Praying for Sleep

idea.”
    On the other hand he didn’t seem particularly alarmed or suggest that they get the hell out of the house immediately and flee for safety.
    “Do they know where he is?”
    “Not exactly, no.”
    “But he is going away from here? East?”
    “I saw one of the men tracking him not too long ago. He’s still east of the hospital but it looks like he may have gone east and then turned around.”
    “He’s coming west?”
    “I’d say he’s more likely wandering in circles. He isn’t as disabled as some people are making him out to be, but I don’t think he’d be able to get this far.”
    “What exactly can I do for you, Doctor? I’d like to be out of here in twenty minutes or so.”
    “I’m worried about Michael. I’d like to find him before the police do. Not many people know how to handle a patient like him. He could hurt himself or somebody else if they try to arrest him like any other prisoner.”
    “Well, what can I do?”
    “I understand he sent you a letter not long ago.”
    “In September.”
    “It had to do with the . . . incident last May?”
    “It doesn’t seem to have to do with anything. It’s mostly gibberish.”
    Kohler lifted his eyes but not his head and stared directly at her. “Mrs. Atcheson, I need to know about Indian Leap. Will you help me?”
    Six large water spots were evident on the counter beside the sink. Lis lifted a sponge and rubbed them away.
    “You see, I’m Michael’s attending psychiatrist. But I frankly don’t have a clue about what’s going on in his mind tonight. What happened last May was very . . . significant in his life.”
    “Significant?” she repeated, appalled at the word.
    “I don’t mean to downplay the tragedy.”
    “Well, what exactly can I tell you?”
    “I’ve read some newspaper stories. I have a few files. But Marsden hospital’s practically broke. We have very sketchy records. I don’t even have a transcript of his trial.”
    This struck her as the epitome of bureaucratic nonsense, and she said so.
    “Transcripts cost two dollars a page,” he explained. “Michael’s would have cost six thousand dollars. The state can’t afford it.”
    “It seems to be just common sense to spend money like that.”
    He gestured in concession.
    “I really don’t think there’s time.” She nodded outside. “My sister and I have hotel reservations. And the storm . . .”
    “It won’t take long.” He curled two fingers of his right hand around two fingers of his left, and Lis pictured the gangly teenage Richard Kohler asking a pretty girl to dance.
    “The fact is, I’d rather not talk about it.”
    “Yes, of course . . .” Kohler hesitated and seemed to be examining her. “But you have to understand my perspective. It’s important that I find him quickly. If he wanders up to someone’s house . . . If he gets scared and panics. People could get hurt. Inadvertently.”
    Lis stood silent, looking down at the ruddy tile floor.
    “ That’s what I’m concerned about, you see. Getting him back before there’s an . . . accident. And, I have to tell you, there is a chance he’s on his way here. Very slight, but it is a possibility. If you help me I might be able to prevent that.”
    After a long moment Lis said, “Cream and sugar?”
    Kohler blinked.
    “You’ve glanced at the coffeemaker three times in the last minute.”
    He laughed. “I’ve been trying my best to stay awake.”
    “I’ll give you twenty minutes, Doctor. Not a minute more.”
    “Thank you very much,” he said sincerely.
    She stepped to the cupboard.
    “Hope it’s no trouble.” His eyes were hungrily fixed to the can of Maxwell House.
    “Can I ask a question?”
    “Please.”
    “Could you fall asleep now?” Lis asked.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “If you were home now would you be able to fall asleep?”
    “At home? Yes. In my car, yes. On your front lawn. On your kitchen floor. Anytime, anyplace.”
    She wagged her head at this miracle and watched the pot fill with black liquid. Impulsively she decided to have a cup too. “I won’t be asleep before eleven tomorrow night, whatever happens tonight.”
    “Insomnia?” he asked.
    A condition on which she was an expert, she explained. Warm milk, hot baths, cold showers, hypnosis, self-hypnosis, valerian roots, biofeedback, medication. “You name it, I’ve tried it.”
    “In my practice I work with patients’ dreams a lot. But I’ve never done much with sleep disorders.”
    She doctored her