Jamison wants to help Decker find the killer because Jamison’s mentor was among the victims of the school shooting.

Jamison visits Decker to apologize for the inaccurate news article. Decker runs through his own inner DVR but can’t recall whom he might have offended or when. The killer is trying to draw out and punish Decker for reasons unknown. When the killer murders Bogart’s assistant, it becomes clear that the school shooting is connected to the murder of Decker’s family. Working with Lancaster, Decker uncovers major clues about the shooter: The killer gained access to the school through a bomb shelter connected to the abandoned army base next door.ĭecker’s good work draws the attention of FBI Agent Ross Bogart. Though Decker’s old boss, Captain Miller, reprimands Decker for questioning Leopold, he offers Decker a job as a consultant on the high school shooting case. When Decker refuses, Jamison publishes an inflammatory article linking the suspect with Decker and suggesting that Decker conspired to murder his own family. Decker is convinced that Leopold’s confession is false.Īt this same time, a reporter named Alex Jamison pesters Decker for an exclusive on Decker’s reaction to the confessin. Their conversation is disappointing: Leopold is vague and appears to be on drugs. Taking advantage of the confusion, Decker talks his way into Leopold’s cell. Decker is determined to confront the suspect, Sebastian Leopold.Īs Decker stands outside the police station, trying to figure out a strategy to see Leopold, Decker notices a scene of unusual activity: There has been a shooting at Mansfield High School, and every officer at the station house is deployed to the scene. His home becomes a rented room at a Residence Inn.ĭecker drifts aimlessly through life for almost two years until the day his former partner, Mary Lancaster, shows up to tell him someone has confessed to Decker’s family’s murder. He eventually recovers enough to become a private investigator. Decker’s first impulse is to commit suicide because he doesn’t know how he can function without his family.ĭecker can’t forget the horrific murder scene, and he goes into a downward spiral, losing his job and home. Decker builds a successful career as a detective until the night someone murders his wife, brother-in-law, and daughter. His new mental condition makes it difficult for Decker to relate to other people, and he’s only able to function because his wife and daughter act as a grounding influence. Unlike people who are born with these attributes, Decker is a manufactured savant. He is incapable of forgetting anything, even the smallest details about an event, and his brain categorizes information using a system of numbers and colors.

Decker spends time at the Cognitive Research Institute, where his condition is diagnosed as a combination of hyperthymesia-which Decker refers to as his inner DVR (that is, digital video recorder)-and synesthesia.

Memory man book