* * *
There was no television in the room, and no telephone. The best and only entertainment was the wall clock hanging above the door, and he lay in bed for several hours watching the second hand make its endless orbit as the morning turned to midday and then to afternoon.
He couldn’t be sure, but his room appeared to be three, possibly four floors up. Nurse Pam had left the blinds open, and when he tired of clock-watching, he turned carefully over onto his good side and studied the happenings of Wayward Pines.
From his vantage point, he could see straight down Main Street and several blocks back on either side.
He’d known prior to coming here that it was a tiny, sleepy town, but the sheer inactivity still surprised him. An hour elapsed, and he counted a dozen people strolling down the sidewalk past the hospital, and not a single car driving down the town’s busiest thoroughfare. The most effective object of distraction was two blocks away—a construction crew framing a house.
He thought about his wife and son back in Seattle, hoping they were already en route to see him. They’d probably caught the first plane out. They would have had to fly into Boise or Missoula. Rent a car for the long trek out to Wayward Pines.
The next time he glanced at the clock, it was a quarter to four.
He’d been lying in this bed all day, and Dr. Miter, or whatever his name was, hadn’t even bothered to stop by. Ethan had spent significant time in hospitals, and in his experience, nurses and doctors never left you alone for more than ten seconds—someone always bringing some new medication, always prodding and poking.
Here, they’d practically ignored him.
Nurse Pam had never even shown up with his iPhone and other belongings. How busy could this hospital in the middle of nowhere be?
He reached for the control panel attached to the railing and jammed his thumb into the NURSE CALL button.
Fifteen minutes later, the door to his room swung open and Nurse Pam breezed through.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see that you rang until ten seconds ago. I think we’re having some issues with our intercom.” She stopped at the foot of the bed and put her hands on the metal railing. “How can I help you, Ethan?”
“Where’s Dr. Miter?”
She grimaced. “He’s been tied up in an emergency surgery all afternoon. One of those five-hour nightmares.” She laughed. “But I filled him in on your vitals this morning and the fantastic progress you’re making with your memory, and he thinks you’re doing A-OK.”
She gave Ethan a double thumbs-up.
“When can I see him?”
“It’s looking like he’ll make his rounds after supper now, which should be coming up in the next half hour.”
Ethan struggled to mask his growing frustration.
“Any luck finding my phone and the other things I had with me before the accident? This would include my wallet and a black briefcase.”
Nurse Pam gave a half salute and marched in place for several steps.
“Working on it, Captain.”
“Just bring me a landline right now. I need to make some calls.”
“Of course, Marshal.”
“Marshal?”
“Aren’t you like a US Marshal or something?”
“No, I’m a special agent with the United States Secret Service.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I thought you guys protected the president.”
“We handle some other things too.”
“So what are you doing out here in our little slice of heaven?”
Ethan gave her a cool, thin smile.
“I can’t discuss that.”
He could actually, just didn’t feel like it.
“Well, now you’ve got me all intrigued.”
“The phone, Pam.”
“Excuse me?”
“I really need the phone.”
“I’m on it.”