Daryl nodded. “Right. I know. It’s important for the sake of comparison.” He turned to Harwood. “Now play the one you just made using the more recent version of Edward Parks’s program.”
The scientist again hit “Play.” The voices were completely inaudible. All that was heard was shrill screeching. Daryl hit “Stop” on the supercomputer. “Quite a difference, wouldn’t you say?”
Stenson shook his head. “What’s the point?”
“Unless something was overlooked, a newer version of a program should be more advanced than the one that preceded it. Revised software should work better, not worse.”
Caitlin McCloskey wasn’t following. “What is it, a glitch?”
Harwood shook his head. “No. Edward Parks doesn’t make little errors. Only big ones.”
McCloskey shrugged, still in the dark. Jason Greers was right there with her, but he wasn’t going to be so obvious about it.
Bob Stenson, on the other hand, suddenly saw the light. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Trotter smiled. “Exactly.” He knew Stenson would be the first of the others to realize what had happened.
Caitlin couldn’t help herself—she blurted out, “Exactly what?”
“He saw it coming,” Trotter replied.
“Who?”
“Edward Parks.”
Stenson added, “Dr. Drummond must have given him the suggestion.”
Now Caitlin was getting frustrated. “Suggested what to him?”
The scientist now caught up with Trotter and Stenson. “That he regress his work. She realized Parks was going to lose possession of his device, so she had him revert his program to the previous version.”
Greers was furious. “He what?!”
Harwood struggled to fathom the brinksmanship. “It’s . . . it’s . . .”
Stenson completed the sentence for him. “Brilliant.” He said it in an ice-cold tone that made two things immediately clear: he had genuine appreciation for the fugitives’ unanticipated move, and Stenson was already certain what the American Heritage Foundation was going to do next.
CHAPTER 109
Philadelphia Office, Department of Homeland Security, May 28, 6:19 p.m.
Skylar had been served dinner inside the Homeland holding cell the same way she had been served breakfast and lunch. In silence. As if her very words could be wielded like venom. Which she found kind of flattering.
Skylar continued to eat every last bite of food she was given, because she knew eventually she would need her strength. They were going to have to talk to her sometime. And when they did, she wanted to be ready.
Still, Skylar was surprised when Kendricks, the humorless agent who had arrested her, appeared outside her door. “Approach me with your back toward me. Place your hands and wrists through the opening so I can cuff them.”
She did so. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out when you get there.” He locked the cuffs around her wrists and led her out of the building.
Skylar had never been to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia before, so she didn’t recognize the building until they pulled in front of its sign. Skylar knew she wouldn’t get an answer, but asked anyway. “What are we doing here?”
Kendricks didn’t say a word. He parked the car in a red zone, where he was met by the Homeland agent stationed outside the main entrance. He escorted them to the elevators, where they were instructed to go to the fourth floor. Stepping out of the elevator, they were met by an agent who escorted them to the end of the hall, where two more agents were stationed outside the door to room 423. These two studied Skylar with interest. She was too young and attractive to be the woman they were expecting. The shorter one, Ziggler, addressed her. “Dr. Skylar Drummond?”
“Why do you sound surprised?”
“I suppose I was expecting someone older.”
She was in no mood for flattery. “Why am I here?”
The two agents turned to Kendricks. Ziggler asked, “You haven’t told her?”
Kendricks answered matter-of-factly. “Weren’t my instructions.”
The shorter agent decided to make it clear exactly who was in charge. “Remove her handcuffs.”
Kendricks took out his handcuff keys and removed the restraints from Skylar’s wrists. She nodded to the shorter agent with appreciation. “Thank you.”
Ziggler felt three inches taller. “Would you like to see your patient?”
She momentarily forgot to breathe. “Eddie’s here?”
He nodded. “Other side of this door.” She immediately moved toward it, when the agent stepped in front of her. “There’s something you should know before you see him.”
Skylar entered room 423 with great excitement and even greater trepidation. CHOP’s head of emergency medicine had been correct: there was no telling how long traumatized patients could remain “locked in.” Or what would reconnect them with the world again. The only thing Skylar knew was that she wanted to see Eddie. And touch him. And reassure him that everything was going to be okay, even if he couldn’t hear her.
She broke into tears upon seeing him. He was staring at the ceiling. “Eddie.” She placed her hand on his cheek, and kissed his forehead. He did not respond.
The shorter agent had followed her into the room. “Would you like a moment alone with him?”
She nodded gratefully. “Please.”
“Take as much time as you need.” The agent looked to the replacement nurse and motioned for her to leave the room as well. She made a note on her time chart, and exited into the hallway with her materials. Ziggler followed her, pausing in the doorway. “I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
Skylar waited for the door to close, then pulled a chair up next to Eddie and continued to cry. All she could think was how helpless he looked. So docile. So innocent. He reminded Skylar of her brother, Christopher, who never did anything in his life to hurt anyone. Neither had Eddie. They weren’t capable of it. All Eddie had ever wanted was to hear his mother’s voice. Was that too much to ask? He had devoted his entire life to the pursuit of it. And now his only hope for that dream coming true had been taken away from him. The world cared nothing for him or his wishes. It only cared about his device, and what it could do. The mysteries it could solve. The answers it would reveal. And it was all her fault. Because she was just as guilty as everybody else. Right along with the rest of the world, Skylar had placed her needs above Eddie’s. She should have never taken him off Harmony House grounds. She would never forgive herself, just like she would blame herself for her brother’s suicide for the rest of her life. Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. “Eddie, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
His eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, even as he whispered in a barely audible voice, “Why are you so, so sorry, Skylar?”
She stared at him in disbelief, certain that she must have just hallucinated. Until he slowly turned his head toward her and looked at her briefly. “Eddie, you spoke.”
“Yes, I did.” He sounded terribly sad and distant, and then he looked away.
She trembled with a mixture of excitement and confusion. “How . . . how is this possible?”
“In human beings, voicing occurs when air is expelled from the lungs through the glottis, creating a drop in pressure across the larynx.”
“They said you’d been traumatized,” she interrupted. “That . . . you were unable to communicate.”
Eddie nodded. “I became very frightened when the agents pointed their guns at me. I did not like when they did that.”
“I didn’t like when they did that, either. I was very scared, too.”
“I heard the doctor say I was unconsciously trying to protect myself. I didn’t know that’s what I was doing. But everyone was leaving me alone and I liked that so I decided to keep doing it.” His voice remained emotionally depleted. It reminded Skylar of how she must have sounded right after learning of Jacob’s death.
“Do you know what time it was when you first started being able to hear the doctor?”