Dead Man's Eye

CHAPTER 5

Stephen looked up from his desk and stared at Lincoln Parker wandering towards him across the foyer.

He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something different about the man. Although he had never seen him upright before, the man walked with the air of someone possessed of an inner strength, his back ramrod straight.

But surely the man should be resting after his traumatic experience and subsequent operation, rather than wandering the hospital. Unless…

Stephen felt the blood rush into his cheeks. The last thing he wanted was a confrontation. Working the A & E reception was often bad enough at the best of times, what with irate patients.

When he reached the counter, Lincoln nodded. “Morning,” he said, smiling.

That’s when Stephen realised what the difference was. The man before him was the same, upbeat man he had spoken to the day before, and not the dishevelled, browbeaten man he’d spoken to earlier. He knew the drugs they gave him were probably good, but they couldn’t be that good.

“Mr Parker. Can I help you? If it’s about earlier…”

“Help me!” Lincoln laughed. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

Stephen swallowed. Something about Lincoln made him feel intimidated and he was thankful for the security glass separating them. Even with one arm, he knew the man could probably knock him into next week if he should so choose.

“So what can I do to help?” Stephen asked.

“Yes, I’m sorry about earlier. Anyone would think I’d lost my manners along with my arm.” He chuckled, a deep throaty sound that made the hairs on Stephen’s neck stand to attention. “Now that pretty young girlfriend of yours. What exactly did she say she saw when the accident occurred?”

Stephen licked his lips. “I told you. It’s stupid really. She said she saw a sort of phantom limb, you know, where you lost your arm.”

Lincoln nodded thoughtfully. “Perceptive.”

“Pardon,” Stephen said.

“Nothing. Just thinking aloud. Will she be coming back here soon?”

“Erm, no, I mean, why?”

“Oh nothing. I’ll meet her again before long. Anyway, I’ve got work to do.”

Chuckling, Lincoln walked away, the people gathered in the reception area parting before him and then swarming back into place after he passed them by.

Stephen preferred the one armed bodybuilder when he was browbeaten rather than upbeat, because with the positive change came something else, something sinister.