InSight

why did you do that?
    Mrs. Gentry continued the confession as if she were talking to a priest, although she sought no absolution. “Martin’s letter and the report would have ruined us. I should have humored Stewart until I found out where the papers were, but he was in no mood to be humored. Mr. Collyer subdued him and we called Dr. Scanlon.”
    Although the room was warm, Abby’s hands were like ice. A part of her wanted this to be over, but she needed to hear the remainder of Mrs. Gentry’s memoir. “So you drugged him.”
    “Hmm, not right away. Remember, those darn papers. Sam Davidson… donated his copies, but Stewart wasn’t as forthcoming, even under hypnosis. He’d have exposed everything. But how could I kill my own son? My flesh and blood? I couldn’t.
    “Not until I had those papers.
    “Stewart eventually became manageable . Until he wasn’t. Then you know what happened.”
    “Yes, I know.” I can’t let her finish now. “What kind of doctor betrays his oath and destroys the mind of a perfectly healthy man?”
    Mrs. Gentry got up, circled the room, her shoes charting her course. “Fuck the oath, my dear. Herbert waded into it up to his snowy white hair. I made him a major stockholder in Synthetec Pharmaceuticals, with a place on the board of directors. Money, status, and power. The trifecta. Who could resist? Besides, our renowned doctor is the psychiatric equivalent of Dr. Mengele. He finds all the research and mind control fascinating. He practiced on other patients beside Stewart. In fact, there’s a special section in this building where Herbert treats people no one will ever miss. He’s running around the building now, checking on them.”
    These admissions were worse than Abby imagined. Other innocent people traumatized in the psychiatric care of a madman. Could she keep the conversation going long enough for Luke to find her? “How did you persuade prison officials to move Stewart from the prison psychiatric facility into Scanlon’s private hospital?”
    “You’re so naïve, my dear. Control, remember? Politicians are particularly vulnerable to blackmail. Almost everyone has something to hide. My father has many keys to their skeletal closets, even a thousand miles away. One doesn’t succeed in the recycling and waste business without a few, how shall I say, connections? A bribe, a misplaced word, the hint of impropriety can destroy a political career.”
    “Did the Gentrys realize they’d made a pact with the devil when they sold themselves?”
    “Of course they did. Do you think the Gentry family made their money without getting their hands dirty? How do you think they acquired so much land before they lost it? Using their influence to raise the tax structure, they bought up property owned by poor blacks for a song because they couldn’t afford to live there. Oh, and moonshine. Martin’s grandfather made millions during prohibition, very much like his New England counterpart. Everyone’s a devil where money is concerned.”
    “Seems you controlled everyone but Stewart.”
    “The buildup of hallucinogens in his system had a highly toxic effect. He heard voices and had visions. Herbert planted some of them—your alleged affair, for instance—but Stewart became aggressive and out of control. Herbert tried Receptormine and other anti-psychotics, but my son didn’t respond. We let nature take its course. It worked to our advantage until the shooting incident. And Macy, of course. An unfortunate mistake.”
    “Yes, Macy.” Abby swallowed her anger. Her daughter’s death an unfortunate mistake, a glitch . And she would bump into things for the rest of her life because another glitch allowed her to live. Then she realized the rest of her life wouldn’t be long enough to make Mrs. Gentry’s disclosures public. “Now what? How will you explain my death? Another tragedy?”
    “Stewart found you and finished what he started eight years ago. We tried to prevent the impending catastrophe but arrived too late.”
    “And Luke McCallister?” Abby asked.
    “Your pitiful deaf lover? The perfect provocation. When Stewart found out about him, that was all the incentive he needed.”
    What could Abby say to prolong the inevitable? “Too many people know about Stewart and the last two months. They know about the break-ins, the messages, and about your hatchet man. Are you going to kill all of them?”
    “You have no proof of anything. No one has even seen Mr. Collyer