That was fine with Ellery. He closed his eyes.
The fourth time Ellery opened his eyes, he found himself gazing up at Todd.
He smiled into Todd’s smiley green eyes. “Hey,” he said softly. “Long time no see.”
Todd’s eyes widened. “Hey,” he said in a breath of minty-fresh.
Abruptly Ellery remembered that Todd did not have smiley green eyes, that he and Todd had broken up months ago, and, most importantly, this was not Todd.
“Oh,” he said. “Sorry.”
“Why?” the guy with the green eyes asked with interest.
He was clearly a doctor—white coat, stethoscope, expensive watch, which he was checking in between glances at Ellery—and Ellery realized he was in the Buck Island Med Center, that it was afternoon, and that something had happened to him. Something he could not quite remember.
He also could not fail to notice that this doctor was really attractive. Tall, nicely built, and a little older than himself. He had curly blond hair, chiseled features, and, yes, smiley green eyes.
Also yes, he did look disconcertingly like Todd, but only at certain angles. He was better-looking than Todd.
“Why am I here?” Ellery asked. “What happened to me?”
“I’m Dr. Mane, and you’re at Buck Island Med Center.” Dr. Mane drew up a small rolling stool and sat down. “How are you feeling?” His smile was sympathetic, as though he knew exactly how Ellery was feeling.
“Confused.”
“That’s normal. How’s the headache?”
“It’s there,” Ellery admitted, which was an understatement.
“Ringing in your ears?”
“A little.”
Dr. Mane glanced back at the half-closed window blinds. “Does the light bother your eyes?”
Ellery said again, “A little.”
“Are you feeling a little queasy maybe? A little nauseous?”
“Three out of three,” Ellery said.
Dr. Mane smiled faintly. “That’s all normal with concussion.”
Ellery’s unease grew. “How would I get a concussion?”
“You don’t remember?”
“No.”
“Do you remember—”
Ellery cut in. “I remember my name, I remember my address, I remember what year it is, who’s president, I remember everyth—” He gulped as memory flooded back. “Where’s Watson? Where’s my dog?”
Dr. Mane looked apologetic. “I’m not sure about your dog. I can try to find out.”
“He was probably with me when I— Did I have a car accident?”
“No.”
“Did I fall off a ladder?”
Dr. Mane looked intrigued. “Do you fall off ladders a lot?”
“No. Not a lot.”
“Good. You’ll want to stay off ladders for a while. But no. The police chief found you in the old cemetery at Seal Point. You were unconscious.” He watched Ellery closely.
“In the cemetery?”
Dr. Mane nodded.
“Was I— How did— Why would I—”
Dr. Mane didn’t answer.
Ellery turned this news over in his mind. Any way he looked at it, it did not make sense.
He said slowly, “I was unconscious? Do you mean I hit my head, or did someone knock me out?”
“It’s unclear at this point.”
This was bewildering. Ellery protested, “I don’t remember anything. None of this makes sense.”
“Okay, well, that’s not a problem,” Dr. Mane said quickly, easily. “You have a mild concussion, so some confusion is to be expected. The memory loss is probably temporary. There’s nothing worrying on your CT scan, and no reason you shouldn’t make a full recovery.”
Ellery nodded, winced, said, “Thank you.”
“Thank your creator for giving you an industrial-strength noggin.” Dr. Mane offered another glimpse of his very nice smile.
Ellery tried to smile back. He was suddenly very tired.
“We’re going to keep you here overnight again,” Dr. Mane said, “but you can probably go home tomorrow. “How’s that sound?”
“Great. Thank you.” He blinked at Dr. Mane. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open.
Dr. Mane patted Ellery’s knee and rose. “Get some rest. That’s the most important thing. You’ll be feeling better in no time.”
Define “no time.”
But yes, Ellery did feel somewhat better when he woke later that afternoon. That was partly because he had been dreaming that he was chasing Watson through the old cemetery at Seal Point, and he suddenly came face-to-face with Brett Ainsley. The covered-in-blood, animated corpse of Brett Ainsley.
He gulped in air to yell—and woke up.
Shadowy sunlight striped the wall and photos across from the bed, a lot of people were talking loudly in a nearby hallway, and a lot of people were talking loudly on the other side of the dividing curtain.
“Aunt Martha is baking you a welcome-home cake right this very minute,” a way too cheerful voice was saying.
Ellery’s stomach did an unhappy list and roll.
“You okay?” Jack asked.
Jack?
Ellery jerked his head—yes, it really was Jack sitting next to his bed—winced, and said, “That depends. Are you going to yell at me?”
“Not until you’re feeling better.”
“Then no, I’m not feeling better.”
That was a lie, though, because just the sight of Jack, sitting there straight and stoic in his navy uniform, was like a shot in the arm. Ellery felt instantly more awake, more alert, more alive.
Jack’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. In fact, his eyes looked like they had faded to gray. Maybe that was the dim light of the hospital cubicle, but he did look very tired.
“You look better,” Jack said. “Better than you did last night, that’s for sure.”
Ellery smiled, but it was a lackluster effort.
Jack considered him, said, “I was going to try to smuggle Watson in, but that bark.” He shook his head. “We’d never make it past the reception area.”
“He’s with you?” The surge of relief almost swamped Ellery. “You’ve got Watson?”
“Yep. He’s staying with me until you’re up and around. He’s over at the station right now, asking for his lawyer. Loudly.”
“Thank God.” Ellery laughed, then put his hand to his head. “Ouch.”
“Yeah.” Jack sighed. “If you’re up to it, I need to ask you about last night. Dr. Mane tells me you might have some gaps in your memory.”
“Last night is one of them.”
“Last night? The entire night?”
Ellery started to nod, then thought better of it. “Yeah. Sorry.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
Ellery half closed his eyes, trying to recall. He said at last, “Dylan has a new girlfriend.”
Jack’s brows rose. “I thought he and Janet were…?”
“He says they’re just friends.”
“Mm. Okay. Then you remember game night? Do you remember leaving Dylan’s house?”