A Noise Downstairs(41)
“Of course.”
“Do I strike you as someone who could be totally delusional?”
“What’s brought this on?”
“I’m pretty sure Charlotte thinks I’m losing my mind.”
“I don’t believe that. Why would she?”
“Something really strange has happened and I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Just tell me.”
So he told her about finding the sheet of paper in the typewriter with the message written on it.
“I see,” Anna said slowly.
“I don’t like the sound of that ‘I see’ very much,” Paul said. “My theory is, well, it’s pretty out there, but I think Charlotte has one that’s a little more down to earth.”
Anna nodded slowly. “That it’s you? That you typed it yourself?”
Paul nodded slowly.
“Do you think that’s possible?” she asked.
“No,” he said quickly. But then he bowed his head, and added, “God, could it be?”
“Talk to me about that.”
“Charlotte has never heard the typing in the night. I’m the only one. I mean, yeah, I suppose it’s possible I dreamed it, even though it seemed very real.”
“Okay.”
“But a message in the typewriter, that’s totally different. That’s something you can hold on to. It’s concrete. Charlotte saw it just as clearly as I did.”
“Let’s try to look at this logically,” Anna said. “If we accept the fact, as I do, that there are no spirits or supernatural forces actually at work in our world, except in the movies and in the pages of Stephen King novels, then we have to consider that the stresses you’ve been under are manifesting themselves in creative ways you may not even be aware of. And you have, in the last week or so, made a conscious decision to revisit the circumstances of Kenneth Hoffman’s attempt to kill you.”
“So I typed that note and don’t even know I did it.”
“I think we have to look at that as a possibility.”
Paul ran a hand over his mouth and chin. “Charlotte and I had this entire conversation yesterday about the dry cleaning that I have no memory of. There are texts I don’t remember sending. And, of course, those typing noises in the night, before an actual note showed up. But composing a crazy note and not remembering it, that’s something totally . . .”
“I could do some research on it,” Anna offered. “People have done some amazing things while sleepwalking. A lot more than walking. People have been known to get in their cars and drive around with no memory of having done it. I think if someone could do that, typing out a few words is not such a stretch.”
Paul let out a long breath. “Well, whatever I’m doing while I’m asleep is making me crazy while I’m awake.”
Anna looked ready to ask something but was holding back.
“What is it?” Paul asked.
“Is your house secure?” she asked.
He nodded.
“So you don’t think it’s likely that someone could have entered the house and put that note into the typewriter.”
Paul shook his head. “I don’t think so. And I can’t think of any reason why anyone would.”
Anna did not say anything for several seconds. Then, “There’s something I need to tell you. I don’t honestly think it has any bearing on this, but you know that patient the other day? The one who got angry and stormed out?”
Paul nodded. “Yeah. Gavin, was it? Hitchcock or something?”
“The name’s not important,” Anna said. “But this patient may, and I stress may, be harassing some of the people I see. I can’t prove it, but if he were, it would be consistent with the behavior that sent him to me in the first place.”
“What’s he done?”
Anna hesitated. “Do you know anything about computers?”
Paul shrugged. “About as much as most people.”
“How long would someone need to download files from a computer with one of those little sticks? You know the kind I mean?”
Paul let out a long breath. “I don’t know. Not long, probably. Why?”
She shook her head. “You understand this is an awkward situation for me, but I can tell you what’s already part of the public record. There was a news item. He called a grieving father, pretending to be his deceased son.”
“Jesus. Who would do something like that?”
“He seems to get off on exploiting people’s weaknesses.”
“Do you think—”
“No,” she said quickly. “But I only mention it so that you’ll be on your guard. A kind of heightened alert. If you should see him around your house or anything like that, call me, or call the police, even.”
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PAUL DIDN’T WANT TO GO STRAIGHT HOME FROM ANNA’S OFFICE. HE thought he’d drive around for a while and think.
Just what kind of tricks could your mind play on you? he wondered. Sure, he’d been under plenty of stress, but he’d not had any actual delusions. Okay, once in a while, he heard Hoffman’s voice in his head, and for a second, maybe he thought the Volvo that had pulled out in front of him was his former colleague’s car.