
“We have to think of something else. It is quite obvious that this man is in no state to leave these premises.”
“Well we need answers and soon.” Sloane argued.
She dialed agent Grey’s number and when he confirmed that the vault was still untouched she reasoned,
“It has not been touched yet. Maybe we can arrange a quick trip, fly him over there. While he works we will keep an eye on him and once he is done fly him back here as soon as possible.”
Bryce thought that was a great idea. He agreed and she went back to room to inform William while he went to consult William’s physician.