Like most people, Nick hated hospitals. They creeped him out, and New York-Presbyterian was no exception. Not only was it a hospital, but its lobby’s architecture was like a Gothic cathedral, with vaulted ceilings and dark wooden plaques on the walls and even a little chapel near the entrance where people could pray for their loved ones’ speedy recovery.
All in all, it was not a fun place to spend an evening.
Nick and Phoebe took the elevator to the intensive care unit. He was grateful that Phoebe had wanted to accompany him on this trip.
The word was that Palmer’s condition had stabilized, though his doctors were keeping him under close observation. Visiting hours were officially over, but Palmer had left word at the desk that Nick was to be let up.
Outside Palmer Bell’s room, one of the Guardians was standing watch in a dark suit. He nodded to Nick and Phoebe as they entered, though Nick ignored the brutish guard.
Nick’s grandfather was conscious, but his movements and speech patterns were slow. It felt so strange to see the handsome older man lying in a bed, powerless.
“How are you doing, sir?” Nick asked. “You remember Phoebe, right?”
“Mmmmpph,” Palmer grumbled.
“Is there anything we can do for you? Do you need anything?” Nick knew he was asking more out of reflex than anything else, as he knew all his grandfather’s needs were taken care of.
Palmer cleared his throat and began speaking slowly. “I’m glad you came. I do need you to do something for me.”
“Of course, anything.” Nick realized that he was being polite to his grandfather out of tradition and habit, not out of any genuine sense of respect.
There was a pause, as if Palmer were collecting his thoughts. Nick heard Phoebe shifting awkwardly as she stood beside him.
“Your father won’t understand this, your brothers won’t understand this. I will not tell them about it, and I suggest you don’t, either.”
Nick nodded.
“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to last. And I know you want to get out.”
Nick looked at Palmer, then at Phoebe. “What do you mean, sir?”
“I know you want out of the Society. It has been obvious from the first week. Your actions last month on the island made it very clear.”
“Well, I-I mean-” Nick stammered. He didn’t know what to say. “Why-why would you say this?”
“Nicholas, I want you to live the life that you want to lead, not one that has been set up for you by your family. I have seen-I have seen how destructive that can be. How much can be ruined when families tell their children how to live.”
Nick nodded. “What about my friends?”
“If you do this one task for me, you and your friends will never hear from the Society again.”
Nick paused. This was a major breakthrough, the chance to gain freedom from this group that had terrorized them over the past several months.
“What is the task?”
Palmer chuckled, and then started coughing. When it subsided, he spoke again. “Now just telling you-that would be too easy, wouldn’t it?”
“I suppose so.” Nick looked glumly back at Phoebe, as she shrugged.
Another day, another riddle. It seemed as if that was what their life was amounting to these days. Nick heard Phoebe sigh.
Palmer clutched Nick’s hand. His grandfather’s fingers felt dry and brittle in his own.
“Son, you must go to the beach. You’ll find everything you need at the beach. At both beaches.”
“I’m not sure I understand. What’s at the beach?”
“All the treasures are buried in the sand. You remember the beach: the sand castles, all the shells, the jellyfish, the pieces of driftwood you would bring back to the house. You and your brothers used to spend all day on the beach.”
Nick scowled. His grandfather was playing them like puppets. “And you want us to go there because…”
“You must go to the beach, you must go down below. Below the surface of things.”
“Sir, I don’t understand. Which beach? The house in Southampton?”
“You need the key first. You need to find the key.”
“Where do we find the key?”
“Both beaches.”
Nick looked at him, confused. What did he mean? Southampton had several beaches: Cooper’s, Fowler, all the others. Not to mention the rest of the beaches in the Hamptons, all the way east to Montauk.
A nurse knocked on the door. “I’m sorry to cut this visit short, but Mr. Bell needs to take his medication.”
“Wait!” Nick said to his grandfather. “You’ve got to tell us more than this.”
“You have enough,” Palmer said. “Nicholas, you may not realize this, but you have always had everything you need.”