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“Before youtriedto sleep?”
“Dr.Fenner assured me that many people are surprised to discover that they sleep surprisingly well in a sleep study. He suggested it’s because they register it as a safe place. He had a point. I knew that if I did have nightmares or try to sleepwalk, the staff would awaken me. He was right about one thing—I went to sleep as soon as I turned off the reading light.”
“Even though you were in unfamiliar surroundings. Interesting.”
“But not uncommon, according to Fenner. The next thing I knew, I heard a woman scream, or at least I thought I did. I woke up, but I was groggy and very disoriented. Hallucinating. At first I did not know where I was.”
“Are you sure it was a woman who screamed?” Pallas asked.
“Good question. No, I can’t be absolutely positive, but I think it was a woman. What’s more, I think it was the woman who checked in ahead of me that night.”
Pallas turned quickly in the seat. “The woman you think was murdered was also a patient?”
“All I can say for certain is that a woman checked in about the same time I did. She was escorted to the room next to mine, room B. There were no other patients that night. For some reason—maybe because I didn’t see any other women around—I assumed she was the one who screamed.”
“Did a receptionist handle the check-in process?”
“No. Fenner did. There was no receptionist on duty that night.”
“What’s the next thing you remember?”
“I was outside my room, viewing the world the way I do when I’m using my aura reading vision. I don’t see physical details well, but I could make out what looked like a large laundry cart. Someone was pushing it down a hallway. I tried to ask what was going on. No one answered, but I know the figure pushing the laundry cart heard me, because he moved more quickly. He and the cart disappeared through the swinging doors.”
“Any idea why you wanted to follow the cart?”
“There was blood dripping from the bottom.”
Pallas drew a sharp, audible breath. “Okay. Good reason.”
He paused to make sure she understood. “IthinkI saw blood dripping from the cart. I also remember seeing a stream of blood beneath the doorway of room B. I bent down to get a better look. Started to lose my balance. I put my hand on the floor to keep from falling. My fingers went into the pool. It was wet and sticky.”
“That sounds like a real memory,” Pallas said.
“Fenner shouted at me. I’m pretty sure I felt a needle in my shoulder.”
“He sedated you?”
“I think so. I remember sitting in a chair while he wiped the blood off my hand. The next thing I knew I was in the bed and Fenner was reattaching the electrodes. Suddenly it was five o’clock in the morning.”
“Did you awake refreshed, as if you’d had a normal sleep?”
“No, I was groggy, but otherwise I was okay. Fenner came into the room. Acted like nothing had happened. He removed all the sensors and wires. I tried to tell him what I thought I’d seen. He said I’d had a nightmare and had experienced an episode of sleepwalking. I got dressed. He took me to his office. I was supposed to get the results of the sleep study. Fenner handed me a summary and assured me that aside from the nightmare and sleepwalking event, my NREM and REM patterns were normal and undisturbed.”
“Non–rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement cycles?”
“Right. In addition, there were no indications of oxygenation, heart rate, or blood pressure issues. No signs of sleep apnea. In short, my sleep patterns were stone-cold normal, with the exception of the sleepwalking. He suggested I consult a psychiatrist.”
“What do you know about Fenner?” Pallas asked.
“At the time I didn’t do a lot of research. My brother had already vetted Fenner. I did take a quick look online. Fenner has all the appropriate degrees and licenses, he specializes in dream disorders, and the Institute is affiliated with Carnelian College. That seemed enough to go on. It was just a simple sleep study. I booked the appointment.”
“You said you didn’t do a lot of research on Fenner at the time,” Pallas noted. “But I’m guessing you know more about him now?”
“When I started getting flashbacks that I thought were linked to my night in the Institute, I took a more in-depth look at Fenner. The only obvious red flag was his career path. He started out as a star in his field. Worked as a lead researcher at a major pharmaceutical company. But his career trended downward after he left the firm. I asked a friend, Calvin, who is a magician when it comes to researching in the online world, to take a deeper look.”
“And?” Pallas said.
“And that’s when I discovered that Fenner was forced out of his position at the pharmaceutical firm for violating research protocols.”
