John was sitting there in his chair, looking at the picture that the doctor was holding up. He was asked to say the first thing that came to his mind but was struggling to come up with anything. Usually he had no problem doing these tests, but that particular day he just wasn’t in the mood to participate. He held up a hand and basically waved her off.

“I’m sorry,” John said as he rubbed his temple, “I’m just not in the mood to do exercises right now.”

“Are you alright, John?” the doctor asked.

“I’ve been moody lately,” John replied quickly, “I’ve been feeling antsy. I’ve been here for almost a year and the walls are starting to make me feel a little claustrophobic. It’s really bringing me down. I’m not mad about it. I guess a more realistic term would be bummed out.”

“I appreciate your honesty, John.” The doctor replied as she scribbled down some notes after she put the card with the picture away, “Let’s talk about this more.”

“I really wish we wouldn’t.” John confessed.

“Maybe we should call it a day then.” The doctor said as she closed his work pad. She knew better than to push her luck.

“Thanks,” John said as he stood up, “I’ll put more effort into our next session.”

The doctor help the door open for John and a big worker for the hospital stood there waiting for him, “Take Mr. Doe back to his ward, he’s done here for the day.”

“Yes, Dr. Lawson.” The orderly said as he waved an arm to show John the way.

“Thank you, Dr. Lawson.” John said as he left.

“It’s my pleasure,” Dr. Lawson replied, “I hope you’re feeling better the next time we meet.”

“I do too.” John said as he finally left the room.

Dr. Lawson waited for a moment after John left the room, closed the door and then proceeded to walk to the other end of the room and through another door that led to another room that was on the other side of a two way mirror. Inside the other room was Special Agent Wilson, who had been watching John’s entire session.

“What do you think, Mr. Wilson?” the doctor asked.

“He seemed agitated,” Wilson replied, “Has he shown any aggressive tendencies towards any of the staff or patients?”

“None,” Lawson replied, “He’s been a model patient.”

“I’m still not taking any chances,” Wilson said as he looked back at the doctor, “I’d like to keep my undercover officers where they are. Since you’re not paying for them it doesn’t affect your budget. You’re basically getting free workers.”

“I don’t like this deception.” Lawson admitted, “I don’t care if these agents used to work in real medical wards prior to being here. The fact that we are being dishonest by having undercover FBI agents working in a mental ward is dangerous and could freak out all my patients.”

“Only if they find out,” Wilson said, “And that only happens if John’s memory returns to him.”

“It hasn’t so far,” Lawson said as she sat down and sighed, “The brain is a mysterious machine to us even today. We don’t know exactly how it works and that scares a lot of people. He could have total recall tomorrow or he may never get back a single image for the rest of his life. It’s basically a tossup at this point and I can’t make any promises if it will come back.”

“I don’t want it to come back.” Wilson admitted.

“Ever?” Lawson asked.

“Preferably.” Wilson confirmed.

“Who is this man?” Lawson finally said as he stood back up and strolled up to Wilson to stare him down. “What kind of man have you left here for us to take care of on our own?”

“I wouldn’t say on your own,” Wilson corrected, “Besides the agents I have inside here undercover, I have four outside that are always watching this place. All it takes is one call to have them all running in here with guns drawn.”

“Who is that man?” Lawson asked again, “Or I guess the better question would be who do you think he is?”

Wilson sighed, “Do you remember the agreement we made about confidentiality?”

“I do.” Lawson recalled, “I won’t tell a soul.”

“If any of this leaks,” Wilson said as he put a finger in the doctor’s chest, “I will make sure you do at least ten years hard time. We clear?”

“Yes,” Lawson said as he was eager to know, “Who is he?”

Wilson took a deep breath. “We think he’s the Night Reaper.”

Lawson’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. “The Night Reaper?”

“Yes,” Wilson confirmed.

“You moved a serial killer in here without fully informing us about it?” Lawson said as his face started to go a little red with anger.

“Calm down,” Wilson started, “I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Good,” Lawson said as he sat down again, “I want to know everything. Start at the beginning.”

“Alright,” Wilson said as he also pulled up a chair and sat down, “The accident that caused John to lose his memory is when we found something that made us suspect that he was our man. There were two bodies in the trunk, both strangled, and one of them still had the red scarf around her neck.”

“Standard M.O. for the Reaper.” Lawson added.

“Yes, it was.” Wilson said as he continued, “When the accident took place, John happened to be driving away from Florida in a blue car that had been reported stolen from that state just the day before. The car was also taken less than a few blocks away from where one of the young woman found in the trunk was last seen. The body was killed in the exact manner that the others were, right down to the smallest detail. The only difference was he didn’t get a chance to bury her yet. He was t-boned by some lady who wasn’t looking where she was going. His car then went into a ditch and that’s when John’s face and memory were both destroyed along with any chance of identifying him. Based on what we found in the car and the circumstances, I’m ninety percent sure this is our man. There hasn’t been a single Reaper killing since the accident.”

“Then what the hell is he doing here?” Lawson asked, “Why isn’t he in maximum security?”

