The Visitor. Amanda Stevens

to sound?”

      “You seemed to be experiencing a bit of that when I came in just now.” He scribbled something in my file as he talked. “That’s another reason I’d like to keep you overnight. As I said, I don’t anticipate any problems, but with head injuries, symptoms don’t always show up right away. It’s best to err on the side of caution.”

      “What about noises inside my head?”

      He glanced up. “You mean like ear ringing? It’s not uncommon. Are you experiencing that right now?”

      “Not exactly.”

      “What kind of noise, then?”

      I hesitated. “It’s like...babbling.”

      “As in people talking?”

      “In hushed voices. It’s probably coming from the hallway,” I said. “Maybe I am a little sensitive to sound right now.”

      He rose and rechecked my pupils with a light. “Do you have a headache?”

      “A slight one.”

      “Blurred vision?”

      “No.”

      He had me follow his finger with my eyes and then made another note or two in the file. “Any dizziness? Nausea?”

      “Not really.”

      “Can you tell me what day it is?”

      I complied. He asked and I answered several more questions until he seemed satisfied.

      “Try to relax. Someone will be in shortly to take you upstairs. It’ll be quieter up there. You should be able to rest.”

      Macon stopped by a few minutes later, his rumpled attire and days-old beard giving him the appearance of someone who had just wandered in off the street. But despite the late hour and circumstances, he seemed surprisingly chipper, even whistled an inane tune as he removed the chart from the door and skimmed the contents.

      “What’s the verdict?” I asked.

      “You look like something the cat dragged in,” he said as he returned the file to the holder. “But you’ll live.”

      “That’s a relief. What are you still doing here anyway? Don’t you have an early shift?”

      “I thought you might need a little moral support and besides, I wanted to get a look at your X-rays before I left. I don’t have to tell you how lucky you are, do I?”

      “That seems to be the general consensus,” I said with a nod. “But I’ve been informed that I have to stay the night so that my reflexes can be monitored.”

      “Normal procedure,” he assured me. Then he very casually checked the dilation of my pupils just as the doctor before him had. “Headache?”

      “A mild one.”

      “Any other discomfort?”

      “Not really. Nothing I can’t handle.”

      “Wait until morning,” he cautioned. “You’ll feel as if you’ve been hit by a freight train.”

      “Thanks for the warning. And by the way, may I compliment you on your bedside manner?”

      He grinned. “A piece of advice? If you’re offered something for pain, take it. Don’t try to tough it out.”

      “I’ll keep that in mind.” I tugged the blanket a little higher because it was chilly inside the cubicle. “Right now I’m still trying to figure out how someone broke into my house without waking me. I’m normally such a light sleeper.”

      “One of the cops told me that the back door was jimmied with a special tool. Whoever it was knew what he was doing. You probably wouldn’t have heard him even if you’d been wide-awake in the next room.”

      “So he came prepared,” I said with a shiver. “Doesn’t exactly sound like a random break-in, does it?”

      Macon shrugged. “I don’t know about that. According to the cop, even petty thieves have sophisticated equipment these days. They just order whatever they need off the internet.”

      “What else did the officer say?” I asked anxiously.

      “I only spoke with him briefly and he was pretty cagey. As far as I know, they haven’t taken anyone into custody so let’s hope they’re still out canvassing the neighborhood. Don’t worry about your place. I’ll keep an eye on things until you’re released.”

      “Thanks, Macon. For everything. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been home tonight.”

      “I’m just glad you were able to wake me. I’ve been told it’s like raising the dead. Anyway, all I did was call 911. You’re the one who fought him off.”

      I mustered a smile. “One rises to the occasion. You should go home and get some sleep before your shift. I’ll be fine.”

      “I’m headed that way now. Can I get you anything before I go?”

      “No, you’ve done more than enough, thank you. And...Macon?”

      He glanced back as he started toward the door.

      “Be careful, okay? It’s possible someone could still be lurking about.” I was thinking about the cellar and all those dark recesses where someone—something—could hide, even from the police.

      “I wouldn’t worry about that. Dude’s long gone by now. You just get some rest.”

      After Macon left, I lay alone for the longest time staring up at the ceiling tiles as all those strange sounds droned on in my head. When I was a child, I’d had a recurring dream about being lost in a tunnel. I could see a light at one end, but the other end was pitch-black. I’d start toward the flicker only to be drawn back by something unseen in the dark. The tug-of-war waged on and on while disembodied arms reached through the walls to clutch at me.

      I felt that same smothering claustrophobia of my dream. I couldn’t see the arms, but I had a sense that something was reaching out for me, pressing in on me. The sensation was so strong I had to sit up on the gurney to catch my breath.

      A panic attack, I told myself. Surely I was allowed a lapse after everything that had happened to me. Still, I didn’t like feeling out of control. I wanted to be home, safe and sound in my own little sanctuary, but even that peace of mind had been taken from me now.

      My head began to pound and I felt dizzy, so I lay back down and was just drifting off when I had the eerie sensation of being watched. I opened my eyes and turned my head toward the entrance, expecting to find a nurse or an orderly who would transport me upstairs. The doorway was empty, but I was certain someone had been there a moment ago.

      Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I got up and padded across the room to glance down the hallway. I found nothing unusual in the chaos of the emergency room and was about to chalk the sensation up to paranoia when a man at the end of the corridor caught my eye. He was turning a corner so I only had a glimpse of his profile, but something about his attire and the style of his hair reminded me of Owen Dowling.

      It couldn’t be him. The coincidence would be too great. Unless...his presence at the hospital wasn’t a coincidence. Maybe the stereoscope was more valuable than he’d let on.

      The business card I’d left only listed my name and phone number, but finding my address wouldn’t have been at all difficult. And there’d been that odd awareness as I stood outside the shop, a niggling premonition that my visit to Dowling Curiosities had triggered something dangerous.

      I told myself not to jump to irrational conclusions as I returned to the bed. But I lay with my eyes wide-open until someone came in to take me upstairs. The ghost voices in my head grew even louder as I was wheeled down the hallway, but once inside the elevator, they became muffled. As the car rose to the upper floors, the sound grew dimmer until