“You know that part: he doesn’t remember anything,” Wilson answered, “Not a single detail.”

“That does present a gauntlet of ethical issues.” Lawson admitted.

“Taking care of this legally in itself was a quagmire,” Wilson continued, “Because we couldn’t identify him and because he didn’t remember anything, he didn’t meet the standard to stand trial. Any public defender could have torn this case to shreds.”

“So you cut a deal?” Lawson asked.

“Yes,” Wilson said with a nod, “No charges as long as he agreed to be sent here until cleared mentally fit for society.”

“Who else knows about this?” Lawson asked.

“Only a handful of people in the hick town where he was caught,” Wilson said, “But most of all, John has no clue about it. All he thinks is someone was hurt in the accident. He doesn’t even know about the bodies we found the trunk.”

“You think that’s ethical?” Lawson asked.

“I don’t care if it isn’t,” Wilson said, “The last thing I want is this man to recall every detail and then start killing people again. John is a nice guy. I’ve talked to him several times. He’s the kind of guy you’d like to catch a ball game with. He’s harmless. But deep down inside him is a beast; a monster that could be responsible for over a hundred homicides, all of them women. And those are just the ones that we found. We’ve always suspected there are many more graves we haven’t found yet.”

“Jesus,” Lawson said as he wiped his brow, “What are we supposed to do with him? He’s getting agitated and frustrated.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Wilson confessed, “I think it’s time we let him have a visitor.”

“Did you have any ideas?” Lawson asked.

“Just one,” Wilson answered.

It was several days later that Wilson’s idea was finally put to work. The man was invited and escorted by federal agents to the hospital under close watch. He was searched a few times and all the items he brought were looked over a few times before finally being approved. They did everything short of strip searching him, which to the visitor’s relief wasn’t necessary. When he finally strolled into the ward, Agent Wilson was there waiting for him on the other side.

“Hello, Mr. Sheppard,” Wilson said as he extended a hand for him to shake, “I hope you had a good ride up?”

“It was fine,” Max said as he looked around, “Did you have to be so thorough with your inspections?”

“You know more than anyone else why that’s necessary.” Wilson said to him with a stern look on his face.

“Alright,” Max conceded, “Where is he?”

“Outside,” Wilson confirmed, “Dr. Lawson will take you out there where the both of you can talk without being interrupted.”

Max followed the doctor outside and John was sitting at a picnic table and just enjoying the rays. There was a twenty foot fence around the yard so there was no chance for escape but this was a nice setting for them to finally sit down and talk.

“John!” Max called out as he approached the table.

“Max?” John said as he hopped up and walked over, giving his lawyer a big hug. “You have no idea how good it is to see you!”

“I can imagine,” Max said as the two men parted and sat at opposite ends of the picnic table. “So how have you been? Are you being treated well?”

“They’ve been very friendly,” John answered, “I’ve been okay.”

“That’s good,” Max said as he took his lawyer tone, “Because if anyone treats you badly or disrespects you, I want you to tell me so I can take care of it for you. Okay?”

John smiled at the thought, “Do you do this for all your clients?”

“Not all of them,” Max admitted, “Just the ones I like.”

“Then I’m very fortunate to be one of those,” John said with a smile as he looked around the yard, “This is the first time I’ve been out here by myself. It’s so peaceful without the other patients.”

“I asked for that,” Max said, thinking on his feet. “I wanted to make sure our privacy was respected. I lectured your Dr. Lawson about client confidentiality and she folded like a cheap suit.”

“She’s nice,” John admitted, “But lately I’ve been feel antsy like a caged animal. I’ve been here almost a year now.”

“I know how you feel,” Max replied, “Given you don’t remember the circumstances that has to suck. Yet I’ve been told how well you’ve been doing and I’m here to also let you know that when the time is right, I will advocate on your behalf to be released. Just keep up the good work and give me all the ammo I need to win, okay?”

John seemed to feel better upon hearing that. “Alright, I’ll keep putting in my best effort.”

“That’s all I ask for.” Max said as he then handed him a bag. “I brought some stuff for you as well. I hope you like them.”

Max and John sat at that picnic table and talked for the better part of an hour before guards finally broke things up so everyone else could have their outside time. As Max walked back into the hospital, both Lawson and Wilson were waiting for him.

“What did he say?” Wilson asked.

“You know exactly what he said,” Max replied with a little hostility. “You’re lucky John didn’t see the bug planted under the table like I did.”

Wilson paused for a moment, “I’m sorry. I can’t take any chances where this patient is concerned.”

“He seems fine to me,” Max said as he calmed down a bit, “Something I will be telling the judge when I see him next week.”

“We need more time,” Lawson protested, “We can’t petition for his release unless we are sure he’s not going to remember anything.”

“You have three months.” Max told him, “I’m still going to speak with the judge to update him but I will not make any recommendations until then. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Wilson said as he shook Max’s hand, “Nice to see you again.”

“Three months,” Max repeated, “That’s it.”